We are back again. I just wanted to offer a few quick thoughts on BC's 5-1 setback at UConn last week and look at some very minor recruiting updates.
In what was perhaps their stiffest test of the year to this point, against a top ten team on the road, BC was unable to hold onto their second period lead and fell 5-1 to UConn last Thursday. First off, I know I sound like a broken record here, but I thought BC played well for the majority of the game. In fact, their best period, to me, was the third period- they just couldn’t buy a goal to save their lives. It felt like BC had the puck in the UConn end for the entirety of the first 16 minutes of the period, sans the UConn goal, but time and time again, they were stuffed by Husky goalie, Logan Terness, who made 33 saves.
BC was able to take a 1-0 lead five minutes into the second period, thanks to a power-play goal from Colby Amborsio, after he put home a beautiful pass from Lukas Gustafsson. Ambrosio and Gustafsson continue to be two of BC’s best players night in and night out- the difference in Ambrosio’s game from the end of last year (when he seemingly got benched versus Northeastern in the playoffs) to today is night and day. A big reason for that? The continued emergence of Nikita Nesterensko as a real force. While Cutter Gauthier gets the hype (rightfully so, he is the fifth overall pick), Nesterenko has been BC’s best player since opening night. Unfortunately, he was unable to put home two really good first period chances- a one timer on the doorstep and a breakaway in the waining seconds of the stanza. The fact that BC’s three junior forwards- the aforementioned Ambrosio, Nesterenko, and also Trevor Kuntar- are playing at this level, is a good sign for this team.
BC had a chance to put their foot on the gas when they had a minute of 5 on 3 time halfway through the second period, but not only did they not do anything on that man advantage, they gave up a bad shorthanded goal at the tail end of their second power-play. BC had all the momentum in the game at that point, but thanks to some careless play at the top of the offensive zone, they turned the puck over and UConn pounced. BC’s power-play, despite Ambrosio’s goal, absolutely has to be better than it was on Thursday. Granted, UConn has one of the best penalty kills in the country, but the Eagles were skating into walls on their remaining power-play opportunities after the Ambrosio goal.
Like I said earlier, I thought BC absolutely dominated the third period- they outshot UConn 16-8 in the frame- but gave up a goal less than two minutes in and were unable to recover. I thought it was maybe a goal Mitch Benson would like to have back, but it was absolutely a shot that could have been blocked by a BC skater. Originally, UConn’s defenseman shanked his slap shot, but the puck ended up on the stick of Hudson Schandor and he finished it off. Just some bad puck luck there. After that, BC pressed- Ambrosio had a golden opportunity in front of the net, but the puck seemingly slid under the blade of his stick. Gauthier also made a power move to the net for a good chance, but was unable to capitalize. The Huskies pulled away late in the game as BC really started to throw the kitchen sink at the Huskies.
On the other side of the coin, there are a couple of guys who I think BC needs more from. For starters, while I thought Gauthier was mostly fine, BC will go as he goes and if he isn’t at the top of his game, this isn’t the same team. You don’t want to put those kind of expectations on a freshman, but when you’re as talented as he is, I don’t think it’s an unfair way to look at things- he needs to be better than he was last Thursday. Secondly, I think they’re probably looking for Marshall Warren to take his game up another notch. When Warren is on- as he was pretty much all of last season- he is one of the best defensemen in Hockey East. There were times on Thursday where it looked like he struggled a bit with UConn’s speed and physicality and that presents a bit of a problem given that he is BC’s most experienced and arguably most talented defenseman. That is a long way of saying that the season is a marathon- Warren and Gauthier will be two key cogs in BC’s arsenal as things progress.
Anyways, credit to UConn- Cav has his best team since he took over down there and while I hate to see it come at BC’s expense, it is good to see him building a winning program. The score was not indicative of how the game was played, but at the end of the day these are crucial games and if BC wants to be in the hunt in March, they need to pick up some wins over teams like UConn, BU, Northeastern, UMass and Providence. Opportunities will continue to arise for the Eagles, given how deep Hockey East is this year, and if they continue to play like this, they will be a good hockey team come crunch time. This upcoming series against Merrimack feels like a very important two game stand at this point in the season.
Lastly, I want to provide some minor recruiting updates.
Nick Moldenhauer committed to Michigan tonight. Moldenhauer is a third round pick of Toronto and was a guy BC was in on. Nevertheless, I do not think anyone is surprised Moldenhauer picked the Wolverines- they were always the favorites it seems.
The big name to watch continues to be Gabriel Perreault of the NTDP- if I had to guess, I think he is #1 on BC’s “board” right now. Perreault is on a line with BC’s two biggest recruits- Will Smith and Ryan Leonard and is projected to be a first round pick in the 2023 NHL draft.
The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler released his preliminary 2023 draft rankings today and had a few BC names throughout his top 64- I’ve listed them out below.
Will Smith- #10
Ryan Leonard- #15
Gabe Perreault (BC target)- #21
Aram Minnetian- #64
Honorable mentions- Will Vote and Drew Fortescue (meaning he thinks they will likely be third round picks).
See you in North Andover on Thursday. Go Eagles.
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