Maine Thoughts

BC's brief unbeaten streak came to an end this weekend as they got swept by Maine, by scores of 6-3 and 2-1, respectively. This was certainly not what the doctor ordered for what was one of the most important weekends of the season, but give Maine and coach Ben Barr a lot of credit. The Black Bears have improved immensely since Barr took over for the late Red Gendron. They are not the most talented team in Hockey East, but they play hard, have a great goaltender, and really feed off the energy the Alfond Arena crowd generates for them. As bad as this weekend was for BC, they can still get a home game in the first round of the Hockey East playoff with a couple of points vs UConn next weekend. At the moment, it seems like BC will be the 8th seed, likely playing New Hampshire in the first round. Depending on how things shake out next weekend, they could finish anywhere from 6th to 10th. 

Let's start with Friday's game. BC could not have started out worse- spotting Maine a 3-0 lead almost right off the bat. The first Maine goal was just the result of poor defensive zone coverage from BC. A Maine forward beat one of BC's freshman defensemen to the net before depositing home a rebound past Mitch Benson. BC was caught running around in their own zone for a period of time and just could not clear the puck before it ended up in the back of the net. 

The second Maine goal was an absolute backbreaker. With under two minutes to go in the period, Donovan Villeneuve-Houle made a great play to redirect a pass from his skate to his stick before going in on a breakaway against Benson. I thought BC had a couple of good chances before this goal, but a blocked shot in the BC offensive zone allowed Villeneuve-Houle to streak out of the zone, past two flatfooted BC defensemen and on his way. To be honest, this was one of a couple of goals Benson probably should have had this weekend. You could tell that the Black Bears put an emphasis on getting pucks to the net and unfortunately, there were too many times where BC just could not get a stop when they needed it this weekend. 

Maine made it 3-0 at the 7:52 mark of the second period on their first power-play goal of the weekend. Luke Antonacci had all the room in the world to skate towards the BC net from the blue line, before rifling a shot by Benson. I will say, I am a bit concerned that the two issues that have plagued BC all year are still coming back to haunt them in these important games. One- they're giving up way too many goals in the last three minutes of periods. By my count, BC has allowed 23 goals this season in the last three minutes of any period. That includes empty net goals allowed against Notre Dame (1), the first Maine game (1), and the second Maine game (1). I am not really sure what the root cause of that is- but it’s an issue that keeps killing BC night in and night out. 

Secondly, their penalty kill continues to struggle, even against average (at best) power-plays like Maine and Vermont. Look, I get it, killing penalties is probably the hardest part of the game, but BC has just been surrendering too many high quality looks on the man-down, many of which have resulted in goals. As of now, BC has the 45th best penalty-kill in the country, which is the worst in Hockey East. I'm not really sure what the problem is here- they have guys like Joyce, Burke, O'Neill, Kuntar, and Nesterenko, all of whom have been solid penalty killers during certain points of their careers. However, on defense they're thin and have to rely on players they probably do not want out there killing penalties. This team does not have really any shut down defensemen that can muck it up in front of the net and make the necessary plays to kill penalties. I am talking about guys like Steve Santini, Ian McCoshen, Tommy Cross, and Mike Brennan. Big, physical defenseman who could throw bodies around and be an anchor for any penalty killing unit- this BC team does not have that. Now, I understand the game has shifted in a direction where there is more of an emphasis on smaller, more mobile defensemen who can push the puck up the ice, but you still need some defensive stalwarts. Looking ahead, BC has a couple of highly skilled defensive recruits coming in next year, but they don't really have a lot of size on the way. Do not be surprised if they look to add someone through the transfer portal to address this glaring need. 

Now, there was one bright spot this weekend- BC's power-play is lethal, currently ranking as 9th best in the nation. Could they get a little bit more out of their second unit? 100%, but those top guys have been so good that it covers up for any issues there. The Eagles had three power-play goals on Friday- from Andre Gasseau, Cutter Gauthier and Nikita Nesterenko. Credit where it is due- I thought BC's top guys were very good this weekend, with the exception of maybe one player. Cutter Gauthier was the best player on the ice this weekend, but Gasseau and Nesterenko also came to play. Unfortunately, the Eagles did not get enough help from their bottom six to supplement the production of their top players. 

Now, I know this sounds like sour grapes (and it is), but I thought some of the calls that went against BC this weekend were weak. For example, the penalty that led to the fourth Maine goal on Friday was ridiculous. Both Gauthier and the Maine defenseman were tangled up after the play, but only Gauthier was called for the extra penalty. Of course, Maine capitalized with another power-play goal. This was another goal that probably should have been stopped, but that was not the case, so Maine took a 4-2 lead. It was, to me, the turning point in the weekend. BC had the momentum after two quick goals, but when they needed a defensive stop, they could not get it. 

I liked how BC battled back, but they did not generate much when they pulled the goalie down 5-3 on Friday. They tried to make a fancy play in the slot instead of getting the puck to the net, which allowed Maine to clear it into the empty net, putting the nail in the coffin for game one. 

