OK, now that every team in the league has at least a month under their belts, it's time for the monthly power rankings, sponsored by... nobody.
The early season rankings take a team's entire body of work into account, not just ECAC games - so just because Cornell is in first in league standings doesn't necessarily mean they're first in the power rankings. These are generally weighted toward more recent results, meaning how the team fared in November is more important right now than how they did in October.
1. Cornell - They didn't have to be number one, but here they are. There's no other team in the league that has been not only consistently in every game they play, but for the most part winning all of those games quite like the Big Red. Only three losses on the year, each by just one goal. The offense has done enough by and large when the defense has struggled, and vice versa (evidenced by three straight shutouts before the loss to BU). That's a recipe for success.
2. Union - If not for one awful home weekend against Brown and Yale, the Dutchmen are probably tops here, especially given their road romp over Michigan last weekend that turned more than a few heads (although the Wolverines are in freefall right now). They pretty clearly have answered the questions they had in net and behind the bench from last season, and the offense hasn't missed much of a beat. This is a team ready to compete for ECAC hardware once again.
3. Colgate - While they've had a few bumps along the way, the Raiders have at least been fairly consistently in the win column all season. The offensive problems Colgate had last season have basically evaporated thanks to Austin Smith and Chris Wagner's breakout performances over the last two months, and the Raiders have bounced back from every single loss this season with a win in their next game. Currently, they're sporting a three-game winning streak with four wins in their last five, allowing just three goals in those wins.
4. Yale - I'm sorry, but if you claim to be one of the best programs in the country, allowing 7 goals against an 0-11-0 team (Sacred Heart) and then losing to boot is not something that's going to bolster that claim in the slightest. Easily the worst loss of the season for the ECAC in its entirety, and that's saying something. That one loss was enough to move them from contention from first or second down to here, but without it Yale has actually done very well thus far, to include a streak of slick goaltending with three straight shutouts. The Bulldogs are still a dangerous team.
5. St. Lawrence - The Saints have bounced back well from one of the worst starts you could imagine (including a 10-3 drubbing at Michigan) to pick up a whole bunch of league points with five wins in their last seven games. That's a serious turnaround from the 0-5 start, but it was a brutal early season schedule - two games against Ferris State (remember them?), at Michigan, at RIT in front of 10,000 fans, and then hosting Union. That's not to say that SLU has necessarily been overwhelming in the last seven, but they've at least found the winning edge.
6. Harvard - The Crimson have been pretty solid of late, a one-goal loss to St. Lawrence the team's only major blemish in the last five games (3-1-1). They have just two more games before going on break, and then comes the opportunity to truly prove themselves with two big non-conference games at the end of December at North Dakota. If they can stay consistent, they can be a threat, but Harvard's biggest problem right now is defense - they don't have much, and their offense may not have the chops to bail the team out with the same level of regularity in the future.
7. Quinnipiac - That the Bobcats are still ranked this high after the troubles they've had recently underscores just how much the bottom half of the ECAC is hurting right now, and how relatively close many of them are. A big pick-me up win at UMass last weekend brought a six-game winless streak to a halt and represented the first time in five games Quinnipiac had scored more than one goal (including a pair of shutouts). So why are they ranked this high? In October, much as they did two years ago, the Bobcats were practically unstoppable, both offensively and defensively. If we'd done an October power ranking, they'd have had a fair shot at number one.
8. Dartmouth - Now that the RPI power play is beginning to find life, attention is starting to focus within the league on just how terrible the Big Green are at scoring on the man advantage - truth be told, it's pretty much always been worse than RPI's, if only because it took them a very long time to notch their first power play goal of the season - they are almost dead last nationally on the power play and it's starting to take its toll. Dartmouth has just one win in their last six games, many of which they probably could have done better in with power play tallies, but the defense has been rough, too.
9. Clarkson - Man, the Golden Knights would be wasting the competition in Atlantic Hockey if that's where they called home. They're 6-0-1 against the conference. Outside? 2-5-2, their only wins coming against floundering Dartmouth and RPI. It's been that kind of night and day for Clarkson thus far. The defense has been relatively inconsistent, but the bigger problem is that outside of playing Atlantic Hockey teams, the offense and the defense just aren't always covering each other when one has a bad night. That's a sure setup for inconsistency, and that's what we've seen.
10. Princeton - Do the Tigers miss Guy Gadowsky? Probably. But they miss consistent goaltending and offense the most. It's Sean Bonar's team this year, and his numbers are down from last year's showing while in platoon with Mike Condon. That by itself probably wouldn't be that bad, except that there hasn't been an awful lot of growth when it comes to scoring, either. Like many other teams in the back end of the conference, Princeton has occasionally found goals very hard to come by, which tends to require the defense to be turning cartwheels to overcome and more often than not, it just isn't the case.
11. RPI - I was very tempted to put RPI last (where they are in the league standings), but some of Brown's more recent games make that really questionable. Let's be blatantly honest here. The Engineers, by the end of the season, may well have some of the most solid all around defensive numbers in the league. But the offense has been remarkably bad on an epic level, and although most of their games have been low scoring, they still haven't been on the positive side of most of them.
12. Brown - While RPI at least is showing some signs of their offensive funk ending, Bruno is right smack in the middle of theirs - and displaying it against some pretty weak competition. RPI may have had their offensive woes going longer, but the Bears have back-to-back shutouts at the hands of American International and Holy Cross. Yeah. That's AIC's first shutout of a non-conference opponent since they returned to Division I in 1998 - and they played D-III teams early on.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Hockey East Watch: November Update
There hasn't been an awful lot to report on the Hockey East front since the league has been focusing on, well, playing hockey, but there have at least been additional rumblings since the beginning of the season that are worth reflecting on.
