2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

[jcarter7669]

Re: 2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

Quick UVM alumni notes, I noticed Vik is out with a concussion , St Louis has 7 points in 4 games Patrick Sharp has 6 points in 4 games,

[snwbrdr]

Re: 2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

Really an amazing win for the Cats. It was huge for their PWR to manage this split and not be coming from behind all year. They could have packed it up early in the first down 1 and under siege but they just kept responding and they stayed calm and collected in the 3rd. Lesson learned already from friday night? If so fantastic.

Someone wrote yesterday that this team needs to learn how to win. I disagree. They only lost four of 19 regulars from last season - the vast majority of this team knows how to win and they proved it last night. An equally talented team without the confidence of their experience last season might have folded but they have the confidence of knowing they can play with anyone in the country.

I love that they are adding four or five strong forwards and a D to the mix this early in the season. Lots of competition for ice time when Milo returns.

Irwin seems to have put the lame call on Friday (that possibly kept them from a 4 point weekend) well behind him and he answered the bell last night in a huge way. If he plays like that all season he's going to be a monster.

Nice to see Roloff and Vock get on the board and take a little pressure off themselves hopefully. And Downing snipes another one. He looks to be taking his game to another level also.

I think the questions about UVM's ability to score are being answered - by committee. 10 goals on the weekend is impressive - particularly in the opponents rink. Yeah, they were facing a bunch of freshmen D but they are among the highest ranked recruits in the country.

Can't wait until they get Milo back and McCarthy gets medical clearance. They will truly have three very dangerous lines and possibly a threatening 4th line as well.

Great to see Franzon and Albertson play their first games and contribute. Seems like the Cats have 7 strong D now, which is great for depth and I like relieving the concern of having four starting D all depart at the same time also.

Yes, I am pumped up about this win. It really is a springboard into the HE schedule.

[UVM Cat in Texas]

Re: 2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

Yes, I am pumped up about this win. It really is a springboard into the HE schedule.

Me too! Things are looking good! Unlike some of you, I really didn't see too many things in the NB exhibition to give me confidence for the upcoming year. They looked slow, disorganized, failed to carry the play for any length of time, and seemed to have trouble generating scoring chances of any significance. Overall, rather unimpressive IMO. I missed Friday's game because I don't have Directv and, unfortunately, have no way of getting it right now. Saw last nights game on DU's internet feed (which I thought was very good BTW--much better than UVM's B2 feed) and they looked great. They looked fast and had some wonderful scoring opportunities that didn't result in goals. Thought Irwin and Downing had monster games and everyone else was more than solid. Even the DU commentator at one time said something like "That guy Downing is a hockey player!" Madore, despite giving up 4, was at times unconscious against a team that kept coming at them!

I don't know if anyone else caught the game on Pioneer Vision, but one interesting thing was that during commercial breaks you could hear what the announcers were saying off-the-air. During a commercial break after the game, the DU color guy said UVM "was huge" physically. He then mentioned that to DU's captain who they were going to interview when they came back on the air. He said something like "Yeah, they're pretty big." The color guy then said "they looked like a football team out there."

[snwbrdr]

Re: 2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

Yeah, I remember people I would bring to games in the past (that were not regular fans) would say how UVM always looked smaller than the opponent.

That is not the case anymore. UVM is listed as the heaviest of the 58 D1 teams. And they are probably faster than average as well. That is obviously a great combination.

I was not too worried about the UNB loss, the game did not count and exhibitions always stink - although it was great to have it FIRST and not in December!! Another great move by Coach Sneddon. UNB had played a lot of games already and are the best program in Canada right now. They were the perfect opponent.

I understand that the coaching staff thinks this is a better TEAM than they had last year. That is a very good sign obviously but makes sense as they only lost four regulars, and the incoming class is pretty darn good.

Great start to the season. Now we just need Milo back and McCarthy to get medical clearance so we can see what he can do.

[jcarter7669]

Re: 2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

Sneddon did an awesome job getting the Cats ready to play Denver. I was not particulary impressed against NB, exhibition or not, but they clearly came a long ways over a weeks time. Great win, UVM will be fighting for home ice if they continue to play well.

Great to see Irwin pot a few goals, he needs to be productive and stay out of the box. He can be a force, but does have that knack for getting majors and game misconducts.

Giving up the lead on Friday and another 4 goals last night is not terribly concerning. Denver has one of the best offenses in the country and they are going to pot some goals.

