Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

[gfmorris]

Re: Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

Well the ice is once again covered at the VBC so the Boys in Blue will be practicing at the Iceplex for what looks to be the rest of this month. If any local fans want to see the boys practice you can catch them most mornings at the Iceplex. They usually start at 8 am and usually don't practice on Mondays. Come on out and watch the drills and show a little support for your Chargers. It can be an interesting experience...

I'm coming over in the morning. I should have done so today when I got out of the Subaru dealership in under an hour, but it slipped my mind.

GFM

[Douglas]

Re: Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

Well the ice is once again covered at the VBC so the Boys in Blue will be practicing at the Iceplex for what looks to be the rest of this month. If any local fans want to see the boys practice you can catch them most mornings at the Iceplex. They usually start at 8 am and usually don't practice on Mondays. Come on out and watch the drills and show a little support for your Chargers. It can be an interesting experience...

[gfmorris]

Re: Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

UAH plays fine when they're in their sets. We get killed in transition. If the boys can stop the transition and get set defensively, they make it harder to score. Will shots get taken? Obviously yes, given the SOG marks we've seen. But the goalies seem up to stopping ~88-90% of them, which is really all I can expect out of kids in their first year in D-I.

I see a lot of individual play. There are too many bad shifts in a row. The players are frustrated, and the coaches are frustrated. I knew that this would be a hard season, but I was hoping for three or four wins by this point in the year.

GFM

[Douglas]

Re: Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

So far I've made two road trips with the team as well as all home games and here are some stats and an observation or two about this year's version of the Chargers...

First the stats: Goals
UAH
Total Goals For: == 24 ===> 2.00 goals per game
Even Strength: === 9 ===> 0.75 goals per game
Power Play Goals: = 15 ==> 1.25 goals per game
Short Handed: ==== 0
Empty Net Goals: == 0

Opponents
Total Goals For: === 51 ==> 4.25 goals per game
Even Strength: === 32 ===> 2.67 goals per game
Power Play Goals: = 16 ===> 1.33 goals per game
Short Handed: ==== 1
Empty Net Goals: == 2

Observation: One of the things I've always noticed about playing good teams is that when you make a mistake, they almost always make you pay for it. From the eight games I've seen so far this year, most of the even strength goals scored against us came on our mistakes. In other words, we paid for those mistakes with goals scored against us. Unfortunately, the reverse isn't true with this team when it comes to high quality scoring opportunities. We just don't seem to be able to "make them pay" when we have those odd-man opportunities. Several come to mind from just this weekend... especially the 3 on 1 where we didn't even pass the puck one time to make the goalie work for the save. Not that that isn't always a good thing but a steep angle shot from the far left attacker with two more on his right was a low percentage shot, especially when the goalie didn't give up a rebound. Others come to mind also. So far we've been outscored over 2 to 1 which makes it hard to win. Until this team begins to make the other team pay for their mistakes, we face more of the same.

More Stats: Shots on Goal
UAH
Total Shots on Goal: 258 in 12 games
Avg SOG per game: 21.5
Highest SOG game: 32
Lowest SOG game: 12
Outshot Opponent: 1 time (25-24)
Allowed > 40 SOG: 4 times

Opponents
Total Shots on Goal: 429 in 12 games
Avg SOG per game: 35.75
Highest SOG game: 49
Lowest SOG game: 24
Outshot Chargers: 11 times

Observation: First let me say that SOG's are not nearly as important as goals scored and that a team that only takes high quality SOG's will usually have fewer SOG's than teams that shoot at anything from anywhere on the ice. With that said, SOG's can be used as an indicator of how a team plays in the offensive zone and generally. As a total, we take 40% fewer SOG's than our combined opponents 258 vs 429. Combining goals per shots leads to an interesting stat: We score 1 goal for every 10.75 shots we take. Our opponents score 1 goal for every 8.41 shots taken. Comparing goals and shots by percentage gives us this stat: Our 40% fewer shots taken gives us 53% fewer goals scored.

What can you draw from this? Well, we need to put more shots on goal for one... you know the old saying: "shoot at the goal and good things will happen". And we need to "make-em pay" for their mistakes. Something we haven't done yet. Two quite obvious statements, I know. We also need to shut down the opponents shooting opportunities more effectively. How the coaches will accomplish this is above my pay grade. Maybe it's just a "chemistry" thing or maybe they haven't found the line combinations yet that gel and can get it done. I don't know, but I know it hurts to watch a team put out a great deal of effort and get so little reward for those efforts. The morale seems to be holding so there's always hope.

Comments anyone???

Go Big Blue!!!

[Back check]

Re: Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

Nice touch Douglas.

Hope an extended stay at home and some quality practice time benefit the guys as they prepare for trips to RPI Tourney and Cornell.

[Douglas]

Re: Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

Sigh...At least my son, who is 4 years old and autistic, paid more attention to the hockey than any of the baseball or basketball games we've taken him to. And he LOVES the Zamboni.

Do you think he'd like to ride the jump seat with daddy?

[UAHStatman]

Re: Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

Sigh...At least my son, who is 4 years old and autistic, paid more attention to the hockey than any of the baseball or basketball games we've taken him to. And he LOVES the Zamboni. So on a personal level, Saturday's game wasn't a loss.

