Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

[aweise]

Re: Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

I don't know what the hell that writer is smoking. The bulk of the T-U's completely worthless college hockey coverage has been blowing Union for two weeks now. Ask Tim Wilkin who Jerry D'Amigo is and he'll probably question if he's a new jockey in the 4th race at Belmont.

If this guy was smart he'd just start reading Ken Schott if he wants real reporting.

For years, the TU would cover RPI as if they were the #1 team in the country every week. Union could barely get a column on the Scoreboard page of the Sports section and you'd rarely hear much about Clarkson or Cornell (both teams have a good fan base in this area).

But RC is right - these days, the TU will give plenty of coverage to the hot team, just like ESPN does with any NFL, NBA, or MLB team. And why Tim Wilkin is covering hockey is beyond me...that tells you all you need to know about the TU's coverage.

I only wish the Gazette didn't make you subscribe to read the online game recaps.

[Red Cloud]

Re: Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

For years, the TU would cover RPI as if they were the #1 team in the country every week. Union could barely get a column on the Scoreboard page of the Sports section and you'd rarely hear much about Clarkson or Cornell (whose teams travel well and have a good fan base in this area).

Thank you for agreeing with my point that the TU's coverage has been garbage for a long time.

[UnionHockeyManiac]

Re: Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the ye

Anyone heading down to the Yale game on Friday? I'm thinking about it...

No longer thinking about it...I'm definitely going. Anyone else?

[ADK11]

Re: Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

Cough, Cough.. Union's looking like they've caught Quinnipiacitis.. Sounded like Yale took 'em to the woodshed for most of the night and U was fortunate to keep it close. I know it's maybe a bit premature, but IMO tomorrow's game with Brown is a must-win or can kiss top-4 goodbye .

[OsecnUC]

Re: Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

suddenly things are not looking as rosey. It was a fun, albeit short, sitting atop of the standings and climbing the rankings. Now we are in familiar territory, not knowing what to expect each time the boys take the ice. Let's hope things turn around Saturday...could be a key point in the season.
GoooooU

[ADK11]

Re: Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

Maybe I'm just in a bad mood, but this was a very disappointing weekend.. this didn't look anything like the team I've seen up to this point. The d-men looked completely flustered and played with no poise. The puck seemed to be a hot potato that needed to be gotten rid of as soon as possible. Up front, the forwards were trying to make too many pretty passing plays with nobody actually wanting to SHOOT the puck at the net. And worst of all, the team was not physical and lost puck battles all over the place - especially in the 3rd periods both nights. U should have been able to outmuscle Yale and hold their own with Brown but they showed almost nothing the entire weekend. There were a couple bright spots, mostly Cain, Welsh, J. Simpson and the other grinders.. and thought Kinkaid was overall ok despite being left out to dry too often and showing a growing tendency to let up juicy rebounds. But the top players on the team simply didn't get it done.

I'm really at a loss as to why the team looked so lackadaisical. Maybe all this ranking stuff went to their heads and they think they can win without looking where they pass and not checking anyone. Maybe the young d-men have hit the wall mentally & physically (though this doesn't explain the mistakes by the upperclass d-men). Whatever it is, they better get it back quick because this league will leave you in the dust in a hurry. U is currently tied for 2nd but is only 4 points away from 7th and 5 points from 8th. A couple more weekends like this and U will be fighting for home ice. Team has to get back to strong work along the boards, poise & discipline in the defensive end, and puck possession & sniping in the offensive end.

I also have to admit that it really peeves me that RPI seems capable of beating any freaking ranked team they play, but U continues to struggle to win significant games against ranked teams. Its been almost 20 years in D-1 and I really think it's time for at least ONE big win. The Yale game was a prime opportunity and I'm sick of the "close but no cigar" syndrome.

[Ralph Baer]

Re: Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

I also have to admit that it really peeves me that RPI seems capable of beating any freaking ranked team they play, but U continues to struggle to win significant games against ranked teams.

See Seth Appert's comment after the last RPI-UC game.

[ADK11]

Re: Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

See Seth Appert's comment after the last RPI-UC game.

Careful Ralph, I may have to take back that positive rep I gave you .

[PBDutchman]

Re: Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

Tim Meigher's letter is spot on. However, I wish the press would just ignore the Dutchmen. Favorable coverage seems to be their curse!

[cudmud]

Re: Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

I'm tempted to say the the post-Thansgiving dive was postponed to MLK weekend. However, I still have faith in this squad, and I expect to see them get back on track. We need to rally behind these guys.

