Boston College Athletics
Checkmate for Blueliner Bobby Allen
January 06, 2001 | Men's Hockey
Jan. 6, 2001
Bobby Allen likes chess. He likes that you've got to pick your spots, and that you've got to read the action before it happens. Everyone on the boards must be accounted for, you've got to know where they are and where they are going to be. He likes that you've got to analyze every move - if you think it's safe, you attack, if not, you wait for the next play. Sure, Allen likes chess, but for now he prefers patrolling the blueline at Kelley Rink for the BC Eagles than scrutinizing the chessboard.
Notwithstanding the parallels that exist between the games of chess and hockey, Allen knows that playing defense at an elite college level is a study in the fine art of balancing the defense with the offense. Protecting the goal is of paramount importance, but in order to win the game, even the best defensive teams must turn the table and jump into the offensive zone.
"When you are playing defense it is a risk to move up into the play for fear that the other team is going to come up and attack," explains Allen. "You have to know when and where to do it, if you don't, then you're not going to be a very good defenseman."
Allen knows a lot about being a good defenseman. While many blueliners come into their positions because of a lack of offensive skills, Allen was suited to the unique skills of playing defense from the beginning. At an early age, the Hull, Massachusetts native knew that his hockey dreams would be realized at the defensive end.
"When I started playing defense it was for the sole purpose that I was a better backwards skater than I was forwards, so it was a natural transition for me." Lost in the smooth transition, though, was the fact that his offensive skills lagged behind his backward-skating prowess. Not only did Allen need to learn how play offensively, but to play as an offensive defenseman. Allen soon learned that it's more than just X's and O's that define a defenseman, but a thorough knowledge of the mechanics of the game that makes good defensemen great.
"You've got to be smart about what you're doing out there. You've always got to think about the defense first. I think any good offensive defenseman relies on instinct and anticipation," says Allen. "If you have those tools you can let the puck fly sometimes and take a chance in the offensive end."
As the top returning defensive scorer on this year's team, Allen will be looked upon by his teammates to provide not only quality play at the defensive end, but at the offensive end as well. "I have to make up for the assists and the goals that aren't going to be there from the guys that we had last year," says Allen, making reference to the Eagles only major defensive loss, that being Hobey Baker Award winner Mike Mottau to graduation.
"Motts was a tremendous offensive defenseman, and for our team to be successful guys like Brooks Orpik, Rob Scuderi, Bill Cass and myself have to put some points on the board from the blue line." Allen knows that he and his defensive teammates don't always get a lot of credit, but he believes that it's up to the blueliners to provide the Eagles with a lift when they aren't playing well.
"Scuderi is an solid as they come. He's not flashy but he always gets the job done and he's a smart player that the guys can count on," says Allen of his fellow senior teammate. "People who understand the game know how much of a stabilizing force he is back there, and I think our defensive crew would be totally different without him." Allen goes on to describe junior Brooks Orpik as the spark that picks the team up when it needs an emotional boost.
"Brooksie's the guy that we count on when we're in a lull - he goes out there and delivers a big hit and it gets everybody's spirit up." It's Orpik's ability to intimidate and change the nature of a game with a big hit that makes him so valuable to the Eagles. While the bulk of the defense is an experienced group, Allen often finds himself this season playing on the same line as freshman J. D. Forrest, a proposition that Allen says is ideal for his style of play.
"I think we compliment each other very well, we both like to move the puck between the two of us and then up to our forwards." Allen doesn't look at his begin paired with Forrest as a student/teacher relationship. Quite to the contrary, Forrest brings a great deal of Junior Hockey experience to the table, including three seasons in USA Hockey's National Team Development Program and a stint in the North American Hockey League, where he earned Most Valuable Defenseman honors last season.
"I actually learn things from him," Allen says of his freshman linemate. "He plays like a veteran, we give each other tips out on the ice and after each shift. I'm learning a lot from him too, he's a pretty top-notch defenseman." Allen is working hard to stress to the entire team the importance of playing every game as if the championship were on the line. He, along with fellow assistant captain Mike Lephart and captain Brian Gionta, knows that losing games in November or December can come back to hurt the team when NCAA selection time comes in March.
"It can come down to one game, and it could be one game where we took a night off," explains Allen. "That could be the difference in having a lower seed and having to go out west and playing against teams you really don't know about."
It's no surprise what Allen expects from this year's Eagles.
"It's pretty much understood between the three captains that we don't ever want to get outworked. The attitude of this team right now is that we focus before every game and we get out there and we know what we have to do to, and what we have to do is play consistent hockey throughout the season."
One consistent aspect of the Eagles play during Allen's three season's at BC is the pride that the team takes in its special teams. Last season the Eagles were among the best in converting power-play opportunities and in penalty killing. There's no doubt in Allen's mind that special teams success is a catalyst to a championship-caliber team.
"The power play and penalty killing are extra effort," says Allen. "If you're successful in that aspect of your game it shows what kinds of players you are. If we can outwork another team when we're a man down or we can capitalize on a chance on the power-play, then that shows good things about our team."
Not that Allen is reaching for the stat sheet after games, in fact, he's a believer that what's not on the score sheet speaks louder than the goals and assists that are the usual highlights of a game well played.
"When I block a shot, or I back check and break up a play, I know I've played a good game. When I consistently make smart plays and move the puck well, I know I've played a good game. It's the things that don't go on the score sheet that help you win a lot of games."
Sure, Bobby Allen likes defensive hockey, and if he and his fellow defensmen continue to show the leadership qualities that they have to this point of the season, it won't just be a check against the competition, but a checkmate as well.
