BC Women's Hockey, 2015-2016: Embrace The Cupcake Diet

[TonyTheTiger20]

Maybe she will transfer

A man can dream! Girl is going to be a superstar.

[wwhyte]

Re: BC Women's Hockey, 2015-2016: Embrace The Cupcake Diet

Is there a sense that this might be the year for BC to put it all together in light of what they lose after this year? They still have a dynamic duo (like Minnesota) which are a matchup nightmare plus a deep supporting cast of forwards. They have a goaltender that now has a year of D1 experience. They certainly lost a great player in Pfalzer to graduation on the blue line that will be difficult to replace but I think they bring in enough freshmen talent (Bizal in particular) to offset that.

... plus the Frozen Four is on the road for Minnesota this year.

BC have four things to address, I think.

1) Being a poor road team relative to their talent. The losses and ties last year were all away from Conte. The most surprising result of the season, that 2-2 draw to St Lawrence, was at Appleton. They were 19-0-0 at home and 15-3-2 away and neutral. It's not even like Conte is that nice! You'd think a flamboyant, crowdpleasing team like the Eagles would have thrived in an atmosphere like the Beanpot final at Bright or the FF at Ridder. But for some reason they find it easier to turn it on at home.

2) The power play, and in general the play against teams that clog the zone. The Eagles were at or near the top of every statistical category last year but fifteenth in power play %. And this wasn't some weird statistical artifact. Those of us who were at the games saw it happen. Grant tracked it. When the Eagles got to break away and be three-on-two they were unstoppable. On the occasions when there were four defenders near the crease they passed around the outside until all momentum was lost. The most egregious example of this was that five-minute major against Harvard in the Frozen Four, but it was there all year. The fact that we were first in the country in shorthanded goals just emphasizes this: SHGs are classically ones where you use your speed to create an opportunity and don't say anything about your ability to grind out a win. I worry that we'll spend too much of the year playing teams we can just outskate and then get taken by surprise by teams that can actually defend in the postseason.

3) Coming through the tough games. Yes, we came back from 2-0 down against BU last season, but in general we were taken by surprise by teams that stepped up. This is going to be even harder this year with Merrimack knocking out the games against Quinnipiac, Yale and Princeton, none of whom are national champions (sorry Bobcats) but none of whom are pushovers either. We run the risk of reaching the postseason having had almost nothing but cupcakes and with little or no experience of the tough matches. This is related to (2) obviously.

4) It's going to be very hard to beat Minnesota.

[Leather helmet]

Re: BC Women's Hockey, 2015-2016: Embrace The Cupcake Diet

... plus the Frozen Four is on the road for Minnesota this year.

BC have four things to address, I think.

1) Being a poor road team relative to their talent. The losses and ties last year were all away from Conte. The most surprising result of the season, that 2-2 draw to St Lawrence, was at Appleton. They were 19-0-0 at home and 15-3-2 away and neutral. It's not even like Conte is that nice! You'd think a flamboyant, crowdpleasing team like the Eagles would have thrived in an atmosphere like the Beanpot final at Bright or the FF at Ridder. But for some reason they find it easier to turn it on at home.

2) The power play, and in general the play against teams that clog the zone. The Eagles were at or near the top of every statistical category last year but fifteenth in power play %. And this wasn't some weird statistical artifact. Those of us who were at the games saw it happen. Grant tracked it. When the Eagles got to break away and be three-on-two they were unstoppable. On the occasions when there were four defenders near the crease they passed around the outside until all momentum was lost. The most egregious example of this was that five-minute major against Harvard in the Frozen Four, but it was there all year. The fact that we were first in the country in shorthanded goals just emphasizes this: SHGs are classically ones where you use your speed to create an opportunity and don't say anything about your ability to grind out a win. I worry that we'll spend too much of the year playing teams we can just outskate and then get taken by surprise by teams that can actually defend in the postseason.

3) Coming through the tough games. Yes, we came back from 2-0 down against BU last season, but in general we were taken by surprise by teams that stepped up. This is going to be even harder this year with Merrimack knocking out the games against Quinnipiac, Yale and Princeton, none of whom are national champions (sorry Bobcats) but none of whom are pushovers either. We run the risk of reaching the postseason having had almost nothing but cupcakes and with little or no experience of the tough matches. This is related to (2) obviously.

4) It's going to be very hard to beat Minnesota.

I think you can't overstate the value at tournament time of a team being battle-hardened by tough games. IMO, it is not a coincidence that the WCHA produces the champion year after year (nice game, Clarkson!), since those teams are tested week after week. Harvard struggled in the FF with Minn taking away their time and space, as this is one thing you can't prepare for in any other way than to see it over and over again. Those trips to Bemidji aren't fun, but they are valuable.

[pokechecker]

Re: BC Women's Hockey, 2015-2016: Embrace The Cupcake Diet

Playing against the eventual first team All-American goalie 5 times certainly helped, as did playing 4 games against the PK nominee and second team All-American goalie.

