Weekend Preview: BU/BC #robertmorris

The BU Terriers take on their arch rival Boston College Newton University Eagles for their only two scheduled games of the regular season this coming weekend. These teams could meet again in the Beanpot final (obviously) but that is far from a sure thing with BC having to play a top 10 team in the first round in Harvard. The #4 ranked Eagles come into the weekend overrated for sure but this still is the only top 10 matchup this weekend with the Terriers currently ranked #10. On top of a top 10 matchup, this is the best rivalry in college hockey where you can basically throw out the records whenever they meet. The teams, fans, coaches do not like each other no matter what front the coaches may put up when they are on camera. It brings out the best and sometimes worst in the players as they play in front of the most hostile crowds of the season outside of the Beanpot.

The Terriers come into this weekend on a bit of a heater having won three games in a row including two wins over top 10 teams in Quinnipiac and Havard. BC has gone 1-2-1 in their last four including an ugly loss to Ohio State who is the opposite of good. Despite the recent struggles, you will hear all about how talented BC is and how highly those in the media think of them. They are ranked 4 in polls despite being 10 in the pairwise rankings (which are the only ones that matter). I am not going to disagree with them that BC is talented. BC has plenty of talent especially up front and in goal if Thatcher Demko is healthy/knows where he is despite a concussion. The main point that I feel is being very overlooked is that BC has not been tested.  They just recorded their first win of the year against a current top 15 pairwise team. BU on the other hand has beaten three such teams as well tied Cornell and PC twice.  BC has not been pushed or really tested by any teams outside of Hockey East so we have no idea how good they really are. BU has played the top teams in the ECAC (Harvard, Cornell, Yale, and Quinnipiac) and Michigan along with PC. BU has been through a ringer of a schedule up to this point while BC kicks over tomato can after tomato can to easy victories.  To make this point clearer, lets take a look at two teams below (hint BU is better than both of them):

Team A: 4.15 goals for/game, 12.7 shooting %,  *QWB(Quality Win Bonus) .0034

Team B: 4.36 goals for/game,  12.5 shooting %, * QWB(Quality Win Bonus) .0036

*It is what it sounds like. It is a bonus factor into pairwise for beating good teams(BU's is .0112 best in the country)

Which team would you rather be at this point in the season?

BU Freshman Preview- Part 3 Defensemen

This is part 3 of my 3 part freshmen preview(Part 1-Collier, Baillargeon, Duane & Part 2-Roberto,Lawrence,Kelley)). This post will break down the 3 freshmen joining the defensive corps this season along with a transfer who will be eligible to play in games next season.

Somerby(right) with current Terrier teammate Matt Grzelcyk

photo credit to islandersoptimism.com(hilarious website name )

7. Doyle Somerby,D, 6'5",223- Marblehead,MA #27 (Kimball Union- 3-18-21, 29 GP)

 From all the scouting reports on Somerby, the first thing you notice is his size and rightfully so. Somerby is the biggest defenseman to come into BU since Eric Gryba(maybe a tie with Macgregor). Well he will be until Carrabino(see below) is eligiible to play in games. Somerby came into his high school years as a forward but transitioned to defense during his freshman season at St. Mary's in Lynn and his 3 years at KUA. Somerby was drafted in the 5th round of the 2012 draft. From everything you read, Somerby's biggest challenge will be to improve his skating to compete with smaller, quicker forwards at the NCAA level. Somerby will be a physical force right away for sure with his size and I expect him to learn how to use that size to his advantage rather quickly("Doyle smash!" might become a thing-just a warning).  I would expect 10-15 points from Somerby this year but expect him to contribute on defense right away. He has the size and strength to change games from the very beginning and I would expect him to do just that. The over/under on panes of glass broken from his hits this year is 2.5.

Weekend Preview- Time to bundle some Friars

The 12-9 BU Terriers face off with 10-9-3 PC Friars this weekend in a home and home series. Friday night's game will be held at Schneider Arena in Providence and Saturday night will be back in Boston at Agganis Arena. The Terriers took the first game this year back in October. It was a 4-2 win at Agganis Arena. The Friars are currently tied with BU for 3rd in the conference with 18 pts in 15 games played. The Friars are 3-1 in their last 4 since goalie Jon Gillies returned from his stint with team USA in the WJC. That lone loss was a 2-1 loss at Lowell where Gillies played absurdly well. He is certainly living up to the hype he had as a recruit with his .930 save % and 2.12 GAA.  PC is lead by junior(and member of my fantasy team-though he will be benched this weekend) Derek Army. He has a solid 10-7-17 line in 22 GP. Ross Maureman and Shane Luke are also threats to score. The BU defense will also need to keep an eye on freshman Mark Jankowski who is a skilled forward that has been fighting through some injuries so far this year. PC doesn't have a ton of skilled guys up front but they know how to grind and score goals. They typically win in low scoring games with Gillies and captain dman Myles Harvey being the backbone of their defense.

NCAA Realignment

Recently, University of Notre Dame shifted their major collegiate sports, besides football, from the Big East Conference to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Accordingly, the Big East had a back up plan and knew of a possible departure. Starting within the next few years, future schools such as Navy, SMU, UCF will be joining the Big East to make up for the departure of other schools (UWV, 'Cuse, UND).

So this had me thinking. Will the shifting in bigger conferences change the dynamic in the smaller conferences? History has said yes and history is repeating itself. Small conferences are losing members to the bigger and better super-conferences (Pac12, Big10, SEC etc.) and/or the intermediate conferences (Big East, Big12 etc.) either to make up for a change in a different realignment conference or have an even number of programs in the league.