While the Huskies flailed against Boston College in the first round of the Beanpot Monday, I saw what they had been during their eight-game unbeaten streak, even if just for a split second.
Playing a quicker, higher-ranked, more naturally gifted hockey team, they held their own for most of the first period, much like they had against the likes of University of Minnesota, University of Michigan and Notre Dame earlier this season.
But unfortunately for the Huskies and their legion of supporters at TD Garden, they had to play the rest of the game.
From the second period on, the offense couldn’t keep it in the blue line, or in the their zone for that matter. Defensemen pressed the offensive zone and (very) frequently gave up shorthanded, odd-man rushes. They went from a team looking like they could hang with the big boys to a dazed and confused group, trying to figure out what the hell just hit them.
No one from the team, whether it be coach Jim Madigan or his players, will admit that any one thing led to the embarrassing loss. By all accounts, this team wins as a team, and loses as a team, and that’s as it should be.
But it’s clear to anyone who saw the game that this team seemed to feel like it was missing something. They took too many chances and tried to make too much happen to convince fans they have was clicking on all cylinders.
Two first-line juggernauts on the Huskie offense have missed the past two games with injuries, and could be a big reason for what appears to be a heightened sense of urgency from the Huskies.
According to the Twitterverse, the Huskies won’t have junior forward Steve Quailer for the next two weeks because of a sprained ACL/MCL. His linemate, sophomore Cody Ferriero, is rumored to be out for the season after having knee surgery on what some say is a torn ACL.
Or so we think, but I’ll get to that later.
The Quailer/Ferriero/sophomore Braden Pimm first line was easily one of the most impressive lines in the league during the Huskies’ eight-game unbeaten streak. In which the Huskies went 6-0-2, their first line had a line score of 16-15-31 with a +36 goals differential. They were the most productive line in Hockey East not named Spencer Abbott.
For those six weeks, they helped Huntington Avenue forget about the grizzled, offensive-minded veterans we lost to graduation (forwards Tyler McNeely, Wade MacLeod and Steve Silva) and the budding freshmen we lost to fame and fortune (forward Brodie Reid, defenseman Jamie Oleksiak). It made this season, a transition period for the program, easier to support.
But without that line, the Huskies are 2-8-2 overall, and it puts more pressure on players like freshmen forwards Ludwig Karlsson, Adam Reid, junior forwards Robbie Vrolyk and Vinny Saponari to come in and spark the offense.
Karlsson has already asserted himself as one of the best up-and-coming stars on this team, as he is tied for the team lead with nine goals and 15 assists as a freshman. Don’t expect him to disappear come crunch time.
Vrolyk, who himself missed 25 games last season with an injury, had two goals in the 4-3 overtime victory over University of Masschusetts – Amherst last week, and has shown signs of evolving into a reliable, go-to wing on third line with Andrew Tuckerman and captain Mike McLaughlin. The same can be said for Reid on the fourth line.
I personally expected more out of Saponari, simply out of what I heard about him from his freshman year at Boston University, but in a pass-first offense like this, 15 assists is nothing to shake your head at. Then again, if the Huskies want to make noise in the Hockey East tournament (or make the tournament, for that matter), it wouldn’t hurt if Sap got in the habit of having the rubber meet the twine.
What’s more upsetting to me, and I’m sure many Huskies’ fans, is the Bill Belichick-ian stance taken by the Northeastern Athletic’s department when it comes to player injuries.
Fans haven’t heard one peep from anyone connected with Northeastern or the hockey program about the injuries to Quailer and Ferriero. No one gets in, and nothing gets out. Instead, we have to rely on professional scouts telling us the status of our own team in 140 characters or less. People who couldn’t care less about this team are more informed than we are.
But that’s another column for another week.
I truly look forward to watching some of the third and fourth line kids stepping in and playing more demanding roles for this team. It’ll give some a chance to get big minutes against big opponents, and that could help this team down the line. So get out there, make the Dog House proud and best of luck.
But whatever you do, don’t break a leg.
– Andy MacDougall can be reached at [email protected].
