Headlines: Will The Extra Week Off Help Or Hurt BC in the Frozen Four?
by Brian @ BCI on Mar 29, 2010 8:09 AM EDT
in Boston College Hockey
8 comments
Brian: With BC’s wild 9-7 win over Yale yesterday, the Eagles are headed back to the Frozen Four for the fourth time in the last five years. BC rides a ton of momentum heading into the National Semifinal on April 8, having won 7 straight and going 10-0-1 in their last 11 games.
The only problem is that the Eagles next game is nearly 11 days away.
BC could certainly use the rest as they were a bit banged up this weekend. Freshman defenseman Patrick Wey missed both games out with mono, while Paul Carey missed the Yale game due to illness. Defenseman Patch Alber filled in on offense for Carey, playing on the fourth line.
The Eagles could also use the time to figure out their goaltending situation. While Muse remains a perfect 6-0 in the NCAAs, he has let up more than his fair share of goals the last few games, and a capable Parker Milner waits in the wings. While the extra time off will allow the Eagles to get healthy and for York to game plan for Miami, it could also kill any momentum BC takes into the Frozen Four.
So with an extra week off, do you think this will help or hurt the Eagles chances in Detroit?
Jeff: I don't know. BC did just give up 7 goals yesterday. I would lean towards they need time to regroup. Yale is clearly a very good team but 7 goals is still a ton to be giving up, especially at this point in the season. I thought the Hockey East finals were just a kinda crazy fluke when it took 7 goals to win, but yesterday we gave up 7. I don't think BC can count on winning these shootouts they keep getting themselves into when a national title is on the line. Hopefully an extra week of rest and practice will do them well.
Brian: The other unique feature of this year’s Frozen Four is its location - Ford Field in Detroit. Due to the challenges of fitting an ice rink in a football field, Ford Field’s unique seating configuration may prove to be a strange experience for some players. Depending on the number of fans who show up for the National Semifinals, Ford Field may take on a bit of a strange, cavernous feel. This might be something players may not be used to, particularly the RIT Tigers, who play their home games in 2,100 seat Frank Ritter Memorial.
Also, and coincidently, two of the four Frozen Four teams have already played in a similar setting this season. Wisconsin faced Michigan this year in an outdoor game in 80,000 seat Camp Randall Stadium, while Boston College faced BU in front of a sold out crowd of 38,472 at Fenway Park. Will this year’s Frozen Four setting "change the game," so to speak, and does having experience playing in abnormally large hockey arenas play into BC and Wisconsin’s favor next week?
Jeff: I think the fact that BC has played at Fenway Park suddenly is a huge plus. Wisconsin also has the advantage of having played a hockey game in a football stadium this season. I think both teams will at least have a small edge on RIT and Miami (Ohio) heading into the Frozen Four. Since you actually attended both the Frozen Fenway event and the Camp Randall Hockey Classic, don't you agree that it will help the teams to have had that experience?
Brian: I do. Several of the players and coaches including BU's Jack Parker were concerned about depth perception issues while playing at Fenway Park. While most rinks are different (e.g. NHL rinks have a smaller space behind the net), the fact that there are no fans on the other side of the boards is very unique in arenas like Fenway Park, Camp Randall and now Ford Field. It can only help the Eagles having experience playing in a setting like that this season, especially now that Michigan was bounced from the tournament. Attendance should be fairly light.
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I do think BC and Wisconsin will have an advantage,
due to their playing outside earlier this year, only this time it will be a bit warmer. I would be more concerned with the quality of the ice, since Ford Field is not a hockey venue with the right equipment to handle ice. I am pretty sure the NCAA has that under control, but its one thing to manage ice when its 20 degrees and snowing and quite another when you are doing it indoors.
As to the time off, I think it will help AND hurt. (Playing both sides of the fence here) It will give Jerry some time to evaluate whether Muse or Milner is the guy to go to on such a big stage. To add to the depth perception thing, Muse played at Fenway, so he would have a bit more experience on that level. I think the thing that keeps getting us into trouble in these big games is a lack of experience on the blue line. These young D men seem to fall apart, or even get a bit complacent once they have a lead. There were a lot of turnovers committed by the frosh defensemen in our own zone. The time off could possibly fix that, but it could not. We’ll see.
Yes, they gave up 7 goals..
..but I don’t think they would have given up that many if they weren’t already up 9-4. I would like to think that they got a bit overconfident and maybe some of those late goals wouldn’t have happened if they were trying to hold on to a 1 or 2 goal lead. They got complacent and paid the price for it. I’m not trying to take anything away from Yale for making the last half of the period a nail-biting experience for me, but I would like to think (and hope) that Muse and their defense isn’t in THAT much trouble.
And they really should have pulled Muse after the 5th or 6th goals.
Are they giving up a ton of goals?
Yes. How many of the 7 Yale goals were on the power play? 3. Maine had 6 goals last week, they scored 3 PPG.I guess the penalty kill needs to be better, or they just have to stop committing penalties. The defense is young and fairly inexperienced. For them to have come this far shows they have great upside. Another excuse? Maine and Yale are two of the top five offenses in the nation. These guys score on everybody.
The defensive numbers during the regular season were far better, but you have to remember that BC played games against Merrimack, Providence, and Northeastern. Now you are playing the best of the best. The good news is BC has the #2 offense in the country, so they can hang with these high-scoring teams. The bad news? Miami, RIT, and Wisconsin are also top-ten offensive teams. So, I guess the goal parades will continue.
Thinking about this more ..
I think the bigger concern isn’t goaltending and is the defense.
Let’s not forget that this weekend we had to put a fourth-string freshman defender in the lineup as a forward on the fourth line (Patch Alber) with Paul Carey out. York also listed Malcolm Lyles as part of the third defensive pairing, but he didn’t get on the ice, so we cycled through with only five defenders. I’m sure fatigue was a factor, as it seemed like the BC defenders were just standing around and left the whole middle of the zone open on some of the Yale goals.
Typically with Paul Carey and Patrick Wey in the lineup, Lyles and Alber don’t play. Not to pile it on them but they are our weakest pair of defenders on the team, so hopefully both Carey and Wey get healthy and are ready to go against Miami.
BC Interruption, SBN's Boston College Eagles blog
I'm not sure Milner would be better
He gave up 5 in his last start vs. UMass, and 3 third period goals at UNH in the start before that. He’s also given up 5 to average-at-best teams in BU and SLU (one was an empty netter) this season as well. Not to mention giving him the start against Miami would be his first playing time in 4 weeks. I’m not sure Milner has really had a lot of big game experience, either. Only two of Milner’s 10 wins have come against TUCs (Maine in November and UMass Lowell in February), whereas Muse has wins against TUCs such as BU (twice), Maine (twice), Vermont (twice), and UNH, not to mention we all seem quick to forget how well he played against Alaska on Saturday and against Vermont last weekend.
We’ve also been committing a lot of stupid penalties against teams that are good on the power play, as well as making dumb mistakes while killing penalties against these teams, which doesn’t help a goalie at all.
Not sure how capable Milner is, but ...
I have learned not to question Jerry York in March and April. I’m confident he made the right call going with Muse in the NCAA Regionals.
BC Interruption, SBN's Boston College Eagles blog
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