Wake Up Bitches, The Terriers Lost

Sorry To Ruin Your Morning....

As you probably already know by this point, the UMass Minutemen downed the Terriers at the Mullins Center last night in Amherst, 3-2.  The loss is their first road loss since last November when they lost to, you guessed it, the Minutemen.

Being stuck at work, I was not blessed with the opportunity to go watch BU lay an egg in the season opener.  This is fortunate, as the Google Search "Things to Do in Amherst, MA" reveals that the top three tourist destinations are The Jones Library, The Old First Baptist Church, and Puffers Pond. 

Karen A. Winger/USCHO.com

Will Ortiz of UMass Celebrates

The key word coming from those who did have the poor fortune of trudging to Amherst is that the effort was simply "lackluster."  It's tough to say that you could have a let down game or a trap game in the first game of the season, but if there ever was a time to still be hungover from a game six months ago, I suppose now is just about the only time it's understandable.

But coming out flat is an understatement.  Before nine minutes had ticked off the clock, BU was down by two scores, courtesy of Rocco Carzo (watch him to be in the running for Hockey East Rookie of the Year) and Matt Irwin.  No blaming it on special teams, either, as both goals came at even strength.

Kieran Millan settled in after the rocky start, holding UMass scoreless until early in the third when Will Ortiz sent home what proved to be the decisive goal. 

A somewhat disturbing trend also continued for BU.  The Terriers fired 41 shots in the general direction of the cage, only to be denied on 39 of those 41 tries.  On the face of it, this seems like an outstanding effort by goaltender Paul Dainton.  While Dainton undoubtedly performed well, this stat is more likely a result of the Terriers' rushing shots and firing from bad angles as they did in their first two exhibition contests.  In those two games, they scored 5 goals on a whopping 95 shots.  When do we stop praising the opposing goalies and start scolding BU for not creating more quality chances?

One bright spot for BU is that despite the loss, 6 of their 7 freshmen skaters saw significant ice time in the game.  Most notably, phenom Alex Chiasson scored goals one and two for BU, singlehandedly keeping the Terriers in the contest.

BU fans are not going to lean on the '09 National Champions crutch all season long.  One lousy effort can be excused, especially with the lack of seniors and the vast numbers of underclassmen, but Coach Parker better have a plan to whip the troops into shape for the home opener on Tuesday night against Notre Dame.

In any case, try not to feel too bad, because Denver, the number three team in the nation, also laid an egg tonight as they fell to THE Ohio State University.

We'll have plenty more reflections on the game soon.  For now, here are a few links.

Game Recaps from GoTerriers, UMass Athletics, Hockey East Online and Inside Hockey, as well as a box score.

There is also a good photo gallery from tonight's game from UMass Athletics.