We first touched on most of these schools during Tsunami Watch, here. We'll try not to rehash what we said back in September.
And, for what it's worth, we've endorsed the concept of RPI moving to Hockey East, which you can read here.
Here's the score.
RPI: The school still hasn't said publicly that it's interested in Hockey East, but it's generally known that the Engineers have at least been inquiring behind the scenes and that there have been discussions within the Hockey East ranks about RPI. There's really not much more to talk about on this level until something moves (as engineers, that probably calls for a healthy dose of WD-40), but it is important to note the early success this season of Merrimack, the #1 team in the country. They're proving, at least for the time being, that it is possible to be successful in Hockey East even from outside of the big guns.
UConn: From practically every perspective of what tends to be important in college sports, UConn is still the school that makes the most sense for Hockey East. Given the school's size and importance in the broader spectrum, as well as being the most marketable name of any of the contenders, UConn would be the best fit if only the practical concerns were not so heavily in the way. According to the Eagle Tribune's Mike McMahon, the school has at least let Atlantic Hockey know that it is exploring the option of a Hockey East move, which could potentially be the first signal that the school is looking to upgrade its program. If it does, there's not an awful lot of discussion to be had here - presuming the school builds a new facility and starts offering scholarships (with the required Title IX offsets elsewhere), UConn would be the 12th school. The question now as the school undoubtedly begins the process of deciding whether it is worthwhile for them to outlay all that money is whether it's something they want from an institutional perspective. You may have read in the news that UConn may be looking to bolt the Big East - hockey might not exactly be in the foreground.
Holy Cross: The big news on the Crusaders' front is that the city of Worcester is keen on Holy Cross moving into Hockey East from a economic standpoint - 11 games a year bringing fans from around New England into the city for hockey. The city council, led by a Holy Cross hockey alum who sits on the council, is pushing for the 12,239-seat DCU Center (formerly the Spectrum) to be a home venue for the Crusaders, though that can be lowered to 7,230 with the Times Union Center-like curtain system they have. For their part, the school has done the same as UConn, according to McMahon, in alerting Atlantic Hockey that they are exploring the Hockey East option. It's worth mentioning that on our podcast last week, RIT's Chris Lerch mentioned that RIT and Holy Cross are both looking to move their D-III women's programs into Division I in the near future, so that could indicate some budding interest in the sport at Holy Cross. Just 40 miles from Boston, the school probably fits better into the league's wheel well than any other possible candidate, but whether the Crusaders are a good fit for Hockey East from a competition standpoint remains to be seen.
Quinnipiac: Nothing new to report on Quinnipiac really, either, but the rise of interest out of UConn and Holy Cross combined with the positives that RPI has going for it as a potential target in the first place (not to mention the Tute's already existing buzz) tends to lead one to believe that the Bobcats might be falling back in the likelihood category. They've still got the shiny new arena as its best selling point.
Syracuse: The "new program" option that recurs most frequently is one of two schools that has D-I women's hockey but not men's hockey (the other being Lindenwood - the teams coincidentally meeting this coming weekend). The assumption is always made that Syracuse, as a big name school in football, basketball and lacrosse, has a giant athletic department. Nope. Seven men's sports (two being cross-country and track) and 11 women's sports (again, including XC and track). That's it. Why the low number? Because those big time sports eat up most of the budget. Why the disparity? Title IX. Syracuse had to cut men's and women's swimming and diving in order to start the women's hockey program and come into compliance with Title IX. Throw in a likely increased travel budget with the school moving to the ACC in the near future and there's really no room for men's hockey.
Cornell and Harvard: The rumors just won't die about either of these Ivy League schools, but it's worth saying again - there's nothing to them. At all. The Ivies play together in every sport they participate in, and they're not breaking apart here, either. As we've said before, there's a better chance that the Ivies leave the ECAC to maintain their own conference than any of them joining Hockey East on their own (and Hockey East isn't taking on six new teams). That's actually an increased argument for RPI leaving - it's a sword of Damocles that has hung over the ECAC for decades.
Nobody: The possibility that Hockey East could be content to sit at 11 teams indefinitely has also been advanced over the last couple of months. Commissioner Joe Bertagna has been adamant at press conferences that the league won't bring on just anyone for the sake of reaching 12 teams, even though it's obvious the league would function better with 12 than 11. Still, if there's any shot at bringing a revamped UConn program aboard, there's little doubt the league would be willing to wait a year, or even a few years, operating with 11 than bring RPI, Holy Cross, or someone else on board to suddenly have UConn have a change of heart. They probably won't take this route unless they think something is in the cards for the Huskies in the near future. Otherwise, they do have decent options.
We first touched on most of these schools during Tsunami Watch, here. We'll try not to rehash what we said back in September.
And, for what it's worth, we've endorsed the concept of RPI moving to Hockey East, which you can read here.
Here's the score.
RPI: The school still hasn't said publicly that it's interested in Hockey East, but it's generally known that the Engineers have at least been inquiring behind the scenes and that there have been discussions within the Hockey East ranks about RPI. There's really not much more to talk about on this level until something moves (as engineers, that probably calls for a healthy dose of WD-40), but it is important to note the early success this season of Merrimack, the #1 team in the country. They're proving, at least for the time being, that it is possible to be successful in Hockey East even from outside of the big guns.
