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

[kdiff77]

PC scored from center ice against Merrimack and both goals tonight was softer than that.

Lol! I believe it.

[kdiff77]

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

I have one more grievance to file, before I shut up about last night's game for good: it concerns usage of certain players.

The bottom six was a disaster last night, but it doesn't have to be that way. Prescott and Pryzbek are not third-liners. Meanwhile, Tim Lappin and Brink are too talented to be seeing just a handful of minutes on the fourth line. Whittet has two options: roll with the lines he did last night (Pryzbek-Corcoran-Prescott; Brink-Middleton-Lappin) and only have his top two lines be effective, or play his three skilled bottom six players together and have three lines that can generate some offense and keep possession, with the fourth line as the only glaring hole in the lineup. That means Brink-Corcoran-Lappin; Pryzbek-Middleton-Prescott. Sure, that fourth line is going to be doing more hitting and blocking shots than creating chances, but it's better to have just one line that does not consistently produce offense, rather than two.

On the defensive side of things, I struggled to understand why Tegtmeyer, in his first game of the season, was on our top pairing last night. Even if he had been in mid-season form, I don't think you can justify giving him top pairing status based on his mediocre play last season. Gottlieb is our best defenseman, period, and he should be playing with Pfeil every night. When Scherer is healthy, he should play with Wood on the second pairing, and then Schoo should be matched with a rotation of the three sophomores (McArdle, Cooper, Tegtmeyer), none of whom have proven to be great assets thus far in their careers. The three freshmen defensemen (not including Wynne, who only played a few minutes in a single game, so the sample size is far too small to judge) have each looked excellent this year, considering the dearth of experience they have at this level. They are all proficient puck-movers and have good instincts in their own zone. If Whittet chooses to play defensemen based on size and physicality alone (which I suspect he did last night), he will pay for it in the loss column.

Ok, that's it. Let's move on now! It'll be nice to play some teams we don't often face at the UVM tournament in a few weeks.

Haha, just kidding. We're playing Colgate again, of course.

[Mike Hutter]

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

[QUOTE=kdiff77;6240256]I have one more grievance to file, before I shut up about last night's game for good: it concerns usage of certain players.

The bottom six was a disaster last night, but it doesn't have to be that way. Prescott and Pryzbek are not third-liners. Meanwhile, Tim Lappin and Brink are too talented to be seeing just a handful of minutes on the fourth line. Whittet has two options: roll with the lines he did last night (Pryzbek-Corcoran-Prescott; Brink-Middleton-Lappin) and only have his top two lines be effective, or play his three skilled bottom six players together and have three lines that can generate some offense and keep possession, with the fourth line as the only glaring hole in the lineup. That means Brink-Corcoran-Lappin; Pryzbek-Middleton-Prescott. Sure, that fourth line is going to be doing more hitting and blocking shots than creating chances, but it's better to have just one line that does not consistently produce offense, rather than two.

On the defensive side of things, I struggled to understand why Tegtmeyer, in his first game of the season, was on our top pairing last night. Even if he had been in mid-season form, I don't think you can justify giving him top pairing status based on his mediocre play last season. Gottlieb is our best defenseman, period, and he should be playing with Pfeil every night. When Scherer is healthy, he should play with Wood on the second pairing, and then Schoo should be matched with a rotation of the three sophomores (McArdle, Cooper, Tegtmeyer), none of whom have proven to be great assets thus far in their careers. The three freshmen defensemen (not including Wynne, who only played a few minutes in a single game, so the sample size is far too small to judge) have each looked excellent this year, considering the dearth of experience they have at this level. They are all proficient puck-movers and have good instincts in their own zone. If Whittet chooses to play defensemen based on size and physicality alone (which I suspect he did last night), he will pay for it in the loss column.[/QUOTE

Kdiff- Commenting first on your Dmen thoughts. I agree with you that Gottlieb/Pfeil and Scherer/Wood are solid, with Gottlieb arguably the best of that group. While I did not see the PC game, based on 3 others I thought Schoo and McCardle have also played well. McCardle has really raised the level of his play from last year. With those 3 lines and Tegtmeyer and Cooper able to fill in, I believe we are ok for second half with our defense. Also for 2016-2017,

Goalie, Ernst should play every game. When he is one, he is capable. Not at the level of Borelli's play, but constant playing may give him more confidence. His two last games against Union in Schenectady shows he can be a solid D 1 goalie. Having said that I see we have one goalie commit for next year Elijah Harris from Kimball UNion where he played for Mike Levine. Will he be the starter next year?

Offense, your ideas about the lines seem to be a good option. But I think everything will woe=rk out for the best if the NHL line starts scoring. They really are due.

[BrunoFan00]

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

[QUOTE=Mike Hutter;6241840]

I have one more grievance to file, before I shut up about last night's game for good: it concerns usage of certain players.

