On this winter solstice, some thoughts on how the Black Bears and
Eagles are faring this season.
 
MAINE (9-6-0, 7-3-0 HE)
A couple of days ago, some of the Maine people were talking about what
"the problem with Maine" is.  I think Ryan hit the nail on the head
when he referred to the number of freshmen and the injuries to the
defense.
 
First, I considered Maine to be about the 4th best team in HE entering
this season because of their vast inexperience, and especially now
that Kariya is gone, I would have to say that is about where I would
rank them right now - 4th or 5th - particularly with the way BU, Lowell,
UNH, and Northeastern have been playing.  All of those four teams have a
huge advantage on Maine in experience.  Maine has been forced to go with an
extraordinarily large number of players who have played no or very little
college hockey - freshmen, redshirts, upperclassmen who played very
little in the last couple of years, etc.  Those players are still
learning and adjusting, and it will take time.  It is very rare that a
player like the Ferraros or Kariya comes in with the experience and
poise of an upperclassman.
 
Add to that the injuries on defense, which was already not very deep
to begin with, and the mistakes made by the younger players get
multiplied.  Also, someone (Pat Ellis, I think) mentioned size...that
tends to go along with inexperience, since most freshmen are still
growing and will gain in size and strength over the next couple of
years.  They will lose many of the little battles along the boards, at
center ice, in front of the net, etc. with a larger and veteran team
like Lowell.
 
So, it's really not that surprising to me that Maine has struggled
lately.  There's talent there, but there are also a lot of hurdles to
get over this season.  Yet, throwing all these young players into the
fire right now is bound to pay off at the end of the season or next
year, I believe.
 
Another question, I think, has to be leadership.  Who will step up to
fill Kariya's shoes?  This is especially important on such a young
team where the freshmen are constantly encountering situations they
haven't had to face before.  For example, the questions about "what's
wrong with the team" after a short losing streak.  These kids have
only been at Maine for a few months, but they step into a team where
the fans don't just root for them to win - they *expect* them to win.
And when the team struggles, its worst losing streak in several years,
suddenly the kids are asked "What's wrong?  Why aren't you winning?"  It
can be difficult, no doubt.  Someone suggested the team was resting on
its laurels - what laurels?  Most of these players have only been
Maine Black Bears for one semester.  They had nothing to do with what
happened last year or the years prior.  I don't doubt that they're
trying...but there is no substitute for the experience that only time
will bring.
 
I don't believe that Shawn Walsh wants to fall back into an atmosphere
where excuses are made for losing, especially after the tradition he
has built.  But with such a massive exodus of players from last year's
team, one of the better teams I have ever seen, it would be unfair to
place similar expectations upon this year's group of kids.
 
BOSTON COLLEGE (6-5-1, 2-4-1 HE)
The Eagles seemed to be a very interesting team from what I saw of
them against BU.  They've continued the trend towards size in recent
years (BC teams always were skilled but not big).  Also, a perfect
example of what I said about Maine can be found in BC.  Last year, the
Eagles were in the same position.  This year, experience finds them
making fewer mistakes, not being afraid to take chances, crashing the
net, etc.  Taylor seems to be a better than adequate goalie; I'm not
sure whether I'd label him outstanding yet, but with him in net, I
think BC has a better chance to win than they have over the last
couple of years.
 
However, I think that what's preventing them from turning the corner
is that they still do not have the talent up front.  I love the way
some of their more physical players like McHale bang around and make
things happen in the offensive end, but their forwards as a group just
cannot match up with BU, Lowell, UNH, Maine, and probably even
Northeastern.  Taylor may keep them in a position to win many games,
but where they go from there is a question mark.  Yet if you consider
this to be just the second year of Steve Cedorchuk's rebuilding process,
there's no question that they are a better team than the one that went
9-24-5 last season (already 6-5-1).  I'll just add that IMO, a return
by BC to the glory years they enjoyed in the 1980s and early 90s would
benefit not only the school but also HE in general.
---                                                                 ---
Mike Machnik                                          [log in to unmask]
Cabletron Systems, Inc.                                  *HMM* 11/13/93
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