When Nick Bonino skated off the ice clutching his right shoulder on October 24th, you could almost hear a collective groan from the BU faithful watching the Terriers at Aggannis Arena. The team was already 0-2 to start their National Title defense, and they were staring at a tight game against a solid Michigan team. They squeezed out a victory that night, and managed to escape Lowell with an overtime win the next weekend.
The absence of Nick Bonino is truly devestating to this BU team. Without his presence in the lineup, the Terriers lack a pure goal scorer with a knack for the back of the net. Alex Chiasson is showing that he can be that player, but he's just a freshman, and it's absurd to expect him to carry the weight offensively on his own.
This is not to say that there isn't offensive talent on this team, because there certainly is. Zach Cohen has shown more consistent flashes of brilliance, toughness and an ability to bury the puck. Chris Connolly has speed to burn, and creates his own opportunities in open space. The other forwards on this team work great as pieces of a greater whole, but make no mistake, they are not the do-it-all offensive stars we have become used to watching here at BU.
Coach Jack Parker talked to The Boston Herald about the teams offensive woes early this season, saying "Youth is a factor. We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores... after Bonino went down, we had one senior forward playing and one junior forward playing and everyone else was freshmen and sophomores. I was looking at the roster the other day and we only have six guys on our team that were born before 1988.”
Bonino agreed with those sentiments, as he told Joe Meloni of College Hockey News. “We have so many new guys, and so many guys jumping into new roles that it kind of poses a problem. When you throw in the injuries, it makes it even harder."
The Terriers need Nick Bonino on the ice if they want a chance to be successful this season. The sooner the better.
In the last three contests, BU has lost by scores of 3-2 to UMass Lowell, 1-0 to Northeastern, and 3-2 to Maine. In those games, they have taken 97 shots, but put home just 4 goals. Even when they have put a flurry of shots on goal, they have shown a lack of patience to pass up the bad shot for the benefit of greating the great one that will get the big goal.
These one goal losses really show what a difference a big finisher can make. Bonino has the experience in big games and the natural ability to turn those devestating losses into thrilling victories.
More importantly, he takes the pressure off of players like Joe Pereira and Corey Trivino. He can draw the opponent's best defenders, and create opportunities for his teammates.
We're talking about a player who has piled up 79 points in 86 games as a Terrier. We're talking about a player who is +30 in two plus seasons in Scarlet and White. We're talking about a player who shot the puck 114 and 113 times in consecutive seasons. We're talking about a guy who very well could have been playing in the AHL this season instead of the NCAA.
Bonino is a rare talent, and he makes this offense go. The Terriers are treading water offensively without him, and they're drowning much quicker than any of us anticipated.
It's been two weeks and one day since Bonino dislocated his shoulder. The initial estimates had Bonino missing 3-4 weeks. With a home and home series with the vastly improved Merrimack Warriors looming this weekend, and another home and home with New Hampshire a week after that, the Terriers better hope their star is back sooner rather than later.
Otherwise, this season could be on life support before the calender turns to December.
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