Thanks Deron for breaking the silence.

I was also happy to see what I saw out of Maine today.
I was also happy to see Nonni on TV during the post game interviews, smiling and looking cheerful!

Ok so, on to Maine hockey.  One thing I noticed was that Nyquist is very noticeable ESPECIALLY when he does not have the puck.  I think that one of the things that makes a GREAT hockey player is that he is always doing the right thing when he does not have the puck.  I cannot count how many times the puck seemed to bounce onto his stick, just like the puck used to bounce onto Gretzky's ...I think it was Gretzky who said there is no such thing as puck luck, you make your own luck.  Well, Nyquist is clearly a kid who makes his own luck.
Tim has clearly shaken up his coaching style quite a bit.  This team went from "we have no room for a guy who plays with Bellamy's intensity" to a team where almost everyone is hitting everything in sight.  This is the old Shawn style and the style that Tim coached in 2002.  (Watch the Piotrowski game, and you will see what I am talking about).
Kerluke said a mouthful during an intermission when he said that a key to the game was to keep BC out of the penalty box because Maine is better even strength than on the Power Play.  I think it was a misstatement, but he was right.  I noticed that for the first time in about 4 years, Maine had players crashing the net at every opportunity even strength, and Maine had one or 2 players in front of Muse.  EXCEPT ON THE POWER PLAY where it was the futile 3 men behind the goal line play.  There was even a play where Van Dyke was standing behind the goal line for what seemed like 20 seconds, waiting for a pass from the other guy behind the net.  There was a room full of people on this list yelling at the TV over that one!!!

Darling seems to be the real deal.  He made 2 great saves when his team forced him to, and the rest of the time, he did a great job of controlling rebounds, playing his angles  and stopping shots.

Maine has a goalie!  It is so nice not to have the one guaranteed one weak one per game happening.

Other notes, I have seen Providence play this year at Lowell, and while Lowell is really a good team and I would bet, bound for the NCAA tourney (if they can straighten out their goalie problems.  one injury and one bad boy).  But, Providence is really awful!  I cannot believe that Tim Army has an awful team, but I saw NOTHING out of them in the one game that I saw.  Maine should have no problem sweeping this coming weekend, but they will have to continue scoring goals.

BC really misses Gerbe.  They had no forward who could play with his intensity.  Petrecki is a great player, and the most intense guy on the team, but his intensity, I fear, only translates into intimidating the opposition.  something a team can use, but it does not help a lot if nobody can score.  Prestin had Todd Jackson,  Colin Shields and Levs.

BC will be a totally different team come April, and hopefully Maine will improve as much as BC does.  



--- On Sun, 11/9/08, Deron Treadwell <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> From: Deron Treadwell <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Maine Upsets 
> Date: Sunday, November 9, 2008, 9:06 PM
> Got to watch Maine upset BC 2-1 this afternoon on TV.  Been
> awhile since I've been that excited about a game!!
> 
> Watched three games on TV and one live so far this year and
> just briefly I wanted to make some comments.
> 
> First and foremost this team is a pleasure to watch. 
> During the intermissions today both Tim Whitehead and Dan
> Kerluke talked about how easy these guys are to coach.  You
> can almost tell just by watching.  Last year's team,
> more than just the fact they did not produce wins, was tough
> at times to watch.  I don't know if it is because these
> guys are so young (and obviously have potential) or if it is
> because we experienced last year and losing and came into
> this season with no expectations.  Maybe it is all of the
> above, but I have enjoyed it so far.
> 
> I love the fact that this team can actually break the puck
> out of their zone. ;-)
> 
> Alfond and fans - the Niagara game I attended was well
> attended and the students showed up early and were active. 
> Crowd looked more amped today as you'd expect.  However,
> if these are true representations of what we are seeing, it
> heartens me to see that Maine fans have not abandoned their
> team just because they have had to (finally) rebuild.
> 
> Gustav Nyquist could be something special.  Don't know
> much about Brian Flynn, but the fact he is with Nyquist and
> Tanner House tells you something.  Oh, and the game winning
> goal today with under 2 minutes to play doesn't hurt
> either.
> 
> Ditto Scott Darling.  I like him a lot.  He's quiet and
> efficient.  That may stand out even more because we most
> recently saw Ben Bishop who was all over the place (St.
> Louis says hello!).
> 
> Chris Hahn - maybe we didn't really know this guy
> either with all the injuries last year, but in true Maine
> fashion he came to campus this year ready to play and seems
> to have stepped up his game.
> 
> Leadership - as you know before introductions the Maine
> team huddles around its net.  Before the second Niagara game
> that I went to I saw Denis-Pepin laughing and a big smile on
> his face as he talked to his team.  Jeff Marshall seems more
> of the quiet lead-by-example type.  In general, this team
> also does not seem to play tight, as today was an example
> of.  Maine actually played some of its best hockey right out
> of the gate in the first period against BC.  Again, very
> refreshing to see.
> 
> New Scoreboards - love them.
> 
> Random thoughts:  
> - Maine, while obviously not a national championship
> contender, really held its own against BC, which is very
> encouraging.  You aren't going to go on the road to BC
> and BU and UNH, etc. and get many points, so when you can
> steal them at home that is a real plus.
> - Love the more physical play, especially Lem Randall.
> - Maine does seem to have a team capable of playing its
> style - they are not flashy and filled with snipers, but
> they have some speed, have some power and can grind it out. 
> They are young and in some cases need to get stronger, but
> there is potential.
> - Games on TV in southern Maine, thank you.
> - Early in the year Maine blew a 1-0 lead to Northeastern
> late and lost 2-1.  Today they gave up a 1-0 lead early in
> the third, but held their own and got the win.  Maine is
> 4-3, but was not that far away from being 5-2.  Records
> aside, it was an early lesson for a young team that seemed
> to show today.
> - ESPNU broadcasters were very good today, for a couple
> guys I never heard of.
> - Will O'Neil - was he really as sought after as
> broadcasters suggested?
> - Where was Ryan Heagherty today?  I don't recall
> hearing his name, did he play or was he just invisible?
> 
> Ok, I've got save some material for later....
> 
> -Deron