Brown Hockey 2015-16: (s)Lappin' around the competition

[kdiff77]

Re: Brown Hockey 2015-16: (s)Lappin' around the competition

I was looking at tickets for the first Mayor's Cup game at PC - it's almost sold out, which is no small feat given that the game is on a Thursday. Every seat in the sections that have traditionally been allocated to away fans is gone. Does anyone know if Brown has been given a block of seats, and is selling them to fans or even just season ticket holders? Thanks.

I would imagine that there will be quite a few no-shows, so I'll probably have my choice of seats if I buy tickets in a different section. Schneider is rarely full even when it's officially sold-out, and I doubt Brown is considered a big draw to their fanbase in comparison to the likes to BU/BC, etc.

[Mike Hutter]

Re: Brown Hockey 2015-16: (s)Lappin' around the competition

While I hate to say this at the start of the season, Dartmouth game may be the indicator of whether this year's team gets home ice for the playoffs. I watched the HC game on the Digital Network and liked the offense. But defense is still a work in progress and lacks a Dman who can skate the puck out of the d end. If D fails against what appears to be a really anemic Dartmouth offense, Brown will have real trouble with the rest of the ECAC. Brown should win but if not the questions about D will continue. Euler, I do agree tho with your assessment of Schoo.

[kdiff77]

Re: Brown Hockey 2015-16: (s)Lappin' around the competition

Very solid first period! We had a number of good chances and cashed in on 2. Shots are even at 9-9, but it seemed to me that we mostly limited Dartmouth to shooting from the outside/low percentage areas of the ice.

Edit: shots were 9-9, but shot attempts were 19-12 in favor of Brown. That's an excellent possession ratio.

[kdiff77]

Re: Brown Hockey 2015-16: (s)Lappin' around the competition

The second period was pretty awful - 3 unanswered goals, sloppy defensive play, and Dartmouth dictated the pace and generated more offense. I don't think Steel should be blamed for any of the goals he's given up today.

It seems as though we can score some goals this year, which is a big improvement from last year. But, as we all feared, the defense appears to be highly suspect. Let's hope the freshmen continue to grow as the year goes on. Gottlieb and Schoo are good puck-movers; now they need to improve in their own zone.

[kdiff77]

Re: Brown Hockey 2015-16: (s)Lappin' around the competition

Make that four unanswered for Dartmouth. I think I'm going to turn this off and enjoy my Friday night.

[Mike Hutter]

Re: Brown Hockey 2015-16: (s)Lappin' around the competition

Make that four unanswered for Dartmouth. I think I'm going to turn this off and enjoy my Friday night.

I did likewise. This team has a lot of talent but looked like a real "lack of chemistry" on the ice. If Brown gives up 7 goals to Dartmouth, Harvard game could turn out to be a true disaster.

[kdiff77]

I did likewise. This team has a lot of talent but looked like a real "lack of chemistry" on the ice. If Brown gives up 7 goals to Dartmouth, Harvard game could turn out to be a true disaster.

They started out very well but imploded in the second. I can only assume it continued in the third, as Dartmouth cashed in three more times.

I'm really dreading going to the game tonight. I don't think our defense/goaltending will be THIS bad all season, but for now, there's no reason to think it'll improve overnight. And Harvard put up 12 goals in two games last week...

[BrunoFan00]

Re: Brown Hockey 2015-16: (s)Lappin' around the competition

Tonight's game, for those of you who are local, is actually on AM790 or via Internet via 790business.com.

[kdiff77]

Re: Brown Hockey 2015-16: (s)Lappin' around the competition

I was going to do a detailed observational post, but I realized it could be summed up more simply:

The good: we've scored 10 goals in three games.

The bad: we've allowed 19 goals in that span. That's...unrealistically bad.

[Mike Hutter]

Re: Brown Hockey 2015-16: (s)Lappin' around the competition

I was going to do a detailed observational post, but I realized it could be summed up more simply:
The good: we've scored 10 goals in three games. The bad: we've allowed 19 goals in that span. That's...unrealistically bad.

Would still like to read your detailed comments.

[kdiff77]

Would still like to read your detailed comments.

You asked for it!

Let's start from the back end.

Goaltending: Ernst was average. He made a couple nice saves and let in a couple bad goals. Two of the goals wouldn't have been stopped by most at this level, but Cristcuolo's and Donato's should have been stopped in my opinion. I still haven't seen anything that leads me to believe Ernst should be a starter on a D-1 team, but Steel didn't play any better on Friday, so whatever. Maybe give Maher a shot at some point?

