BU takes a 1-0 lead in the series

There is an old saying, "if you play with fire you are going to get burned."  Friday night, Maine played with fire by giving one of the top ranked power plays in the nation (BU) eight chances, including giving up the winning goal on a BU 5 on 3 power play with three minutes to go in the game.  

You have to give Maine credit, they came to play and Maine's goalie Scott Darling was terrific in net.  BU did not play to its potential.  BU is a very confident team, maybe too confident.  They need to take care of business.

BU has only played one top ten nationally ranked team since mid February (i.e. Northeastern) and that series ended up with both games in a tie.  BU needs to realize, while they have been playing great hockey since the first game of the season, everyone else is now catching up.  Just look at North Dakota, Michigan and Denver.  BU beat these teams early in the hockey season when each of the three teams were not playing their best hockey.  I am sure North Dakota, Michigan, or Denver would like another "crack" at BU on the national stage. 

Who has more haunting stats? - Wisconsin or Merrimack

Wisconsin lost to UND last night (2-1) which makes it their 10th loss by one goal. USCHO and others are talking about how this is a "haunting stat" for Wisconsin.

Well what about the little Hockey East team that plays in North Andover Mass - Merrimack College.

Here are Merrimack's 2008-2009 haunting stats:

• 14 one goal losses this season while playing in the toughest conference - Hockey East
• They never lost to a team by more than three goals this season and this happened three times; twice against BU and once against BC.
• Of their nine wins this season, four of them were by one goal.

I think Merrimack deserves some credit for how they have played this year. Their stats clearly show they are a team that may become a more widely recognized name in D-I hockey - just ask any Hockey East team.

14, 15, 16

They say you should play your best hockey going into the post season. This is an understatement with BU. Tonight Brandon Yip and Nick Bonino both had hat tricks as BU beat Providence 8-2. Both Yip and Bonino scored their 14th, 15th and 16th goals of the season.

As a team, BU has scored 6, 7, and now 8 goals in the last three games respectively. I guess this means they will score 9 goals on Sunday afternoon as they complete their home and home series against Providence.

You can't ask for a team to be playing any better than the way BU is playing now.

Sign of a Good Team

You don’t realize how good a team can really be until they face adversity, especially on the road.  Down 3-0 BU came storming back to score six unanswered goals to beat UMass 6-3.  Like any great team when you are down and being completely outplayed, you look to your strengths.  For BU their strengths have been their power play and their veteran senior players.  Last night, BU’s iron man Matt Gilroy and sniper Jason Lawrence stepped forward after Coach Jack Parker sent a message to the team by replacing goalie Kieran Millan with Grant Rollheiser.  Down 3-0, with the fourth goal either making or breaking the game, Gillroy put the team on his back and scored two consecutive power play goals, getting BU back into the game.  Not to be outdone, Jason Lawrence then took it from there, with a natural hat trick, scoring the next three BU goals.  David Warsofsky finished the night off with the sixth goal. 

BU will complete their home and home series with UMass tonight at Agganis arena. 

Beanpot Recap

Congratulations to BU for winning their 29th Beanpot! I had a great time, and here are some of my best and worst moments of this year's 57th Beanpot.

Best Dressed:
SiouxFaninBoston and I get the best dressed – we were wearing Sioux Jerseys

Worst Dressed:
The Gopher fan wearing the M jersey who was put on the big screen.

Best Chant:
Goes to Harvard - They began chanting, “You can’t count," at the BC Band after the band began to play three blind mice as the four officials took the ice.

Worst Moment:
Scott Hansen, one of the referees for the championship game was hit in the face with the puck and needed to leave the game.

Most Unusual Moment:
During the consolation game the Harvard fans (i.e., the band) “out chanted” the 3 and 1/2 BC fans in attendance . I guess the BC fans decided to stay home and watch 24.

Best Chance Meeting:
We met a couple who just moved to Boston from East Grand Forks and they were happy to see us in our Sioux Jerseys.

Worst Chance Meeting:
We met three Gopher fans.

Worst Comments:
Go Irish! (referring to our Sioux Jerseys) or, "Did you know [so in so], he played for Sioux City?"

Most Unexpected Moment(s):
BU's three shorthanded goals.

Best Fan Reaction:
BU fans cheered during the post game activities for Northeastern and Brad Thiessen as he won the Eberly award for best save percentage of the tournament.

Best Showmanship:
Northeastern - When the championship game was over, they stood at the blue line and watched BU raise the Beanpot during the post game festivities.

Most Interesting Post-Beanpot Situation:
When BU gets back to Agganis to raise the Beanpot banner, guess who they will be playing,… you guessed it - Northeastern.

Worst Post-Beanpot Situation:
Now that the Beanpot is over, College Hockey will go from front and center in Boston to the abyss – as the Red Sox are ever so close to spring training.

I still like the Beanpot and I'm already looking forward to next year.

Beanpot Match Ups (with pictures from Hockey on Campus - Beanpot Preview Show)

In Boston, the first two Mondays in February means it's time for the Beanpot. This is always a great event and the first round of the 57th Beanpot will be on Monday, February 2nd. Some in Boston call this the BUpot because of their success. BU has been to the final game 46 out of the 56–year history and has won the Beanpot 28 times. However, this year three of the four teams are top ranked teams in the country.

First Game: Boston University vs. Harvard 5p.m. Est

BU and Harvard have played each other 139 times since the 1922-23 season. BU holds the edge with a 71-62-6 (.532) record. In the Beanpot, the teams have met 38 times and BU has a 25-13 (.658) advantage.

Prediction: BU wins this game.


Second Game: Boston College vs. Northeastern 8p.m. Est

BC and NU have played each other 200 times since the 1932-33 season. BC holds the edge with a 145-42-13 (.725) record. In the Beanpot, BC holds the edge with a 30-8 (.790) record against NU. Even though NU is tied for 6th in the Pairwise (while BC is tied for 15th), I am going with past history on this one.

Prediction: BC wins this game


Hockey on Campus - Live Beanpot Preview Show

Once again Bernie Corbett and Paul McNamara had a terrific show with Harvard Coach Ted Donato, BC Coach Jerry York, Northeastern Coach Greg Cronin and, due to scheduling conflicts, Travis Roy filling in for Coach Parker. Travis was able to talk about a great event that takes place Monday before the Beanpot, the Corporate Beanpot Challenge, which raises money for both the Travis Roy and Mark Bavis Foundations. Elliot Olshansky, talked about the Beanpot including Chris Dury’s induction into the Beanpot hall of fame.

I have posted a few pictures from the show.



Paul McNamara Raises the Beanpot

Berine Corbert talking to Mike Klein of the Eastern Junior Hockey League


A Sioux Fan (me) with the Beanpot

Mike Klein Director of Media Relations from the Eastern Junior Hockey League with the Beanpot

Sioux - Back in Black

The Sioux broke out their third jerseys for Saturday night's must win. I was glad to see UND play better than their lack luster effort on Friday night. Because of this much improved effort Saturday night, UND was rewarded with a 4-2 win over St. Cloud. Although the split this weekend dropped us to 15th in the pairwise, tied with BC, it could have been worse. Next week's mid-season break, will give the team a needed rest and refocus on the final push towards the NCAA tournament. I have posted a few pictures from last night.

Go Sioux!!