BU offseason thread - this begs some questions!

[brassbonanza]

Re: BU offseason thread - this begs some questions!

Do you think that team is better or worse than last year?

Unclear. Talent top to bottom, probably a tad behind. Don't forget last year's team was very overrated in preseason rankings, which then lead to unreasonable expectations. Their eventual finish - HE title, regional final loss - is right around where most who honestly evaluated the roster would've expected. The path to that result was certainly unexpected though.

But the answer depends on a few questions:

- Does Oettinger have another semester-plus stretch of inconsistent play?
- Is Harper able to return to full form an be an elite forward?
- Do Bowers and Cockerill take steps forward toward becoming elite forwards?
- Do Fabbro and Krys take steps foward toward becoming elite D and leaders of the team?
- Are Curry, Chabot, Amonte, and others able to provide a reasonable scoring threat on the 3rd and 4th lines?
- Are Farabee and Wise as good as advertised and able to step in and contribute immediately?

[Friend_of_BU_Hockey]

Re: BU offseason thread - this begs some questions!

Unclear. Talent top to bottom, probably a tad behind. Don't forget last year's team was very overrated in preseason rankings, which then lead to unreasonable expectations. Their eventual finish - HE title, regional final loss - is right around where most who honestly evaluated the roster would've expected. The path to that result was certainly unexpected though.

But the answer depends on a few questions:

- Does Oettinger have another semester-plus stretch of inconsistent play?
- Is Harper able to return to full form an be an elite forward?
- Do Bowers and Cockerill take steps forward toward becoming elite forwards?
- Do Fabbro and Krys take steps foward toward becoming elite D and leaders of the team?
- Are Curry, Chabot, Amonte, and others able to provide a reasonable scoring threat on the 3rd and 4th lines?
- Are Farabee and Wise as good as advertised and able to step in and contribute immediately?

With the current roster, the team should still be good enough to finish top-4 in HE, get to the Garden, and make the NCAAs. Prior to the coaching change and roster attrition (Crone, Tkachuk, Tironese), I thought this year's BU team based on what was known at the time was on the short list of Frozen Four favorites.

[srsterrier]

Unclear. Talent top to bottom, probably a tad behind. Don't forget last year's team was very overrated in preseason rankings, which then lead to unreasonable expectations. Their eventual finish - HE title, regional final loss - is right around where most who honestly evaluated the roster would've expected. The path to that result was certainly unexpected though.

But the answer depends on a few questions:

- Does Oettinger have another semester-plus stretch of inconsistent play?
- Is Harper able to return to full form an be an elite forward?
- Do Bowers and Cockerill take steps forward toward becoming elite forwards?
- Do Fabbro and Krys take steps foward toward becoming elite D and leaders of the team?
- Are Curry, Chabot, Amonte, and others able to provide a reasonable scoring threat on the 3rd and 4th lines?
- Are Farabee and Wise as good as advertised and able to step in and contribute immediately?

All good questions and I think it’s also worth noting that Hockey East should be a stronger conference this year.

[mookie1995]

Do you think that team is better or worse than last year?

Depends on d and g

Hey were spotty last season, a bit of a drop from the year before. If they step it up the team can be better (2-1 final scores perhaps? )

[Friend_of_BU_Hockey]

Re: BU offseason thread - this begs some questions!

Depends on d and g

Hey were spotty last season, a bit of a drop from the year before. If they step it up the team can be better (2-1 final scores perhaps? )

Oettinger was disappointing 1st half of last season. He's the team's most important player by far and as with last season, the team's success will hinge on his performance.

The D didn't necessary help Oettinger at times last season. I thought Hickey had a sub-par year and the other Senior D (MacLeod, Diffley) had minimal impact on the team. I think what may be even more important than Fabbro and Krys' stepping up is how much the Sophomore D improve.

[BU Fan 84]

Re: BU offseason thread - this begs some questions!

Oettinger was disappointing 1st half of last season. He's the team's most important player by far and as with last season, the team's success will hinge on his performance.

The D didn't necessary help Oettinger at times last season. I thought Hickey had a sub-par year and the other Senior D (MacLeod, Diffley) had minimal impact on the team. I think what may be even more important than Fabbro and Krys' stepping up is how much the Sophomore D improve.

I am curious who our 6th d-man will be.

[defkit]

Re: BU offseason thread - this begs some questions!

I agree the team can't afford to have an "off" semester by Oettinger. And I would guess for his confidence and in his mind justifying his first round status, he knows he needs to play solid all year long. Dallas signed Colton Point who had much better numbers at Colgate last year than Jake did.

[RoughEmUp]

Re: BU offseason thread - this begs some questions!

Are tickets for the Comm Ave Classic typically available at the door? tia

[BlackI]

Re: BU offseason thread - this begs some questions!

Are tickets for the Comm Ave Classic typically available at the door? tia

Best username all time.

[Scarlet]

Are tickets for the Comm Ave Classic typically available at the door? tia

They have been in the past.

[Scarlet]

Re: BU offseason thread - this begs some questions!

8:49 to go in the second period at the Comm Ave Classic. BU leads BC 4-1. All goals scored by our hired guns - Ryan Donato with the hat trick and Adam Gaudette with one. Ha! I’m sure our Northeastern friends are probably horrified that their Hobey Winner is sporting a Terrier Jersey.

[J.D.]

Re: BU offseason thread - this begs some questions!

BU with hired guns against Joe Pearce and Chris Venti? Stop the fight...

[HHound]

8:Ha! I’m sure our Northeastern friends are probably horrified that their Tobey Winner is sporting a Terrier Jersey.

No problem. Adam was wearing an NU Hockey t-shirt under his uni sweater. Osmosis thwarted!

[BCeagle]

Re: BU offseason thread - this begs some questions!

I was thinking of going but on Friday night driving into rush hour traffic deterred me. Better and on a Saturday night.

[Scarlet]

Re: BU offseason thread - this begs some questions!

Traffic was actually not that bad, even with the residual mess from the Comm Ave bridge replacement. I was a bit worried about that.

This is such a fun event. I’m surprised there wasn’t more media coverage. And that’s no fault of the organizers. It’s very well run. Decent crowd. It was bigger in other years but I think maybe the date deterred folks.