Word of the Week for BU Athletics: Suck

It's been pretty well-documented that expectations for BU Athletic teams in virtually every sport were pretty high coming into the season, mostly based on the widespread success that the athletic program experienced last year.

Men's hockey won it all, men's soccer won the conference title, as did the women's soccer team. These are just to name a few and they just so happen to be three of the only teams playing right now, so this is what our discussion is going to revolve around.

Obviously no expectations were higher than those for the BU men's ice hockey team. Coming off of a season in which they won pretty much every tournament that exists, including the NCAA Tournament, the Ice Dogs came into the season as a top-five team in the major polls.

Enough experienced players were coming back that the losses of key players like Matt Gilroy and Colin Wilson were supposed to be compensated in some sort of way.

Things have not exactly been going according to plan, though. None of us wanted to get to worked up over a lackluster exhibition season that featured a 2-2 tie with St. Francis Xavier and a narrow 3-2 victory over the U.S. Under-18 National Team, but this mediocre and downright awful play has continued into the team's first two regular season games.

Regular season (as well as Hockey East) play got started off with a 3-2 loss at UMass, a loss that certainly hurts, but is somewhat understandable. Regardless of what team you are, the Mullins Center is a hard place to get a W and freshman Alex Chiasson's two goals were very encouraging signs for the future of the BU Hockey program.

The embarassment came in the form of a 3-0 loss on Tuesday at Agganis Arena. Notre Dame is a top-ten team, but it is also a team that is equally- if not more -flawed as BU is. The Golden Domers had season-opening losses at home to the likes of Alabama-Huntsville and Hockey East cellar-dweller Providence.

In addition to all of that, it was the first time that BU had been shut-out since February 2, 2007. And at home no less. Absolutely pitiful.

It's gotten a lot of us asking questions that would have seemed irrational a few weeks ago, but are now completely legitimate.

Was Kieran Millan's spectacular freshman season a product of a top-notch defensive line?

Can the likes of Kevin Shattenkirk and Nick Bonino emerge as the team's stars as opposed to the supporting players that they were last year?

Can our defense actually play some, err, defense?

Here's to hoping Eric Gryba can start thinking of opposing players as if they were six-point bucks. Then we'd be in for some real entertainment.

Can any playmakers emerge with Colin Wilson gone, someone who can jumpstart what has proven to be an anemic offense at best thus far? Anybody?

Congrats on the first NHL goal the other day, Colin. We miss you already. Any chance you want to fulfill the last two years of your eligibility?

We don't know how this season will finish or how any of these questions will be answered, but so far this season, it does not look good. Not one bit.

Switching sports now, BU men's soccer has epitomized the idea of a 180 in the sense that a season that started off with so much promise has now become something of a disaster.

I can remember the euphoria of that win over then-#1 St. John's and how at the time, many of us rightfully assumed that the Terrier men would roll through America East Conference play like it was nobody's business. To channel Lee Corso, not so fast my friend.


Little known fact: Lee Corso, former Louisville football coach

The horrific play got going with a home loss to UNH which was then was followed by a 3-1 loss to Hartford on the road. Which was then followed by a 2-1 loss to a Binghamton team whose majority of its roster is not in prison, thus representing that school well (never gets old).

And the cherry on top was a 2-1 loss on Wednesday to lowly UMBC at Nickerson, on Senior Night. To reiterate, on Senior Night, the night that athletic departments plan a cupcake opponent so that the seniors can enjoy one final beatdown as a curtain call.

So in summation, the BU men have gone from promising, top-ten national team, to on the outside looking in for even getting into the America East Conference tournament. Can you say bust?

Think this, except with soccer

Or this for that matter

On a more positive note, though, the BU women's soccer team has been continuing on a nice pace, having clinched the America East regular season title today.

At least there's one team that can win here in the fall. Congrats, ladies.