BU season thread volume 3.1 cause board/priceless/tippycanoe deleted ours

[J.D.]

I know but I was just saying to be clear. I don't care who anybody roots for..and for me to tell someone that they can't be a fan of anyone because they didn't "go there" is beyond arrogant. I wish we had more fans, whether they went to BU or not. It's a great school and hockey tradition. People that stayed home missed some great hockey this weekend.

Agreed. As a neutral, this was a very fun regional to attend. Good fan support for all teams involved and some good games. Probably fitting BU lost today as the league was clearly a notch below the top teams this year.

[mookie1995]

Re: BU season thread volume 3.1 cause board/priceless/tippycanoe deleted ours

Agreed. As a neutral, this was a very fun regional to attend. Good fan support for all teams involved and some good games. Probably fitting BU lost today as the league was clearly a notch below the top teams this year.

terriors lost cause there was NO CHANCE for them to win a title. why fly all the way to st paul

[BCeagle]

Re: BU season thread volume 3.1 cause board/priceless/tippycanoe deleted ours

I know but I was just saying to be clear. I don't care who anybody roots for..and for me to tell someone that they can't be a fan of anyone because they didn't "go there" is beyond arrogant. I wish we had more fans, whether they went to BU or not. It's a great school and hockey tradition. People that stayed home missed some great hockey this weekend.

True but I still had a great time watching all the games on TV and still get to skate last night.

One of the PC players, I skate with his dad on Sunday nights in our weekly pickup.

My nephew is a freshman at BU but he is not into sports and could care less.

But with my team knocked out and no rooting interest, I didn't want to make the long drive there and back.

[The Zlax45]

Just wanted to give a more complete response to this than I was able to on my phone from the arena. There are basically three reasons for this:

1) BU (and BC, PC, etc) are private schools. They don't have the huge fan bases that the big state schools do. BC and PC both brought way fewer fans to the Garden and the NCAA regionals (well, Hockey East playoffs this year, since BC wasn't in the NCAAs). In the days when UNH and Maine were here regularly (for example), they brought HUGE fan bases. And we're not even talking about states where the schools are gigantic (like Texas, Ohio State, etc). New England per capita I believe has more colleges than anywhere else. So allegiances are split. No disrespect to a place like North Dakota, but that's basically all there is there. The entire state comes and fills the arena. We just don't have that and never will.

2) BC is "New England's School" when it comes to sports. Remember, they have been the only viable Division 1 football school for years. And they have visibility in basketball being in the ACC. BU, on the other hand, is in the Patriot League. People who didn't go to any school cheer for BC. My high school football coach was a BC nut (and he didn't even go near Boston). I have several friends who cheer for BC. One went to WPI. Also, (and especially in Worcester, who has St. John's, St. Peter-Marian and Holy Name) there is a HUGE catholic population here. MANY friends routinely say to me "I'm a BC fan because it's a catholic school (I'm not joking). Where the only people who cheer for BU are alumni. Not trying to stir up controversy, but that's the way it is. You were there yesterday. Did you hear the cheer from the Cornell fans aimed at the BU fans, "B-C re-jects?" That's the perception from everyone if you DIDN'T go to BU. We can't change that, and as a result, don't get the "neutral" fan. All we have is us. When BC plays you will get a lot of neutral fans to come out.

3) BU hasn't played in Worcester since 2006 (and we all remember that game). They don't have a lot of visibility here. In Worcester it's all about Holy Cross (and to a lesser extent, Assumption - both catholic, by the way). They aren't going to attract the "causal" fan.

But what's kind of funny about all this is that the BU crowd this weekend was as large as any I've seen since I have been going (which is since the early 70s).

I came in the other entrance (near the will call) and was standing next to a scout, who was at the box office window buying a ticket for today's game. This was the conversation: Scout: How much?" Attendant: "Fifty." Scout: "Five OH???" Attendant: "Yes." Scout: "For TODAY? For ONE GAME? Even for me? I'm a scout."

THERE'S your biggest problem...

