On the quickly growing list of things currently better than the Boston University men’s hockey team, I would like to officially add Billy Joel’s driving, Aaron Burr’s political career, Bill Belichick’s sportsmanship, Craig Sager’s suits and Cher’s plastic surgeon. That’s how far the team has fallen already this season.
The worst part about trudging through two winless weeks is that it happens at a time when almost every Boston sports team has decided to maximize its potential. The Red Sox won the World Series for the second time in three years. The Celtics are the only NBA team with three Top 20 players. The Bruins are over .500. The Patriots are getting criticized for being too good. Boston College football is ranked second in the nation. So naturally, it only figures the one major sport that BU is known for is the worst it’s been in years.
I’m not saying there aren’t other sports at BU that give the school a good name. At least field hockey is ranked No. 14 nationally. However, ice hockey is a sport that garners far more national attention than field hockey. BU is an ice hockey school because it’s the only sport here that’s relevant enough to bring national coverage, which in turn brings in more revenue.
If anyone is wondering why the team is off to its worst start in 30 years, the answer is simple: The goaltending is, charitably, subpar. There are other, smaller reasons, but having a borderline empty net is the biggest one. Don’t give me youth and don’t give me that the team has lost to the best teams in the country, New Hampshire and Michigan.
Karson Gillespie and Brett Bennett have both been unable to step up in net as everyone waits to see who John Curry’s successor will be.
Not to be too harsh on the duo — their problems haven’t been all their fault. The defense in front of the goalies has been bad, due in part to the losses of Tom Morrow and Sean Sullivan. The defense allows too many one-on-one scoring chances that even the most talented goalies can’t stop.
The offense can’t get into a flow because it racks up stupid penalties, something coach Jack Parker said he was concerned about. Against Robert Morris University, all three third-period goals came on the power play, including one on a five-on-three advantage. Last year’s team points leader, senior forward Pete MacArthur, has yet to score a goal through five contests and has just one assist.
Speaking of Parker, when the ship is in the beginning stages of sinking, its captain has to take some blame. The high number of penalties surely is an issue of fundamentals. Who are we to blame when the team is unable to maintain a certain level of intensity for an entire game? He is one of the faces of BU Athletics, and deservedly so, but the team is off to one of its worst starts ever. Accountability must start somewhere.
If the Terriers are to turn this season around, Gillespie is the one who will have to step up most on the team. He is a senior with minimal room for improvement, and while he did not have a lot of playing time in his first three years, he was still on the bench watching John Curry game after game and in practice which allowed him to learn the speed of the college game. He does not have much time to learn on the job.
Gillespie has not shown the ability to stay in a game mentally even when he goes through stretches of playing well. After a 4-1 drubbing at the hands of UNH in the home opener, in which Gillespie fell apart in the third period again, Parker praised Gillespie’s play in the postgame press conference, saying Gillespie played well but probably would like to have back a couple of the goals he allowed, implying Giles could make those saves on any other night.
Unfortunately, he can’t have those back. In a sport in which one goal can make all the difference in a game, fans are supposed to accept that Gillespie can make all kinds of saves, but only when the puck bounces his way? I take a test and fail it. Should I get extra credit from the professor if I use the argument, “If I took that test tomorrow, I’d do well?” What if I used that argument on every single exam I took in that class?
The most frustrating part of watching Gillespie is that every now and then he makes a save that makes me almost forget about Curry. Too bad it’s the saves he doesn’t make that erase that thought. Against New Hampshire, Gillespie gave up three goals in the third period. Two of the three goals were off breakaways in which the defensemen (especially freshman Kevin Shattenkirk) blatantly got beat. The other score was a slapshot from the left point that Parker blamed on a bad angle.
Parker’s doing his job to protect his players, but bad goalkeeping was to blame for not snagging a shot that everyone and their mother knew was coming. The goal was from the blue line and came stick-side. It wasn’t top shelf. It was low enough that Gillespie should have been able to deflect it. If it was a bad angle, he’ll get no apology from me. Goalies don’t have pucks handed to them on a silver platter. Also, I don’t care if the defense got beat on the other two goals. I’m only giving him a partial reprieve for those, even if they left him hanging. Part of a goalie’s job is to bail out his defensemen when they screw up. Unfortunately, BU’s offense is being constantly put in a position to have to make up for Gillespie’ mistakes.
So far, Gillespie has a whopping 4.36 goals-against average and a dismal .829 save percentage. Five of the 13 goals he’s allowed have been power-play goals, so we can cut him some slack for those.
Against Michigan, Gillespie showed the world two things: He can melt in any period — he is not partial to the third like he was in his other starts — and his play has been equal against both bad and good teams named Robert Morris or No. 3 Michigan. RMU faced No. 13 ranked Wisconsin for two games after beating BU (which was ranked No. 8 at the time) and lost 7-2 and 8-2, respectively.
Goalies naturally affect team mentality as well. I would bet the house that the forwards on the team are feeling much more pressure these days to score at least four goals a game to even have a chance at a tie. Unfortunately, BU won last year because of its staunch defense and goaltending. These Terriers are not offensively proficient enough to outslug opposing teams.
Can someone give Curry an MVP for this year? I think Terrier fans are seeing now just how much he meant to the hockey team. Curry loosened up his teammates and allowed for numerous bailouts. He made it easier for his defensemen to have a bigger impact on the offensive end.
To make matters worse, Bennett has not been any better. But at least, as a sophomore who was drafted in the NHL, he has the talent, and experience should help him improve.
He didn’t play well in Alaska or against Michigan (but at least better than Gillespie against the same team). Bennett, in his two starts, has a 3.87 GAA with a .849 save percentage. Unfortunately, he’s not ready and might be getting pressed into duty quicker than expected.
I think Parker realizes his quandary in goal — otherwise he’d stick with one starter. Instead, he’s trying to alternate and hope the goalie of the night gets hot. Good luck with that. Maybe there is something to be said for sticking with one goalie so he loosens up and can get into a flow. But has either Bennett or Gillespie shown a flow worth sticking with?
I’m aware that it’s less than a month into the season, and there is plenty of time to turn this thing around. They can start with Providence Thursday on the road. At least basketball season starts soon. Mediocre is better then winless, right?
Sopan Deb, a sophomore in the College of Communication, is a weekly columnist for The Daily Free Press. He can be reached at [email protected].