UConn: From practically every perspective of what tends to be important in college sports, UConn is still the school that makes the most sense for Hockey East. Given the school's size and importance in the broader spectrum, as well as being the most marketable name of any of the contenders, UConn would be the best fit if only the practical concerns were not so heavily in the way. According to the Eagle Tribune's Mike McMahon, the school has at least let Atlantic Hockey know that it is exploring the option of a Hockey East move, which could potentially be the first signal that the school is looking to upgrade its program. If it does, there's not an awful lot of discussion to be had here - presuming the school builds a new facility and starts offering scholarships (with the required Title IX offsets elsewhere), UConn would be the 12th school. The question now as the school undoubtedly begins the process of deciding whether it is worthwhile for them to outlay all that money is whether it's something they want from an institutional perspective. You may have read in the news that UConn may be looking to bolt the Big East - hockey might not exactly be in the foreground.
Holy Cross: The big news on the Crusaders' front is that the city of Worcester is keen on Holy Cross moving into Hockey East from a economic standpoint - 11 games a year bringing fans from around New England into the city for hockey. The city council, led by a Holy Cross hockey alum who sits on the council, is pushing for the 12,239-seat DCU Center (formerly the Spectrum) to be a home venue for the Crusaders, though that can be lowered to 7,230 with the Times Union Center-like curtain system they have. For their part, the school has done the same as UConn, according to McMahon, in alerting Atlantic Hockey that they are exploring the Hockey East option. It's worth mentioning that on our podcast last week, RIT's Chris Lerch mentioned that RIT and Holy Cross are both looking to move their D-III women's programs into Division I in the near future, so that could indicate some budding interest in the sport at Holy Cross. Just 40 miles from Boston, the school probably fits better into the league's wheel well than any other possible candidate, but whether the Crusaders are a good fit for Hockey East from a competition standpoint remains to be seen.
Quinnipiac: Nothing new to report on Quinnipiac really, either, but the rise of interest out of UConn and Holy Cross combined with the positives that RPI has going for it as a potential target in the first place (not to mention the Tute's already existing buzz) tends to lead one to believe that the Bobcats might be falling back in the likelihood category. They've still got the shiny new arena as its best selling point.
Syracuse: The "new program" option that recurs most frequently is one of two schools that has D-I women's hockey but not men's hockey (the other being Lindenwood - the teams coincidentally meeting this coming weekend). The assumption is always made that Syracuse, as a big name school in football, basketball and lacrosse, has a giant athletic department. Nope. Seven men's sports (two being cross-country and track) and 11 women's sports (again, including XC and track). That's it. Why the low number? Because those big time sports eat up most of the budget. Why the disparity? Title IX. Syracuse had to cut men's and women's swimming and diving in order to start the women's hockey program and come into compliance with Title IX. Throw in a likely increased travel budget with the school moving to the ACC in the near future and there's really no room for men's hockey.
Cornell and Harvard: The rumors just won't die about either of these Ivy League schools, but it's worth saying again - there's nothing to them. At all. The Ivies play together in every sport they participate in, and they're not breaking apart here, either. As we've said before, there's a better chance that the Ivies leave the ECAC to maintain their own conference than any of them joining Hockey East on their own (and Hockey East isn't taking on six new teams). That's actually an increased argument for RPI leaving - it's a sword of Damocles that has hung over the ECAC for decades.
Nobody: The possibility that Hockey East could be content to sit at 11 teams indefinitely has also been advanced over the last couple of months. Commissioner Joe Bertagna has been adamant at press conferences that the league won't bring on just anyone for the sake of reaching 12 teams, even though it's obvious the league would function better with 12 than 11. Still, if there's any shot at bringing a revamped UConn program aboard, there's little doubt the league would be willing to wait a year, or even a few years, operating with 11 than bring RPI, Holy Cross, or someone else on board to suddenly have UConn have a change of heart. They probably won't take this route unless they think something is in the cards for the Huskies in the near future. Otherwise, they do have decent options.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Men's Hockey - at RIT (25 Nov)
Ten days after a serious kick in the crotch at home against Union, RPI was afforded the opportunity to turn things around on the road in a non-conference game - not quite the same kind of bang that you'd get out of a home league contest, but a lower-pressure situation to be sure. With a little creative changing to the lines, Seth Appert and the Engineers emerged winners from their first ever trip to RIT as freshman Scott Diebold picked up his first career win and shutout, 2-0.
RIT
Angers-Goulet/Rogic/Malchuk
Higgs/Laliberte/Haggerty
Leonard/Bergin
RIT
Angers-Goulet/Rogic/Malchuk
Higgs/Laliberte/Haggerty
Lee/O'Grady/Schroeder
Tinordi/McGowan/Rabbani
Leonard/Bergin
Koudys/Bailen
Curadi/Dolan
Diebold
With Matt Neal still out with an ankle injury which now may see him sidelined through Christmas, RPI was dealt another blow on the injury front as Patrick Cullen sustained an injury against Union that kept him from making the trip to Rochester.
The only line to remain intact from the Union debacle was the line of Alex Angers-Goulet, Johnny Rogic, and Joel Malchuk. Brock Higgs was moved onto Jacob Laliberte's wing and paired with top forward scorer Ryan Haggerty, while Mark McGowan returned to the lineup in relief of Cullen. Also, Guy Leboeuf did not make an appearance, with Luke Curadi suiting up in his stead.
The Engineers got things going quickly, generating a number of good chances during the first 20 minutes and forcing RIT's Shane Madalora to make 9 stops in the opening period. The only power play of the period went to RIT as Mike Bergin was called for what would be the first of three minor penalties on the night, but the RPI penalty kill stopped the chance without too much hassle.
