I have a confession. Although I love covering sports, I am not a journlaism student, I actually study history. At the Beanpot, I turned to Liam and told him I wanted to do a story on how college hockey has changed. Check it out here. As someone who spends most of his days learning about history, I decided it was a good idea to combine both my passions and thus I wrote this article. If you have any questions about anything or just want to learn more on the subject, please feel free to ask.
Friday, November 22, 2024
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Matthew great article. I have been following college hockey since 1985 being a huge fan of Ed Lowney . ever since then I have been a huge terrier fan. I remember when coach was playing he was the hardest working kid on the ice. He was hockey smart hardly ever made a highlight play but always made the right play. if you were trying to take up space down low coach made sure you were going to pay the price. Bernie is a wealth of knowledge and not just hockey he has made it a point to study the game we as BU fans are so lucky to have him reporting on the team. The game has changed over the years as your article points out. What has not changed is the type of kids BU recruits. I’m so impressed with the character and work ethic of the young athletes that come to play hockey at BU.
Hockey has changed a lot. When I was very young there was no red line. Offside was from the back blue line. There was no checking in the O zone. No masks. Mush quicker. There were only 16 players save goaltenders dressed. There was three lines and two extra forwards and the D played four with one extra. BU guys were all “JR B” who did not get paid like the Jr. A guys and the season started around Thanksgiving. The guys I knew when I was in school were mostly Canadians in the School of Ed and were there to become teachers in Canada or here and they knew they had no chance on the NHL. Play was much more rougher that the “pond hockey” player today. Frankly I enjoyed it a lot more but that said I remain a BU hockey fan for life. O, and Walter Brown was the BEST place to see the team. The venue now puts one to sleep.
I saw my first BU game at age 6 in the Boston Arena against Cornell and Ken Dryden. The biggest thing I have seen in the last 10 years or so is the way the NCAA wants the officials to call the game. In my opinion they need to let them play a little bit. Calling every minor infraction has taken the fun out of the game and quite frankly it shows in attendance. They need to go to the 1/2 shield on the helmet like the Olympics and International Tournaments.
I’m thinking they will let alot more stuff go unless it’s to oblivious… Its playoff hockey referees should be the last thing we talk about when it comes to playoff hockey … Like dam says either set the tone early amd blow the whistle or let them play dont change in the middle of the game because its a tight game…