20 Jan 95: Boston University vs New Hampshire at Portland
Goals Shots
BU 0 1 1 - 2 BU 9 9 20 - 38
UNH 2 1 1 - 4 UNH 17 18 4 - 39
Power Plays: BU - 0 for 2 0.000%
UNH - 0 for 1 0.000%
Penalties: BU - 3 for 6 minutes
UNH - 4 for 8 minutes
Saves: BU - Noble 15 17 3 - 35 of 39 0.897% 59:00
UNH - Cavicchi 9 8 19 - 36 of 38 0.947% 60:00
Game Summary:
1st Period
UNH - Byran Muir (Eric Nickulas, Mike Sullivan) 11:42
UNH - Eric Royal (Mike Mowers, Eric Flinton) 16:32
Penalties
BU - Chris Kelleher (2 min - roughing) 11:42
UNH - Eric Boguniecki (2 min - roughing) 11:42
BU - Bill Pierce (2 min - slashing) 17:27
BU - Jon Coleman (2 min - boarding) 20:00
UNH - Ted Russell (2 min - roughing) 20:00
2nd Period
BU - Mike Prendergast (Bob Lachance, Jacques Joubert) 5:07
UNH - Sullivan (Nickulas, Boguniecki) 19:39
No penalties
3rd Period
BU - Shawn Bates (Chris Drury, Jay Pandolfo) 5:28
UNH - Mike Sullivan (unassisted) 13:24
Penalties
UNH - Muir (2 min - interference) 13:43
UNH - Tim Murray (2 min - cross-checking) 13:50
Referees: Frank Cole, Jeff Bunyon
Linesman: John Jones
Attendance: not announced
Points
BU UNH
Mike Prendergast (1g) Mike Sullivan (2g, 1a)
Shawn Bates (1g) Eric Nickulas (2a)
Jacques Joubert (1a) Byran Muir (1g)
Bob Lachance (1a) Eric Royal (1g)
Chris Drury (1a) Mike Mowers (1a)
Jay Pandolfo (1a) Eric Flinton (1a)
Eric Boguniecki (1a)
BU Roster:
1 Shawn Ferullo, G; 2 Kaj Linna, D; 3 Chris O'Sullivan, W; 4 Chris Kelleher,
G; 5 Doug Wood, D; 8 Bill Pierce, W; 9 Shawn Bates, C; 11 Bob Lachance, W;
15 Mike Sylvia, W; 16 Ken Rausch, W; 17 Jay Pandolfo, W; 18 Chris Drury, F;
19 Steve Thornton, C; 20 Jeff Kealty, D; 21 Mike Prendergast, W; 22 Matt
Wright, W; 24 Jacques Joubert, C; 26 Jon Coleman, D; 27 Shane Johnson, D;
30 Tom Noble, G; 35 Derek Herlofsky, G
UNH Roster:
2 Kent Schmidtke, D; 3 Bryan Muir, D; 4 Tim Murray, D; 5 Eric Royal, F; 8
Mike Sullivan, F; 10 Mike Mowers, F; 11 Eric Nickulas, F; 12 Dean Woodman,
D; 15 Tom O'Brien, F; 17 Eric Flinton, F; 18 Brian Putnam, F; 19 Dylan
Dellezay, F; 21 Ted Russell, D; 24 Nick Poole, F; 26 Rob Gagnon, F; 27 Joe
Moran, F; 30 Trent Cavicchi, G; 31 Mike Heinke, G; 32 Todd Hall, D; 33 Eric
Boguniecki, F
All information is unofficial.
Game Review
There was a hockey game at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland,
Maine last night, but it took BU two periods to realize it. By then UNH had
a 3-1 lead and it turned out to be too late. I don't know what it was,
maybe the Terriers missed Mike Grier (sitting out his game DQ for fighting
last Saturday night), maybe it was the 7:30 start time, or that the Wildcats
have too many Erics on their team, or the poor ice condition, or that there
was almost no refereeing (something BU is very unused to this year), or even
just having to play another game in the
state of Maine. Whatever the reason, BU played poorly for two periods
and UNH played well for those two periods.
I do want to mention that I thought the ice condition at the Civic Center
was very poor. It was very slow and appeared to be soft and flaky. Maybe
the Pirates like the ice that way, but BU keeps the ice at Walter Brown
Arena hard and fast. The Wildcats, having already played two games at the
Civic Center, knew of the ice condition and adjusted their play accordingly.
The Terriers, on the other hand, tried to play like they were at BU and the
results were disastrous. Almost every BU pass was much slower than the
players expected and UNH was continuously able to pick them off and
counter-attack. The Terriers finally made adjustments for the ice condition
in the third, but they were unable to overcome the two goal deficit they faced.
The First Period: It was obvious on the very first shift that UNH had more
jump than BU, as the Wildcat's top line immediately put pressure on BU and
Noble had to make some good saves in the opening minute of play. It was a
sign of thing to come, as the top UNH line outplayed the Grier-less top BU
line all night. The other BU line played better against the other UNH
lines, but BU played very poor defense and the Wildcats took advantage to
control the flow of the game. The Wildcats first goal was a gift from the
referees, as Chris Kelleher and Eric Boguniecki got tangled up at the BU
blueline and starting scuffling. The refs ignored this as it continued for
some time and the Wildcats gained control of the puck. With Kelleher out of
the play UNH had a two-on-one on which they scored. After the goal, the
referees decided to call Kelleher and Boguniecki for roughing (I wonder what
they were doing before the goal, dancing?).