The game's turning point arrived just 28 seconds into the second period, as RIT's Brad McGowan was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for a borderline call of hitting Bergin from behind. That gave the Engineers their first - and ultimately, only - power play opportunity of the night, but they definitely made it count.
A little under a minute into the major, Nick Bailen took a shot off a pass from Jacob Laliberte that was well screened in front by Josh Rabbani. The big senior forward got right in Madalora's line of sight and then further distracted by leaping over Bailen's shot, which found the back of the net to put RPI up 1-0 on the junior defenseman's third goal of the year.
1:10 later, while still on the major power play, the Engineers struck again, this time with Ryan Haggerty notching his third of the campaign on a nicely timed alley-oop pass from Brock Higgs. The sophomore, who usually suits up at center, pushed a pass laterally through the slot that Haggerty found and immediately one-timed into the back of the net on a play that RPI has tried in practically every game, but as part of their difficulties finishing had generally been unable to convert.
That would do it for the scoring on the five minute advantage, and for much of the remainder of the period, it was penalty kill time for the Engineers. Bergin picked up practically back-to-back calls midway through the period to keep RPI down a man, and calls against Curadi for boarding and Curtis Leonard for cross-checking rounded out the second period. Diebold was called upon to make 11 saves in the middle frame, giving him 16 on 16 shots for the first 40 minutes.
RIT picked things up a little in the third, doing well on Leonard's penalty - the majority of which was held over into the period - and on Joel Malchuk's hooking call four and a half minutes in. During the last 20 minutes, RIT hit a pair of posts, but were unable to get any closer to beating Diebold, who finished with 25 saves in the shutout.
RPI also unleashed some good offense in the third, as they did throughout the game. Madalora finished with 28 shots, and several times in the third period the Engineers came close to increasing their lead. That bodes well for the team going forward as they continue to try to shake their offensive funk which, as we will note shortly, still has some important kinks to work out.
The only line to remain intact from the Union debacle was the line of Alex Angers-Goulet, Johnny Rogic, and Joel Malchuk. Brock Higgs was moved onto Jacob Laliberte's wing and paired with top forward scorer Ryan Haggerty, while Mark McGowan returned to the lineup in relief of Cullen. Also, Guy Leboeuf did not make an appearance, with Luke Curadi suiting up in his stead.
The Engineers got things going quickly, generating a number of good chances during the first 20 minutes and forcing RIT's Shane Madalora to make 9 stops in the opening period. The only power play of the period went to RIT as Mike Bergin was called for what would be the first of three minor penalties on the night, but the RPI penalty kill stopped the chance without too much hassle.
The game's turning point arrived just 28 seconds into the second period, as RIT's Brad McGowan was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for a borderline call of hitting Bergin from behind. That gave the Engineers their first - and ultimately, only - power play opportunity of the night, but they definitely made it count.
A little under a minute into the major, Nick Bailen took a shot off a pass from Jacob Laliberte that was well screened in front by Josh Rabbani. The big senior forward got right in Madalora's line of sight and then further distracted by leaping over Bailen's shot, which found the back of the net to put RPI up 1-0 on the junior defenseman's third goal of the year.
1:10 later, while still on the major power play, the Engineers struck again, this time with Ryan Haggerty notching his third of the campaign on a nicely timed alley-oop pass from Brock Higgs. The sophomore, who usually suits up at center, pushed a pass laterally through the slot that Haggerty found and immediately one-timed into the back of the net on a play that RPI has tried in practically every game, but as part of their difficulties finishing had generally been unable to convert.
That would do it for the scoring on the five minute advantage, and for much of the remainder of the period, it was penalty kill time for the Engineers. Bergin picked up practically back-to-back calls midway through the period to keep RPI down a man, and calls against Curadi for boarding and Curtis Leonard for cross-checking rounded out the second period. Diebold was called upon to make 11 saves in the middle frame, giving him 16 on 16 shots for the first 40 minutes.
RIT picked things up a little in the third, doing well on Leonard's penalty - the majority of which was held over into the period - and on Joel Malchuk's hooking call four and a half minutes in. During the last 20 minutes, RIT hit a pair of posts, but were unable to get any closer to beating Diebold, who finished with 25 saves in the shutout.
RPI also unleashed some good offense in the third, as they did throughout the game. Madalora finished with 28 shots, and several times in the third period the Engineers came close to increasing their lead. That bodes well for the team going forward as they continue to try to shake their offensive funk which, as we will note shortly, still has some important kinks to work out.
Other junk - Union's stunning destruction of Michigan at Yost Arena boosted the Dutchmen into the national top 10 this week, they pace the ECAC as the 9th ranked team (up four). Also ranked in the ECAC are #14 Yale (lost to Sacred Heart and Boston College, down six), #15 Colgate (beat Vermont, up one) and #17 Cornell (lost to BU, no change). #2 Notre Dame (split with Lake Superior, no change), #6 Ferris State (idle, up one) and #8 Colorado College (swept by North Dakota, down four) are also ranked. Receiving votes were UMass-Lowell (17), Clarkson (5), and Harvard (1).
RPI has gone 440:04 without scoring an even strength goal - that came on Patrick Cullen's first goal of the year, scored 10 seconds after a Colorado College goal in the first meeting between the two sides. That's 4 seconds more than 22 consecutive periods. No, you aren't reading that wrong.
In all but one RPI game this year - the 5-2 loss to Notre Dame - one team or the other (or both) have scored either 1 or 0 goals in the game. Frequently, that's been RPI, but across the Engineers' three wins, they've given up just one goal, underscoring the importance of defense on this team.
