2010: The Year of Colby Cohen (A Closer Look)

Just How Good Has The New Decade Been to Colby?


I made no secret of my frustrations and outright venom toward Colby Cohen over the past two and a half seasons that he spent manning the blue line for the Terriers.  My friends and I would place side bets during games on how many times he would mis-handle a puck at the blue line during a power play, or mis-read a play while on defense.

Even when Colby scored in the National Championship game, we credited it to dumb luck.  We thanked the high heavens for this luck, gave Colby a one-mistake grace period in the new season, and jumped right back on his case when the offensive and defensive mistakes began to pile up again in the fall of 2009.

But all that has changed for the junior defenseman.  He has gone from a frustrating fool with a big shot to the guy you want the puck on his stick in a big moment.  He has made a living scoring big goals, including the tally to bring the Terriers to within one in Monday's Beanpot Final comeback effort.

The Boston Herald

Some people will say that his new-found success is because he is finding himself in the right place at the right time.  And others will continue to malign Colby as a one-trick pony who still doesn't play fundamentally sound defense.

But when was the last time that you cringed watching Colby on the ice?  When was the last time you got up out of your seat and screamed because of a mistake Colby made?  When was the last time he was undressed leaving his goaltender on an island, (as Max Nicastro was on Monday) or made a  bad read on a puck that led to an odd-man rush the other way (as Kevin Shattenkirk did twice on Monday)?

I've joked plenty about this being the year of Colby Cohen, but it really is remarkable what a wholesale turnaround he has had in just a span of 10 games.

In the fall, he had 3 goals and 2 assists for a grand total of 5 points.  Since the calendar has turned to January, Cohen has been a god among men, scoring 8 goals and 6 assists to lead BU to a 7-3 record, and more importantly, to a legitimate shot at a playoff run.

Now, Cohen is having a career year offensively, and is making fewer and fewer mistakes on the defensive end.  His 11 goals this season match the total number of scores he had on his dockett for his freshman and sophomore years combined.

Another complaint about Colby was his lack of discipline.  He has taken just 18 penalty minutes in the past 10 games, with the spotlight on a hitting from behind penalty he took in the first round of the Beanpot.  Coach Parker went out of his way to defend Colby on the hit, saying that Cohen did exactly what he should have in that scenario.

The reality is that BU wouldn't be in any sort of a position to be thinking about a run through Hockey East, or even dreaming about the chance to defend their title in the NCAA tournament if it weren't for the stellar play of Colby Cohen.  This turnaround is on number 25's shoulders.

Colby Cohen has made me a believer.  And if you're still mad at the guy leading the team in goals because of mistakes he made in the past, maybe it's time to let the old demons die.

Trust me, it was hard for me too.