Still, this season's starting to get difficult to watch, but of course I will anyway. Go Chargers!

[jyoung]

Re: Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

The University has filed an appeal on Campbell's eligibility and is waiting to hear back from the NCAA. [Insert joke about how the NCAA is busy with the Cam Newton investigation here.]

GFM

Actually I was going to make a crack about them standing over the folks in North Dakota while they repaint half the campus to comply with the mascot ruling, but Auburn jokes work too. There are also jokes for Michigan, Alabama, USC, and a dozen other schools right now. Legit or not, they're busy little bees and out one player is pretty small fish when it comes to what they're going to prioritize.

[gfmorris]

Re: Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

I take it nothing has changed with Soup?

The University has filed an appeal on Campbell's eligibility and is waiting to hear back from the NCAA. [Insert joke about how the NCAA is busy with the Cam Newton investigation here.]

GFM

[jyoung]

Re: Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

At some point, you have to sit him. I think the only reason that it hasn't happened yet is depth: with Soupy still ineligible and at least one commitment not enrolling this fall, we have exactly one spare forward.

GFM

My wife saw Sea Bass at the game (sitting out) and he said he was suspended. So obviously he's been sat.

I take it nothing has changed with Soup?

[gfmorris]

Re: Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

The comments she gave amounted to 'the team falls apart when Sea Bass takes a walk'. I love the energy he brings to the team. I do not love the penalty minutes.

At some point, you have to sit him. I think the only reason that it hasn't happened yet is depth: with Soupy still ineligible and at least one commitment not enrolling this fall, we have exactly one spare forward.

GFM

[jyoung]

Re: Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

Hi everyone -- first post on here since...heck, I don't know. (After originally posting this, I realized this is my first post even though I joined 3 years ago. For introductions, I'm Michael Napier, class of '97, former UAH assistant SID.)

Came down from North Carolina to see this series. I thought Groh was solid as the Chargers were barraged again with shots.

The crowd was small. VBC's air conditioning couldn't be started. Sound system horrible. After a while, all I could think of was "we need to get out of this place." I know that won't be happening for a while yet, of course.

I originally thought the corn cob (which was thrown during said Chuck-A-Puck) was a potato. Whatever -- it was stupid.

We're going to try to bring my son to his first hockey game tonight. Go Chargers!!!

Welcome Michael.

My wife mentioned the disaster with the lights and sound. She said there was a loud pop at some point during the introductions which sounded like they blew a fuse. She didn't mention the AC issue, but I'm not surprised at it. She was however enjoying the early part of the game sans music. We're not so enamored of the song choices, and the volume is always a bit too high. I swear we want to cut the power every time we hear that stupid clap your hands song which our current audio person plays WAY too much.

Groh did everything he could to keep UAH in the game from what she said. Stopping more than 40 is impressive and very much in line with what I was lead to expect before the season from the young man. The third was an ENG anyway, even if it did result in a hat trick for the Friars.

The comments she gave amounted to 'the team falls apart when Sea Bass takes a walk'. I love the energy he brings to the team. I do not love the penalty minutes.

[gfmorris]

Re: Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

Groh stopped 42 of 44. Doesn't matter if they were crappy chances, that's great.

GFM

[UAHStatman]

Re: Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

Transcribing a information from a few random texts from my wife at the game:

1-0 PU after the first.
1-1 after the second. UAH scored on the power play (never a surprise).

Someone threw corn on the cob on the ice. Really? Come one people, we're trying to convince them we're not rednecks. At least the blooming catfish is a tradition of the Pikes.

Ice is bad. Attendance is worse, but a fair number of parents are there include Lasse's (he's our Finn for those keeping score). Vince Bruni's brother was announced as the winner of Chuck-a-Puck.

I'm sure the folks who weren't sick will happily expand more on this when they get a chance... but I'm stuck here.

Go Chargers...!

Hi everyone -- first post on here since...heck, I don't know. (After originally posting this, I realized this is my first post even though I joined 3 years ago. For introductions, I'm Michael Napier, class of '97, former UAH assistant SID.)

Came down from North Carolina to see this series. I thought Groh was solid as the Chargers were barraged again with shots.

The crowd was small. VBC's air conditioning couldn't be started. Sound system horrible. After a while, all I could think of was "we need to get out of this place." I know that won't be happening for a while yet, of course.

I originally thought the corn cob (which was thrown during said Chuck-A-Puck) was a potato. Whatever -- it was stupid.

We're going to try to bring my son to his first hockey game tonight. Go Chargers!!!

[jyoung]

Re: Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

Transcribing a information from a few random texts from my wife at the game:

1-0 PU after the first.
1-1 after the second. UAH scored on the power play (never a surprise).

Someone threw corn on the cob on the ice. Really? Come one people, we're trying to convince them we're not rednecks. At least the blooming catfish is a tradition of the Pikes.

Ice is bad. Attendance is worse, but a fair number of parents are there include Lasse's (he's our Finn for those keeping score). Vince Bruni's brother was announced as the winner of Chuck-a-Puck.

I'm sure the folks who weren't sick will happily expand more on this when they get a chance... but I'm stuck here.

Go Chargers...!