I haven't seen anyone make any mention of the Hockey East Jamboree
[Two HE exhibition games to begin the season for the Hockey East], so
I thought I would give it a shot.
 
The games were:
 
      Boston College vs. Maine                            6pm
      Boston University vs. University of New Hampshire   8pm
 
and both took place at Walter Brown Arena  (BU's home ice).
 
For those who want the quick results (and don't feel like reading the
rest of my probably biased summary), the scores were:
 
      Game 1:  BC     2      [designated as home]
               Maine  1
 
      Game 2:  BU     5
               UNH    0
 
  Both games used the two 25-minute "periods" scheme, as was expected.
  [Ack, that ice looked horrible!]
 
For the following summaries keep in mind that I am a BU alumni, so it
might, just might show a bias in there somewhere. :-)
 
GAME ONE
 
In the first game, BC and Maine both looked prepared and ready to
play.  But, there was a bit of sluggishness on both sides, especially
from Maine in the first half.  On the whole, I would say that both
teams need to work on their defenses, since there were way too many
break aways.  The first goal at 1:35 in the first, as BC came out
all offense and scored quickly.  Unfortunately for BC, they got burned
before the goal was announced over the P.A. as Maine scored on a break
away.  The rest of the first period was mostly BC, but both teams were
a bit sluggish.  There was one five minute period (~18 minute mark)
when Maine was in control but that didn't result in anything.  The
last five minutes of the first half (ack) was the slowest part of the
game, probably due to the ice.
 
I forget exactly when BC scored their second goal, but I think it was
about the 10 minute mark of the game.  [Think it was a powerplay goal]
{Couldn't find any box scores to remind me :-)}
 
The remainder of the game was a see-saw match with the occassional
penalty and the more than occasional fight.  Most of the game
consisted of dump-and-rush tactics, and I guess a good summary would
be that both teams looked pretty good, but they are not yet up to
their potential.
 
GAME TWO
 
Well, where the first game was pretty sluggish, the second game was
anything but.  BU came right out of the gates and scored in less than
forty seconds.  They peppered the net with about three shots before
one finally got through.  This would be the basic tempo through most
of the game, as BU was in control through almost all of the game.
The first "period" ended with BU on top 3 to nothing.  There were a
number of chances for UNH, but BU cleared quickly after the initial
shot.
 
The BU offense was definitely ready to play this season opener, as
they controlled almost the entire game.  The UNH team played very well
though and got more than a few chances to score.  But, BU allowed
almost no rebounds throughout the gamme.  The one really good chance
for UNH came in the second period when Scott Cashman ended up
sprawling on his back, yet somehow came up with the stop on a rebound.
[I still have no idea how he stopped it, all the UNH players had
already started cheering, thinking it was in]
 
Overall, BU looked very strong on both offense and defense.  They
survived more than a few penalties, as well as a good 45 seconds of
being two-men down.  On a number of UNH's powerplays, BU was the one
on offense, and they got one short-handed goal in the first half.
The only thing I am worried about is that the over agressiveness when
short-handed (and overall) may cost them against better teams.   Also,
their power play may need a little more emphasis as they only notched
one power play goal out of 4 or 5 chances.  I think UNH did a good job
of playing with BU over the course of the game, as the tempo was very
upbeat and they seemed to be a slower team on the whole.
 
The only obvious mistake BU made was they had a too many men on the
ice penalty with about 3 minutes to play.  Other than that, they
played as well as they were expected to.  The next game is going to be
the real test for them though, as they will be hosting Colgate, the
team which ousted them in the semi-finals last year.  If they handle
that game well, it should be a sign of good things to come.
 
adam bryant
Boston University
[The best part about last year was that it was a building year :-)]