Slowly improving, the RPI power play is now up to 10.4% on the season, technically going 2-for-3 on the advantage against RIT. A 6-for-6 night on the penalty kill increased the Engineers' PK rating to 87.5%, 12th best in the country.
One final league weekend of the first semester is on tap for RPI next weekend as they travel to Princeton and Quinnipiac, and we'll find out there if the offensive improvements seen at RIT will be able to carry forward into the rest of the season.
RPI has gone 440:04 without scoring an even strength goal - that came on Patrick Cullen's first goal of the year, scored 10 seconds after a Colorado College goal in the first meeting between the two sides. That's 4 seconds more than 22 consecutive periods. No, you aren't reading that wrong.
In all but one RPI game this year - the 5-2 loss to Notre Dame - one team or the other (or both) have scored either 1 or 0 goals in the game. Frequently, that's been RPI, but across the Engineers' three wins, they've given up just one goal, underscoring the importance of defense on this team.
Slowly improving, the RPI power play is now up to 10.4% on the season, technically going 2-for-3 on the advantage against RIT. A 6-for-6 night on the penalty kill increased the Engineers' PK rating to 87.5%, 12th best in the country.
One final league weekend of the first semester is on tap for RPI next weekend as they travel to Princeton and Quinnipiac, and we'll find out there if the offensive improvements seen at RIT will be able to carry forward into the rest of the season.
ECAC Standings
1. Cornell - 10 pts (5-1-0)
2. Colgate - 8 pts (4-2-0, +7 GD)
3. St. Lawrence - 8 pts (4-2-0, +1 GD)
2. Colgate - 8 pts (4-2-0, +7 GD)
3. St. Lawrence - 8 pts (4-2-0, +1 GD)
4. Dartmouth - 7 pts (3-3-1)
5. Yale - 6 pts (3-1-0)
6. Union - 6 pts (3-2-0)
7. Harvard - 6 pts (2-3-2, -1 GD)
8. Clarkson - 5 pts (2-3-1, +1 GD)
5. Yale - 6 pts (3-1-0)
6. Union - 6 pts (3-2-0)
7. Harvard - 6 pts (2-3-2, -1 GD)
8. Clarkson - 5 pts (2-3-1, +1 GD)
9. Brown - 4 pts (2-2-0)
10. Princeton - 4 pts (2-5-0)
11. Quinnipiac - 4 pts (1-4-2)
12. RPI - 2 pts (1-4-0)
RPI at RIT
Non-Conference Game - Frank Ritter Memorial Ice Arena (Henrietta, NY)
11/25/11 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 2, RIT 0
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
Non-Conference Game - Frank Ritter Memorial Ice Arena (Henrietta, NY)
11/25/11 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 2, RIT 0
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
RECAPS
RECORD: 3-10-0 (1-4-0 ECAC, 2 pts)
Upcoming games
02 Dec - at Princeton
03 Dec - at Quinnipiac
10 Dec - vs. #9 Union (Lake Placid, NY)
29 Dec - vs. UMass-Lowell (Storrs, CT)
30 Dec - vs. Army OR at UConn (Storrs, CT)
29 Dec - vs. UMass-Lowell (Storrs, CT)
30 Dec - vs. Army OR at UConn (Storrs, CT)
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Women's Hockey - Syracuse (25/26 Nov)
RPI closed out the year's nonconference schedule this weekend with a pair of games at home against Syracuse. Last week, we noted RPI's need to carry the level of intensity and quality of play shown against Wisconsin into their other games. It didn't show consistently on Friday as Syracuse skated to a 4-3 victory, but after a slow start Saturday, the Engineers picked up play and finished strong for a 2-1 victory over the Orange.
Friday
Smelker/Cox/Horton
Mahoney/Harrison/Vandegrift
Sanders/Guillemette/Svoboda
Letuligasenoa
Castignetti/Vadner
Le Donne/Schilter
Marzario
O'Brien/Piper
A furious comeback attempt by the Engineers in the game's final minutes and a 31-16 advantage in shots weren't enough to overcome a 3-goal second period from Syracuse as RPI fell 4-3 at Houston Field House on Friday.
The Engineers opened the scoring at 13:24 of the opening period when Jill Vandegrift took a pass from Kathryn Schilter, put a shot on Orange netminder Jenesica Drinkwater, and collected her own rebound for the goal.
A 1-0 first intermission lead quickly evaporated as the second period drew on, with Syracuse breaking out with three goals on just six shots. Holly Carrie-Mattimoe opened the scoring for the Orange with a goal on a quick cross-ice pass from Caitlin Roach. Julie Knerr gave Syracuse the lead at 10:46 when she snuck a shot past Kelly O'Brien despite heavy pressure from the RPI defense.
Megan Skelly made it a 3-1 game at 15:47 of the period when she picked up her own rebound and was left alone to skate it around the back of the Engineers' net for a wraparound goal as O'Brien scrambled to get back in position from the initial save.
O'Brien would be relieved by Brianna Piper near the midpoint of the third period when Syracuse extended their lead to 4-1. A slapshot from Kaillie Goodnough found its way through traffic from the point to beat O'Brien, making it a difficult shot to see.
RPI elected to pull Piper early in an attempt to dig out of the 3-goal hole, and the move paid off at 15:51 when Jordan Smelker buried a rebound with the extra attacker on to cut the Orange lead to 4-2.
The Engineers cut the lead to one with 1:13 remaining with a 6-on-4 power play, extra attacker goal by Andie Le Donne. Le Donne pinched in to fire a rocket slapshot on a rebound opportunity past Drinkwater to make it 4-3.
