>
> I was wondering, who is BU's back-up now that Merkersie is off for a year?
> And how did Herlofsky look? Did he play? Is O Sullivan back and who else. If
> anyone has a BU roster and can post it, that would super...thanks
>
 
 
Well, let me start this off by saying how great this felt to be back in the
stands with everyone.  Even though we could have had mid-ice seats, we all
chose to sit where we sat last year.   I thought I missed hockey... I just
didn't know how much until last night.  :-)
 
 
Well, what did it look like?  I guess I'll use the bullet method to make it
simpler for myself and everyone else.
 
 
Goaltending for BU:  Shaky, shaky, and somewhat shaky.  BU used three
goaltenders, one per period, and each gave up two goals.  Herlofsky started and
gave up more rebounds than Brad Lohaus. :-)  Ferrullo played in the second and
made no real impression on me.  Noble then finished it out looking like a
talented individual who had freshman written across his chest in capital
letters.
 
BU in the first:  With New Brunswick playing their "different" brand of hockey,
not gooning with intent to injure, but used to boarding as "part of the game,"
BU came out of the box smooth.  BU's passing and control for the first 10
minutes looked like the second coming of the '92-'93 Maine team as BU racked
up 4 quick goals making all the right decisions and making every one of them
look like a high-light.  The argument at one point in the game was whether or
not Joubert's first one, a power play goal to the open side, was the prettiest
goal by BU in a few years... or Thornton's wrap-around from behind the net
while falling down.  One was great team passing, the other a great individual
effort.
 
 
BU in the second and third:  Now THIS was a team that had been practicing for
only two weeks.  BU either got tired, lost their ability to click, lost their
aggressive edge, or could not handle the continual 4-on-4 that was the story
the rest of the way.  As I said, I don't think NBU had anything against BU,
but I think they were/are not yet used to the US College game.  It did get
annoying, but I can understand.
 
After flying out to a 4-0 lead, BU was outscored the rest of the way, 6-3.
 
 
Physical v Finesse:  As Mike Machnik predicted, BU is a very different team
this year.  The four-year reign of Freidman and Pratt is over.  Even some of
the scrappy forwards like Jenkins and the just big ones like Pomichter are
gone.  BU is a team that, up front, will return to finesse instead of power
as their main weapon.  BU still has some general size and toughness, and came
out of the corners with the puck very effortlessly most of the night, but they
will not intimidate teams anymore.  The only two forward who played to hit were
Mike Grier and Matt Wright (4th line after 2 yrs on practice line).  Grier can
intimidate and Wright is a scrapper.  What was interesting was that, instead
of going after BU's big scorer (probably Joubert) it seemed as if NBU was going
after Grier, trying to get him off in an exchange, leaving NBU with a physical
advantage over the rest of BU.  It was interesting.
 
 
The defense:  All 7 defensemen played, and, as expected, O'Sullivan moved back
to the point on the power-play.  Although they sometimes looked like they had
only been practicing for 2 weeks, I was very impressed with the depth.  VERY
IMPRESSED.  Counting O'Sullivan since he was moved back for the PP, the
difference between BU's 1st pair and the 4th pair was minimal.  On defense, BU
could lose a starter to an injury and not miss him at all.  That is rare.
*side note* - Kaj Linna looked very good last night.  He looked smooth and
actually skated stronger than I have seen him in the past.  It *appears* he has
been working out or something.
 
 
Well, that was it.  It didn't mean much, but it was soooooo nice to be back.
 
 
*RUMOR* has it (rumor, rumor, rumor, rumor) that many of the BU alums in the
NHL (Lachance, Joe Sacco, etc) are going to be back for the alumni game next
week.  Many were on hand last night to watch the game, but I can not confirm
whether they will be playing at this time.
 
 
To be honest, if anyone out there not associated with BU is looking for a
good game, go to the UMass/Amherst v UMass/Lowell game... that would be my
pick of the week.  Lowell is heavily favored, but the hatred should make the
game really interesting.  (sort of Hockey East's "Kick-off Classic.")
 
 
See ya all at the rinks...
 
Tony  BU'92'93
Former Ogre