It Wasn't Pretty, But It Was Two Points (11/14/09)

Recapping BU's Too Close For Comfort Victory


BU squeaked out a tight win over Merrimack to snap out of their four game losing streak at home on Friday night.  Before I rant and rave about this game, let's get you recaps from GoTerriers, USCHO, The FreeP, and WTBU Sports.  Also, a full box score.

Also, check out the highlights from the win.

UPDATE (11/17):  HIGHLIGHTS VIA YOUTUBE


Now let's get into some reactions.
Desperate Times


The players seemed to feel the pressure of their extended losing streak, as they came out flying in this one.  BU saw four different players get on the board in the first period, including two goals in the first three minutes of the game.  Parker coached them up on this one, and they responded early on.  Everyone on the team seemed to be skating stronger, faster and with more of a purpose.  The team needed a wake up call, and four losses in a row seemed to provide that for BU.


Oh Nicky


Offensive star and assistant captain Nick Bonino returned to the lineup for the Terriers Saturday night.   He missed 5 games, a stretch in which his team went 1-4 and fell all the way from #3 in the nation to unranked in the national polls.  They scored a grand total of 12 goals in those 5 games.  In his return, Bonino assisted on two goals, and just seemed to take a great deal of the pressure off of his teammates.


Connolly Streaking


Sophomore forward Chris Connolly may have found his groove after a big weekend against Mack.  After assisting on a goal on Friday, Connolly scored twice and helped on another in the win on Saturday.  He's one of the guys who should benefit from better match-ups with Bonino back in the lineup, and it has already started to show.

Connolly talked to reporters after the game.



It's definitely good to hear Connolly talking with confidence despite the fact that his team is in a hole.  He realizes that there is still plenty of time for BU to bounce back and climb back into contention to make a run deep into the playoffs.


Advantage: Even Strength


Coming into the game, BU hadn't registered a 5-5 goal since Halloween, when Vinny Saponari scored at  5:13 of the second period.  Scott Weighart of USCHO did the math, and the drought lasted a total of 215 minutes and 31 seconds between even strength goals.  That changed when BU broke out big time in the first period on Saturday with four even strength goals in the first period alone.


Disadvantage: Penalty Kill


BU's even strength game may have bounced back in a big way, but their penalty kill fell flat on its face in this one.  They surrendered three power play goals to Merrimack in eight chances to allow the Warriors to get back in this game.  On Friday, BU allowed 2 goals on 7 power play chances.  They will need to find a way to lock down on the penalty kill if they want to be able to finish games like this one.


Two-Headed Monster


There will most likely be a dedicated post to this because there is a lot to say, so I will keep it short in the game recap.  Colby Cohen and Eric Gryba played bad hockey on Saturday night.  Cohen scored what ended up being the game winner, but spent the rest of the night misplaying pucks, making lazy passes and creating odd-man rushes for Merrimack.  Eric Gryba continued his trend of taking at least one penalty per period by nabbing four two-minute minors.  Not good.


Letting Up

After the game Parker told USCHO that “We self-destructed two ways tonight.  We took a lot of stupid penalties. And it was disheartening: We’re up 4-0, and we start making foolish, foolish decisions with the puck.”

You can say that again. 

BU collected a full period of penalty minutes on Saturday, and played on their heels for the greater part of the game.  Their passing wasn't crisp and they were skating slower after an explosive first period.

 BU had everything going in the right direction, and the moment they came out of the tunnel to play the second, they were a different team.  There's something to be said for swagger and confidence, but there is a limit to that, especially when you're trying to break a four game losing streak.  The Terriers looked like they believed the game was over after one period, which obviously is not the case.  With forty minutes to play, BU started mailing it in, and it nearly cost them the game.  They turned a blow-out into a nail biter, and needed a late empty netter to put the game on ice.  Not the way you want to finish a game you started up 4-0.

Fabulous Frenchie

French Freshman Phenom Stephane da Costa was the main reason Mack was able to make this such a tight game.  He set up the Warriors' first goal when his shot was deflected home on a power play, and scored their second goal with a tremendous blast from the face-off circle.  He would also assist on Joe Cucci's power play goal to pull Merrimack within one on what may have been the play of the night.  Da Costa did not disappoint.

Return of Rollie

Grant Rollheiser played in net for the first time this season, and looked good to start, but things started to fall apart late in the game for Rollie the Goalie.  Mack's third goal came on a 2 on 1 rush, but he was still fooled badly by a head fake from Mack's Elliott Sheen.  Then, on the fourth goal, two quick passes had him sliding completely out of position, sliding far to his left out of the crease, leaving a completely empty net for Cucci to bring Mack within one.

Next Up

BU gets UNH for a home and home this weekend.  Plenty more on that as the week goes on.