The Battle of Comm Ave — Boston U. vs. Boston College

[slurpees]

As for me and my fellow Eurotrash, we really don't need your empathy. The historic meltdown in the HE Tourny was enough charity.

Sorry for the double post, but the historic meltdown didn't occur in the HE semis :p

[TampaDoubleEagle]

I'm not trying to change the argument. I'm just trying to get a straight answer out of you. how was BU at a disadvantage in that game? Did the extra fans in the stands rooting for the other team have a stronger effect than BU's ability to counteract UNH's line changes during stoppages of play?

My answers have been very straight. I believe that crowds have a big impact on the mentality of 18-22 year old kids, and that impact is amplified in a Regional Final. Nobody is claiming that the final line changes aren't important, because they are. However, I think in the 3rd period of a 1-1 game, the crowd has a greater impact than the ability to match lines.

You're free to disagree of course. This argument started when someone said that BU did not have an easy road to the the title. I said that as far as NCAA tournys go, they did, although they faced a stiff challenge when they played a neutral site game against the University of New Hampshire in the state of New Hampshire.

I think that crowds have very little impact in hockey. I think you underrate how much of a fishbowl effect the boards and glass create. Plus, hockey is less susceptible to noise-related game impact than football (calling signals). Last change, on the other hand, is huge strategically -- especially in a tight game against a team with only one offensive threat. Which exactly describes BU vs. UNH 2009.

Only other sport that exceeds hockey for home advantage IMO is baseball. Batting last, in a game with no clock, in a stadium that you are used to and which is not exactly like every other stadium, is a huge advantage.

[TampaDoubleEagle]

Slurpees, you're missing the point. First of all, no argument on this point: your road to the championship is not your fault. You have no control over who the NCAA puts in front of you. Your job is to beat whoever shows up. But simply through the luck of the draw, BU ended up facing nearly the easiest possible set of opponents. And that matters not because any of those teams was likely to beat BU if BU was at the top of their game . . . it matters because those teams were less likely to beat BU if they happened to catch BU off their game. If, in the championship game, as you describe, BU turned in a blah performance for 57 out of 60 minutes, even the best 3 minutes they ever played might not have been enough to salvage the game if they had been facing a #1 seed instead of Miami.

That's the point. I'm not going to argue the point that BU was the best team over the course of the year. They were. But you're supposed to have to beat the best in the tournament in order to lay claim to being the best. It's supposed to go 4-2-1-1 if you're the 1 seed. But BU was not asked to beat the other best teams in the country. They didn't have to play any #1 or #2's. Instead, they got lucky and played lesser seeds.

[Salzano14]

Slurpees, you're missing the point. First of all, no argument on this point: your road to the championship is not your fault. You have no control over who the NCAA puts in front of you. Your job is to beat whoever shows up. But simply through the luck of the draw, BU ended up facing nearly the easiest possible set of opponents. And that matters not because any of those teams was likely to beat BU if BU was at the top of their game . . . it matters because those teams were less likely to beat BU if they happened to catch BU off their game. If, in the championship game, as you describe, BU turned in a blah performance for 57 out of 60 minutes, even the best 3 minutes they ever played might not have been enough to salvage the game if they had been facing a #1 seed instead of Miami.

That's the point. I'm not going to argue the point that BU was the best team over the course of the year. They were. But you're supposed to have to beat the best in the tournament in order to lay claim to being the best. It's supposed to go 4-2-1-1 if you're the 1 seed. But BU was not asked to beat the other best teams in the country. They didn't have to play any #1 or #2's. Instead, they got lucky and played lesser seeds.

You aren't supposed to have to beat the best in the tourny. You're supposed to beat who you are given.