It was certainly a shootout at Schneider Arena on Saturday night as the rematch between Boston University and No. 11 Providence College proved to be well-worth the price of admission. Make sure to check out Brady Gardner’s full recap here. Although both games had the entertainment factor in full-force, all in all, it was a disappointing weekend, once again, for the Terriers as they dropped Saturday’s contest by a 6-5 final. Here are my three takeaways, and all opinions are my own.
1. BU needs to make quicker, better decisions with the puck
Too many times this season have the Terriers taken far too long with the puck, whether it’s looking for that extra pass or deke on the power play or trying to get cute in the neutral and attacking zones. The poor decision-making came back to bite BU in Saturday’s contest as sloppy puck-management did not do too much in the way of helping an already shaky goaltending situation. After Saturday’s game, head coach Albie O’Connell highlighted the “insane” plays that the Terriers are trying to force out there. As O’Connell said, the “intelligence as a hockey team needs to grow,” and I could not agree more.
2. Goaltending is right back to square one
After PC hung three on Sam Tucker during Friday’s tilt, I stayed positive and said not to let the three goals-against fool you. Well, color me a fool as the situation in net was a disaster on Saturday night. After Tucker got off to a rocky start, allowing four goals, O’Connell went to Vinnie Purpura, who couldn’t do much better as he allowed two goals on ten shots, including the eventual game-winner. In Purpura’s defense, he was thrown right into the fire as defense was definitely not the name of the game for either side. Looking at Tucker, his gaffs this weekend certainly seem correctable in spite of the fact that he was woefully out of position at times. Either way, it feels like we’re back to square one, with each goaltender out to prove they are the man for the job.
3. BU can seemingly score at will
Of the positives to take away, the potent power play and overall attacking-zone play in all situations is at the top of the list. David Farrance and Trevor Zegras seem to be able to put up numbers on-demand, whether in the form of goals or assists. The offense showed it can keep pace with even those at the top of the food chain, as one would think five goals-for would be enough to win on any given night. When the top dogs (pun intended) are healthy, offensive production is among the things that the Terriers know they can count on to either bail them out or help them dominate a game. Unfortunately, neither was the case on Saturday.
The Terriers will look to bounce back and find the win column against No. 2 UMass Amherst next weekend.
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