2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

[discomania]

Re: 2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

anymore reviews of the game?

[dwb]

Re: 2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

overall a very well played college hockey game--NBwas fast and moved the puck quite well.took awhile for uvm to get going(first game conditions)but skated well the rest of the way--i agree that the freshmen line looked good especially nillson-ross.with some seasoning, the freshmen look like they will contribute this year.alot of players seemed a little stronger and quicker and seemed to force the issue more this season and that's good news--should be some great games this year.

[snwbrdr]

Re: 2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

The Cats were obviously pretty horrible early in the first. But they picked it up and I thought had the better of the play for the second half of the first period and most of the second. I would call the 3rd and OT close although UVM had the better opportunities overall I thought. Bummed that we did not see a shootout.

Medvec needs to stay out of the box.

Absence of Stacey and Milo greatly noted. Bummer that Milo is out for a month or so. Hopefully Stacey skates in Denver.

In general the D looked like they should have - large, solid, and confident. also aggressive, as they will have to be this year to contribute to the offense. They will be just fine.

The offense was mostly disorganized. Marshall looked better than last year but one game is a very small sample. Roloff was the best skater on the ice, as expected. Vock was quite invisible, which concerns me. Irwin was physical, which always scares me given his propensity for bad penalties at bad times. Downing had flashes, as he always does, but then is also invisible at other times.

Atkinson, Higgins and Franklin looked similar to last year (to the extent we even saw Franklin last year), no noticeable step up yet. I think that all three of them will lose ice time to the freshmen forwards.

The freshman line looked ok with Roos being the most impressive in comparison to my limited expectation from him. He was quick and appears quite skilled. Stalburg also impressed with positioning and smart two way play - as advertised - but he is clearly smaller than his bro. Again, one game is too small to compare, but I am going to bet he has a bigger positive impact this year than his bro did as a freshman.

Pacan looked pretty solid also, he should contribute nicely.

Albertson looked ok also.

Too bad McCarthy is injured and could not play.

All in all, I think they are deeper this year than last, at least when Milo is back, and will play more as a TEAM with more offensive contribution from the D. I think they can be better but they will struggle to score until they get Milo back and the lines sorted out. The PP will be important, that must click at near 20% to help them score, and the PK must return to UVM standard levels after a vacation last year.

My expected forward lines for Denver with Milo out and (hopefully) Stacey and McCarthy able to go:

Marshall, Roloff, Vock
Irwin, Stacey, Downing
Pacan, Roos, Stalburg
McCarthy, Higgins, Atkinson

although Albertson may sneek in for Atkinson or Higgins if he can play center

When Milo comes back he puts Higgins or Atkinson on the bench.

We get the same D as last year.

I think, if the freshmen are reasonably solid, that this is a DEEPER lineup than last year with three lines that can truly threaten to score and a fourth that is a bit more dangerous than last year. Yes they will miss Vik and Lenes and Strong on both sides of the puck, but I still like where the program is going.

Get healthy J. Milo

[observer85]

Re: 2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

The Cats were obviously pretty horrible early in the first. They were playing their 1st game against a team that was playing its 7th

Medvec needs to stay out of the box. Agreed, his history is not one to be in the box. Cullity stayed out of the box, maybe that is a good sign

Absence of Stacey and Milo greatly noted. Stacey hurts big time as he most likely is on a powerplay unit and has shown the ability to find the open player for a one timer. Same can be said for Milo. Absence of both hurt PP more than anything

In general the D looked like they should have - large, solid, and confident. also aggressive, as they will have to be this year to contribute to the offense. They will be just fine. Agressive play on both ends will be key for this team, especially in the early going

Roloff was the best skater on the ice, as expected. Vock was quite invisible, which concerns me. Glad someone else saw that too. Everyone is entitled to be a bit off and hopefully this was only game Vock will appear to off

