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Pluses and Minuses: Defensive woes down Terriers in exhibition vs. U-18 team

Freshman forward Jordan Greenway had two assists in BU's matchup against the U.S. Under-18 Team. PHOTO BY FALON MORAN/DFP STAFF
Freshman forward Jordan Greenway had two assists in BU’s matchup against the U.S. Under-18 Team. PHOTO BY FALON MORAN/DFP STAFF

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In an exhibition matchup against the U.S. National Team Development Program Under-18 team, the No. 6 Boston University men’s hockey team got a chance to discover some of its shortcomings.

The 7-4 final in favor of Team USA doesn’t count in BU’s standings, luckily for the Terriers, but BU head coach David Quinn said he planned to mix and match his lineups throughout the game.

“It’s definitely going to take some time to figure out who’s going to play with who and what the line combinations will be,” Quinn said.

BU gets another swing on Saturday night, with a regular-season matchup against the University of Wisconsin, but for now, here’s some of what we didn’t like, and some of what we thought was promising:

Minuses

Defensive downfalls

Sophomore defenseman Brandon Fortunato, in his first game back after being benched last weekend, was an astounding minus-4 on the evening, while his classmate and defensive partner from last season, Brandon Hickey, was a minus-2. Junior defenseman Doyle Somerby and sophomore defenseman John MacLeod were both minus-1 on the night.

On top of that, BU allowed Team USA to score seven goals on just 22 shots. For what was one of the team’s strengths last year, the defense has looked shaky thus far. Senior forward Ahti Oksanen said following the game that BU spent too much time puckwatching and focused on offense instead of being defense-minded.

That was evident in BU’s plethora of turnovers, missed coverages and sloppy puckhandling. It was even more evident in the final goal total.

Third period
We wrote an exhausting number of articles last season about how BU is a “third-period team” and plays its best hockey in the final frame. Well, so far, the Terriers’ third-period fate appears to be the opposite.

Obviously, it’s a small sample size, so it’s hard to judge too much. But so far, BU has looked pretty lost in its past two games in the final period. Against Union College last Saturday, BU allowed three goals (including an empty-netter) in the third; Friday night, against Team USA, the Terriers gave up three goals as well.

Again, much of that goes back to what Oksanen said about the defensive lapses.

Immaturity

Quinn referred to the Terriers’ play as “immature” and “high-risk” following the game. You can read more about that in Andrew’s sidebar.

Pluses

The future is bright
The U-18 team starred four BU recruits: forwards and linemates Kieffer Bellows and Clayton Keller, defenseman Chad Krys and goaltender Jake Oettinger. All four certainly had a heavy impact in Friday’s game.

Bellows had two goals and an assist on the night, while Keller added three helpers. Krys had an assist on the night. Oettinger impressed in net, swatting away all but four of BU’s 45 attempts.

Quinn cannot comment directly on the BU commits, but praised the talent of the team as a whole.

“Yeah, that’s a good team over there,” Quinn said. “They’re gonna have some guys that were impactful I think will be good college players.”

First line

Of BU’s four goals on the evening, the first line was responsible for three of them. Oksanen had two goals, senior assistant captain Danny O’Regan had a goal and two assists and freshman left wing Jordan Greenway had two assists.

The line combined for 18 of BU’s 45 shots – Oksanen led the way with seven total shots, while Greenway had six shots and O’Regan had five. Oksanen had four shots in the third period and Greenway also had four shots reach goal in the second period alone.

So far, Oksanen said, he’s enjoyed how the line has meshed.

“I really enjoy playing with Danny and Greenway,” Oksanen said. “And we know we’re gonna be really good. All three of us know we can be the best line in college hockey.

“But the thing is, we’re not that right now. We still have a lot to work on.”

24 Comments

  1. Son of Caesar Carlaci

    These games should be played at Walter Brown for charity. There would be more emotion and maybe BU could get into the action at a greater pace. The D will be OK with Quinn as their coach. Goaltending for me is a big concern. Lacouvee seems like he has almost never played the position. Maguire, one would hope, is just rusty. If the later is not true BU is in for a long season.

  2. Good assessment!

  3. Other then playing at 730 there were no pluses

  4. i say play the third string guy and see if we can hit on another curry

    those two sucked last night especially mcguire

    i thought i saw you staggering out, Oz

  5. The third string guy could not play worse than his predecessors.

  6. still can not get over last night

    as i said earlier this summer, we all know DQ can recruit, but this year without eichel, we will see if he can coach. i love to win the recruiting wars, but that is meaningless if it does not translate into wins and trophies. i am NOT saying quinn can not coach; just saying we’ll see

    last night was BAD pond hockey.. fortunate a minus 4. who cares if you can wheel and deal, if you can’t defend

    • Your right Vinny,last year was all Jack.BU has hired a coach in “training” according to some.The hardware will continue,unless the NHL hires DQ sooner,rather than later….

  7. Vincent, you are preaching to the converted. I have the same sentiments as you. I hope for better results tonight. I am glad that you expressed your opinion rather than the blind worship and excuse making when games go in the wrong direction.

    • there is no blind worship negative nelly. Its called renewed HOPE after 2009. YOU are the one with the blind worship….and YOU are the ONE TRICK pony. Say something other than “those before him” and “the dismantling of the FOBU”.
      Vincent….feel better about the team after last night? Fortunado did a great job. It seemed it should’ve been a blowout but that goalie was ON! But I’m happy BU kept the pace and didn’t give up. Great win. And I was impressed with LaCouve (sp?) HE made some really nice saves!