Whoa whoa whoa....BC is far from “New England’s” school as Providence basketball has routinely outdrawn BC’s hoops back through the 70’s and been to multiple Final Four’s. Let’s not forget UConn basketball which has quite a few national championships, URI which was ranked this year, and even UMass basketball had a heyday back in the late 90’s. BC might have visibility being in the ACC nationally but no one cares about them unless you went there!

[mookie1995]

Re: BU season thread volume 3.1 cause board/priceless/tippycanoe deleted ours

.... like uconn is in new England

[Jofa]

I will not be sad to see these Freep reporters graduate, if they are indeed seniors.

Worst crew in memory absolute useless.

[chickod]

Re: BU season thread volume 3.1 cause board/priceless/tippycanoe deleted ours

terriors lost cause there was NO CHANCE for them to win a title. why fly all the way to st paul

And I won't miss the Masters...should be a good one this year with Tiger, Rory, Phil, Bubba all playing well.

[chickod]

Re: BU season thread volume 3.1 cause board/priceless/tippycanoe deleted ours

Whoa whoa whoa....BC is far from “New England’s” school as Providence basketball has routinely outdrawn BC’s hoops back through the 70’s and been to multiple Final Four’s. Let’s not forget UConn basketball which has quite a few national championships, URI which was ranked this year, and even UMass basketball had a heyday back in the late 90’s. BC might have visibility being in the ACC nationally but no one cares about them unless you went there!

Well it sure is "Massachusetts' School" at least...

[chickod]

Re: BU season thread volume 3.1 cause board/priceless/tippycanoe deleted ours

Agreed. As a neutral, this was a very fun regional to attend. Good fan support for all teams involved and some good games. Probably fitting BU lost today as the league was clearly a notch below the top teams this year.

Random thoughts...no excuses...just reality. The TV timeout after BU tied the game at 3 just KILLED us. BU had all the momentum, there was a buzz throughout the arena, and 2 1/2 minutes later the place was dead. Michigan regrouped and BU lost that "moment" where they may have been able to get the goal to put them over the top.

I thought the BU in-game adjustments were good. They finally abandoned the "up the wall" breakout strategy and started circumventing the forecheck by making indirect passes to open ice and using their speed. This gave them more opportunities. I thought there were a few times where they held onto the puck a split second too long, trying to make a "better" play rather than just shooting it. When you play the West they don't give you the time and space that we're used to here. I also think Michigan surprised BU by not "sitting on the lead" like a lot of teams do. They just kept coming in waves. In this case, a good offense prevents the opponent from building momentum and BU got caught a couple of times on their heels and couldn't recover.

The Hockey East officials need to stop calling the ticky-tack penalties. The games this weekend had much better flow to them. Yeah, it's a little more of an "NHL style." It's more physical and Michigan used that to stop BOTH NU and BU, but that's the way the game is. You don't have time to make decisions and you have to move the puck quickly. BU was able to adjust pretty well but not completely. NU had a tougher time because they really couldn't generate much after Michigan pretty much shut down their top line. That's where at this level, to go deep into the tournament you really need the depth.

I thought Michigan was just relentless and I give them credit. They just didn't stop the entire game. I think against almost anyone else BU comes back and wins that game but Michigan simply wouldn't let them. And to your point, J.D., that's where the strength of the league comes in. Another reason why you can't go by a team's record. The depth of the league they play in, combined with the style of play made them a tough out, and they really kind of flew under the radar with all the focus on Denver, St. Cloud and Ohio State. It will be interesting to see how they match up in the FF.

Yesterday was one of the reasons why this tournament is so compelling. You often have to play against a team you haven't seen and the strategy is intriguing. BU got a horrible break with that puck bouncing directly off the back boards over the net to the front for that easy tap in and there were just a couple of things too many to recover from. This is the type of team that if we had played them again I think we would win. But that doesn't matter...

I think if we can get a couple of more "finishers" next season this team will be in pretty good shape (depending upon who stays, of course). Hopefully the talent pipeline keeps flowing...getting tougher and tougher to recruit these days.

Have a good summer everyone and we'll see you in the fall!