But I would have liked to have seen BC or Harvard handle WI the way they were flying in the first period at the FF, or handle their forecheck. Playing them 5 times a year is good preparation for the championship game, ... if you make it there.

If anybody had questions about the ability of the Gopher D, or which blueliners deserved AA post season honors, they were answered during the WI/MN game.

[Timothy A]

Re: BC Women's Hockey, 2015-2016: Embrace The Cupcake Diet

Playing against the eventual first team All-American goalie 5 times certainly helped, as did playing 4 games against the PK nominee and second team All-American goalie.

But I would have liked to have seen BC or Harvard handle WI the way they were flying in the first period at the FF, or handle their forecheck. Playing them 5 times a year is good preparation for the championship game, ... if you make it there.

All the smart people knew that game was for all the marbles and the game after was just the coronation party.

[TonyTheTiger20]

Re: BC Women's Hockey, 2015-2016: Embrace The Cupcake Diet

All the smart people knew that game was for all the marbles and the game after was just the coronation party.

That was the case in 2014 as well if memory serves

[FiveHoleFrenzy]

Re: BC Women's Hockey, 2015-2016: Embrace The Cupcake Diet

I'm thinking this is the BC thread but I'm not sure...

So BC has issues that posters like wwhyte pointed out which do seem legit. These seem like issues that, with the talent level that BC has, can be overcome. But that probably depends on the coaching staff being able to make some adjustments to their systems.

[ARM]

Re: BC Women's Hockey, 2015-2016: Embrace The Cupcake Diet

The most surprising result of the season, that 2-2 draw to St Lawrence, was at Appleton.

I realize that a concept like "most surprising" is subjective, so people will reach different conclusions. IMO, the most surprising BC result was the 4-1 loss to BU in the HEA tourney. The tie in Canton came in early in the season when results tend to be more erratic. A good goalie was able to hold the Eagles to two goals; it happens. We've seen road teams come up short on trips to the North Country over the years, and I'm sure we will again.

But I didn't expect the country's best offense to accomplish so little versus the Terriers, whose scoring defense was middle of the pack at best. Given the Beanpot got away, I expected BC's determination to match that of BU with a trophy on the line.

[wwhyte]

Re: BC Women's Hockey, 2015-2016: Embrace The Cupcake Diet

I realize that a concept like "most surprising" is subjective, so people will reach different conclusions. IMO, the most surprising BC result was the 4-1 loss to BU in the HEA tourney. The tie in Canton came in early in the season when results tend to be more erratic. A good goalie was able to hold the Eagles to two goals; it happens. We've seen road teams come up short on trips to the North Country over the years, and I'm sure we will again.

But I didn't expect the country's best offense to accomplish so little versus the Terriers, whose scoring defense was middle of the pack at best. Given the Beanpot got away, I expected BC's determination to match that of BU with a trophy on the line.

After the Beanpot final, and the WHEA final the previous year, and the Beanpot and WHEA tournaments the previous year, I'd learned not to be surprised by a loss in a big game, unfortunately.

[joecct]

I think you can't overstate the value at tournament time of a team being battle-hardened by tough games. IMO, it is not a coincidence that the WCHA produces the champion year after year (nice game, Clarkson!), since those teams are tested week after week. Harvard struggled in the FF with Minn taking away their time and space, as this is one thing you can't prepare for in any other way than to see it over and over again. Those trips to Bemidji aren't fun, but they are valuable.

It was an Olympic year. The really good players were absent with their national teams. But we'll still take it!

[TonyTheTiger20]

Re: BC Women's Hockey, 2015-2016: Embrace The Cupcake Diet

Rumor has it there will actually be a play by play (called by the BC radio station) on BC's streams this year.

[driventoit]

Re: BC Women's Hockey, 2015-2016: Embrace The Cupcake Diet

Rumor has it there will actually be a play by play (called by the BC radio station) on BC's streams this year.

Good news for Eagle fans, but just hope they are schooled by Brown's Mike Rubin. Mediocre to bad play-by-play (the standard) is worse than none at all. (Though I suppose you need some sound on the radio other than whistles and skates carving ice.) Actually, no sound on the NCAA FF video coverage would have been better too, for those of us who didn't make the trip.

[hocper]

Re: BC Women's Hockey, 2015-2016: Embrace The Cupcake Diet

BC picked to finish first

http://hockeyeastonline.com/women/pr...9/sep21wpp.php

[Eeyore]

Re: BC Women's Hockey, 2015-2016: Embrace The Cupcake Diet

BC picked to finish first

http://hockeyeastonline.com/women/pr...9/sep21wpp.php

Was anyone picked to finish second?

[ARM]

Re: BC Women's Hockey, 2015-2016: Embrace The Cupcake Diet

Was anyone picked to finish second?

"Second place is the first loser."