  8. 730 start boys…..

  9. You are one clueless individual. Funny that you only comment after a win. Where were your list of positives the prior evening. In my opinion last night was a step in the right direction and something that hope fully, the team can build on. My main concern is goaltending. Although next year this issue should be resolved. Remember to hug the coaches statue twice after a win and only once after a lose. The next time you have an objective opinion will be the first. Perhaps you could conduct cheers in between periods.

  10. Vincent, do not be intimated by the ignorant people that cannot be objective. You have the right to express your opinion and I enjoy your comments. They only no how to insult people if you do not agree with them. They must be related to the coach.

    • Oh Larry Larry Larry….you’re so ridiculous with your comments!! Related to the coach?? Just because I think we are fortunate to have him and decide to stay positive about the team don’t be a hater.
      My comment to Vincent was not in any way condescending, not that I should explain myself to you since you don’t KNOW the difference between the words NO and KNOW. (” They only no how to insult people if you do not agree with them.”)
      There are lots of people on here with differing opinions…it’s what a blog is all about. But YOU, MR. Larry, UN Larry, are a piece of work. I wonder if you even know how to stand on skates?

  11. larry, I do not feel insulted at all. everyone has a right to their opinion. this is not world political negotiations. i love BU hockey even though i may criticize – sometimes fairly and sometimes not

    as far as saturday’s game, i am reserving judgement. wisconsin is NOT a good team – anyone could tell that. their goalie was good but the team stunk. last year they had 9 wins. BC shellacked them 6-0. the only thing they had going for them was their name

    lacouvee was solid, although that first soft goal brought back horror memories of a certain recent goalie. also, his kick saves were sharp, but he leaves big fat rebounds. a more skilled team will bury those

    hoping mcguire’s performance on fri was an aberration because i was told he played very well against union

    nice to see fortunato shoot. he can’t just pass all the time because teams will overplay that. it does not have to be the hardest shot. just on net. nice tip, btw, by phelps

    and i know mcavoy is an immense talent, but the coaches need to temper him some. he gets caught out of position too much for my liking. someone needs to tell him he is playing with the men now, not just kids his age

    when gryz comes back, i might sit mccloud for awhile. to may penalties and diffley seems to have regressed a bit

    love lane. greenway looks promising and so does cloonan

    i realize all my comments and observations are based on a small sample size, but it is what it is at this point

    max and the huskies on sat

    4pm, ozzie, so quit whining

    when will roberto get out of the doghouse? depth is very thin. kelly and lawrence do not count, in my mind

  12. The game was a step in the right direction. I am pleasantly surprised by the scoring of the third and fourth lines but mystified by the top six forwards not making the expected scoring contributions. My biggest concern is the goaltending. I guess Roberto is still in the witness protection program and his steady play is certainly missed. I agree that Wisconsin will struggle this year. The best opponent so far was the USA under 18 team which is not a bad thing.

  13. I missed your cheap shots and personal attacks. Obviously I am not as smart, wealthy or educated as you. I received a bachelor in science and masters in business degrees from B.U. I had a dual major in finance and accounting. I was one of the owners of a manufacturing firm that employed 300 people. So know I never skated as I was more interested in establishing my career. My company was sold in 2007 and I am gainfully unemployed.However I was one of the student managers for a B. U. Hockey team that actually won the NCAA tournament in the Boston Garden. I don’t hate the current coach but I am not a syncophant like you. I am sure you must be a friend of Dave if you are not related. Especially if you know his salary.

  14. SYCOPHANT
    KNOW NO
    DAVID
    Never skated but KNOW how a coach should run a team? Uff figures….you probably screamed at your kids for sucking at little league or pond hockey.
    I don’t know his salary, it was a guess!! LMAO Am I close?

  15. i must say these attacks are getting real stupid

    let’s stick to hockey and keep our observations and comments on the game and the players

    and that means both pro and con comments. just because a person criticizes a player or coach does not mean he is not loyal or not a true fan. along as the criticism is not a degrading personal attack, it should be fine

    as i said before, i bleed terrier hockey, but sometimes i am upset by the way they play a certain game or the way DQ might coach him up, but that does not make me a BC troll or some other nonsense like that

    real curious to see Sir Max this weekend

  16. I never could spell but I can add. Perhaps you misunderstood my comments. I know-how to run a manufacturing business and got extremely lucky. I learned how to manage 300 employees world wide. I learned life lessons from the head hockey coach, when I was a student manager, that I adapted and successfully applied to my business. I appreciate the cheap shots but I only disciplined my kids for being disrespectful or lack of effort in their school work. I never screamed at them for there participation in sports. How would I know how much that the coach makes in salary ? It is none of my business. It is not relevant to this conversation. I do know the income of the coach up the street as that information was published in the Globe. So keep those ignorant and clueless thoughts coming.

  17. Vincent, In agree with you and apologize for sinking to their level. Unfortunately I will not stop until they do. They personally attacked me because I had a different perspective on B.U. Hockey than them. They continue to make ridiculous personal accusations that simply are NOT TRUE.

  18. Can someone explain why there is no food or drink at the FOH room after the game?

  19. I was invited to a coaches cabinet meeting. It was mentioned but no definitive explaination was given for this decision. Apparently, the development office and head coach have different vision for the future for the Friends room, Eventually, it will become a sports bar. They did make it clear that it was open to everyone with no food or beverages after home games.

  20. Thanks Larry…Any guess on when the sports bar might open?

  21. Ozzie, no time line or details were provided.