I thought this was a well played game on both sides and I was pleased with
BU's first home performance in spite of the final score.
 
With the loss of so much scoring from last year's squad to graduation and
the NHL, goals are a major concern among BU faithful.  Despite only
tallying 2 goals on the night, the Terriers did create opportunities.
I believe they had 35+ shots.  While many were routine stops
for a goalie such as Tim Thomas, BU did create a number of high percentage
chances.  More importantly, these chances came from working the corners and
charging the net.  BU won't score on transition the way they did last
year.  Goals must come from forechecking and rebounds.  Those were both
present tonight.  BU was able to maintain possession in the UVm zone
several times and there were numerous flurries in front of Thomas.
Vermont's D did an excellent job of making sure BU didn't get many clear
shots at those rebounds, but some were there.
 
What BU will struggle with is finishing.  Shawn Bates and Chris Drury are
the only proven scorers and there are only 3 senior forwards on the team
(Bates, Matt Wright, and Captain Bill Pierce)  From what I saw tonight, I
believe the finishing will come with time.  The pucks that hopped over
sticks tonight will find wood in February and March.  Second shots that hit
legs in front or whistled wide will find the net.  As long as the
pressure keeps up, the goals will come.
 
The D also looks promising.  Jeff Kealty was much more physical tonight
than in his previous two years.  Dan Ronan also appeared more effective than
last year.  Freshman Tom Poti will be a good one.  There were occassional
lapses and UVm made BU pay for them, as good teams will.  There were a couple
of times that BU tried to break out of the zone with passes after
the Catamounts had applied some pressure, instead of dumping the puck
out.  You cannot make cute passes inside the blue line with the likes of
St Louis and Perrin out there.  Turnovers lead to goals.  At least
two of them did tonight.  Overall, a fairly good performance for the D.
 
I have one comment about officiating.  It's not with this game in
particular, but an overall trend of which this game was indicative.
Preferential  treatment is a big problem at the pro level in all sports,
but I had hoped it would stay out of the college game.  The Jordans and
Messiers of the world can get away with things that lesser known players
cannot.  In the 2nd period tonight, things got pretty chippy.  There were
multiple scuffles.  The largest one came midway through the period to the
right of BU goalie Tom Noble.  Many players were involved, so it is hard
to say exactly who started what.  It was clear that many more players
were involved than those who got penalties.   I do not think it was a
coincidence that two of the primary participants who got off without
penalties were stars such as BU's Chris Drury and UVm's Martin St.
Louis.  Drury charged at one player and had to be pulled out of the fray.
St. Louis threw an OBVIOUS punch.  Many of us thought St. Louis could
have gotten a fighting call, but certainly should have gotten at least
2. Likewise, Drury probably should have sat for 2 (he threw no punches that I
could see, so no real chance for 5).
 
The question I pose is:
Are officials more hesitant to toss a player who is
considered a Hobey contender? especially this early in the season?
This is not a major problem in college hockey, if you drop the gloves you
will go, but players do seem to develop reputation.
 
I'll use former BU forward Mike Grier as an example only because I've
seen him play, and sit in the box, so often.  Grier seemed to be
penalized for hits that others got away with.  Were they illegal, often
yes.  But it seemed that his checks were called more closely once he
developed his reputation as a big hitter.  Every team has an example of
a player like this, so it is not unique to BU.  Can human referees be
expected to look beyond this, probably not.  If you've seen a player
commit a particular offense several times, it's in your mind and you are
more likely to notice it if it happens again.  Where I think this becomes
a problem is when the "stars" start to get away with things.  Was tonight
an example of preference or simply of officials who were too busy trying to
restore order to notice everything? In all liklihood, it was the latter.
I just don't want to see college hockey turn into a sport like the NBA
where Patrick Ewing can travel because he's Patrick Ewing.
 
Does anyone else see this happening?  Do others see a potential problem
here?  Or am I just overreacting to one or two blown calls?
 
 
I would like to hear what others think of this.  Please note that I am
only on the Info list, so you will need to respond directly to me if you
care to discuss this.
 
 
On a lighter note, I had a chance to speak with Eric Perrin's father
after the game.  He is a very pleasant gentleman.  He said his son and
Mr. St. Louis will both be free agents upon graduation.  No one bothered
to draft them!  Mr. Perrin said they'd be in the NHL now if not for their
size, and I find it hard to disagree.  He mentioned that the Bruins had
expressed interest, but they'll see what happens after the season.
I'm not a B's fan, but I'd love the chance to see them play on TV all the
time. They certainly are exciting to watch.  I wished him luck and
said his son had a long career ahead of him.  He was politely thankful
and said he looked forward to seeing me in Milwaukee, when these two
teams could meet again.  I realize it is still early, but the level of
play tonight indicates that both of these teams have the potential to be
there.  It would certainly be a terrific game and one I would look
forward to watching.
 
Here's hoping, for both our teams.
 
The off-season's too long.  I'm glad hockey is back.
 
Awaiting all of your learned comments...
 
 
Greg Weintraub
BU '97
 
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