By Annie Maroon/DFP Staff
AMHERST — There wasn’t much to like about the Boston University men’s hockey team’s 5-1 loss to the University of Massachusetts on Friday, but Terrier coach Jack Parker did find a few minor positives amidst the mess. Here’s a look at what went right and what went wrong at Mullins Arena on Friday.
Three up
Ruikka fits in up front
In his debut as a fourth-line right wing, senior assistant captain Ryan Ruikka was one of two Terriers about whom Parker had anything positive to say. (Freshman goalie Sean Maguire was the other.)
“I thought Ruikka played pretty well,” Parker said. “He was one of the few forwards that got the puck out of the zone when he was supposed to and made decisions with the puck through center ice when he was supposed to, and hit a few guys when he was supposed to.”
For the second time this year, BU has lost a player – freshman forward Wes Myron – who didn’t feel he was getting the playing time in the situations he deserved (the first was Yasin Cissé, who left in December).
Ruikka deserves mention for acting in the opposite spirit: rather than checking out when asked to share the sixth-defenseman role with junior Patrick MacGregor, or even to play forward for the first time in his collegiate career, he’s done what his coaches ask all year without complaint.
Maguire’s effort
A goalie who let in five goals on 28 shots usually isn’t deserving of a thumbs-up, but it’s hard to hold Maguire responsible for everything that happened in BU’s defensive zone. The first goal was a product of crisp UMass passing, while the second came through traffic and may have changed direction right in front of the net before Maguire could react.
After those two goals, BU seemed to check out of the game almost completely, and the image of UMass’ fourth goal may be the most enduring: Minuteman forward Michael Pereira standing alone in front of the net, arms raised, having just ripped a completely uncontested shot over Maguire’s glove with no other Terrier nearby.
“I thought Sean Maguire was our best player by far,” Parker said. “I think the next 18 best players on the ice were everyone in white.”
Rosen wards off shutout
Senior forward Ben Rosen was the only thing that stood between BU and a shutout on Friday, scoring late in the third period to make the final 5-1. He also led the team with three of their 20 shots.
Rosen also scored in the Terriers’ last game, a 3-3 tie with Providence College, so this represents a modest scoring streak for him.
Three down
Power play still missing
The Terrier power play went 0-for-6, bringing its conversion rate on the year to 15.2 percent (sixth in Hockey East). As if that weren’t enough, BU’s power play also gave up a shorthanded goal in the third period to Pereira to make it 5-0.
“We haven’t had a power play in a long time,” Parker said. “We have been trying to get that going. But the power play wasn’t going tonight if we couldn’t pass the puck. We couldn’t pass the puck tonight.”
Offense shut down
Although BU has struggled mightily for much of the last month, the offense rarely was the problem. They had at least three goals in each of their last seven games, even though three of those were losses and one was a tie.
That changed on Friday, when the Terriers came within five minutes of being shut out by Kevin Boyle. Boyle’s season save percentage is .902 and his career mark is .897. He faced just 20 shots from a BU team averaging 30.3 per game.
“I thought Boyle did play well,” Parker said. “I don’t think he played . . . I thought our goalie played better than he did.”
Mayhem in front of Maguire
Parker talked on Thursday about moving the puck forward out of the defensive zone more decisively, rather than getting pinned by forechecking pressure. The opposite happened on Friday: not for the first time this semester, BU looked frazzled by an opposing forecheck and couldn’t seem to find an open man ahead. Often, if the defensemen did find an open forward, they couldn’t put the puck on or near his stick.
“I thought the worst we were was not so much down low, but when we were 15-20 feet inside our own blue line and trying to move the puck through center ice,” Parker said. “We were passing to guys who were covered, or we weren’t passing. We were just making passes that weren’t there.”
The defense had begun to turn their shaky play around last weekend against Providence, but on Friday, they were absent. They allowed 28 shots, many from prime real estate, and for all the pucks that got past Maguire, many more had a chance to do so as they bounced around in the crease without being cleared. Except for freshman Matt Grzelcyk and junior Garrett Noonan, who came away even, all of BU’s defensemen had negative plus-minus ratings in the game.
In almost half a century of watching BU Hockey I have never seen such poor D. Parker has to get a D coach for next year. These guys can not be that bad. It must be coaching.
The Terriers are 3-5-1 since the break and have shown an inability to adjust to what other teams are doing. It is particularly noticeable on the break out. BU seems incapable of bringing the puck out of its own end with any kind of authority on a consistent basis. Given how well the team handled these issues in the first semester, I have to believe this is a matter of coaching.
Maguire is an ‘up’?
Did you watch the game?