Hopefully you were able to see the 2015 NCAA National Championship Game between Providence and Boston University. It was a historic game and a great battle for college hockey’s top prize. Here are the top takeaways from the game:

  1. Providence won their first National Championship.
  2. We got to see some excellent hockey talent, including Hobey Baker Award winner Jack Eichel who is projected to be the #2 pick in the NHL Draft this summer.
  3. Boston University set a record for the fastest two goals, four seconds apart.
  4. An unfortunate incident where the BU goalie dropped a puck during a routine save into his own net.

My biggest takeaway however was not the dropped puck by the BU goalie, but the BU players who dropped the ball on their faceoff coverage on the winning goal.

Below you will find a video breakdown of the lapse in defensive coverage by the BU forwards, which led to the game-winning goal and an NCAA Championship Title for Providence. The lesson is this: on the draw, know what your assignment is, know when to be patient, know when to be aggressive and hopefully this same mistake won’t happen to you.

The reality is the BU goalie dropped the puck, but it was the BU forwards dropping the ball that cost the team the game. This is a good learning opportunity for all hockey players who one day dream of playing in a National Championship themselves.

I would be remiss if I didn’t also point out that Brandon Tanev seized his golden opportunity to bury the puck in the slot on this play with a wicked wrist shot that sniped the goalie top shelf. As we have often discussed in this blog, those shots don’t just happen, they are the result of hours upon hours of shooting pucks at practice, in the garage and in the basement.

Remember, always work hard and dream bigger than everyone else! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 16, 2015 — Lance Pitlick

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