>>> RIT Tigers 2016-17: That was fun; let's go for three!

[LtPowers]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2016-17: That was fun; let's go for three!

If this becomes a trend, then yes, we can rethink this, but one playoff series loss during an injury riddled season after two consecutive NCAA tournament appearances and a win in one of those seasons isn't nearly a trend.

Seriously.

We go to Minnesota, and go to OT.

We beat the Gophers.


Powers &8^]

[larfretz44]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2016-17: That was fun; let's go for three!

It actually makes me sad to hear that people are calling for Coach Wilson's head... This is a guy who recruits from all over the place, and finds diamonds in the rough that pretty much every other team passes on (Tanev, Garbowsky, Norrishes, etc). He does this without any help from scholarships, or conference we play in. Granted we do have one of the best facilities in NCAA, but we didn't four years ago. AND THEN, he takes all these guys that no big time school wanted, and almost always gets us to BCA for a chance to get to the NCAAs. AND THEN, when we make it to the tournament, which we do more than any other team in the conference that doesn't play in Colorado, we at least compete with the big dogs, if we don't actually beat them. The only game that RIT wasn't really competitive in was Wisconsin in the FF. Even in the regular season, we go to Cornell and beat them. We go to Michigan, and beat them. We go to Penn State, and beat them. We go to Minnesota, and go to OT. The list goes on, and on.

When it comes to NCAA sports, being a consistent winner has a lot to do with coaching and recruiting. The player turnover is incredibly high, and the only constant is the coaching staff. You can't make free agent moves and trades when all hell breaks loose like it did with this team this year. You have to play with what you're dealt, and the second half of this season WW was dealt a 2 and 7 off suit, and still managed to get this team to finish in 6th place. We need to stop living in the moment, and think about what this coaching staff has done the last 10+ years. If this becomes a trend, then yes, we can rethink this, but one playoff series loss during an injury riddled season after two consecutive NCAA tournament appearances and a win in one of those seasons isn't nearly a trend.

Let's stay calm here. Go Tigers.

[Rochester]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2016-17: That was fun; let's go for three!

I can't blame Wayne on this, though I am a skeptic. He was hired as a DIII coach after all. I personally don't think Wayne is the man who can take this program to the next level. Just my opinion.

This season would be 100% different if the team had confidence in goal. Rotolo without fail always let in softies. He peaked is sophomore year and thank God we had Ruby who at the last minute got hot and become the goalie RIT recruited him to be.

With all the fire power RIT had and great defensivemen there is only one person to blame this season, and not to Rotolo's fault, he just wasn't good.

[Schmitty]

For those who want Coach fired - who do you think could do better that RIT could get?

You know, plenty of Bruins fans -- myself included -- tried using this exact argument before they fired Claude Julien. The fact that they're actually playing like a team under new HC Bruce Cassidy provides a good example of why such an argument isn't always a good one. I'm not saying it's always wrong, but it's definitely not always right either.

Honestly, I don't follow enough of the coaching changes at other schools to suggest an outside replacement. But we have other guys on the staff who could deserve a promotion. (I have heard Brian Hills is generally well-respected by the players)

Getting a generally forgettable senior class out will help too.

[cplinford]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2016-17: That was fun; let's go for three!

Coach can't play the game for the guys and when injury bug hits a college team your options are really limited compared to a pro team. Real tough weekend for the team, and ****ty way for the seniors to leave their college careers.

I'm looking forward to getting the Norrish brothers back next year and continued improved in some of the guys in particular Venezuala. The freshmen defense got some good experience. Goaltending will be a question as it always is when the starter graduates

[RIT Winters]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2016-17: That was fun; let's go for three!

I think Rotolo is a great DIII goalie but nothing more then 3rd string DI. If he was better the Tigers would have had way more wins then they did. He just couldn't come up with the saves the Tigers needed and going down 2 goals right out of the gate... I'm glad to see him graduate.

Agreed. Rotolo was capable of getting hot and winning games, but I can't think of a single game in 4 years he "stole" for RIT. He was never the guy you could trust to go out there and win a game despite everything else being in the other team's favor. He spent most of his career as an average goalie at best, and this year was decidedly below average. He finished the season with under a .900% which is just awful.

Can coaching contracts be broken?

Though I don't think WW is perfect and I would agree he tends to scapegoat his players maybe a bit too much, I can't put the season on him. He had a subpar goalie all season and suffered long-term injuries to his two best defensemen, his best penalty killer (Skirving) as well as sporadic injuries to other key guys such as Valenzuela. At some point you run out of bodies to put in the lineup and some of those you are putting in simply are not as good as the guys they are replacing. RIT was near the top of the league prior to the Norrish's going down.

We can hope that being thrown into the fire like this as freshmen should lead to very good sophomore seasons particularly for the young D. But really all this team needs is a goalie that can stop 91-92% of shots and we'd have won a bunch more games - including Friday and/or Sunday.

