Wed, 20 Jan 2010 06:56:23 +0000

by Sandeep Chandrasekhar

A critical rivalry game will be played tonight at Walter Brown Arena, as the Boston University Terriers host the Boston College Eagles. Both teams look to resurrect their seasons tonight, as the Eagles (5-9-9 Overall and 4-5-4 in Hockey East) are currently positioned third in the Hockey East standings while the Terriers (8-6-8 overall and 4-4-3 in Hockey East) rank in a tie for fifth.

The Terriers kicked off the 2010 calendar year in grand fashion with an impressive 4-1 victory over the Yale Bulldogs on January 8. Senior forward Melissa Anderson, who was named America East Player of the Week last week, scored two goals and added an assist, while junior forward Jillian Kirchner and freshman forward Jill Cardella added a goal to secure the victory. Two days later, the Terriers followed up the victory over Yale with a dramatic 5-5 tie against Brown, as they overcame a late third period two goal deficit to secure the tie. Yet again, Anderson was the team’s hero, as she scored the late equalizer with 2:45 remaining in regulation.

Unlike the Terriers, the Eagles have played a treacherous 2010 schedule, as they have already played four games within a span of seven days. They have yet to win a game in this calendar year, as they secured a tie against Yale and St. Lawrence and were defeated 7-4 by Northeastern and 4-0 versus St. Lawrence, in the second game of the back-to-back.

Despite the rough start to the season and the overall losing record, the Eagles have remained sturdy and resilient during conference play, as they are currently positioned third in the conference. The team is led by forwards Allie Thunstrom and Ashley Motherwell and defenseman Blake Bolden, who have combined to score 43 points this season. Defense, however, is an Achilles Heel for this team, as they have allowed 17 goals in their last four games.

In the first meeting between these teams, the visiting Eagles knocked off the Terriers 2-1 in Walter Brown Arena. Senior forward Allie Thunstrom of the Eagles tallied a goal and an assist while freshman forward Ashley Motherwell scored the game-winning goal early in the third period. However, the tide turned in the second meeting, as the visiting Terriers shut out the Eagles 4-0. Senior goalie Melissa Haber recorded her second shutout of the season, recording an astounding 37 saves. The BU penalty kill was the primary difference in the game, as they stopped all eight of the Eagles power play opportunities.

THREE KEYS FOR THE TERRIERS:

1.Special Teams: The Eagles are one of the more aggressive teams in Hockey East, as they have already tallied a total of 167 penalty minutes in 13 games, which equates to an average of approximately 13 penalty minutes per game. Therefore, the Terriers will have plenty of opportunities on the power play and need to take advantage of them. The Terriers have been largely unsuccessful in power plays against the Eagles, scoring a combined one power play goal in two meetings. On the other hand, the Terriers are a heavily-penalized team of their own, as they have racked up an average of 11.5 penalty minutes per game. Therefore, the team which excels on special teams, both offensively and defensively, will have the major advantage in this game.

2.Attack the BC Defense: While the Terriers have one of the most potent offensive attacks in Hockey East, averaging 2.82 goals per game in conference play, the Eagles are one of the poorest defensive teams in the league, allowing an average of 2.5 goals per game. The Terriers front line has a distinct size and speed advantage over the Eagles defense. In addition, the Terriers have nine potent forwards extremely capable of scoring goals and creating for teammates. Furthermore, the Eagles have not had a reliable goalie all season, as they have alternated between underclassmen Corinne Boyles and Kiera Kingston. If the Terriers maintain the puck at the Eagles end of the ice, they will have an overwhelming advantage over this inexperienced defensive unit.

3.Finishing Strong – While the Terriers have gotten off to fast starts against several teams this year, they have had difficulties closing out games. They have allowed teams like Boston College, Connecticut, and Providence to come back on them late in the third period. Even in their last game versus Brown, the Terriers allowed Brown to score three goals in the third period, before coming back to score two goals to secure the tie. The Terriers need to maintain a high level of intensity throughout the third period to avoid another such letdown. We got thrashed on Sunday, early and often. And for once, it wasn't man-beast Marqus Blakely doing the damage, since he ended up with only 11 points and 3 rebounds. We couldn't hit a damn thing for the first half of the game, and after that it didn't matter.

It was a disheartening loss and an embarrassing one, as I had a bunch of people come over and watch it in my apartment building's lounge. This included having get there and stake a claim on the main TV to ward off Cowboys fans. However, I don't think the loss was truly a reflection of our team. Consider:

1) We were coming off 4 games in a week, 3 of which were road games. Vermont came off a week of smoking doobies in the dorm rooms.

2) The Terriers actually showed some fight in the second half, playing hard until the final buzzer and keeping it a respectable 20-point loss (respectable, in that it could have easily been 30 or 35 points).

I don't think this was as bad as it looked. We're still 4-2 in the league, our stars still (eventually) shined and it represents the hardest our schedule gets all year and the most tired our team will be all year.

Well, up until tonight. We end this horrific stretch against Albany at The Greek tonight. It will be the 5th game in 10 days. I mean, come on. Will we have anything left in the tank?

I'm hoping a large crowd greets our weary warriors. They better show up, since the Athletic Department is springing for 1,000 BU basketball jerseys to give out. This is a fantastic thing! This blows every other giveaway they've ever done out of the water. If they gave out stuff like this all the time, people would actually show up... I mean it would bankrupt the Athletic Dept, but whatever.

Best of all, this could hopefully stem the tide of the most outrageous of Terrier fan faux-pas.... of course I'm speaking of the hockey jersey-wearing basketball fan. This phenomenon angers me like nothing this side of genocide, and it's an epidemic at BU. I want to knock these people out on sight. It's a basketball game, wear a basketball jersey or at worst a red t-shirt. If you wear a hockey jersey to basketball, you're not a real fan.

Now, thanks to this giveaway, nobody who calls themselves a BU basketball fan will have any good excuse. It's a FREE freakin jersey. Take one, wear it with pride, and save the hockey sweater for the next loss to UMass-Lowell.*

*Disclaimer: I do like the BU hockey team a lot, just not the people who wear the jersey to other sports.