RPI was able to play the game's final minute with the extra attacker but could not come up with the equalizer, and the 4-1 hole early in the third was just a little too much to overcome so late in the game.
Saturday
Mahoney/Harrison/Vandegrift
Smelker/Cox/Horton
Sanders/Guillemette/Svoboda
Letuligasenoa
Castignetti/Vadner
Le Donne/Schilter
Marzario
Piper
A slow start didn't hold the Engineers back on Saturday as they jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in the second period and held on to take a 2-1 victory and a split on the weekend.
After a very subdued first period which saw only five shots by each team, the Engineers had spent a lot of time on their heels (and on the penalty kill), although Syracuse could not generate any significant offense despite holding the edge in play early on.
RPI came out of the gate flying in the second period, however, and the Engineers got themselves on the scoreboard just 49 seconds into the middle frame. Breaking in 2-on-1, Eleeza Cox slid a perfect pass cross-ice to Jordan Smelker, who fired a laser past Drinkwater for the 1-0 lead.
Alisa Harrison made the lead 2-0 at 6:15 of the second, after Taylor Mahoney skated in against two defenders and put a shot on net. Jill Vandegrift had a look at the first rebound but couldn't put it home, and Harrison capitalized on another rebound chance as Drinkwater was unable to get the puck covered fast enough.
Syracuse launched their own third period comeback effort in Saturday's game, turning the momentum squarely in their favor in the final period, but RPI would manage to hold to Orange to a single goal by Jordyn Burns, scored from the point through traffic at 13:15 of the third period.
While Syracuse continued to pressure the Engineers after the goal, a penalty on the Orange's Julie Knerr at 15:25 took the wind out of their sails and helped RPI regain some composure and close out the game to earn the split in the weekend series.
The Engineers close out the 2011 portion of their season on the road next weekend at Clarkson (7pm Friday) and St. Lawrence (4pm Saturday), in a pair of ECAC matchups, before a month without a game over the holidays. Live stats and score updates via twitter will be available as usual, while the North Country schools will both have live video available for purchase at game time.
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RPI vs. Syracuse
Non-Conference Game – Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
11/25/11 – 7:00pm
Syracuse 4, RPI 3
BOX SCORES:
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/1112/boxes/wrensyr1.n25
RECAPS:
Video Highlights (no audio): http://www.youtube.com/rpiathletics#p/u/1/Ob9SCNIqQ3E
RECORD: 3-10-4 (1-3-2 ECAC)
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RPI vs. Syracuse
Non-Conference Game – Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
11/26/11 – 4:00pm
RPI 2, Syracuse 1
BOX SCORES:
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/1112/boxes/wrensyr1.n26
RECAPS:
Video Highlights (no audio): http://www.youtube.com/rpiathletics#p/u/0/0wE6pm6zwVQ
RECORD: 4-10-4 (1-3-2 ECAC)
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Upcoming Games
Dec. 2 - at Clarkson (7pm)
Dec. 3 - at St. Lawrence (4pm)
Jan. 6 - Colgate (3pm)
Jan. 7 - Cornell (3pm)
Jan. 13 - at Dartmouth (7pm)
Jan. 14 - at Harvard (4pm)
Friday, November 25, 2011
Stop the Bleeding
It's off to RIT tonight for a single game weekend with another ECAC set looming next weekend. The problems are well documented. Something needs to be done.
The puck has got to go in the net.
We have a suggestion as to what we'd like to see more of tonight. Pump it up.
The puck has got to go in the net.
We have a suggestion as to what we'd like to see more of tonight. Pump it up.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
On Empty Nets and Admiral Ackbar
This has been floating around in my head for the last week, and finally there's some time to talk about it... last Tuesday, while we were busy sleepwalking through the one and only Union home game of the season, Seth Appert decided to pull Bryce Merriam from the net with about eight minutes left to play, trying to light a fire that could get the team back into the game while they were down 4-1 with practically zero offensive opportunities.
Directly behind me, there was an immediate reaction. "What the hell are you doing, Appert?" a fan shouted. "This is (expletive)!"
I just about buried my head in my hands, but I'd had about enough - given that there has been actual commentary on the Internet lately as to whether lifting the goaltender is really a good idea for RPI, given the number of empty netters that the Engineers have given up this season... a number that reached 8 (more than the last two seasons combined - 5) when Daniel Carr hit the net from behind the red line, sending the Union fans in attendance into a celebration that seemed more apt for an overtime win than an empty netter with three minutes left in a game in which they were up by three and dominating.
I turned around and shouted back. "What the hell is he supposed to do? Nothing else is working. Who cares if we allow an empty netter, what's the big deal?"
Quite frankly, it's not a big deal. Empty net goals are almost never worth getting excited over, and the practice of pulling the goaltender for an extra skater when you're down late - earlier if you're down more - is done by precisely everyone. It's standard operating procedure. The football equivalent is going for it on fourth down. The exception that proves the rule is probably the Soviet Union in 1980. They didn't pull Vladimir Myshkin when they trailed the Americans late in the Miracle on Ice game, but that team was so strong and powerful that they'd never really been in a situation where they were down late before. They never practiced or planned for playing with an extra attacker.
Here's the illustration of the point on why empty net goals are meaningless. RPI was losing 2-1 to Colorado College in the first game the teams played this year. CC scored two empty netters and 4-1 was the final. What is the difference? There isn't one, really. RPI was losing before and still lost. RPI was losing 2-0 to St. Lawrence up in Canton a week later. RPI pulled the goaltender, and didn't allow the empty netter. What was the difference? None. RPI still lost - and they were losing before they pulled the goalie, too.
