Oh how the mighty have fallen.
Call it the curse of being ranked No. 1 nationally, place all the blame on head coach David Quinn, fault a player or line – whatever suits your boat, honestly.
The fact remains, though: the Boston University men’s hockey team was just handedly swept by Merrimack College.
Friday night’s 4-1 loss at Agganis Arena came just three days after the Warriors earned a 3-1 win at their place, giving Merrimack its first-ever sweep of BU. The sky isn’t quite falling around the scarlet and white, but it’s fair to sum the series up as disheartening and concerning.
While issues persisted, one of the most concerning parts was how few Grade-A chances came Collin Delia’s way. The Merrimack netminder is by no means a bad goalie, but BU made him look like an All-Star all week.
For one, I also thought this quote from Quinn was pretty telling about how the weekend went:
https://twitter.com/JonathanSigal/status/825194918687735810
Content
1.) A recap of BU’s game at Lawler.
2.) A story on BU’s eight-game winning streak coming to an end at Merrimack.
3.) A recap of Friday night’s demoralizing loss at Agganis.
4.) A story on Clayton Keller emerging as a bright spot amidst dark times.
Highlights
Last but not least…
The highlights from tonight's historic win!#GoMack pic.twitter.com/KTqu0WwGYX— Merrimack Men’s Hockey (@MerrimackMIH) January 25, 2017
Postgame Press Conferences
As this space normally allows, we welcome all thoughts and frustrations. The task before BU doesn’t get any easier on Saturday night, as No. 7 University of Massachusetts Lowell comes to town.
Boys are going thru lil bad spell we will be fine I really do and friday night Game was a perfect example came out flying then Olson got hurt which looked bad and play dropped it’s human nature. .. I usually don’t call out players on here like few of u guys do aka “Switzer ” fans or “family but u guys been all over dq to play Switzer over mcloud and he did friday and wow did Switzer “impress ” not!!! Can’t make a pass can’t make a hit etc and u believe he has a right to play over any other top 6 guy?? With all respect u have to be family for posting all that maybe on another team he gets ice but at bu sorry to say won’t crack the lineup at least mcloud hits and plays a solid game and yes sometimes wreckless but gives u more then #2… .. let’s get this turned around and before u panic lowell lost 4 staight so keep calm …. let’s go bu…
Spot on Big Roy! This blog panics every time they lose. I’m with you, we’ll be fine!! Starting tonight!
To paraphrase Coach Quinn – “Hard work and determination can overcome talent”. A good example of that was our victory over Union; when many of our top players were at the World Jr’s., and we turned in a stellar performance over a quality opponent. Unfortunately, we have suffered the truth of that axiom over the past two games. Obviously, a team with talent that plays with grit, works hard, and is determined not to be denied will prevail. We have been that team for a good portion of the season, and I trust that what we have recently suffered is an anomaly. Big Roy – I agree that the perceived severity of Olsson’s injury seemed to be a catalyst that troubled our team, as the momentum shift that followed was noticeable. Although that was regrettable, more importantly it showed how much our players care about one another. In closing, kudos to Nikolas Olsson, whose relentless grit has been appreciated – best wishes and prayers for a quick and complete recovery. PSD
merrimack may have a blueprint for beating the Terriers. They trap in mid ice outhustle you to the puck and with big players push you around. B.U. does struggle to score at times and a big, physical team like Merrimack can shut them down.