Kiss That #4 Ranking Goodbye
January 30th, 2009 by Tank
Cornell crushed by St. Lawrence tonight, 8-1. Ouch.
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Cornell crushed by St. Lawrence tonight, 8-1. Ouch.
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January 31st, 2009 at 5:25 am
Well… that blows.
Btw, is this team going to be the same as past highly-ranked Schaefer teams? That is, get into the tourney - perhaps win a game or two - but ultimately fall short due to the stark inability to put the biscuit in the basket? Yes, defense wins championships - and specifically in hockey, defense and goaltending win championships. However, you do have to score at least one goal to secure victory. Really. I checked. It’s right in the rule book and everything. You can’t win if you don’t score at least one goal.
Maybe this year will be different… heck, the Bruins appear to be the real deal. On that note, I’ve often wondered what I’d see first: A Stanley Cup for the Bruins or an NCAA championship for the Big Red. They both won in 1970. The Bruins won again in 1972 - which was coincidentally the last year that Cornell made the Championship Game (losing to BU that year… Screw BU! Oops… is that offensive?) The Bruins have made the Cup Finals several times since 1972 - although 1990 was the last time. How long ago is that? Well, I was in college… damn, I’m old.
These are heady times in the Boston/New England sports market… *huge* decade. Three Lombardis for the Pats (first three in team history… only took 40 years). Two WS titles for the Red Sox (after an 86-year drought, for those who may have missed that little tidbit). Even the Celtics got back to “The Celtic Way”, *again* demolishing the hated Lakers to win a league-leading 17th title after finishing with the worst record in the league just one season before… and they’re in the hunt for another this season. For the Celtics, it was 21 years between titles - an eternity for that franchise. And… then there’s the Bruins. The red-headed stepchildren of the Boston sports scene, thanks to the penny-pinching ways of Daddy Jeremy Jacobs. But… wait… they have the best record in the NHL (well, they alternate n that spot with San Jose - featuring some playmaking center named Joe Thornton… why can’t *we* get guys like that?). Now, they’ve done this before - most recently a few years back when it got them a first-round matchup with #8-seed Montreal, who summarily dispatched them in seven games (when the Bruins featured some playmaking center named Joe Thornton… oh, wait, we *can* get guys like that - but decide not to keep them).
I can’t speak to the Big Red… haven’t watched them play. But I’ve watched the Bruins. They have terrific goaltending - with Tim Thomas (a very deserving All-Star) and Manny Fernandez (not the former wrestler, who was a former NFL player, from the 1972 Dolphins… as it happens). They have a good defense - although it wouldn’t hurt if Chiarelli were somehow able to get another puck-moving defenseman before the trade deadline. And… wait for it… they have offense. They have a *number* of skill players at the forward positions who actually put the proverbial biscuit in the basket! Marc Savard has been outstanding ever since coming here as a FA (in Chiarelli’s first offseason, along with Chara - who has also been outstanding, fwiw). Kessel has blossomed very nicely this year. Patrice Bergeron is terrific, if he can avoid the concussions (that seem destined to derail would could be a HOF career, quite frankly). Marco Sturm (the only remaining piece from the Thornton trade) is a sniper, but alas, is out for the season. Yet, young guys like Blake Wheeler and David Krejci (actually drafted under O’Connell’s watch… he did do something right!) have been wonderfulu surprises this year. If you don’t know those names… you will. Trust me.
Maybe I’m still giddy over the region’s success this decade, but I think the Bruins actually have a team - and definitely have a coach (in Claude Julien… pronounced “Clode”, with the long “o”, by those in the know) - that can actually realistically compete for the Cup. Titles from all four major franchises in the same year is the ideal (and never been accomplished, fwiw) - but titles form all four major franchises in the same decade would still be pretty cool. Can the Bruins hold up their end of the bargain, in spite of Jeremy Jacobs?
I dunno… Bruins or Big Red - who’s going to break through and regain past glory first?!?!