The freshman line looked ok with Roos being the most impressive in comparison to my limited expectation from him. Watching the You Tube clip on the UVM website, the cycling and centering pass by Pacan appears to be at a higher level than one would expect from freshmen. I will take it

Too bad McCarthy is injured and could not play. See my comment below

All in all, I think they are deeper this year than last, at least when Milo is back, and will play more as a TEAM with more offensive contribution from the D. With no real "go to" guy, this will be a fun TEAM to watch. Really got tired of watching Lenes not pass the puck last year and wondering if Stalberg was going to check in or check out for any given game

When Milo comes back he puts Higgins or Atkinson on the bench. Or any of the freshmen forwards might also put some veteran on the bench. It is a nice problem to have

Regarding McCarthy, found this in the archives of the USHR website from the June 2009 News. This might explain why he did not play on Sunday. Perhaps he is not fully recovered from shoulder surgery?

"While in Ann Arbor, McCarthy was moved from his best position, center, and placed on the wing. In addition, he injured himself early in the season and played with a torn labrum that required six screws in his shoulder. On top of everything else, McCarthy was in his fifth school in five years. His father says he missed playing at the Berkshire School, where his role was more clearly defined."

[jcarter7669]

Re: 2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

With regards to the D :

The D looked pretty good, but to me there are some issues with Medvec, he didn't seem to be aggressive at all, took a bad penalty, made a few really weak passes, and I'm not sure he even had a shot on goal? I think the D need to shoot the puck, this team needs to get pucks to the net and look for rebounds and weak passes from the point down low aren't going to cut it. It seems as though Lawson and Miller are the only two that dare to take a shot. The D need to be more active and involved with the puck. At times its almost like their only job is to keep the puck in the zone. Hopefully Sneddon gets them more active in whats going on.

I though Higgins looked much better then last year, seemed to be much more on the puck and more aggressive.

I think both Higgins and Atkinson are going to play about every game. Atkinson especially as he has gotten better every year and he is also a huge spark for the team. Lenes was a puck hog, but he was flat out every second he was on the ice, and he generated energy for the team. Atkinson does that as well and that is going to be needed. Nilsoon_Roos has that as well.

I wasn't terribly impressed with Pacan or Albertson. They have good size, but they are both slow slow slow. I would say they would be effective at getting in front of the net and getting some rebounds but thats not the way UVM plays, and Albertson I don't think is fast enough to ever keep up with the play.

I don't see Atkinson getting bumped by Albertson or Pacan.


The big question I think with regards to lineups is whether or not Sneddon keeps the 3 freshman together? It would be nice to have them develop together on the same line, but 3 freshman on a single line going into Denver is a recipe for disaster. JMO.

[snwbrdr]

Re: 2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

I did not think that Pacan was particularly slow. He showed up more later in the game than earlier. I thought Stalburg, Pacan and Roos all looked better than Higgins or Atkinson. I like Atkinson and what he has been through with his injury but he's not going to score more than a couple of goals, same with Higgins. I think Sneddon goes with whomever he thinks is going to get the job done and my money is on those three freshman and likely McCarthy having ice before Higgins or Atkinson, although it is a moot point until Milo, Stacey, and McCarthy lace them up.

Borrows is very active offensively - which I like - and will compete with Lawson and possibly Miller for the most points from the D this year. Hopefully Mackenzie develops into a threat as well.

Team should be leaving for DU on Wednesday I presume

[GaryH]

Re: 2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

Stalberg is believed to have suffered a concussion Tuesday night
taking a first period hit from Ottawa's Anton Volchenkov.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9_fb5dSuGI

"He got his bell rung and I don't expect him to be in the lineup on
Saturday," said Wilson. "That might be too early to make a prognosis
on him. We'll see how he feels."

[UVM Cat in Texas]

Re: 2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

Here's a link to a story on the defensive corps from today's Burlington Free Press. There's also a link in the article to two other stories--one's a season preview and the other's about the incoming freshmen.