The bottom six was a disaster last night, but it doesn't have to be that way. Prescott and Pryzbek are not third-liners. Meanwhile, Tim Lappin and Brink are too talented to be seeing just a handful of minutes on the fourth line. Whittet has two options: roll with the lines he did last night (Pryzbek-Corcoran-Prescott; Brink-Middleton-Lappin) and only have his top two lines be effective, or play his three skilled bottom six players together and have three lines that can generate some offense and keep possession, with the fourth line as the only glaring hole in the lineup. That means Brink-Corcoran-Lappin; Pryzbek-Middleton-Prescott. Sure, that fourth line is going to be doing more hitting and blocking shots than creating chances, but it's better to have just one line that does not consistently produce offense, rather than two.

On the defensive side of things, I struggled to understand why Tegtmeyer, in his first game of the season, was on our top pairing last night. Even if he had been in mid-season form, I don't think you can justify giving him top pairing status based on his mediocre play last season. Gottlieb is our best defenseman, period, and he should be playing with Pfeil every night. When Scherer is healthy, he should play with Wood on the second pairing, and then Schoo should be matched with a rotation of the three sophomores (McArdle, Cooper, Tegtmeyer), none of whom have proven to be great assets thus far in their careers. The three freshmen defensemen (not including Wynne, who only played a few minutes in a single game, so the sample size is far too small to judge) have each looked excellent this year, considering the dearth of experience they have at this level. They are all proficient puck-movers and have good instincts in their own zone. If Whittet chooses to play defensemen based on size and physicality alone (which I suspect he did last night), he will pay for it in the loss column.[/QUOTE

Kdiff- Commenting first on your Dmen thoughts. I agree with you that Gottlieb/Pfeil and Scherer/Wood are solid, with Gottlieb arguably the best of that group. While I did not see the PC game, based on 3 others I thought Schoo and McCardle have also played well. McCardle has really raised the level of his play from last year. With those 3 lines and Tegtmeyer and Cooper able to fill in, I believe we are ok for second half with our defense. Also for 2016-2017,

Goalie, Ernst should play every game. When he is one, he is capable. Not at the level of Borelli's play, but constant playing may give him more confidence. His two last games against Union in Schenectady shows he can be a solid D 1 goalie. Having said that I see we have one goalie commit for next year Elijah Harris from Kimball UNion where he played for Mike Levine. Will he be the starter next year?

Offense, your ideas about the lines seem to be a good option. But I think everything will woe=rk out for the best if the NHL line starts scoring. They really are due.

Some random musings, as I have been to almost every home game, the game at Harvard, and the game at PC:

Defensively, we saw the dropoff with Pfeil, McArdle, and Tegtmayer all out, with no disrespect to Rossi and Wynne, whose sample size is far too small. I've thought, and agree, that McArdle has seen his level of play improve. I also thought Tegtmayer looked like he had not missed a beat against PC - I would not have thought that was his first game, based on his performance, which was pretty decent, I thought. The steadiest man on the blue line, so far, has been Gottlieb, who has played very well and deserved better than his -2 over the past couple of games. When Cooper comes back, I believe the staff has a complex, but good, challenge on its hand, if for no reason other than Scherer and Schoo have also played fairly well. Scherer had a tough sequence that led to the GWG against Princeton, but, other than, there have not been terrible weaknesses among them.

Offensively, we need more than one line to get going, that much is certain. I am hesitant to bring up the "NHL" line in using that moniker. I speaking with a local scout, the jump from draft pick to NHL player is great - mostly drafted on potential - and I think they are pressing, without question. Bottom line - somebody else has to score.

I actually didn't think Steel played too badly - but for every jaw-dropping stop he made, there was a softy. When the margin of error for the Bears is so paper thin, they really can't afford one, never mind two softies. There are times when I wonder about Ernst - his positioning, somewhat frenetic style, and command of the crease seem a little antsy. But I think the PC game was an opportunity to see if Steel were capable of seizing the job, which I can't say with a degree of certainty that he did.

Happy holidays, everyone.

[Mike Hutter]

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

Nice article on Matt Lorito in today's Times Union. He comments on his senior season at Brown and other matters. Link is below. I don't believe it is behind a paywall.

http://www.timesunion.com/tuplus-spo...or-6698009.php

[kdiff77]

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

BF00 - agreed that Cooper's return creates a positive challenge for the staff. I just hope they give the freshmen equal opportunities going forward, because I've been more impressed with each of them than I was last year by any one of the now-sophomores. McArdle has certainly improved, as you said, and Cooper was the best of the bunch last year, so that's encouraging.

Also agreed on Steel/Ernst dilemma. Ernst is not as technically or positionally sound as Steel, but Steel's propensity to make multiple errors each game should keep him on the bench. Steel possibly is more talented but he just cannot be trusted when, as you said, the margin of error is VERY thin against a top team with a young defensive corps.

