Well, That Was Horrible

So Much For Bouncing Back

A week after a statement win over the BC Eagles at Fenway Park, The Terriers of Boston University fell flat on their face in Providence against the last place Friars.  

Let's get one thing straight first of all.  If you want to be a good team, you beat the bad teams.  No excuses.

Presumably, the Terriers would like to be a good team.  Their efforts against UMass and BC indicate that fact.  However, if you saw the game last night on NESN, (I know you weren't at the game, because only about 5 people were in attendance) then you know that BU looked like the last place team, not Providence.


But with a loss to PC, BU finds themselves just about at the bottom.  Going into tonight's games, BU is tied for 7th place with Vermont with a whopping 10 points.  BU has played two more games than the Catamounts.  The Terriers find themselves two points up on tonight's opponent, Merrimack (BU has played 3 more games than Mack) and three points up on The Friars (BU has played 2 more games than PC).


So you truly can make a legitimate case that BU is the worst team in the conference.


But the loss to Providence and even missing out on two points isn't the worst part of last night's game.  It's the incredible lack of urgency and energy from the Terriers.  Whether it's a Frozen Fenway Hangover, a renewed cockiness after a couple of wins, or the fact that BU flat out isn't that good, they were a slow and sloppy hockey team last night.


Perhaps the most concerning element of this game was the lack of punch on the power play.  After whopping Amherst with the new reverse umbrella power play formation, and functioning with it against BC, the Terriers came up empty on the man advantage last night, going 0 for 8.  That includes a full minute of 5 on 3 in which the Terriers failed to record a shot, and struggled to keep the puck in the PC zone.


BU recorded 29 shots on goal, but that can't tell the story of the seemingly dozens of blasts the Terriers sent wide of the cage.  The Friars stood tall in the shooting lanes, and BU refused to adjust.  Instead of cycling the pass down low, the Terriers continued their ugly passing and couldn't force PC out of their comfort zone.

Even when they did make a play down low in the Providence zone, the Terriers couldn't finish.  David Warsofsky pulled PC goaltender Alex Beaudry out of position and out of the crease.  David wrapped around and sent the puck in front of the net to Bonino, who was staring at a wide open net.  But even from about four feet away with an empty net, the Terriers offensive star could not convert, clanging a shot off the iron. 


Start to finish it was an awful effort by BU.  And those types of games happen.  But good teams put them in the past.  Bad teams let one bad game leak into the next, and before you know it, there's a trend of atrocious play on your hands. 


Tonight could show us what kind of resolve this BU team has.  Will they show up?  Or will one lost effort become two?