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

[UnionHockeyManiac]

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

I know you guys don't care about this but we moved up to #13 in INCH's Power Rankings:

The scariest thing about Union's 11-2 win against Clarkson was that the Dutchmen actually trailed 20 seconds into the game. Union tied the game 28 seconds later and never looked back.

http://www.insidecollegehockey.com/5...polls_0820.htm

[Wholin1]

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

I know you guys don't care about this but we moved up to #13 in INCH's Power Rankings:



http://www.insidecollegehockey.com/5...polls_0820.htm

I wouldn't say we or at least I don't care, but we all know the task at hand is to keep winning games. I was tremendously encouraged by the weekend's performances especially the reemergence of the top line and the team's gritty effort against a very good SLU team. I'm still kind of scratching my head over the CU blowout, it was unlike anything I've ever seen before with this team. I'm also gratified to see the emergence of Luke Cain and Jon Lareau, two really hard workers who are now being rewarded for their efforts while making big contributions to the team.

[OsecnUC]

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

I, for one, do check the rankings. I must agree, however, that more important to me is grabbing 2 points in each game and accumulating marks in the W column. End of the day, does it really matter what other people think about the team? Not really, just so that they continue moving toward the "Holy Grail." Continued hard work and success will ultimately result in others taking notice. It's better to enjoy the warmth of success with a quiet smile rather then to be wasting energy tooting ones own horn.

[ADK11]

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

Well I've put the Gloom & Doom Bandwagon in the garage and hopefully can keep it there . This past weekend was definitely more like what I've come to expect. The 1st line looked really really sharp most of the weekend and the rest of the team played with the toughness & grit needed to win. The two big questions right now are whether Prez or MVT gets POW and what nickname do we come up with for the big line????

And, now that its crunch time, I actually do think it's time to start looking at standings and rankings. In the standings, U is in a very good spot but has RPI, SLU and Colgate lurking 3-4 points away. SLU has maybe the easiest schedule with home tilts with Qpac/Pton and Dartmouth/Harvard sandwiched around a roadie to Yale/Brown. Is not inconceivable SLU could get another 10 points. RPI's schedule we all know and they could easily get 8-10 points too. Gate has a game in hand, but its against Cornell and their remaining schedule is the toughest on paper as they also play Yale, RPI & Union (who hopefully will give them a tough game at Starr for a change). Bottom line is U probably will need 6-8 points in the last 6 games to nab a top 4.

As for the rankings, polls mean nothing but the PWR and RPI mean everything. U is currently tied for 17th in the PWR which means a no go for the NCAA tourny as only 16 teams make it and there will be at least one auto-berth to the Atlantic winner. What U really needs (and yes Red Cloud has been saying this for a while) is for RPI and SLU to become TUC teams (i.e. top 25 teams in the RPI). They are currently 29th & 28th respectively, which means they have some work to do, especially since they each will play only one other TUC team down the stretch. As for U, they need to keep winning and would help if could beat the Big Red at Lynah.. though I'm not holding my breath on that one. Bottom line at this point is that U will likely have to win the league title to make it to the dance.. though that could change as they get into the playoffs and meet (hopefully) more TUC teams.

And as a BTW, my MVP for Friday's night game was the PA announcer who had to keep announcing Mario Valery-TRABUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCO!!!

[Wholin1]

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

As for the rankings, polls mean nothing but the PWR and RPI mean everything. U is currently tied for 17th in the PWR which means a no go for the NCAA tourny as only 16 teams make it and there will be at least one auto-berth to the Atlantic winner. What U really needs (and yes Red Cloud has been saying this for a while) is for RPI and SLU to become TUC teams (i.e. top 25 teams in the RPI). They are currently 29th & 28th respectively, which means they have some work to do, especially since they each will play only one other TUC team down the stretch. As for U, they need to keep winning and would help if could beat the Big Red at Lynah.. though I'm not holding my breath on that one. Bottom line at this point is that U will likely have to win the league title to make it to the dance.. though that could change as they get into the playoffs and meet (hopefully) more TUC teams.

This may display my admitted lack of understanding with the PWR, and is getting way ahead of things, but if 2 of the teams ahead of Union are from the ECAC, i.e. Yale and Cornell, does that help or hurt U's position with regard to the NCAA field since both of those teams would presumably be in the tournament?

[Red Cloud]

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

This may display my admitted lack of understanding with the PWR, and is getting way ahead of things, but if 2 of the teams ahead of Union are from the ECAC, i.e. Yale and Cornell, does that help or hurt U's position with regard to the NCAA field since both of those teams would presumably be in the tournament?

As it pertains to the Pairwise, Yale and Cornell are just two other teams to be compared with, although the fact that they play all the same teams in-conference makes the common opponent criteria more likely to be won by the team that's leading in the conference standings.

Just look at the Hockey East standings. New Hampshire is at the top right now, but they would currently need the autobid that comes with winning the Hockey East title in order to make the tournament, while UMass, BC, and Maine, all trailing the Wildcats on the HEA table, could get by without it. That's because UNH has an atrocious non-conference record with only one win outside of Hockey East - Dartmouth.

In addition to rooting for SLU and RPI, Union fans should also root for Maine and against Yale, UNH, Cornell, UVM, BU, UML, Northeastern, Lake State, and Nebraska-Omaha.

[aweise]

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

In addition to rooting for SLU and RPI, Union fans should also root for Maine and against Yale, UNH, Cornell, UVM, BU, UML, Northeastern, Lake State, and Nebraska-Omaha.

That's all?

I agree with ADK - watching the PWR & standings a few weeks back was nice and not THAT important, but now it is. My first concern is Union getting in the top 4 (though if they really get on a roll through the final weekend, the week off may squelch a bit of that momentum), so winning games is the priority.

[Wholin1]

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

Weekly ECAC honors to MVT (POTW) and Kyle Bodie (ROTW). Congratulations to both.

http://www.ecachockey.com/men/2009-1..._M_Wkly_Awards

[union07]

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

...and congratulations to MVT on being named INCH national player of the week! http://www.unionathletics.com/news/2...209101207.aspx

[Wholin1]

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

More love for MVT in today's TU.

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories...ory=COLLHOCKEY

This weekend's visit to two traditionally inhospitable venues looms large. Let's go U!

[Dutchfan]

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

Huge comeback tonight after an ominous start. I've learned to never count this team out and tonight's game is further proof of how scrappy this team is. Can't wait to see how the team does against Harvard tomorrow!

[Red Cloud]

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

Way to go, guys. Now let's finish these clowns tomorrow night. I think we've each demoralized the other's next opponent plenty.

[FlagDUDE08]

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

Half way to capital district supremacy for the week! Four down, four more to go. The teams are ticked. Hopefully we can continue to both pour it on.

[Rainman]

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

Congratulations on taking a page out of Yale's book (they erased a 4-0 deficit at Colgate on the road last year) to earn two points and avoid an embarrassing sweep of Dartmouth. Who'da thunk both CD teams as of right now would be in the top 4?

[Wholin1]

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

Congratulations on taking a page out of Yale's book (they erased a 4-0 deficit at Colgate on the road last year) to earn two points and avoid an embarrassing sweep of Dartmouth. Who'da thunk both CD teams as of right now would be in the top 4?

Have to let this sink in a bit, and of course there's a long way to go. However, Union needs to figure out how to bear down at the start of games, they're seemingly behind early in every one. It's one thing to come back on a Dartmouth or Clarkson, but as the playoffs approach, that's playing with fire and an invitation to an early exit. I'll let the coaches worry about that for now and keep thinking the good thoughts. This is virgin territory for Union faithful.