Defense: same story as Friday night - the vets looked unimpressive while the freshmen showed some good instincts and puck-moving abilities, while still succumbing to some rookie mistakes. Gottlieb in particular was adept at generating offense and contributing to the cycle game. I didn't have a chance to check the live stats on CHN, which is the only place I know of that records possession data, but I would guess that shot attempts were fairly even in this game. There were stretches where we had them hemmed in their own zone and vice versa, and Gottlieb was great at keeping the puck in play. Pfeil had a horrendous game - turnovers, bad positioning, getting repeatedly torched by Vesey, et al.

Forwards: Harvard did a truly exceptional job at shutting down lanes. They kept the puck to the outside, forcing us to play the cycle game and keeping us out of the slot. As I stated above, it felt to me like possession was fairly even, but scoring chances were greatly in Harvard's favor because we couldn't get the puck in any dangerous areas and they waltzed through our zone with ease. The fourth line was the only line that got anything going, which is both encouraging and concerning - it's good to have depth, but why couldn't our top six players dominate any shifts in the same fashion? The fourth line routinely went up against Harvard's top six, so matchups weren't - or shouldn't have been - an issue.

I maintain that Max Willman will eventually be a star at this level. He was one of the fastest players on the ice, and that's taking into account that Harvard is probably the fastest team I can ever remember watching in person. We have some good speed in our lineup, so against some of the slower ECAC teams (RPI, Cornell, Clarkson, Princeton) we should be able to have more control over the pace of the game. With that said, if a team can skate with us, they have a very good shot at beating us since our defensive play is so...um...let's call it "adventurous."

TL;DR: we need a dependable goalie and we need our veteran defensemen to be better. The offense should consistently be able to put up some goals this year, but our defense and goaltending is a mess at this point. The freshmen D-men are promising, but they can be defensively deficient and are error-prone which is to be expected this early in their careers.

[Mike Hutter]

Re: Brown Hockey 2015-16: (s)Lappin' around the competition

Anyone coming to the Capital District this weekend? Would be great if Brown can win 2 like last year. Union has been having its own goalie issues and RPI scoring issues but great goaltending. If Brown's defense holds up, brown can win.

Speaking of goalies, I have watched several Albany Devils games so far this year and Yann Danis has been superb. Hard to believe he graduated 11 years ago. The games have been fun to watch with both Matt Lorito and Yann getting a lot of ice time. I noticed the Devils are in Providence Friday night and if you need a hockey fix you will enjoy watching the two of them.

[LTsatch]

Re: Brown Hockey 2015-16: (s)Lappin' around the competition

Anyone coming to the Capital District this weekend? Would be great if Brown can win 2 like last year. Union has been having its own goalie issues and RPI scoring issues but great goaltending. If Brown's defense holds up, brown can win.

Speaking of goalies, I have watched several Albany Devils games so far this year and Yann Danis has been superb. Hard to believe he graduated 11 years ago. The games have been fun to watch with both Matt Lorito and Yann getting a lot of ice time. I noticed the Devils are in Providence Friday night and if you need a hockey fix you will enjoy watching the two of them.

Kasdorf is out on Friday according to "Without a Peer " blog. He thinks he will be back in on saturday.

[turk181]

Re: Brown Hockey 2015-16: (s)Lappin' around the competition

Anyone coming to the Capital District this weekend? Would be great if Brown can win 2 like last year. Union has been having its own goalie issues and RPI scoring issues but great goaltending. If Brown's defense holds up, brown can win.

Speaking of goalies, I have watched several Albany Devils games so far this year and Yann Danis has been superb. Hard to believe he graduated 11 years ago. The games have been fun to watch with both Matt Lorito and Yann getting a lot of ice time. I noticed the Devils are in Providence Friday night and if you need a hockey fix you will enjoy watching the two of them.

C’mon Mike.....in 4 League games RPI has scored 14 goals (no ENG in there).

[Ralph Baer]

Re: Brown Hockey 2015-16: (s)Lappin' around the competition

Kasdorf is out on Friday according to "Without a Peer " blog. He thinks he will be back in on saturday.

Assuming that the following is what you are talking about, WaP did not say he would probably/possibly be back vs. Brown on Saturday.

Kasdorf's availability (along with that of Bubela and Tironese) isn't known for sure for the upcoming home weekend against Yale and Brown. One report by the Troy Record suggests that he's unlikely to play against Yale, but a report from Canton had it that Kasdorf could have played against St. Lawrence if it had been a playoff game. Both could be accurate.