Highlights from Game 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUz6dVZkm0E

[Cat lover]

Re: 2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

Its only 2 games but so far lets check out our preseason concerns

1. Balanced team scoring - check

2. Freshman holding their own - check

3. Madore playing like last year - check (several wierd bounce goals Fri)

4. Step up from vets (Irwin, Vock, Downing etc) - check

5. Having our thread to ourselves for now - check

[funnnnn]

Re: 2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

5. Having our thread to ourselves for now - check

Not so sure about that.... UVM fans are abusing the Lowell thread... deservedly so after the harassment laid onto us over the summer, and I am sure as soon as the Cats stumble, we will again here from our friends from UML.

Good start to the regular season, but a lot of ice to skate on, and many hits to give and receive. Lets hope the boys play with their hearts like they did over the weekend all year long.

[vermaple]

Re: 2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

we will again here from our friends from UML.

But we can enjoy for the moment.

[Martin St. Louis Fan]

Re: 2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

But we can enjoy for the moment.

I agree..............

[discomania]

Re: 2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

would anyone be willing to set up a slingbox at their house so I can view the "on tv" games from Canada? Let me know via pm...

[charliecatamount]

Re: 2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

I know its been 6 months but dont the rankings come out monday afternoon???

[bottomdweller]

Re: 2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

I know its been 6 months but dont the rankings come out monday afternoon???

It's a "holiday" so they're probably not going to be released until tomorrow.

In the USA today poll, UVM moved up to 11th

[montyminny]

Re: 2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

Here is an interesting comment from a fan in one of the Denver blogs (www.letsgoDU.com)

Twister said...
First things first--the Catamounts are the real deal. I didn't see any of Saturday's game, but they sure as hell impressed me on Friday. They deserved a split this weekend.

I must admit--I watched their d-men with a tinge of envy. They are big and physical and tough to play against. I wish DU had more of that. There seems to be a lot talent offensively from our d-men, but Ryder aside, our guys need to assert themselves physically, knock the opposing forwards off the puck, and be more difficult to play against. Vermont was able to cycle the puck too easily, at least in portions of Friday's game. I want our guys to be a little nastier.

Pretty high praise of this group.

I was fortunate to be able to attend both games since I live part time in Colorado. Twister is right, they did play physical. Miller and Cullity did not disapoint with there play. Lawson seemed to struggle somewhat with his skating but just the site of him bearing down on a Denver forward was enough to make them want to get rid of the puck quickly. Medvec's hit on Tyler Ruegsegger in the 2nd game was brutal. Ruegsegger stayed on the ice for several minutes and thankfully was able to get back on his feet and ultimately back into the game. Burrows, MacKenzie and Franzon were less physical but there size alone makes them intimidating. It will be fun to watch this team as the season plays out.

[snwbrdr]

Re: 2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

Yes, there are a couple of positive comments in the DU season thread about the Cats as well. They basically have an NHL sized D and they are quite mobile for their size and should contribute to the offense. We might rather have six Warsofky's but I also think that the D this year will be our best in the last 15 years in terms of balance of D skill, offensive contribution, and wearing the other team down so the Cats and pound on the oppenent in the third. Very nice to see Franzon get a chance to play. It's great to feel that they have the depth to absorb an injury, flu, or whatever and not see a huge drop in talent and contribution.

Nice to hear that Medvec labeled somebody. I thought that our D was not particularly physical last year given their size.

Enjoy them this year as I fear we could lose one or two of them early under certain circumstances (hope not but that is the price of success also).

After digesting the DU weekend I think I am probably over hyping the Cats potential on offense. Once opposing D's settle down things will get tougher.

However, it is good to see Irwin, Downing, and Stacey already start to have "step up" years. That is what they need. Irwin has huge potential if he can harness and direct it.

And getting Milo back and McCarthy on the ice will be nice improvements when they happen.

Looking forward to next weekend.

[Catamount93]

Re: 2009-2010 Official Vermont Season Thread

I could be off base here, but I'm somewhat equating this DU split with our strong performance against Miami last year as a springboard to a good season. Not only does it give us a good base for power ratings which is critical, but it also gives us confidence that there isn't anybody in any building that is going to overpower us if we're playing our game.

If we can keep it going with a strong showing against BC, this will be a great start.

Every day I'm becoming a bigger and bigger Sneddon fan...he's really pushing the program where we all want it to go.