[StimulisRK]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2016-17: That was fun; let's go for three!

Michael Holland (21) was the last one out on the ice last night. Niagara had gone in tunnel, RIT finished the Corner Crew salute and had begun going in the tunnel - Holland circled back to the center ice tiger logo and just stood there staring at it. He finally skated off into the tunnel. It was painful to watch, I really felt for him there. He did an interview this past week on it being his last year, he really wanted this one.

Honestly, he and Valenzuela were the only 2 players that stood out to me. Everyone seemed to play hard - but sloppy and unfocused. Valenzuela played his absolute heart out.

What a contrast between the 2 goalies in just a 1 day span. I've always been a fan of Mike's. He has the talent and the size for D1 - this just wasn't his year. Maybe it was the inconsistent Defense and the injuries to the Norri (plural for Norrish twins??), but last nights save % of 80% is disheartening to see. I feel bad for him that was the game he went out on. I hope he can get some ECHL play in.
It was Mike's night Saturday, and it was Teichroeb's night last night. In typical fashion, RIT piled on the shots, but this time they actually had some great chances. He was an absolute wall. I don't get it.

I almost feel like beating Mercyhurst so handly last week wasn't the best way to go.

On a positive note, whoever runs the PA system does a fantastic job with song selection.

[komey1]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2016-17: That was fun; let's go for three!

This was the most disappointing season in RIT history as they tie the team record for most losses. The team went from being the favorite to make the NCAA from Atlantic Hockey and possibly being able to possibly make noise in the NCAAs to being eliminated in the first round. Whether it was all the injuries that knocked the Tigers from near the top at the turn of the calendar year or Rotolo being overworked or something else there are no words to describe this meltdown.

I hope this loss leaves a sting in the minds of every returning player so that they work extra hard for next year. They can follow the new Patriot "motto" - No days off.

For those who want Coach fired - who do you think could do better that RIT could get?

[Downstate_RIT_Fan]

The contrast between Teichrob robbing Valenzula and whatever the hell the garbage their 1st goal was a minute later is stark. Rotolo picked a hell of a time to allow two of the softest goals I can remember. Frankly he looked lost on the 2nd one, too. If Mike's really the best goalie on the roster, to the point where Short can't even get on the ice, we better have a stud coming in :help:

We all agree that teams need a hot goalie as part of the formula to get to the BCA and win it. We got that last year when we got by AF to make it to the final against RMU. We were thankful that Mike got hot at the right time last year as well as Jordan the year before. It was a good run, next year we start from scratch in goal with a good nucleus of D men to support whomever the number one will be. If Teichrob plays the way he did last night against Canisius it will be an exciting series between him and Williams. After their terrible season it would be interesting to see if Burkie can get the Purple Eagles to the BCA. Canisius will not take Niagara lightly.

[jflory81]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2016-17: That was fun; let's go for three!

Down 2 goals less than 5 minutes in...at least we managed to control the bleeding for the rest of the period???

The contrast between Teichrob robbing Valenzula and whatever the hell the garbage their 1st goal was a minute later is stark. Rotolo picked a hell of a time to allow two of the softest goals I can remember. Frankly he looked lost on the 2nd one, too. If Mike's really the best goalie on the roster, to the point where Short can't even get on the ice, we better have a stud coming in :help:

[Schmitty]

His job in that area is to instill discipline and provide direction for the team. Everything I've seen makes me believe he did that. I don't see what more you want him to do short of jump on the ice and score a goal.

Well that certainly would have been useful tonight....

[kwm4385]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2016-17: That was fun; let's go for three!

And has also shown he doesn't really know how to right the ship when things get rough. His MO to fix things is "absolve myself of all blame and lump it all on the players because that's *totally* an effective leadership strategy".

His job in that area is to instill discipline and provide direction for the team. Everything I've seen makes me believe he did that. I don't see what more you want him to do short of jump on the ice and score a goal.

[Schmitty]

Really finishing 6th in the regular season followed by a first round exit is worth giving up a coach that got us to the D1 NCAA tournament 3 times of which two were back to back in the previous 2 seasons.

And has also shown he doesn't really know how to right the ship when things get rough. His MO to fix things is "absolve myself of all blame and lump it all on the players because that's *totally* an effective leadership strategy".

[ritBLKnORGsuit]

Can coaching contracts be broken?

Really finishing 6th in the regular season followed by a first round exit is worth giving up a coach that got us to the D1 NCAA tournament 3 times of which two were back to back in the previous 2 seasons.

[Rochester]

I think Rotolo is a great DIII goalie but nothing more then 3rd string DI. If he was better the Tigers would have had way more wins then they did. He just couldn't come up with the saves the Tigers needed and going down 2 goals right out of the gate... I'm glad to see him graduate.