I saw last night's game versus Notre Dame, so here are some brief observations.
First, I thought the Eagles did a mediocre job at best, dictating play in the 2nd and 3rd periods. I mean the Irish come into their house and takes over. BC were at their best when they were able to open up the game and and take shots at will. There were times in the game they did that and IMO that set ND back. I thought Muse played fine, but the D really needs to tighten up. I can't tell you how many times I saw ND's players successfully splitting the D. But I tip my hat to the Irish, they stuck to the game plan (for the most part), controlled much of the latter two periods and won. I thought Pearce came up with some terrific saves and was one of the reasons why his team won.
Now some observations about BC's players:
It's really good to see Brock Bradford back and in top form again. I wouldn't be surprised if he is chosen as a finalist for the Hobey Baker. He has definitely shown that he's the leader and deservedly so.
Tommy Cross was one of the freshmen that really impressed me. He's a smart defensive player, covering his man really well. There were a couple small errors that he made in coverage, but nothing to get really worried about. I like the way he skates and he seems really comfortable with the puck.
Cam Atkinson was another player that I really liked (as I had hoped to). You've gotta love his tenacity and energy. He was always battling, didn't seem to mind mixing it up with the bigger ND players. He's quick and always seemed to be where the action was.
Jimmy Hayes is one player that saw some very promising things out of, but I'm still not totally convinced that he's living up to the hype that's been made of him. I thought Jimmy used his size well, especially in protecting the puck. The thing I liked most about him were his hands. He's a very good puck handler, makes some really nice passes and looked very poised with the puck.
Paul Carey was another player that I saw him very good things out of, but just hasn't wowed me yet. I really like the way Carey skates. He has some good speed and is just a really smooth skater. I was also impressed with his along the boards. He does a really good job of dictating the play in that area. He doesn't seem to be afraid to take the body either, which makes even better. I would like to see him shoot a little more though. He has a good shot, but I just felt that he was a little reluctant at various points in the game to shoot the biscuit.
