You know, sometimes you just don't have things going your way. Whether it's in the rink, the golf course, or life in general, sometimes things just don't go your way. That is unfortunately what happend tonight in what will be the final game for BC's 6 seniors, including captain Pat Mullane. There really is not a whole lot to say about the game itself. I've been watching BC Hockey for a long time now and I've seen a lot of good teams play against the Eagles and there is no doubt in my mind that the team BC faced tonight could beat anyone in the country. That Union team is phenomenal. They capitalized when they needed to early on and they played stout defense (especially on the PK) for the final two periods. They gave the Eagles some chances on the power play and I thought that if BC could pot one or two before the end of the second they would have a chance. Turned out it just wasn't meant to be as Union's ferocious penalty kill came thorough.
I said it last night and I'll say it again. BC had zero chance of winning that game if they took penalties. Well, the Eagles didn't just take penalties, they took some completely boneheaded ones that had no business being taken. You cannot beat good hockey teams when you give them chances on the PP and when your penalty kill is struggling as bad as BC's was, you have no shot. I think the biggest difference between this time last year and now is that it got to a point a season ago where the Eagles just would not let up a goal on the penalty kill. The last couple of weeks, they just couldn't get any stops when they needed to.
To be honest, this was not about how bad BC played because they ran into one heck of a hockey team tonight. I'd bet a lot of money that Union will go on to win the National Championship. They're that good.
To the seniors, Pat Mullane, Pat Wey, Steve Whitney, Brooks Dyroff, Patch Alber, and Parker Milner. Thank you for all that you have done for this program and for this school. 30/40/50 years from now, people will remember you guys as the greatest senior class in the history of this program not just for what you have done on the ice, but for what you have done off of it. You are truly special young men and it was an honor for me to cover you guys over the course of your careers here. Good luck in whatever life throws at you. '
Finally, thank you to you, my readers for following along with me this season. The blog has reached unprecedented heights thanks to your following and support. As you may (or may not) know, the majority of my blogging comes during the offseason whether it's recruiting, early departures (hopefully none), schedule stuff, or just anything else that has to do with Boston College Hockey. It has been a pleasure brining you up to date information on the Eagles this year.
I'll have season recap, early departure news, schedule stuff, and a look ahead to next year coming up.
Thanks and GO EAGLES !
To paraphrase something Melrose said last night, this was a rebuilding year for BC, one in which they won the Beanpot, were in the HE regular season championship right down to the final weekend and earned a #2 regional seed in the NCAA tournament. "BC's rebuilding years are not like anyone else's rebuilding years," Barry said.
ReplyDeletePlease, we didn't watch the same game. BC did not show up, and last night proved that Union was not good.
ReplyDeleteFirst the positive. Indeed, this senior class had an unprecedented run at BC and Pat Mullane is a great leader and captain. He is a very good, solid hockey player and Pat will get paid to play very soon. Steven Whitney was the one player on the team who you could count upon to turn things around by scoring big goals. Brooks Dyroff who did not see much action for three years, mostly at defense, was part of the hardest working line in college hockey along with Pat Brown and Quinn Smith. And who will ever forget what Parker Milner did enroute to the national championship last year.
ReplyDeleteThis year's team was very young. We skated four and sometimes five freshmen defensemen who will be very good next year, but this year they made a lot of rookie mistakes. This inexperience was felt in both ends of the ice. Milner saw more shots than ever and as a result gave up more goals and plenty of softies. The D was unable to move the puck out the zone and get it up quickly to our speedy forwards. We used to outshoot teams all the time and most by condiderable margins. We were getting outshot this year in more games than ever. Offensively, we only had five legitimate skill players in Whitney, Arnold, Hayes, Mullane, and Gaudreau so we were shorthanded one player of filling two scoring lines. Then we lose Hayes and we are down to four skilled scoring forwards. There was an overall offensive depth problem, which was evident on the second powerplay unit, made up of third and fourth liners. Minnesota exposed BC for its lack of scorers and its many role players who are not factors on the score sheet. We relied on a 5'6" third/fourth line forward (Linell) to play defense while skating a freshmen defenseman (Sullivan) at wing on the fourth line The sophomore class, aside from Johnny Hockey, has been a bust. I look forward to next year as our freshmen defensemen with a battlefield experience this year, should be very solid as sophomores. The recruiting class is outstanding. Of course, we as BC hockey fans are spoiled as going to Frozen Fours has been standard practice and now it is expected. We still have the best coach leading the best program in the country. This was never going to be a championship year. We were young defensively, lacked overall offensive skill and depth, and had a few tough injuries but still made it to the NCAA regionals. That is a tribute to the caliber of the program. Next year I have no doubt that we will back on top where we are so used to residing.
GO EAGLES!
Thanks for your work all season! As you said, hopefully there is no early departure news to report.
ReplyDeleteOne more thing to root for...maybe Johnny can bring home the Hobey Baker. That would be a nice consolation prize for BC Hockey from this "rebuilding" year.
Thank you guys. I am very excited about the team next year. We will see what happens with the early departure stuff but if they can be held to a minimum (meaning 1 at the most) then I think we've got a chance to be a great hockey team next season.
ReplyDeleteThis has been a fantastic blog since its inception. I really enjoyed reading it and hope you continue to write next year. It is a unique source of information and opinion. Bravo.
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