At 8:53 PM 11/10/95, Arthur Berman wrote [on INFO-HOCKEY-L]:
>UNH 6 BU 5 in overtime.  The difference in this game was a soft goal
>given up early by Tom Noble when he inexplicably stared at a slow moving
>puck until UNH put it in.
 
I thought this had more to do with two other things besides Noble: 1) a
great effort by UNH's Mark Mowers (don't ever give up), and 2) the BU
defenseman's inability to take the man - after Mowers missed, he seemed to
give up.
 
I know some people didn't see the game...what happened was that Mowers went
1x1 with a BU D and tried a backhander but whiffed.  He was still able to
get off another backhander, and he didn't miss the second time.  This goal
put UNH up 1-0 and was the first goal scored in the new rink.
 
Either way...I did not see this goal as the difference, especially since it
came so early in the game.  The game was evenly played, but when BU tied it
5-5 in the third and began pressing, I felt sure they would get the winner
in regulation.  A key was the sequence where UNH could not clear the zone
and had a tired unit out there, but BU missed on a few good chances and UNH
finally got a change.
 
Then in OT, on an attempted clear by BU, the puck came right to the point
instead and was sent to the front of the net, where Tom Nolan was waiting
and put it past Noble for the win.  BU's defensive play was not as good as
it had to be tonight to win.  But, it was a nice goal to get for a guy
(Nolan) who was looking forward to a big sophomore year last season but was
sidelined after just 4 games with five points (3-2--5).
 
The number one thought I took from this game was that Mowers is a true
stud.  No doubt about it.  I had heard about what a great start he was off
to, but tonight proved to me that he has taken his game to another level
and now deserves to be considered among the top forwards in the country.
If he had buried that breakaway (shot it over the net) to complete his hat
trick and cement the win, he would have quickly become part of Whittemore
Rink lore.
 
As it was, he still dominated when he touched the puck and has that rare
quality of being so good that other players sometimes stand around and
watch him.
 
You need no other proof that UNH has established itself as a contender than
the fact that they have gone to OT three straight times against Maine and
BU, and they have come away with two ties and a win.  I thought UNH's
goaltending was decent but not outstanding (Cavicchi did make some great
saves) and their defense was not superb, but they still refused to lose as
in Maine.
 
>Otherwise this was a fast paced yet occasionally hard hitting game by two
>good teams played on the 200x100 surface at the new UNH rink.  I love
>the effect the large ice surface had on the game (which NESN's Bob Norton
>also commented upon).
 
I agree.  This was the first time that two HE teams of the caliber of these
two have met on an Olympic-sized surface, and it was a great game to watch.
And HE now has three Olympic-sized rinks (or close - NU) with more to
come.
 
>This was a game of momentum swings.  There were times when I thought BU
>had the game in hand, but UNH could have won the game late in the third
>when they took the momentum, and they had a couple of OT chances before
>they scored.  The rematch tomorrow in Boston promises more good hockey.
 
And WABU-68 has the game, for those who can pick it up.  It will be
interesting to see how BU responds in front of the home fans, and it will
be a big test for UNH to carry over the momentum to Walter Brown.
 
---                                                                   ---
Mike Machnik                   [log in to unmask]            *HMM* 11/13/93
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