At 09:03 PM 10/13/96 -0400, you wrote:
>Arthur Berman said that there were flashes of brilliance.  That's true, but I
>was more struck by two teams (particularly Minnesota) that needed to be put
>back in the oven for another couple weeks before they are really ready.
 
Very true.  I was at the game and I could tell that Minnesota had little
composure.  Many passes in the first period went for icing, and others were
flicked against the board to noone.  The first period was lacking one thing:
COMPOSURE.  Definitely Minnesota looked like they needed some more time to
get used to the new lines with all the freshman suited up.  They spotted BU
the early lead, but showed mid-season form in the late first and mid second
periods. It seemed that once the game was tied 3-3, Boston turned it up and
played evenly with Minnesota until the last 7 minutes of the third period,
at which point BU scored the game winner.
 
 
>
>The first ten minutes were particularly sloppy.  Both teams had good scoring
>opportunities brought about by defensive lapses.  Early on, Mike Crowley had
>a good chance and missed the net by several feet.  BU's first goal came on a
>4-on-4, a situation on which the Gophers looked particularly clueless all
>night.
 
 
I don't know about all night, but keep in mind Minnesota's defensive
pairings were juggled and new from last year.  Crowley's linemate, freshman
Ben Clymer, was very impressive and showed like he had been in college
hockey before (of course, playing in the World Junior's probably helped with
that).  The only d-pairing left alone was Lafleur/Godbout.  They had
experience.  But, the third UM pairing was freshman Mike Lyons (Mike?), and
someone else.  Another freshman steps in.  They should be fine, but what a
schedule to start with, now CC next week!!
 
 
>By January or February, I think they'll be very, very good; their time won't
>really come until next year, though.
 
Yes, the rating may be high.  The composure factor does play in though.
Once again, Minnesota has a load of talent, but needs time to find a way to
*play* together and find the strengths.
 
>Highly touted Dave Spehar was the least impressive of the six freshmen.  Part
>of that stems from the decision to put him on a line with two grinders (Dans
>Woog and Hedrickson).  I suspect that a message was being sent and I don't
>expect that Spee will be unshuffled for too long.  It did look as if he was
>working under instructions to play defense first, as he never turned his
>offense loose (except on the power play, which didn't click at all).  No real
>clues were available as to how effective he's going to be.
 
Again... it was his first game.  I don't think he played well, but he showed
quickness and had some nifty little moves.  The only thing I didn't
understand was why he took a slapshot on Noble, (in attempt to 5-hole),
while on a breakaway??
 
 
>The biggest surprise was Erik Day.  I thought Woog was signalling that this
>really was a preseason game when he switched goalies before the third period.
 
Yeah, I totally agree.  At first I was upset, and I thought DeBus was hurt
or something, but then I thought putting a freshman in shows confidence and
a willing to gain experience for the goalie.  I liked the move by coach Woog.
 
> All I can say now is that Steve DeBus better watch out or he's going to find
>himself in another goalie rotation.  I was at the other end of the rink, but
>Day made a number of fine saves.
 
I was at the same spot.  Day had many fine saves on close range attacks.
 
 
Overall impression:  I think Minnesota will need some time to find
strengths.  They looked sloppy and all over the place in the first, and then
settled down, much like how they will do the rest of the year.  I was also
impressed by BU.  I was really scared Drury and Bates were going to have
monster games on the freshman defenders.  Although Drury had 2 goals, he was
ridden off the puck nicely a few times.  Bottom line, both teams were in
their first games and the experience of the BU players showed.  The freshman
of Minnesota showed flashes of brilliance, but they will still need time.
 
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