The Terrier Takeaway from Saturday's 4-1 win against Northeastern is from blog contributor and New York Times writer Neal Boudette, who spoke with Coach O'Connell after the game.
Overall, a very convincing and complete win against a good
Northeastern team.
Need to improve: penalties and breakout. BU 29 mins in the
box, NU just 12. That meant NU had 14 mins of PP time, BU only 5.
Breakout struggled at times in 1st and 2nd, allowing NU to keep
puck in Terrier zone and put sustained pressure on Oettinger.
First period play was even. NU had the edge in SOG but Terriers
went to the locker room with a 1-0 lead, thanks to Fabbro (more on that guy in
a minute).
Second period, by clear margin BU had more possession, although
NU still had good chances (due to BU breakout troubles) and hit the post
once.
In the third, BU totally dominated possession. That Fabbro fella
put the Terriers in control with a power-play slapshot early in the period.
After that it seemed NU hardly ever had the puck.
NU won total SOG 38-29 (partly due to difference in penalties).
Still, BU had as many or more quality chances.
PK was excellent. For the game NU had 14 minutes of power play
time. They got one goal late when the game was out of reach. Otherwise, the PK
frustrated NU. Crotty took a (dumb, in my view) 5-min hitting from behind
penalty in 3rd, but BU held them to only four SOGs.
The forward PK pairs were Bowers-Bobo, Cockerill-Curry and, when
needed, Wilman-Amonte. Very impressed with how Cockerill used his speed
to disrupt on PK, & Curry used his grit. They combined for a glorious
shorty. Cockerill carried the puck across the blue line and saucered a pass
across the slot to a streaking Curry, who tapped the puck down out of the
air and immediately snapped it into the top corner. Was worthy of Sports
Center.
Albie said after the game Terriers switched to a simpler PK
rather than the NHL-style scheme they had been using. Bowers-Bobo combo allows
BU to use either an R or L-handed centerman when penalty sends draw to D zone,
a nice advantage.
Some player
impressions:
Oettinger: A shame he didn’t get the shut out, it was deserved.
He made it look easy, got square to NU shooters, never out of position. This
was the real Jake.
Farrance: very strong again. Skated the puck, attacked in O-zone,
solid D. Late in the game, NU forechecker chased behind the net, #4 went the
other way, saw he had no good options and circled back behind the net a second
time - Bobby Orr style. Albie loved it.
Cockerill - tremendous, both ends. Made things happen with his
speed.
Bobo - typical Bobo, strong at both ends, scored a goal.
Harper - made some nice passes but not huge force in O-zone.
What was particularly impressive was his D-zone play, showed real
determination, tenacity in battles. Played much bigger than his size.
Kotkansalo - very strong and steady. Only a sophomore but as
tough/smart as any D on the team.
Blixt had some troubles. Not major but probably still adjusting
to college hockey.
Bowers - strong 200-foot player. Reminds me of JFK.
And finally, Fabbro - he could play in NHL today, he’s that
good. So good in D zone recovering possession, excellent making first pass to
exit zone. On offense, he recognized that NU was changing, streaked down
the empty slot, took a pass from Curry and wristed it past Primeau’s glove. Dante’s
game-winner 53 seconds into the 3rd, was just a bomb from the point. This kid
is special.