From a statistical standpoint, we have some good news! Last year's team finished with a 42% possession rating at 5-on-5, which was third-worst in the country, ahead of only UAH and AIC (ouch). This year, we're at a much more respectable 48.8% - which is middle of the pack nationally. Given that we have the 11th-toughest strength of schedule so far, that's very encouraging (disclaimer - I looked up the stats a couple days ago and didn't double check while writing this, so they might be off very slightly). It means we're hanging with some of the best teams in the country every game (Lowell, Cornell, QU, PC, Harvard). If we can grab a few wins in January against some tough competition (PC, Yale twice, SLU/Clarkson), we'll be in good shape!

Here's to an improved 2016! We have some nice pieces. Now let's see if the puzzle can start to come together.

[Hoser]

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

Sorry, but can someone tell me what happened to Braeden Russell? Concussion?

[Mike Hutter]

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

Sorry, but can someone tell me what happened to Braeden Russell? Concussion?

My understanding is concussion which precludes him from playing.

[Euler18]

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

I've thought, and agree, that McArdle has seen his level of play improve. I also thought Tegtmayer looked like he had not missed a beat against PC - I would not have thought that was his first game, based on his performance, which was pretty decent, I thought. The steadiest man on the blue line, so far, has been Gottlieb, who has played very well and deserved better than his -2 over the past couple of games. When Cooper comes back, I believe the staff has a complex, but good, challenge on its hand, if for no reason other than Scherer and Schoo have also played fairly well. Scherer had a tough sequence that led to the GWG against Princeton, but, other than, there have not been terrible weaknesses among them.

I seldom disagree with BrunoFan00, and I'm not going to break that pattern here. Gottlieb has been a pleasant surprise. He's our best defenseman right now. McArdle had a very strong Belpot tournament despite battling injuries that would have sidelined most players. He's a very dependable defenseman. Brady and Scherer are skilled players with a bright future at Brown. It's great to have Tegtmayer back. I'd love to see Cooper return but when is apparently still a question mark.

Offensively, we need more than one line to get going, that much is certain. I am hesitant to bring up the "NHL" line in using that moniker. I speaking with a local scout, the jump from draft pick to NHL player is great - mostly drafted on potential - and I think they are pressing, without question. Bottom line - somebody else has to score.

We can't continue to rely so much on the top line. We need to get secondary scoring. The second line hasn't developed as quickly as we'd hoped. Maybe it's time to split them up. Of the three Tyler Bird has shown the most improvement, and has actually become one of Brown's best defensive players. I don't think he'll ever be a big goal scorer but he can do a lot of other things for us. It's been rewarding to see him develop. Another player who's made big strides is Charlie Corcoran. With him it may be a matter of finding the right linemates.

[Mike Hutter]

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

We can't continue to rely so much on the top line. We need to get secondary scoring. The second line hasn't developed as quickly as we'd hoped. Maybe it's time to split them up. Of the three Tyler Bird has shown the most improvement, and has actually become one of Brown's best defensive players. I don't think he'll ever be a big goal scorer but he can do a lot of other things for us. It's been rewarding to see him develop. Another player who's made big strides is Charlie Corcoran. With him it may be a matter of finding the right linemates.

I agree with you completely about Bird. He is a disruptive force when on the ice. Never stops skating. Indeed, that line while lacking scoring punch is a really good dline.

[Kane88]

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

Corcoran might have the best hockey sense on the entire team other than Naclerio/Lappin. Sees the play before it is happening, to this point he just hasn't had line mates who can match his creativity. Extremely tough to play a north south tough guy roll when you are undersized and not that type of player. I would like to see a combination of 2nd: Willman, Corcoran, Bird. 3rd: Brink, Lafferty, Pryzbek. 4th: Prescott, Middleton, Lappin
Once again regardless of what the ultimate combinations are, it makes zero sense not to atleast try to jump start some of the draft picks by placing them with different catalysts up and down the line up.

[kdiff77]

Corcoran might have the best hockey sense on the entire team other than Naclerio/Lappin. Sees the play before it is happening, to this point he just hasn't had line mates who can match his creativity. Extremely tough to play a north south tough guy roll when you are undersized and not that type of player. I would like to see a combination of 2nd: Willman, Corcoran, Bird. 3rd: Brink, Lafferty, Pryzbek. 4th: Prescott, Middleton, Lappin
Once again regardless of what the ultimate combinations are, it makes zero sense not to atleast try to jump start some of the draft picks by placing them with different catalysts up and down the line up.

I like this idea. A lot. Corcoran has been SUPER underrated, and he should be given a chance to thrive in an expanded role. I've noticed he's been getting more power play time recently, which is encouraging.

[Hope Street]

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

Goalie Gavin Nieto of Fairbanks (NAHL) committed to Brown today. He's a nice get for the Bears. Leads NAHL with 1.74 goals against and has 16-3-1 record.

[Mike Hutter]

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

Goalie Gavin Nieto of Fairbanks (NAHL) committed to Brown today. He's a nice get for the Bears. Leads NAHL with 1.74 goals against and has 16-3-1 record.

What year is he coming in?

[CollegeHockeyRinkReport]

What year is he coming in?

Next fall or '17. He's a '96 so couldn't be later than that. Nice get for Brown staff.