Notre Dame Recap/Notes

First of all, I'm sorry about the blog being shut down for a few hours yesterday. Thanks for the emails and messages. That meant a lot to me. It's great to see this thing has a bit of a following and for that I'm very thankful. From now on everything should be good to go. For those asking if this is the last year, that is not going to happen. I intend to keep this thing running for a long period of time.

Obviously, Saturday was a tough game. Credit Notre Dame, they played the style of hockey you've got to play against Boston College. They didn't send one guy past the red line all game and as a result, BC had a really tough time finding outlets through the neutral zone and generating quality scoring chances on a already tremendous defensive unit. If they get that type of goaltending and defensive zone play from here on out, that Irish team has a great chance to do some damage in March.

If you're panicking after one loss in twenty games vs one of the top teams in all of college hockey, then I don't know what to say. For as bad as BC played, and man it was really bad, it was good to see that they were still in the game throughout the whole third period. Sure, Johnny G extended his point streak to 29 games but the Irish did an absolutely tremendous job vs the big three. That's the first time all year those guys have been held in check on back to back games. Lowell did a great job on them last Saturday and the Irish were even better this weekend. Hopefully we don't send the tape to our next opponent because I think that's probably the only way to beat BC.

As bad as the game was, there were a lot of positives. Defensively, BC was sound, not allowing a ton of grade A chances for ND but we did allow them more grade A chances than they allowed us. I thought Thatcher Demko continued to show why he's the best goaltender in college hockey. Neither goal was his fault, they were just total defensive breakdowns that should never have taken place. As a fan, it was the most boring BC-Notre Dame game I've ever watched simply because it had no flow to it. Think of playing Merrimack, only with a lot more skill.

Overall, there is no need to break up the lines or change much. In my opinion, Matthew Gaudreau should be on the fourth line from here on out. He's quick, he can make plays (not like his brother but still), he goes along well with two big/physical guys, and he's the type of guy that isn't going to make a lot of mistakes in his own end or the neutral zone. He deserves to play next weekend. In reality, BC isn't too banged up but there are certainly some guys (Matheson) that will really need this thirteen day break. If all the top seeds win this weekend, then BC will host Notre Dame for a best of three series. If Merrimack wins @ Vermont, the Eagles will automatically get them. In order to play BU, the Eagles need Maine, Vermont, and the Terriers all to win.

Obviously losing stinks but if the Eagles can get a major win on the recruiting trail this week in the battle for Miles Wood, then all will be back to normal. Miles was at the game on Saturday afternoon and is expected to make a decision at some point this week. Early on, I didn't think BC had any shot of landing the 6'2 forward from Nobles but as the days pass, I don't think it would be a good idea to say he is set in stone to attend BU.