More details forthcoming, but Team Canada beat BC 7-4 at the Conte Forum
Friday night 10/18 before over 4000 fans.
 
BC was outshot 35-15.  Canada iced only 15 skaters in addition to goalies
Kidd and Burke, and the Canadians looked both tired and uncoordinated at
times; this was their third game in 4 nights.  Trevor Kidd wasn't tested
very much in the Canadian net and wasn't at his best, allowing 4 goals on
those 15 shots.  The best players for Canada were defensemen Dan Ratushny
(Cornell) and Jason Woolley (MSU).  Joe Juneau (RPI) added two assists on
the two third-period Canadian goals that put the game out of reach.
 
BC looked very weak and had no right being in this game.  The Eagles skated
10 freshmen.  The entire 3rd and 4th lines were freshmen, as well as Jim
Krayer who played on the first line with David Franzosa and Jack Callahan.
Only Franzosa and 2nd line center Marc Beran are proven returning goal
scorers.  They hung in the game on pure heart alone.
 
As if BC wasn't already hurting, it was announced today that the one player
who could be their savior this year, goalie Scott LaGrand, has been
suspended indefinitely pending the outcome of an NCAA investigation.
According to a BC press release, LaGrand allegedly broke an unidentified
NCAA regulation and this was reported by the school to the NCAA.  BC expects
the matter to be resolved one way or the other within 10-14 days.  That's
all that has been released publicly right now (and all I know).  The Eagles
dressed two freshmen in net, Josh Singewald and Mike Sparrow, both of whom
played.  Both were floppers.  I was thinking before this that BC might be
looking at a repeat of 1987-88 when they last finished under .500; now, if
they should end up losing LaGrand for an extended period of time or
permanently, they may be hard-pressed to rack up ten wins if the freshmen
don't develop quickly.  Tonight, BC looked like a collection of players
thrown together; I don't expect it to take them fewer than 10 games to get
their act together.
 
Also, I learned that BC's top recruit, Jim Campbell out of Northwood Prep,
opted to turn pro instead of going to college.  Another strike against the
Eagles as his scoring could really have been used.  This is reminiscent of
a couple of years ago when just before the semester began, BC lost another
top recruit to the NHL.  His name was Jeremy Roenick.
 
For my money, the best player on the ice for BC was fourth-line winger Rob
Canavan, who was hitting everything out there - uncharacteristic for BC,
but this may be something they will need since they're not going to score
many goals this year.  The BC faithful are definitely not too optimistic
right now.  I will be surprised if they stay within 6 goals of Team USA on
Sunday.  BTW, that game is reportedly a near-sellout with all the former
BC and Boston-area players slated to play.  Too bad I will have to miss it.
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Mike Machnik        [log in to unmask]       [log in to unmask]