Now think back to last year's Black Friday... or Saturday or whenever it was. RPI on the power play. Down 3-2. Allen York gets pulled - he's out of the net for almost two full minutes of gameplay. Marty O'Grady scores with 0.2 seconds left on the clock, and RPI wins in OT. What happened there? A game the Engineers were losing turned into a tie, then a victory.
Bottom line, empty net goals are given up when the team is losing anyway and is going all out to either get back in the game or tie it, depending on how far down they are.
But, you say, what about tiebreakers?
Well, what about them? Here they are in ECAC play.
1. Comparison of game results between tied teams (head to head). -- This is an argument for winning as many games as you can against as many teams as you can, and therefore, pulling the goaltender.
2. League wins. -- This is an argument for winning as many games as you can against as many teams as you can, and therefore, pulling the goaltender.
3. Comparison of results of games against the top four teams. -- This is an argument for winning as many games as you can against as many teams as you can, and therefore, pulling the goaltender.
4. Comparison of results of games against the top eight teams. -- This is an argument for winning as many games as you can against as many teams as you can, and therefore, pulling the goaltender.
5. Goal differential in head-to-head competition. -- AHA! Perhaps we shouldn't pull the goaltender after all. Oh wait... this is the FIFTH tiebreaker, and it only has to do with goal differential with ONE OTHER TEAM.
When you're down, you pull the goaltender. When you're getting killed at home and nothing else is working, pull the goaltender. It was a sound plan, and it actually worked, too. RPI kept Union in their own zone for much of the five minutes it took Carr to send out a wing and a prayer from the neutral zone.
-------
That honestly could have been the end of this, but for no apparent reason, after I snapped at this guy behind me about the empty net, he then sent me into orbit: "We should be playing the trap. 1-3-1."
Holy. Cow.
I don't even know where to begin, so I'll just start with this. Trap hockey is some of the most boring hockey you will ever watch. It is focused not on moving the puck and scoring goals, but rather on gumming up the neutral zone to keep the other team from transitioning and creating offense. Forechecking becomes practically non-existent, which leads to fewer offensive opportunities.
Yeah, that's just what a team struggling to score goals needs right now.
His excuse? "Oh, well the Lightning do it. New Jersey's played the trap for years."
Yeah, that would be the 12th place Lightning and 10th place Devils.
I mean, look how exciting 1-3-1 can be:
Amazing. How can we get this kind of fast paced play in Troy?
Listen, I love my school and I love hockey - real hockey, the way it is meant to be played, fast paced, with hard hitting, quick action, and puck battles. Fortunately, that's the way we've pretty much always played. But if we suddenly switched to some kind of trap or clutch and grab scheme, I'd stop coming to games - and this is coming from a person devoted enough to run a fan blog.
Why do you watch hockey? To see who can put more pucks in the net at any cost? Why'd you get interested in the sport in the first place?
Say RPI had an exceptionally good... oh, cricket team, for instance. Now, I'd be fairly proud of this team if they were national contenders on a regular basis. But would I go to watch them? I would not. Why? For the life of me, I just am not into cricket. Can't get excited about a sport that takes even longer than baseball to play.
When I go to watch hockey, I want to see good hockey. Over the years, there have been a number of games we've lost by more than a little that I at least enjoyed because it was good back and forth. There have been close games (last year's Cornell home game rings a bell) that was nauseatingly sleep inducing because of the clutch and grab the Big Red plays.
Bottom line? If boring hockey is acceptable to you, why not stare at the scoreboard for 60 minutes and forget about what's happening on the ice? It's almost as riveting.
My retort to the trap fan? "The trap is bull(stuff) hockey." Which I repeated over and over again until he got the point and clammed up. The trap may be a legitimate hockey scheme, but it comes at a cost of the game's very soul. Most real hockey fans don't enjoy it and I personally would never support a team that used it.
We may be struggling, but at least we've got a coach and a team that plays real hockey. I can live with that at the end of the day.
Directly behind me, there was an immediate reaction. "What the hell are you doing, Appert?" a fan shouted. "This is (expletive)!"
I just about buried my head in my hands, but I'd had about enough - given that there has been actual commentary on the Internet lately as to whether lifting the goaltender is really a good idea for RPI, given the number of empty netters that the Engineers have given up this season... a number that reached 8 (more than the last two seasons combined - 5) when Daniel Carr hit the net from behind the red line, sending the Union fans in attendance into a celebration that seemed more apt for an overtime win than an empty netter with three minutes left in a game in which they were up by three and dominating.
I turned around and shouted back. "What the hell is he supposed to do? Nothing else is working. Who cares if we allow an empty netter, what's the big deal?"
Quite frankly, it's not a big deal. Empty net goals are almost never worth getting excited over, and the practice of pulling the goaltender for an extra skater when you're down late - earlier if you're down more - is done by precisely everyone. It's standard operating procedure. The football equivalent is going for it on fourth down. The exception that proves the rule is probably the Soviet Union in 1980. They didn't pull Vladimir Myshkin when they trailed the Americans late in the Miracle on Ice game, but that team was so strong and powerful that they'd never really been in a situation where they were down late before. They never practiced or planned for playing with an extra attacker.
Here's the illustration of the point on why empty net goals are meaningless. RPI was losing 2-1 to Colorado College in the first game the teams played this year. CC scored two empty netters and 4-1 was the final. What is the difference? There isn't one, really. RPI was losing before and still lost. RPI was losing 2-0 to St. Lawrence up in Canton a week later. RPI pulled the goaltender, and didn't allow the empty netter. What was the difference? None. RPI still lost - and they were losing before they pulled the goalie, too.