As for game two, to be honest, I thought they played hard and maybe deserved better. It was eerily similar to the games @ Lowell, the second home BU game, and the last game against Northeastern. They generated a lot of grade A chances, but could not break through early and failed to cash in on two golden opportunities to tie it in the final minute. Something else that hurt them this weekend? They could not garner a single five on five goal. Maine is solid enough in their own zone and they have a good goalie, but they are not the 1985 Chicago Bears. To not get a single five on five goal is concerning- this team has been too reliant on their power-play all season. Their even-strength advanced numbers are still pretty solid- they are 12th in the country in Corsi for percentage at even strength, but obviously, they are not creating enough night in and night out. 

In the first period on Saturday, the officials called four penalties on BC, a couple of which I thought were horrible. The penalty that led to the Maine goal- a faceoff violation on Trevor Kuntar, seemed like a pretty ridiculous call to make. Officials have kept a closer eye on these types of penalties this season, but I still thought it was weak. Maine capitalized when Nolan Renwick tipped a Grayson Arnott pass by Benson. Not much BC could have done here- this was a nice set play by the Black Bears on the man advantage. BC's penalty kill was definitely better on Saturday- Maine did not create much on most of their five power-plays, sans this goal. 

The second period on Saturday was definitely BC's best of the weekend as they outshot the Black Bears 20-5. However, it was the home team that got on the board first in the stanza, when Grayson Arnott blasted one by Benson, giving Maine a 2-0 advantage. BC had a chance to make a clear along the wall on this play, but the puck squirted out to center ice, which allowed Arnott to fire it towards the BC net and past Benson. The goal went against the grain of the play- BC had been controlling the pace to that point, but could not capitalize before Maine was able to double their lead. 

The Eagles got one back two minutes after the Arnott goal, when Cutter Gauthier beat Victor Osman five-hole. Gauthier just blew by the Maine defenseman at the blue line before depositing one by Osman- it was a great display of the skill Gauthier possesses. As I said earlier, he was BC's best player this weekend, recording a point on every Eagle goal over the course of two games. 

BC's best chance to tie the game came when they went on the power-play with 6:50 remaining in the third period. As good as their power-play was all weekend, they did not get much on net during this two minute block. 

Coach Brown pulled the goalie with just over two minutes left and BC did just about everything but score during the frantic final seconds. Andre Gasseau had the best chance as he was right on the doorstep, but Osman was able to slide over and make the stop.  I give BC credit for how they fought back in this game- to me, this has been a consistent theme throughout the season and they should be commended for that. When they're down, they seemingly always find a way to at least make it interesting in the end. However, they need to get off to better starts because they keep digging themselves into these holes that they're oftentimes unable to get out of. 

Let's reset. There is no denying that this was a bad weekend all around. They needed to get at least one win up in Orono, but were unable to do so. BC has not won a game at Maine since February of 2018 (it must have been the phenomenal managing staff they had on that team). Alfond is one of the toughest places to play in college hockey- just ask Quinnipiac, Providence, and Merrimack- all of whom have lost in that building this season. Getting a bye is now out the window, but BC should still be able to get a home game for the first round. Right now, they have a four point lead on 9th place UNH, but the Wildcats only have one more league game left, so they can only gain at most three points on BC. UMass is five points behind the Eagles, but they have to play two games at Maine next weekend. Right now, I think it is pretty safe to say that BC will be the 8th seed, likely playing either UNH or UMass in round one, but if BU sweeps Providence, the Eagles could theoretically move past the Friars. To be honest, it really doesn't matter to me who they play and when. This team has already proven they can beat anyone or lose to anyone in Hockey East. They got swept by a horrible Vermont team at home but have beaten BU twice this year- anything can happen. 

In terms of what needs to change, it is a few things for me, all of which I already mentioned. The penalty kill has to improve, they need to be better at the end of periods, and they have to score more five on five goals (preferably from their bottom six forwards). BC has just two five on five goals in their past three games- that is not going to cut it. Ideally, you would like Benson to make a few more stops, but I thought he responded with a good game on Saturday after a rough outing on Friday.  

More importantly, I've gotten a few tweets and messages concerning the state of the program. I am not going to write much about the overall picture until after this season concludes, but I do want to note that this weekend doesn't change a single thing about my confidence about where BC hockey is going. This team is better than they were a season ago and quite honestly, they're right about where I thought they would be in terms of the national picture. In my preseason post, I predicted that they would end up somewhere between 25-30 in the pairwise rankings- right now they are 25th. This isn't me saying oh look at what I said- it's about having manageable expectations and forming your opinions around those standards. Have there been some problems? Absolutely, but mark my words- BC is going to be really good, really soon. If they are not, I'll be the first one to say I was wrong, but I think the fanbase should absolutely be excited about what is to come, despite how these past two years have gone. 

Onto UConn. See you Friday.