The first round of the 55th Annual Beanpot Tournament unfolded exactly as it should have — total BU domination. In Monday’s 4-0 thumping at the TD Banknorth Garden, the No. 7/8 Terriers shut out any thoughts of Friday night’s 0-0 draw with lowly UMass-Lowell and shook off the problem of needing some hop in their step. The Terriers came out flying against a Northeastern University team that wanted nothing more than to hand BU its first opening-round loss since 1994.
There is little doubt the Terriers will fall back into its sloppy form against Lowell when it faces archrival No. 15 Boston College this coming Monday in what is sure to be an epic struggle for Boston bragging rights.
“I think it comes at the right time for us because we’re always playing our best hockey come Beanpot time,” said senior captain Sean Sullivan after Monday’s first-round victory. “It’s extra motivation for us in front of a big crowd, and we just always thrive in the Beanpot, so if we’re struggling a game before, we always bring out our best.”
But slow down and smell the roses because Hockey East doesn’t stand still and just wait for the Beanpot to end. Before the Terriers can go back to battle on Causeway Street, they have to take a trip to Amherst to finish the season series with a Minutemen squad that is tops on home ice.
And while the Terriers will no doubt be jacked up for the Beanpot final Monday, which team will show up for plain old Hockey East play Friday night?
Don’t rely on Monday night’s momentum to carry into Friday because it wouldn’t be the first time the Terriers thought they were over the no-hustle hump. The 2006-07 Terriers seem to be riding on a most dangerous concept – potential. Just look at BU’s first scoreless draw of the season at home against Northeastern University on Jan. 6.
“We fell into the same problems we’ve had all year long, with being very easily satisfied,” said BU coach Jack Parker, fuming after the Jan. 6 loss. “We played a sharp game last night . . . we beat Providence [Jan. 5, 5-1] in their building to pucks all night long and then we came back tonight and did just the opposite. Some guys who played great last night were absolutely horrible tonight – absolutely horrible.
“They don’t want to be hockey players, they want to be something else,” he continued. “They don’t want to pay the price they need to pay – focusing, getting ready to go – game in, game out. They constantly want it to be easy, and that’s bad leadership that just goes right down the line.”
It happened again against Lowell on Feb. 2, a performance that inspired the typically composed Parker to lose it. After reeling off five straight quality wins (immediately after the Northeastern debacle), including taking two from Maine and one from BC – all on the road – there was thought of the Terriers taking off on a run similar to last year’s sprint to No.1. Instead, the Terriers – tired as they were – came off all that with a 3-3 tie against the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and then embarrassed themselves against Lowell less than a week later.
“I’ll tell you what I just told my team,” said an enraged Parker after the Lowell game. “That was an embarrassing display. Other than our goaltender, who played fabulously, we didn’t have one guy come to play hard tonight. We got embarrassed by a team that’s in last place.
“We got absolutely embarrassed,” he added. “From lack of senior leadership to lack of intensity, to lack of willingness to compete, it was as bad a showing as I’ve seen.”
It has happened over and over again all season long, as BU’s goaltender (and only consistently ready-to-play guy) John Curry recognized last Friday in the Agganis Arena pressroom.
“That’s been an in and out problem all year – getting ready for games,” he said. “It may not be the Beanpot championship tonight, but it’s a league game, two points. I thought we had something to prove, but apparently, we didn’t feel that way.”
Though the Terriers traditionally step it up in the second half, these are problems that should have been solved – many of which were thought to be solved – yet still run rampant in the BU locker room and across the minds of the Terriers, from seniors on down. And the team’s potential won’t take them any further.
Potential is the purgatory of success, and now the Terriers must pay their dues and their debts to those ever-present hockey gods. They can’t wait anymore because it is no longer the second half, and the season is moving onto the eleventh hour.
So as it’s been said many times this season, this is a make-or-break weekend for the Terriers. Will this momentum, this realized potential, stick around after the Beanpot is all said and done? Have they cured the complacency and injected a will to win that doesn’t discriminate depending on that day’s opponent?
Don’t give up faith – the potential is there and it’s morphing into something even greater. After all, potential is a dangerous word.