Others have commented on this game earlier, so I'll just give some summary
notes, then some personal observations as a BC fan.
BC's Greg Taylor sets a HE record with 60 saves, losing "only" 5-1.
No goals are scored when teams are 5-on-5; 3 PPG, 1 SHG, 1 4X4, 1 3X3.
The teams set a HE record with 25 or 26 penalties in the second period,
with BC's Jerry Buckley and BU's Mike Grier getting game DQ's for "fighting"
at the 6:01 mark. They will miss their team's next games. BC's Peter
Masters also gets a misconduct; not sure what type or impact. Numerous
matching penalties. A penalty is announced on the BC bench and attributed
to a team manager; according to today's Boston Herald, the penalty was
actually given to the "studious-appearing assistant coach Barry Pederson".
Taylor made 22 saves in the first 12 minutes, a pace of 110 shots in a 60
minute game, so it is obvious that BU "relaxed" the rest of the game. :-)
WABU-TV stopped giving any penalty details in the second period, so I
can't give the specifics; suffice to say it was a slow, sloppy period.
You can't even say it was even and entertaining, just bad hockey. Jack
Parker was able to keep his team's focus, while Jerry York was trying very
hard to restrain the emotions on his team's bench.
Ken Rausch played defense for BU due to the absence of Shane Johnson. Joe
Harney played forward for BC in place of Brian Callahan, his first stint
ever as a forward (he normally is a defense regular). His major achievement
of the night was to not get in the penalty box with everyone else. The
referees decided they needed to "crack down" on the high emotions of the
rivalry, evidently, because they were handing out penalties much more
severe than the play dictated. The ejections for fighting were for weak
punches thrown, with none landing, from a scuffle in front of the net.
IMO, this conflict would have resulted in at most matching minors in the
WCHA. In this game, though, it was worth 2 minute minors, 5 minute majors,
and game disqualifications.
The only goal that could be "blamed" on Taylor was the 2nd BU goal, a
sharp quick slap from Kaj Linna from the left circle that found the gap
between the legs and trickled through. Linna gave that one back, though,
when he had his stick picked up by David Hymovitz and allowed Hymovitz to
score a knuckler while 3-on-3.
As Mike M. noted earlier, there will be a Sports Illustrated feature on BU's
Mike Grier, scheduled for the swimsuit issue. Grier is a fan favorite, both
positively and negatively. I sit right above the visiting team's tunnel at
BC, and the kids gather around when BU goes on and off the ice; almost all
the kids focus exclusively on Grier and ignore the rest of the BU team. He
handles all the attention (both off and on the ice) with a great deal of
composure normally, though he got a little angry during the tiff with
Buckley in this game. As most Hockey-L'ers know, Mike is BIG, (and also
African-American) which makes him easy to identify, and he is known for
some crushing checks on the boards, which gets fans going on both teams.
He has improved his skills greatly this year as well, and his stats show
the productivity he brings to the team. Another reason to enjoy watching
a BU game.
Jack Parker is a great coach, and has a very good team. His team has played
right about at the level you would expect. Jerry York is a good coach (from
his history), and has a mediocre team. His team has played below the level
you would expect. This is York's first year with BC, and it takes a team
time to adjust to a new system. In addition, he has players recruited by
others, and had to deal with a late start and some internal organizational
problems. Given all that, it probably shouldn't surprise that BC has played
the way they have. From what I can tell, though, the fans are starting to
get a little restless. One would expect that the team would start to play
better in the 2nd half of the season as they learn to work together. To
date, that improvement has not been evident. Certainly it is not evident
on the defensive side, where Taylor has been left hanging with little help.
Tom Ashe has played well, frosh Ken Hemenway has been relatively steady,
and soph Brad Carlson had his best game ever (IMO) last night at BU. The
rest of the team can best be described defensively as "inconsistent". Well,
maybe that isn't the best description; the best description is "slow".
BC's offense has moments of success, but limited to the top two lines. Ryan
Haggerty and David Hymovitz are solid scorers, and frosh Jamie O'Leary looks
like he will be a star. Don Chase is a sharpshooter, but has only recently
started to play as he can; he seems to be a 2nd-half player. Senior Rob
Canavan has worked his way back up from the 4th line to the top line, and
has played better recently. The rest? Well, they try ... Limited puck-
handling skills, poor passing, lack of confidence, lack of leadership, and
at times simply abominable checking ability. For those BC fans used to
success, and remembering past teams, this year has been one of the more
disappointing. Talent-wise, I think this team should be around 6th in
HE; in actual fact, they should end up in 8th if things go the way they are.
Mike M.'s comments on BC taking penalties are right on target. This is a
team that plays reasonably well 5-on-5, and has one of the better goalies
in Greg Taylor. They should play smart, take few penalties, and let Taylor
clean up the few mistakes they make. Instead they play stupid, take silly
penalties, and give up 3 or 4 unmolested breakaways a game. This is where
the fans expect the team leaders and coaches to make a difference. We
will see how things go the rest of the season. The remaining schedule for
BC is not favorable: 3 home, 6 away, and the 2 final Boston Garden Beanpot
games. Sorry if I don't sound optimistic, but this was not a competitive
weekend for the Eagles, even considering the talent of BU.
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Rick McAdoo [log in to unmask]
BC will return (please?)! GO EAGLES!
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