By Jake Seiner/DFP Staff
Offense – C-
Not that there was much even-strength play to analyze in this game, but overall, the Terrier offense looked much the same as it has in past games. The shots are there. The chances are there. The goals are not, and they made yet another goaltender look like an NHL legend (BU coach Jack Parker has already cited Ken Dryden and Jacques Plante, might be time to go Terry Sawchuk?). Chris Connolly led the squad with six shots on net, followed by Kevin Shattenkirk with five and Vinny Saponari with four. Only three Terriers –– Ryan Santana, Ross Gaudet and Colby Cohen –– didn’t get at least one shot on Merrimack goalie Joe Cannata. It seems like everyone has a different theory on why the Terriers aren’t scoring even strength –– shooting too much at goalies’ chests, poor puck luck, etc. Either way, they’ve now scored just seven 5-on-5 goals in their last eight games. Something needs to change in the way this team is finishing.
Defense – F
Each of Merrimack’s first three goals were the direct result of blatant breakdowns in the BU defense. Poor positioning, over aggressiveness, slow sticks in front of the net and lazy backchecking all plagued the Terriers. Kieran Millan was by no means a world-beater tonight (see below), but the Warriors’ six goals Friday night fall almost exclusively on the defense’s shoulders. None of the starting six had a good night in their own zone. The BU defense has been inconsistent all season, but tonight marks an absolute low-point.
Goaltending – D
While the BU defense struggled mightily tonight, they didn’t exactly get a ton of help from sophomore goaltender Kieran Millan. The first two goals were both scored off juicy rebounds that hit Millan right in the body. The third wasn’t his fault –– a defensive breakdown left a 3-on-1 that resulted in a one-time shot he had little-to-no chance of getting to. The fourth was a simple wrist shot from the right point that beat Millan over his right shoulder, and the fifth was a breakaway capped off with a pretty backhand move by Merrimack’s Elliot Sheen. Adam Kraus replaced Millan in goal after the fifth Merrimack tally, and according to Parker, “competed” very well. Kraus faced a fair amount of pressure and allowed just one goal –– a score which could have very easily been called a frozen puck as Merrimack’s Brandon Brodhag appeared to stuff the puck in after it was stuck under Kraus’ leg pad. Parker declined to say if he’d put Rollheiser or Kraus in net tomorrow night.
Special Teams – C
The BU power play was 3-for-12 on the night, scoring twice in the third period with the game seemingly out of hand. That said, the puck movement 5-on-4 was probably the best it has been all season, and if not for stellar play from Cannata in goal, BU could have scored two or three more goals with the man advantage. Still, BU failed to capitalize on three separate, lengthy 5-on-3 chances, including a two-minute two-man up chance five minutes into the contest that Merrimack coach Mark Dennehy said swayed momentum in his team’s favor. The 5-on-3 unit looked sloppy for most of its shifts, although Colby Cohen set Chris Connolly up for a number of doorstep opportunities with pinpoint passes that Cannata turned away. On the PK, BU killed 3-of-5 chances, allowing two power-play goals in the third period.
X-Factor – Composure
Parker said his squad unraveled in the second period after playing a very strong first. BU served 30 penalty minutes Friday night –– although that’s less than the 40 Merrimack served –– including a number of dumb or lazy penalties. Colby Cohen’s win in a fight with Matt Moulakelis was the closest thing to a victory BU’s seen in four games –– no word yet on whether Cohen or Moulakelis will receive suspensions for the brawl. If Cohen is suspended, BU will likely find itself down to five healthy defensemen with David Warsofsky likely out for tomorrow night’s contest at Agganis Arena.
two things – Moulakelis didn’t lose a fight, there was never a fight, just grabbing, shoving and pulling. If that was what you deem a “fight” then you’re a fool.
And all the bitching about the time in your live blog, never happened. They took the time off and clocked the penalties on the game clock, the penalty clocks meant nothing after that stoppage. But yeah, protest the game because of 1 goal in a game that could have been 7-1. That makes sense.
Don’t cry in your fruit loops tomorrow morning, kiddies.
Thanks for the constructive criticism, Anonymous. Always good to hear from our fans.
1) Colby ripped off his helmet and jersey and landed at least three punches that we could see from the press box. Moulakelis also landed at least two punches that I could see. So yes, I would deem that to be a fight.
2) Not “bitching”. I honestly could not care less if BU wins or loses. If I did, I would not be an apt candidate to cover this team for an independent paper. If you go through our live blogs, I think you’ll find that we complain about calls against BU’s opponents just as often as we complain about calls against BU. Our coverage is more focused on BU because that’s who our audience is. That doesn’t mean we’re rooting for BU. As for the 17 seconds, we weren’t the only ones to notice it, and neither coach seemed to be totally clear on what happened when asked about it after the game.
Scott, as a Merrimack fan and a former journalism major, I wish you the best of luck pursuing your career. I chose a different route after college, but in my humble opinion, when you are writing for the free press, you should be somewhat biased and a BU homer. You should be objective and try to see things objectively. However, if you cover a team, you get “connected.” I wish the Terriers well the rest of the season, especially against BC!
Check the box score. https://www.collegehockeystats.net/0910/boxes/mbu_mer1.n13 The penalties were: 18:44 2nd, 19:02 2nd, 20:00 2nd. The first one ended at 0:44 of the third and that is when the third one started. Because the penalties had stacked up BU could not get the player back until a whistle even though his penalty expired. The second penalty ended at 1:02. The third penalty could not expire until 2:44. That is the same thing that happened when Merrimack was called for four in a row. The PPG came at 2:34 and was 5×4. 10 seconds before the Shattenkirk penalty expired.