Now think back to last year's Black Friday... or Saturday or whenever it was. RPI on the power play. Down 3-2. Allen York gets pulled - he's out of the net for almost two full minutes of gameplay. Marty O'Grady scores with 0.2 seconds left on the clock, and RPI wins in OT. What happened there? A game the Engineers were losing turned into a tie, then a victory.
Bottom line, empty net goals are given up when the team is losing anyway and is going all out to either get back in the game or tie it, depending on how far down they are.
But, you say, what about tiebreakers?
Well, what about them? Here they are in ECAC play.
1. Comparison of game results between tied teams (head to head). -- This is an argument for winning as many games as you can against as many teams as you can, and therefore, pulling the goaltender.
2. League wins. -- This is an argument for winning as many games as you can against as many teams as you can, and therefore, pulling the goaltender.
3. Comparison of results of games against the top four teams. -- This is an argument for winning as many games as you can against as many teams as you can, and therefore, pulling the goaltender.
4. Comparison of results of games against the top eight teams. -- This is an argument for winning as many games as you can against as many teams as you can, and therefore, pulling the goaltender.
5. Goal differential in head-to-head competition. -- AHA! Perhaps we shouldn't pull the goaltender after all. Oh wait... this is the FIFTH tiebreaker, and it only has to do with goal differential with ONE OTHER TEAM.
When you're down, you pull the goaltender. When you're getting killed at home and nothing else is working, pull the goaltender. It was a sound plan, and it actually worked, too. RPI kept Union in their own zone for much of the five minutes it took Carr to send out a wing and a prayer from the neutral zone.
-------
That honestly could have been the end of this, but for no apparent reason, after I snapped at this guy behind me about the empty net, he then sent me into orbit: "We should be playing the trap. 1-3-1."
Holy. Cow.
I don't even know where to begin, so I'll just start with this. Trap hockey is some of the most boring hockey you will ever watch. It is focused not on moving the puck and scoring goals, but rather on gumming up the neutral zone to keep the other team from transitioning and creating offense. Forechecking becomes practically non-existent, which leads to fewer offensive opportunities.
Yeah, that's just what a team struggling to score goals needs right now.
His excuse? "Oh, well the Lightning do it. New Jersey's played the trap for years."
Yeah, that would be the 12th place Lightning and 10th place Devils.
I mean, look how exciting 1-3-1 can be:
Amazing. How can we get this kind of fast paced play in Troy?
Listen, I love my school and I love hockey - real hockey, the way it is meant to be played, fast paced, with hard hitting, quick action, and puck battles. Fortunately, that's the way we've pretty much always played. But if we suddenly switched to some kind of trap or clutch and grab scheme, I'd stop coming to games - and this is coming from a person devoted enough to run a fan blog.
Why do you watch hockey? To see who can put more pucks in the net at any cost? Why'd you get interested in the sport in the first place?
Say RPI had an exceptionally good... oh, cricket team, for instance. Now, I'd be fairly proud of this team if they were national contenders on a regular basis. But would I go to watch them? I would not. Why? For the life of me, I just am not into cricket. Can't get excited about a sport that takes even longer than baseball to play.
When I go to watch hockey, I want to see good hockey. Over the years, there have been a number of games we've lost by more than a little that I at least enjoyed because it was good back and forth. There have been close games (last year's Cornell home game rings a bell) that was nauseatingly sleep inducing because of the clutch and grab the Big Red plays.
Bottom line? If boring hockey is acceptable to you, why not stare at the scoreboard for 60 minutes and forget about what's happening on the ice? It's almost as riveting.
My retort to the trap fan? "The trap is bull(stuff) hockey." Which I repeated over and over again until he got the point and clammed up. The trap may be a legitimate hockey scheme, but it comes at a cost of the game's very soul. Most real hockey fans don't enjoy it and I personally would never support a team that used it.
We may be struggling, but at least we've got a coach and a team that plays real hockey. I can live with that at the end of the day.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Today's Podcast: Chris Lerch
We are happy to welcome back to Without a Peer Radio USCHO's Chris Lerch, who covers Atlantic Hockey for the longest-running college hockey website on the information superhighway. He also does play-by-play for RIT hockey on WITR-FM and is a fantastic resource for all things RIT.
We'll talk to Chris about RPI's first ever trip to Rochester, a game featuring a couple of teams that seem to be going in opposite directions. The Tigers have scored more goals in the last four games (all Atlantic Hockey wins) than the Engineers have scored all year - is this RIT's year to pick up their first D-I victory over RPI, and their second all time? We'll also ask about goings on in Atlantic Hockey and the underlying issues with conference realignment - including RIT's relatively well-known deigns on ECAC membership, which may hinge on a 12th member of Hockey East.
Today's podcast gets underway at 4pm Eastern. You can listen live by clicking "Listen to Without a Peer" on the right hand side of the page at the appropriate hour, or you can listen on demand by doing the same after the show.
We'll talk to Chris about RPI's first ever trip to Rochester, a game featuring a couple of teams that seem to be going in opposite directions. The Tigers have scored more goals in the last four games (all Atlantic Hockey wins) than the Engineers have scored all year - is this RIT's year to pick up their first D-I victory over RPI, and their second all time? We'll also ask about goings on in Atlantic Hockey and the underlying issues with conference realignment - including RIT's relatively well-known deigns on ECAC membership, which may hinge on a 12th member of Hockey East.
Today's podcast gets underway at 4pm Eastern. You can listen live by clicking "Listen to Without a Peer" on the right hand side of the page at the appropriate hour, or you can listen on demand by doing the same after the show.
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