Men’s Hockey: Three Thoughts on the Weekend

By: Dan Shulman

Well, that didn’t go as planned for the Terriers this weekend. After a dominant first period Friday, BU was shutout for the final 100 minutes of the series as UConn scored five times to earn a split.

• Goaltending Competition is Back on

After Connor LaCouvee’s magnificent showing on Friday night in Storrs, the junior has reentered the conversation for first-choice goaltender. Especially now with freshman Jake Oettinger struggling mightily following a spectacular start to his collegiate career. At age 17, its easy to see Oettinger youth and inexperience shining through while LaCouvee remained wholly composed in Friday’s win. We’ll see who Coach Quinn chooses to start this Tuesday against Harvard.

• Depth a Major Issue

With some major injuries to some of BU’s key players, the depth of this team has been on full display for the past two weeks. While the quantity of BU’s depth players is not an issue on offense or defense, the quality most definitely is. Obviously its not easy losing a team’s top scorer, assistant captain, and fastest playmaker within a week, but there should still be other players like them ready to go. The reality is that BU is lacking some creativity and leadership at forward and could use a real boost in some form.

• Show Some Urgency

With the exception of the top forward line, there was no real offensive of defensive urgency shown by the Terriers. Scoring-wise, there was much to be desired from BU as there weren’t many quality shots on net. On defense, checks were left unfinished, clearances were soft, and battles for loose pucks were lost all over the ice. These young Terriers need some sort of motivation right now.