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/a...PORTS/91007035

[UVM Cat in Texas]

Re: 2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

Here's a link to a story on the defensive corps from today's Burlington Free Press. There's also a link in the article to two other stories--one's a season preview and the other's about the incoming freshmen.

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/a...PORTS/91007035

FWIW, there may be a few UML fans who'd take exception to the title of the article: Defending UVM's "Elite Status"

Yuk, yuk....

[charliecatamount]

Re: 2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

Tonights lineup....

Vock Roloff Marshall
Downing Irwin Stacey
Nillson-Roos Stalberg Pacan
Atkinson Higgins Franklin


Cullity Burrows
Medvec Miller
Mackenzie Lawson

Madore
Vazzano

[snwbrdr]

Re: 2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

interesting that he is sticking with a pure freshman forward line.

Let's go Cats!

[Ogilthorpe]

Re: 2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

1 more hour til' game 1 of 09-10 season, can't wait...fortunate enough in the upper valley to get fsn and will be catching the game.

i'm optimistic that this team will learn quickly and gel throughout the season and i do agree with others that even though they lost a lot up front, the additions of a solid Fr. class who can step in and play now combined with a D-unit that has logged a lot of hours and Madore in net gives me a lot of hope for this team. That said, think it's important to be patient and let this team develop. More than ever, think it's important to not get too high when things look good and not too low when things look ugly. As Sneddon has preached every year, the season is a process and I think the new look of this years team with the need for several returnees to step their game to the next level makes that statement very true this year. With the experience on D and a top notch goalie in net, it's expected that they'll be in every game, the next step will be "learning" how to win because you can expect every game to be close. Last year's team developed into "learning" how to win over the course of really a season and a half. Give this years team time to figure that very difficult aspect of the game. A split this weekend would be positive.

on a seperate note and i hate to say it as their seems to be a rivalry brewing, i said it late last year and i believe it as much this year that UML could be a special team that is really tough to beat. Look at their boxscore from tonight just from a line-up perspective, no holes, 4 solid lines, no big stars but solid, solid players everywhere. And goaltending is proven. They will be held in same regard as BC, BU this year as an opponent.

[Ogilthorpe]

Re: 2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

well i guess that's it, season's over

i guess that's what i was getting at in my pre-game post, learning how to win those close games which they will do as the season progresses. Little things like not losing your opposing centerman after losing a defensive zone draw but they'll see that on film and learn from it. No way Irwin should have got a 5 min. penalty. Smaller player turned last second and was falling to the ice as a result of his quick turn as a taller player comes in for the hit, and still he hit him on the side not from behind, but the team needs to fight through tough calls as it won't be the last mis-call of the season. A lot of positive things to take from this game, they came out aggressively attacking and playing to win instead of sitting back and being hesitant against a number one team. In the last 1:10 they had many chances to score and created several opportunities of face-offs. Tomorrow night they'll have to be a little better in trying to cut down on the blind passes that resulted in turnovers. Almost had to laugh when Cullity got his first penalty of the season within the first minute of the game on a hit after the whistle, first thought was here we go again but actually the DU player crumbled pretty softly. Will Cullity's first career goal be the beginning of a breakout goal-scoring season for him All in all a good effort tonight with a lot to build on, sure they had a two goal lead that they would have liked to preserve but if they can secure a win tomorrow night they'll feel good about the weekend.

[PuckVoice]

Re: 2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

Watched it on TV ... A great two periods for the Cats ... a better third period for the Pioneers ... Colborne was solid for DU ... can't wait to see him in Bruins Black and Gold ... in fact is there any chance he could sign tomorrow?

Not an excuse ... just a thought ... did the altitude get to UVM in the third? They really seemed to lose a step ... then another step as the period went on.

[charliecatamount]

Re: 2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

Denver 1 -Brayden Irwin 0

43-22 in shots... Hopefully we can see a rebound tommorow...