[sterlippo1]

Re: BU season thread volume 3.1 cause board/priceless/tippycanoe deleted ours

Whoa whoa whoa....BC is far from “New England’s” school as Providence basketball has routinely outdrawn BC’s hoops back through the 70’s and been to multiple Final Four’s. Let’s not forget UConn basketball which has quite a few national championships, URI which was ranked this year, and even UMass basketball had a heyday back in the late 90’s. BC might have visibility being in the ACC nationally but no one cares about them unless you went there!

he wasnt just talking about basketball but overall....................and he's mostly right.

[sterlippo1]

Re: BU season thread volume 3.1 cause board/priceless/tippycanoe deleted ours

and good job by Quinn righting the ship and making a run.Understand at BU its the whole banana or nothing but congrats for a good season that would be the envy 80% of the schools out there.

[chickod]

Re: BU season thread volume 3.1 cause board/priceless/tippycanoe deleted ours

and good job by Quinn righting the ship and making a run.Understand at BU its the whole banana or nothing but congrats for a good season that would be the envy 80% of the schools out there.

Yeah, and that's why I mentioned the "parity" thing. We're going to have to accept the new reality. I'm not saying change the mind set, because the GOAL should always be to get the whole banana, but it's just not going to happen as frequently. The "old days" are gone.

And to be fair, I think you're seeing that in this thread. All we were looking for is for them to reach their potential. They did "underperform," by whatever measure you employ to determine that, for a good part of the season, but I think most people were satisfied that they rectified that situation.

[alnike]

Re: BU season thread volume 3.1 cause board/priceless/tippycanoe deleted ours

BU got a horrible break with that puck bouncing directly off the back boards over the net to the front for that easy tap in and there were just a couple of things too many to recover from. This is the type of team that if we had played them again I think we would win. But that doesn't matter...

When I watched that replay many times, it is a break, but I describe it as bouncing off the boards to the left side of the net (not over the net), deflecting off the goalies left skate, then deflecting off the back of the goalies right skate and settling in an open crease.

[SpauldingSmails]

Re: BU season thread volume 3.1 cause board/priceless/tippycanoe deleted ours

Whoa whoa whoa....BC is far from “New England’s” school as Providence basketball has routinely outdrawn BC’s hoops back through the 70’s and been to multiple Final Four’s. Let’s not forget UConn basketball which has quite a few national championships, URI which was ranked this year, and even UMass basketball had a heyday back in the late 90’s. BC might have visibility being in the ACC nationally but no one cares about them unless you went there!

Particularly around Boston, BC is the default choice due to a number of factors, but is likely driven by actually having a football team and having a consistently strong hockey team. My sons hockey team is way leaning towards BC, with the BU supporters being children of alumni or one degree of separation from the program in one way or another. I always found it a little striking that the blue collar folks in MA would cheer for a school that has among the wealthiest students in the country, but people tend to choose winners (which BC has been super consistent). I would also argue that BC has done a far superior job of youth-level outreach with their players that I have not seen from BU, which definitely drives loyalty early. Whether PC/UMASS or UCONN are better basketball schools is completely irrelevant and has little impact on the fan base outside of alumni.

[chickod]

Re: BU season thread volume 3.1 cause board/priceless/tippycanoe deleted ours

When I watched that replay many times, it is a break, but I describe it as bouncing off the boards to the left side of the net (not over the net), deflecting off the goalies left skate, then deflecting off the back of the goalies right skate and settling in an open crease.

That's what I initially thought. But unless my eyes are playing tricks on me, when I watched it again last night it didn't go "around" the net - it went OVER and then it hit the back of his skate and caromed off to the side. Maybe someone else can confirm this. It was down the other end from where we were sitting and difficult to see live, but it didn't look like there was any way it could have hit Oettinger's skate if it bounced directly out because the net was in the way. The only way it could have hit his skate was for it to go over the net and land behind him. If you look at the replay again, it's almost like when you short hop a ball against a wall. It hops up into the air. If it hit the board flush and came out along the ice it would have HAD to hit the back of the net.

It reminded me of Red Hot Hockey (I think it was in 2010). The puck came off the netting, hit the goaltender in the back and caromed into the net. Cornell swore it was a goal. The referees didn't see the puck hit the netting so they literally didn't know where it came from. Review showed that it hit the net so it was out of play.