Merrimack and Brief Offseason Thoughts

Well, that was one of the most heartbreaking losses I can remember. A Mick Messner goal gave Merrimack a 1-0 win in double overtime, ending the first season of the Greg Brown era. First of all, that Merrimack team is good. They do not give you a ton of space on the ice and have a few players who can create offensively, not to mention a great goaltender. I wouldn't be surprised if they won a game or two in the NCAA's. 

As for BC, they should be proud of the way they competed all night. As the game went on, I thought they kept generating more and more chances, but a bit of a weak goal at the end burned them. Now, Mitch Benson played perhaps his strongest game of the season- he made three or four unbelievable saves to keep the Warriors off the board for such an extended period of time, but yes, that last goal was a backbreaker. 

I thought the first period was probably BC's worst of the night- it seemed like Merrimack either whiffed or missed the net on a few golden opportunities and when they connected, Benson was there to make the stops. Each team had a power-play in the opening stanza, but neither one could put a number on the board. BC's penalty-kill was exceptional tonight- they limited Merrimack's grade A chances and got some high-end goaltending from Benson when they did give up those opportunities. Unfortunately, BC's power-play did not garner much on the other end of the ice- they had three power-plays in this game, none of which they were able to capitalize on. BC did have one or two golden opportunities- the best being an Oskar Jellvik one-timer in the second period, but Merrimack goalie Hugo Ollas made that save and 35 others to keep the Eagles at bay. While BC had a successful night at the dot, winning 41 face-offs to Merrimack's 35, they lost a couple in the offensive zone during their power-plays that forced them to regroup in the neutral zone, which they had a bit of a hard time with. 

To me, the best part of BC's game tonight was how well they played in their own end. From midway through the third period on, they rolled with 5 defenseman- Gustafsson, Leddy, Hreschuk, Powell, and Warren. Even on the Merrimack winning goal, BC covered it relatively well, they just couldn't get a stop when they needed it. Merrimack was tough on the walls and in the corners, but I thought BC's young defensive core held its own and won more than its share of puck battles to initiate smooth breakouts up the ice. Furthermore, there were not many turnovers in the neutral zone, something that has been an issue for them throughout the year.

Up front, obviously, their top line was great, but the other three lines did not generate enough offense to really pose a threat. In the overtime, BC's third line of O'Neill-Burke-Argentina had a makeshift 3 on 1, but O'Neill fired the puck over the net. The other big time chance for BC came when Cutter Gauthier hit the pipe in the first overtime after skating in from the blue line basically uncovered. It was one of three post BC hit last night. Once the ten minute mark of the third period hit, BC went to just three lines for the rest of the game, outside of two overtime shifts for the fourth line. In their one (short) shift in the second OT period, the fourth line actually had a bit of zone time, but they did not see the ice for the rest of the game. 

As I said earlier, I thought Benson played an outstanding game, sans the goal. Sure, that was one we will all probably be thinking about for some time, but he made some key stops for BC throughout the game. To be honest, it may have been his best game since the Providence series in December. 

Anyways, we are on to what will be a pivotal offseason for this program. My underlying thought on year one of the Greg Brown era was they ended up at basically where I thought they would before the season. They'll finish the year somewhere between 25-30 in the pairwise rankings, which is right in line with what we had them slated for in October. Now, I thought they were a much more consistent team this year than they were a season ago, but in too many big games they faltered late and were unable to come out with wins. To me, the Vermont series was the turning point of the season- you need to get a clean sweep there, especially with how they had been playing coming into that series. After that second Vermont game, it was a bit of an uphill battle for them. 

As for the future, I'll have a more comprehensive post at some point (hopefully) but I think it is worth making a few points here. First of all, as you probably know by reading this blog, I am extremely excited about what is coming for this program. They have one of the best recruiting classes in program history coming in next year and another very good class on top of that in 2024. Their key going forward is ensuring that they stack classes on top of each other so that when players inevitably leave for the NHL, they have the requisite replacements ready to fill the empty coffers. 

Obviously, it is too early for us to fully assess where this team will stand next season because trust me, the roster will look different than it stands today. As of now, they're slated to lose just one regular defenseman (Marshall Warren), but they're going to be adding at least two and probably three guys that will be part of their starting defensive core next fall. I do not think Eamon Powell will sign with Tampa this offseason. I would be shocked if they did not add a defenseman through the transfer portal- they're already in on Brown defenseman Luke Krys, but I don't think he will end up at BC. 

Up front, things are a bit murky at this moment. The good news is that they have maybe the best line in the history of the National Development Program coming to BC next year, along with a third liner on that team in Will Vote who has also had a strong season in his own right. It is not a stretch to say that the forward group BC has coming in next year is one of the best in modern day college hockey history. 

In goal, they will be more than fine. They have two kids coming in- Jacob Fowler (a highly touted prospect) and Jan Korec, who will compete for the starting spot next October. They won't be going to the portal again. 

I know what you're all wondering. Who is leaving early? Is Cutter staying? Let me preface these comments by saying this is purely from what I've heard- NOTHING has been finalized for any of BC's NHL draftees- the season ended 12 hours ago. To be frank, things can change so quickly in this process that it is almost unfair for me to speculate as to what I think will happen, but here is how I picture things going down. One, I think BC will have at least one of their junior forwards sign. Nikita Nesterenko was traded to Anaheim last week and I would be surprised if he does not sign there in the coming days. The Bruins obviously do not need help on their NHL roster right now, but their prospect system is one of the thinnest in the league- I think Kuntar could sign with them soon. As I already said, I think Eamon Powell will come back and I honestly have no idea what the deal is with Colby Ambrosio.  

Lastly, I think it is a true toss up as to whether or not Cutter Gauthier stays. From what I have heard, the odds very, very slightly favor him returning, but with everything going on in Philadelphia, it could take some time to sort that out. Whether he leaves or not, we should be appreciate that this kid came to BC, even if for a year, because he is a special talent who has gotten exponentially better since his first game in October. 

Alright, that is all I got. I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for following along this year. While I will likely have to cut down on the posts next fall given real world considerations, I will continue running the Twitter handle throughout the offseason and into next year. Yes, the past two years haven't been what anyone desires, but I am confident that the sun will rise for this program awfully soon.

Happy golf season. Go Eagles.