Boston College is putting this weekend’s
national championship rematch with Wisconsin in perspective.
The Eagles know they can’t get revenge on the Badgers
for what happened in Milwaukee on April 8; they know they
can't beat last year's team.
Hockey
East Notebook
Boston College and goaltender Cory Schneider face
Wisconsin this weekend, and they're not thinking about
last year's National Championship game.
"Talking to the other guys, they’re
just excited to go out there and try to come out with a
win,” BC goalie Cory Schneider said. “Last year
can’t mean anything right now. It would be nice to
beat them because they’re a good team, and that’s
all the motivation we can work off right now.”
Schneider wouldn’t downplay the importance
of the weekend set in Badger Country, but he also wouldn’t
buy into the hype that the game means more just because
of the rematch factor, noting that a non-conference road
win against one of the nation’s best teams was enough
incentive to play well.
That, and Boston College knows it can regain
some of the early-season steam it lost when Notre Dame invaded
The Heights last Friday and embarrassed BC by a 7-1 clip.
Schneider admitted he and the rest of the Eagles weren’t
focused enough to play, and they paid the appropriate price
as a result.
“We just didn’t come out with
our A-game,” Schneider said. “We weren’t
challenging. We weren’t making smart plays. You’ve
got to credit Notre Dame. They came out prepared. We took
it as a wakeup call, and the next night [in a 5-1 win over
Bowling Green], we were a totally different team.”
A wakeup call – whether it be at a hotel
room before sunrise on a business trip, or the consequence
of a whitewashing at your own barn – is never fun.
The silver lining for Boston College, though, is that it
happened early enough in the season. A loss like this in
the spring can result in a tailspin entering the postseason,
which can nullify six months of great hockey.
“You never want something like that
to happen to a team, but I think we took more good out of
it than bad,” said Schneider, who allowed six of the
Irish goals in the loss.
“It was early in the season in a non-conference
game, and we can afford hiccups like that. I think we learned
a lot about what we need to work on and what we need to
get good at. It’s unfortunate to lose like that, but
we’ll be back.”
And who better to rebound with than the reigning
national champs? The Eagles have a chance to gauge their
team early on before conference action really heats up and
can also see how well deserving they were for the preseason’s
top billing in the polls. It’s a test that really
appeals to Schneider.
“It’s great to see where your
team is at and what you need to work on,” Schneider
said. “That’s the advantage of being tested
early on in the season against such a great non-conference
opponent. It’s also great to get us ready for league
play when you play against the top teams [in the country];
especially if you can beat them, it will give you a lot
of confidence. It’s a good test for everybody.”
SEEN AND HEARD IN HOCKEY EAST
Maine moves on without Lundin: Black
Bear Ben Bishop has risen to high expectations between the
pipes early this season. For starters, Bishop was amazing
down the stretch last season when Maine advanced to the
Frozen Four, jumping onto the national scene in the process.
But after Maine’s season ended, Bishop’s
backup Matt Lundin told coach Tim Whitehead he was going
to leave the team to pursue other options in junior hockey.
Lundin was a very capable alternative for Whitehead with
a 7-4 record in 15 games along with three shutouts, a 1.72
goals against average and a .934 save percentage.
Though not predictable, the move wasn’t
completely shocking. Lundin was set to play for the Tri-City
Storm in Nebraska last season before Jimmy Howard decided
to pass up his senior season to cash some checks in the
Red Wings’ organizations. When Howard left, Lundin
returned and originally split the starting duties with Bishop.
Though Whitehead expects freshman backup Dave
Wilson to push Bishop this season, he noted his sophomore
is the clear No. 1 goalie and should benefit because of
that.
“[Bishop] did a really good job and
was able to take us to the Frozen Four,” Whitehead
said. “That’s quite the compliment for a freshman.
This year, the challenge for Ben is to take his game to
the next level and really become an elite goaltender at
the college level. He has already started showing signs
of that. I am really pleased for him, and I think it is
a real natural step for Ben to become a dominant goalie.
He is off to a phenomenal start.”
Indeed, Bishop has been large for Maine early
on with wins over Minnesota, Bemidji State (twice) and North
Dakota (twice). On top of his unblemished record through
five games, he has a .944 save percentage and 1.49 goals
against average.
FRIES AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BAG
Great Weekend Getaway
UMass
at Maine
Saturday, 7 p.m.
The Black Bears have started 5-0 with five quality
wins against non-conference opponents this season,
but they finally get their first shot at picking up
some Hockey East points in their league opener. UMass
will be on the second leg of a tough weekend trip,
which starts Thursday night in Durham.
While You’re There: Orono
is (another) one of INCH’s favorite spots for
post-game activities, though we don’t discriminate
against many. Be sure to check out the Bear Brew,
which is in a fun area. Ushuaia is also a decent spot,
especially when they have a live band outside.
Stick
Salute
Pete MacArthur
has scored some important goals in his two-plus years
on Comm. Ave., and he can add another one to his résumé.
He knocked home the 10,000th goal in BU history
on Friday night, when the Terriers woke up late to
knock off Northeastern.
Bench
Minor
We give
BC credit for their achievements at INCH, so we don’t
feel bad for knocking them down here this week. The
Eagles flat out did not show up against Notre Dame
last Friday and took it on the chin as a result, even
getting booed off the ice by the SuperFans. Hey, at
least they didn’t use pine tar.
• River Hawk Jeremy Hall reunited with
former team Niagara in the consolation game of the Mutual
of Omaha Stampede on Saturday. Hall, who transferred from
Niagara, didn’t figure in the scoring, but UMass Lowell
did earn its first win of the season.
• Word around the street is that a
few fans had to be removed from the Mullins Center during
UMass’ home opener against Sacred Heart on Oct. 13
for yelling obscenities near the radio crew on press row.
After sports information director Kimberly Gardner had the
fans escorted out of the building on Friday night, she found
herself on the wrong end of a heckling chant on Saturday
night when the Minutemen played Clarkson. Gardner said she
was honored to feel so loved.
“You know you’ve arrived,”
she said, “when you get a personalized ‘sucks’
cheer.”
• UNH became the first non-WCHA team
to sweep Colorado College at the new World Arena over the
weekend with wins of 4-3 and 7-4. The Wildcats were led
by Hockey East Player of the Week Trevor Smith, who picked
up three goals and two assists.
• Ben Bishop went nearly 94 minutes
without allowing a goal in the two-game series at North
Dakota last weekend. He stopped 48 of 50 shots in Maine’s
sweep.
• BC coach Jerry York reunited with
an old friend on Saturday night – Bowling Green coach
Scott Paluch, who played for York at Bowling Green before
becoming an assistant coach for York at BG and then BC from
1994-2002. The Eagles beat the Falcons 5-1.
• UMass had last weekend off but used
the time to play its annual Maroon & White scrimmage
on Saturday.
• Providence’s Colin McDonald
has scored a goal in each of his last five games dating
back to last season.
A variety
of sources were utilized in the compilation of this report