The Terriers continued to play poorly in their own end and center ice, as
the Wildcats continued to apply pressure on BU. Even when the Terriers
gained control of the puck they were unable to complete more than one pass
(and often not even one), as the slow ice allowed the Wildcats to play great
defense and breakup almost every BU rush in center ice. They usually
counter-attacked immediately, getting at least one, and often several, good
shots on net, as BU was off-balance and disorganized almost every time. UNH
got their second goal of the period on just such a counter-attack, as the
Terriers were unable to get back and play good defense in time.
With just 4 seconds left in the first period BU scored what appeared to be a
goal to the fans, the goal judge, who lit the goal lamp, and referee Frank
Cole, who signalled a goal. Unfortunately for BU, Jeff Bunyon, the other
referee, who was at the blueline, appeared to disagree that it was a goal.
After holding a summit, Frank Cole changed his mind and called no goal.
Jack Parker and BU argued long, loud and hard, but of course referees don't
change their minds, so it did no good. As time expired at the end of the
period Jon Coleman hit a Wildcat into the boards and a few Terriers and
Wildcats pushed and shoved in the corner. The referees called Coleman for
boarding and Ted Russell for roughing.
The Second Period: The second period started just like the first, with UNH
attacking, although BU played better and got some offense of their own
going. At 5:07 Mike Prendergast scored BU's first allowed goal on a nice
rush. Mike was trailing Jacques Joubert in the slot and as Jacques skated
past the net he passed the puck back to Mike who was in front of the net,
and he banged it home for the goal. Unfortunately, that was the only goal
of the period for BU. The Terriers almost tied it later when, on another
good rush, Chris O'Sullivan cleanly beat Cavicchi, but the puck hit the post
and deflected off to the the far side, away from any Terriers.
Despite these two good chances, BU continued to play poorly and never put
any continued pressure on UNH. UNH, on the other hand, continued to take
advantage of the ice condition and kept the pressure on the BU net for much
of the period. The Wildcats were unable to get the puck past Noble though,
who was exceptional in the first two periods, and kept the Terrier in the
game. Then, as the second period was winding down, the Wildcats got the puck
past Noble with 21 seconds left in the period to make it 3-1 for UNH.
The Third Period: After what appeared to be a backbreaking goal with 21
seconds left in the second period, BU came out in the third on fire.
Instead of the Wildcats immediately attacking the BU net, the Terriers
immediately attacked the UNH net. After 40 minutes of play BU finally
adjusted for the slow ice surface and put continued pressure on the Wildcat
net. It paid off at 5:28 as Shawn Bates scored to bring BU within one 3-2.
The Terriers continued to apply the pressure and it cost BU at the 12:28
mark as the Terriers were unable to keep the puck in the zone and, with no
one back, Mike Sullivan picked up the loose puck at the red line, skated in
all alone on Tom Noble, and blasted a shot from the top of the left face-off
circle past Noble into the net.
A minute 19 seconds later the referees woke up from their naps and called
Byran Muir for interference. On the ensuing powerplay, as BU started to
setup, Tim Murray stupidly and blatantly cross-checked a Terrier in front of
one of the referees seven seconds later, resulting in a 5-on-3 for BU for
1:53. With Grier missing, BU's powerplay is not the same, and although they
had several great chances, they did not score. Worst of all, Bob Lachance
got the puck at the side of the net and missed an open net as timed expired
on the second penalty. After killing the penalties, UNH went into a
defensive shell and kept BU from scoring again.
Observations: A key to the game was lack of referee participation. While
the game was one of the cleanest I can remember attending this year, the
referees let them play, and several penalties that could have been called
were let go. I believe this actually hurt BU, as most of their games have
been called very tightly this year. I also think the referees blew it by
not blowing the whistle before UNH's first goal and, of course, on the BU no
goal call. Still, BU lost because of several other factors, not the
non-refereeing.
I mentioned the condition of the ice several times, and I believe that it
was a key factor in the outcome of this game. UNH was aware of the ice
condition and adjusted their game accordingly, while BU took 40 minutes
before they adjusted their game accordingly. BU should have and could have
adjusted to the ice surface much sooner than they did. That they did not
not cost them in both giving up several goals and not having an offense for
most of the first two periods.
The Terriers also missed Mike Grier on their top line, as Chris Drury
replaced him. The Wildcats top line out-played, out-hustled, out-worked,
out-skated and out-scored the Terriers top-line during the game. It might
have been better for Jack Parker to have played Joubert's line against UNH's
top line for the game instead of the patched up line he used. Still, Mike
Grier will be back on Saturday night, but another, more important player
remains out. The Terriers miss Rich Brennan tremendously on defense and
they have played poorly since his injury at Providence.
Against the Wildcats the Terrier defense was out of position almost all
night long, with only Kaj Linna in position and back when UNH
counter-attacked. He was also the only Terrier defenseman who was not
running around chasing the puck in the BU zone all night long. With Rich
out, the Terriers are 3-2, with both losses due to poor defensive play by
the Terriers. Even in the victories, BU has played poor defense. BC never
should have gotten 4 goals last Friday night, but poor defensive play
allowed the Eagles to get those goals. The Terriers need Rich's skills and
leadership out on the ice and I hope he returns soon.
Sean Pickett
Go BU Terriers, 1994 Hockey East Champions!
BU Hockey Page: http://www.tiac.net/users/spickett/hockey.html
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