The Only Positive From Thursday Night
Cole Eiserman and Boston University are National Championship bound [Free Friday].
There wasn’t much to be said after the New York Islanders’ devastating 9-2 defeat to their cross-town rivals. Fans were disgusted. The players were disgusted. It was a brutal night, especially after falling 7-6 in overtime to the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.
But, 977 miles away from UBS Arena, there was a glimmer of hope.
No, it wasn’t anything that could impact the Islanders in making the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. But, inside Enterprise Arena, the home of the St. Louis Blues, Cole Eiserman gave Islanders’ fans another one of those moments that gets you excited for what could be on Long Island a few years down the road.
Eiserman, taken 20th overall in 2024, and Kamil Bednarik, taken 61st overall in 2024, and their Boston Terrier teammates battled Penn State in the Frozen Four.
With BU up 1-0, Eiserman buried a Cole Hutson 2-on-1 pass to give his team a 2-0 lead at 10:44 of the second:
BU added an empty net in the final minute to punch thier ticket to the National Championship game this Saturday against Western Michigan.
Eiserman ended his night with a goal on three shots. It wasn’t a perfect game, as the freshman is still raw.
Our Michael Ostrower, who was in attendance, gave an honest description of Esierman’s night:
“For Eiserman, he had energy the entire game for the duration of each shift. Offensively, he was getting very involved and applying pressure on the goalie by driving toward the net, but what was also impressive was his defensive play, which was filled with intensity and pressure. He uses his stick a lot to generate this pressure, but he was also pretty physical, which isn’t entirely new to his game, but was noticeable. That said, his skating (especially in transition) was an issue, and his few turnovers were almost costly. This isn’t necessarily carelessness with the puck but rather a struggle to maintain possession when facing pressure in his offensive zone entries. This has been a problem for a while (skating with the puck), so it’s something to follow. Kim Brandvold is on the coaching staff and played a major role in developing the skating of Lane Hutson, among others, so fans shouldn’t be too worried about his skating as long as he sticks around for another year. He also wasn’t used much in the third period once it became only a one-goal lead for BU. He also hasn’t taken a penalty in 13 games, which was a concern for some people entering the season.”
The one thing Eiserman possesses is his hunger, drive, and clutch gene.
Back on March 15, Eiserman scored the overtime winner in the Hockey East Semi-Finals:
It may be a few more years before this energizer bunny is on Long Island, but if he can find a way to play a respectable two-way game — he’s taken strides this season — he could be a key piece for this franchise for a long time.
And that’s a positive.
ISLANDERS NEWS
SIGN YOUR CHILD UP FOR THE MATT MARTIN HOCKEY ACADEMY CAMP:
Complimentary Parking!
Once again for the 2024-25 season, those who drive a BMW can receive complimentary single-game parking in the Emerald Parking lot.
Please click the BMW | Islanders image below for parking registration information.
It will be very interesting what Cole Eiserman decides to do, whether he comes out or stays at BU. The conservative thing is to go back to school. Something in the make up of this kid tells me he isn’t conservative. I expect to see him in camp and he will make the team. Why play games with the kid,
Throw him with Barzel and form that second line. If by some chance they can get Marner and add Eiserman they will not only win but sell tickets. He has that Swag and a little selfishness. I don’t think that’s a negative especially on this team. He has a lot of the same player qualities as Jason Robertson.
Amen! Let’s turn the page. Draft, Free Agency, how do the players we have improve themselves over the Summer. I would ask each guy on the team are there different plans for the off season this year? I think that would be a great question. If a lot of these guys don’t do something drastically different this Summer, I don’t see good things ahead. There were only 7 or 8 players that had good seasons. Not great, Good. The players on the roster must improve combined with Marner and young players making team. George, Eiserman, Ritchie are potential adds to next seasons roster. It’s going to be impossible to move contracts like Engvall DuClair etc. So you are going to have decide what to do with these guys, no one is bailing you out. Biggest bright spots were Holmstrom and Tsyplakov. Both players are only going to get better. Biggest disappointments are the two key players of the franchise Barzel and Dobson. You can talk about injuries, but fully healthy they don’t produce well enough to their lofty potential and importance to the team. It’s not a good situation, can it be turned around by next season not without the three things above! Marner, Young Guys, and drastic improvements from within. I don’t know how ownership stays the course with Lou. In Lou we Trust is becoming Old, and most fans are not coming out to UBS.