[aweise]

Re: Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

I'm tempted to say the the post-Thansgiving dive was postponed to MLK weekend. However, I still have faith in this squad, and I expect to see them get back on track. We need to rally behind these guys.

I have faith, too. I said after last weekend that there was plenty of time left in the season and given that it's the ECAC, anything can happen. There's still plenty of time left (though 8 games seems like a lot less than 10) and given how the standings are vacuum-packed, there's still plenty of time to not only finish in the top 4, but maybe even sneak back into first.

That said, the way they played the past 4 games is disturbing. They should have easily beaten 3 of the 4 teams (I knew we were in trouble once Union was *expected* to win). I get the feeling that success gets to their heads very easily - with a chance to widen their first place lead, they lay two eggs at home and with a 2-0 lead on a "lower-echelon" team, they forget how they played to get that lead and allow Brown to get back into the game...lest we forget lose a point from that.

If I was any player on that team, I'd be prepared for a difficult week of practice.

[Dutchfan]

Re: Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

Friday and Saturday are going to be big. Clarkson's a mess right now so hopefully the boys can get back on track with that one. The St. Lawrence game is going to be huge standings wise.

[ADK11]

Re: Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

I have faith, too. I said after last weekend that there was plenty of time left in the season and given that it's the ECAC, anything can happen. There's still plenty of time left (though 8 games seems like a lot less than 10) and given how the standings are vacuum-packed, there's still plenty of time to not only finish in the top 4, but maybe even sneak back into first.

That said, the way they played the past 4 games is disturbing. They should have easily beaten 3 of the 4 teams (I knew we were in trouble once Union was *expected* to win). I get the feeling that success gets to their heads very easily - with a chance to widen their first place lead, they lay two eggs at home and with a 2-0 lead on a "lower-echelon" team, they forget how they played to get that lead and allow Brown to get back into the game...lest we forget lose a point from that.

If I was any player on that team, I'd be prepared for a difficult week of practice.

..while I may be prone quickly to jump on the pessimistic "Dr. Doom" bandwagon, I too have faith & hope that things can turn around. The good work over the past couple months has U still in 2nd place and only 2 points out of first. A good weekend would turn things around quick. In the end, the onus is on the offense to get things going again. If U had scored their typical 4-5 goals against Harvard, Dartmouth & Brown (like they should have), the team would be sitting pretty. The talent is there to do this and that's why my expectations are so high. Also agree that Saturday's game is HUGE regardless of what happens on Friday, and have confidence that U's passive play over the weekend will be addressed by the coaches this week in practice. Will be interesting to see if there are any lineup changes made..

[GRussinko]

Re: Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

Mario Valery-Trabucco and Jason Walters were nominated for the Frozen Four Skills Competition in April. There's an online voting component that factors into who gets selected: http://www.ncaa.com/frozenfourskillschallenge/

On the women's side, Union's Jackie Koetteritz and RPI's Allison Wright were both nominated.

Here's to a (hopefully) large CD representation in Detroit come April!

[OsecnUC]

Re: Union College Hockey 2009-2010: Playoff series win? Check. Albany? This is the year.

..while I may be prone quickly to jump on the pessimistic "Dr. Doom" bandwagon, I too have faith & hope that things can turn around. The good work over the past couple months has U still in 2nd place and only 2 points out of first. A good weekend would turn things around quick. In the end, the onus is on the offense to get things going again. If U had scored their typical 4-5 goals against Harvard, Dartmouth & Brown (like they should have), the team would be sitting pretty. The talent is there to do this and that's why my expectations are so high. Also agree that Saturday's game is HUGE regardless of what happens on Friday, and have confidence that U's passive play over the weekend will be addressed by the coaches this week in practice. Will be interesting to see if there are any lineup changes made..

There's plenty of room on the bandwagon, ADK...a seat just opened up next to me . Seriously, though, I have not commented much this year as I was just enjoying sitting back for the ride. Now it's back to nervous energy for almost every game. The ride on the roller coaster continues.

Must agree that the lack of goal scoring is the problem. The quick answer has always been to rip apart the goal tending and D, but if the boys up front are not delivering, the defense and keeping will eventually break down...no matter who the team is. Goal scorers always run hot and cold, and the hope is that cold streaks don't overlap. Right now ours are and there is a bit of a drought. I'm looking for the flood gates to open up again...hopefulyy this weekend.

As far as lineup changes, I don't see Sillery getting the nod this weekend . We know who there "players" are. They need to be out there, mixing it up and makking things happen.

GooooooU