NORTH ANDOVER – If you’ve never been to J. Thom Lawler Arena on the campus of Merrimack College, its only similarity to the FleetCenter is that there is ice in the middle.
If you’ve never seen the Merrimack hockey team, its only similarity to its Boston College counterparts is the yellow trim on the home white jerseys.
But there is one trend that breaks all barriers – a sickness that has transcended months, nevermind the three days, 30 or so miles and 16,000 or so people between the North End of Boston and North Andover.
That’s BostonUniversityonegoal-itis. The epidemic hit a bunch of men in red jerseys – again – Thursday, and frankly, they (and everyone associated with them) are quite sick of it.
“It’s getting very, very frustrating for all of us,” said BU coach Jack Parker, the team’s fearless leader through these hard times. “My team, myself. To watch game after game slip away here in which we look like we played pretty well, and we don’t get anything out of it because we can’t get anything individually out of it – we can’t get a goal.”
Well, they can get a goal, but that’s it. And they’re not always that lucky. In fact, the one they got in during Thursday’s 3-1 loss, they didn’t even deserve – it only trickled past Merrimack goalie Jim Healey (33 saves) after a freak bounce off Gregg Johnson’s skate.
Starting with the 1-0 win over the University of Maine on Jan. 24, the Terriers embarked on a streak that is emblematic of what has been going on all year. In six games, they have scored either one or zero goals five times, the first round of the Beanpot being the only exception.
The Icedogs are scoring less than three goals per game this year. Sixteen times they have scored two goals or less in a game, and they are 1-12-3 in those games. Take away their eight five-plus goal efforts (they’re 6-0-2 in those), and they have scored 31 goals in 19 games.
“This is getting to be Groundhog Day,” Parker said, and he’s Bill Murray. “One goal, again.
“We can get outshot and get one goal, we can outshoot the other team and get one goal,” he added. “We had 83 attempts the other night against Providence [College last Friday] and we get no goals. Any questions?”
Sure, there are lots. The problem is, there are no answers.
Why does Frantisek Skladany, the team leader in points a year ago (when Terrier fans thought this problem was bad, but they really didn’t know how good they had it), have only two goals? Why does Brian McConnell, clearly a talented offensive presence, have just nine points? Why does Ryan Whitney – a defenseman – lead the team in points?
Are they just not shooting accurately? Not passing well enough? Pressing too hard? Are they really hitting every goalie during his career game?
Perhaps most shockingly, will anyone reach double digits in goals?
Who knows?
The power play (19-128) certainly doesn’t help the whole situation.
“Our power play is anemic,” Parker said after another 0-fer (0-5 Thursday). “We had the puck in the zone, we made some shots, we made other shots when it was five-on-five. We’ve done that a lot.”
How about the injuries? The Terriers were missing 16 of their goals Thursday with Dave Klema, Kenny Magowan and John Laliberte dressed nicely up on the wooden benches of Lawler’s stands.
“Everybody suffers through injuries,” Parker said. “We’ve been suffering through injuries, we’ve had everybody in the lineup, we’ve had some guys out of the lineup. We still aren’t scoring goals.”
The Terriers pepper the net nearly every time out. Thursday, they had 34 shots. They thoroughly dominated Providence last Friday, giving Bobby Goepfert a 36-save shutout. They are averaging more than 30 shots a game, meaning their shooting percentage is well under 10 percent – and that includes the five games in which they have chased the opposing goalie.
The bug does not show up to the arena every night. But it never leaves for more than a couple.
The point is, there is nothing Parker, a 31-year legend, can do from the bench to put the puck in the net. There is nothing anyone can do.
The fans have been patient. The players are working hard – maybe even too hard.
“The fact is, we’re making every goalie look like Ken Dryden,” Parker said. “That kid played well tonight – we made him look good, too.
“There’s no question that it’s just been so long for some of these guys to get goals that they just are talking to themselves.”
It’s a shame for Terrier Nation to watch this happen for a program that has been so successful, for players that are so talented, so lovable. There’s 5-foot-5 bundle of effort Brad Zancanaro, the blonde locks of Klema, the heartwarming story of walk-on Matt Radoslovich.
But none of them can score right now, and the team is entering uncharted realms of losing as a result of the drought.
“They will,” was Merrimack coach Chris Serino’s prediction – a bold one. “They’re a good hockey team, and they’ve gotta finish, it’s just sometimes you get snake-bitten for awhile and you don’t score for awhile. I think every team’s the same way.
“The old adage is ‘Nobody’s really as good as they think they are and nobody’s really as bad as they think they are,'” Serino added. “So, they’ll start scoring.”
It was a little easier for Serino to say on a night when his team got three – including the third and fourth of the year from defenseman Rob LaLonde. LaLonde’s first came on a nifty “toe drag” to beat a defender, then a perfect wristshot that beat Sean Fields – glove side.
“I’ve never done that before in a game,” LaLonde said.
The ‘Dogs are starting to feel like they haven’t, either.
And it has come to a point where when the same thing happens just about every time. There’s nothing else to say.
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