Losing 3-0 to BC at Conte is nothing to be ashamed of.
The fact of the matter is BC is capable of attaining that kind of result against any opponent in NCAA. And let’s not forget, regardless of the events of October 13th, BC is the defending champions of the universe and NU missed the Hockey East playoffs.
That doesn’t mean you shrug your shoulders and say “oh well.” Saturday was a harsh reminder of what kind of competition awaits Northeastern in Hockey East this season and how mistakes can cripple you.
And boy oh boy were there mistakes, lots of them. So many, in fact, that I’m inclined to believe Northeastern beat themselves.
Some of that is surely the inexperience many of the players on the team carried with them in their first road game. That facilitated a lot of indecision, and in turn, a lot of turnovers.
Whether it was holding onto the puck too long or an ill advised pass that found an Eagle stick in the NU zone, turnovers were far too prevalent for any team seeking victory. This is something that should be addressed before they go up to Durham.
Here’s some other things to work on:
– the power play
– limiting penalties (nice flop, Manno)
– breakouts
Unfortunately these are becoming ongoing trends for the season. It’d be nice if the coaching staff could nip them in the bud before they really start affecting the team.
Another item that should be addressed was the catching glove of Chris Rawlings. Now Rawlings wasn’t much of an issue generally speaking, but I can’t count how many times I saw pucks popping out of his glove. It didn’t cost him against BC, but it will in the future.
One more issue I had was with the play of the captains. The penalty kill, while not all Robbie Vrolyk’s responsibility, allowed two with a man advantage. Ludwig Karlsson was held pointless for the third straight game. And My Captain Vinny was given a 10 minute misconduct for arguing with refs. Now I admire Vinny’s fire, but it needs to come on the ice to have a real impact. These guys really need to step it up come UNH.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom though. Garrett Vermeersch was a threat all night, constantly a thorn in the BC defense and unlucky not to score. Cam Darcy, clearly motivated by the Boston atmosphere, was a buzz saw. And yet again, Josh Manson played another productive game, even if he was on the ice for the final two BC goals.
In the first three games, this team has had four great periods and five bad ones. We’ve got a real Jekyll and Hyde situation developing so let’s hope that aggressive, hungry version shows up to New Hampshire. It’s just too bad Stevie Morra won’t be there, he’s exactly the type of guy this team needs to be playing right now.
Three Stars:
1. Garrett Vermeersch
2. Cam Darcy
3. Josh Manson
One With The Underdog 