Geoff Howell writes:
>David Blackburn noted that BU had enough depth to NOT dress
>an NHL first rounder - that would be Jeff Kealty, Quebec's first
>pick (22nd overall) last summer.
 
Kealty has not progressed as quickly as many people had hoped.  The
feeling I get from people who follow BU more closely than I do (and I
probably wound up seeing about half of their games or more this year)
is that Kealty had difficulty adjusting to college life and also in
dealing with the way his body is still growing.  That's not unusual.
What was nice to see was that he became much better at the end of the
season, including a superb showing in the HE quarterfinal against
Merrimack when Linna was a late scratch.  Parker had the luxury of
allowing Kealty to come along at his own pace this season because of
the depth on defense.  Even when he did play, he did not have to bear
the pressure.
 
Quebec drafted potential in making Kealty a first round pick.  In that
regard, their choice still doesn't look like a bad one.  Time will
tell, but in 2 or 3 years he could be a good one - especially since he
is sure to get much more ice time next season with Linna and Brennan
gone.  He could be next year's Jon Coleman.
 
>David also mentioned that Chris Drury was his pick as the outstanding
>player for BU during the two games. Not a bad thought, as he (and
>his linemates Matt Wright and Ken Rausch) played solid two-way
>hockey.
 
This was what I believed was a key to BU's success as the season went
along.  BU's top two lines had some of the best forwards in the
country, but the better defensive teams that they played often had
success in shutting them down for most or even all of a game.  When
that happened, BU won because their third and fourth lines were better
than the opponents' third and fourth lines - and the opponents' bottom
two lines could not contain them defensively.  Not many teams had
players of the caliber of Drury, Bates and Pandolfo (when he was
healthy) on those two lines.  Add in the play of hard workers Rausch
and Wright, and it was easy to see why often this collection of no-name
players was the one to come up with the big goals (Mariucci Classic,
Beanpot, HE final, etc.).
 
I don't think this BU team was their best ever - as Parker said, there
have been BU teams that were as good or better that did not win
championships.  But this was certainly their deepest team and perhaps
their most balanced team.
 
Another note...this was the second most offensively-prolific BU team
ever, behind only the 1990-91 team (McEachern, Sacco, Amonte, Tkachuk,
etc.).  But when people talk about the reasons why they won, a factor
at the top of everyone's list is defense.  That shows you just how
good they were.  They lived up to very high pre-season expectations.
 
I must also not forget to mention that Merrimack was both the only
team to beat BU at home this year and the team that had the lowest GAA
out of all HE teams against the Terriers this season. :-)  With all
the talk about BU and Maine next season, keep in mind that there are a
number of teams in HE that have a real shot to challenge for the top
spot or even just home ice.  October won't come soon enough...
---                                                                   ---
Mike Machnik                                            [log in to unmask]
Cabletron Systems, Inc.                                    *HMM* 11/13/93