>>> RIT Tigers 2019-2020: "We're on the clock" <<<

[35TH40TH]

https://13wham.com/sports/local-sports/rit-hockey-looks-to-end-title-drought

Step 1. Beat Bentley on Friday night.
Step 2. Rinse and repeat on Saturday night

[jflory81]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2019-2020: "We're on the clock" <<<

That was as complete of a weekend they've had in a long, long time, at least inside the conference, and really puts them in good position down the stretch. Drackett seems to have gotten his mojo back, the defense was on top of their gaps (the goal tonight notwithstanding), good with the puck in their own end, the special teams were lights out, and this is as deep as they've been in talented forwards since the Frozen Four team. Obviously they don't have a top line like the Garbowsky line or the Lynch-Favot-Brenner line that can take over games, but they're getting near top-line level scoring from 3 different lines, which more than makes up for it. Well positioned going forward too, as they're only losing Cameron out of the top 9 forwards. They're gonna need a couple guys to step up on defense (be it one of the reserve d-men this year or a freshman being able to handle steady minutes like Nicholson has been able to do this year) but I'm pretty high on the future going forward. This is a great freshman class to build off of. Of course the last time I said that about a forward group they stagnated in their upperclassman years, so obviously nothing's guaranteed in this respect.

Standings wise, they could very easily locked into a first round bye with no chance to catch 1st place as early as next Saturday. With that being said, how much do you prioritize a high seed (#2 or #3 as opposed to the #4)? I'm not sure there's much of a difference between the 5th and 10th positions in the league, although I suppose there is an advantage ending up at #3 or higher in that your opposition has to play the week before instead of your opposition also getting the week off as happens in the #4 vs #5 matchup. That all said, would you be looking to get Matthews into a game and give Drackett a night off during the last weekend if they clinch the bye and can't get to #1? Or would you ride Drackett and try to get into a roll heading into the playoffs, keeping in mind the Tigers will already have a bye week before their first playoff series?

I think a modest goal for the rest of the year is to post their best regular season record since what really was the end of the glory days - they need to split the rest of the way to put up a better record than the Garbowsky team, and they need 9 points the rest of the way to top the 2011-12 team that finished tied for 3rd but just two points out of a conference title (they actually got the 5th seed in the playoffs that year - the top of the conference was quite messy). If they win out, they'll come up just short of the 2010-11 team that was the last RIT team to win the regular season title (and their non-conference play was much better this season than that one).

Even better, they finally seem to be defending home ice. 4 points in their remaining 3 home games would give them their highest conference home winning % since the Ritter when they went 8-0-6 during that 2011-12 season. This isn't even solely a switching buildings thing either - the Tigers were below .500 at home over their last 2 seasons at the Ritter (and were actually 7-4-3 during the first season at the Pollesini before dropping below .500 for the next three seasons.) But over the last two years they've gone a combined 14-7-4 (with a 1-2 tiebreaker record) for a healthy .633 combined winning %. It would do wonders for getting people (and especially students, IMO) into the building if they win most of the time at home. I missed the attendence number Ed announced on the air, but it sounded like a pretty good number tonight, especially for an early start.

EDIT: 3,357. Nice crowd indeed.

[Ed Trefzger]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2019-2020: "We're on the clock" <<<

That was as complete of a weekend they've had in a long, long time, at least inside the conference, and really puts them in good position down the stretch. ...

Agreed 100%. Terrific to see the Tigers playing to their potential this weekend.

[Ed Trefzger]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2019-2020: "We're on the clock" <<<

Just thought I'd bump this up to the first page. RIT can clinch a first-round bye and home ice this weekend with two wins. A win either night and a loss either night by Robert Morris would also do it. (There are other combinations that work, but RIT controls its own destiny with wins.)

[blazer777]

Just thought I'd bump this up to the first page. RIT can clinch a first-round bye and home ice this weekend with two wins. A win either night and a loss either night by Robert Morris would also do it. (There are other combinations that work, but RIT controls its own destiny with wins.)

Destiny is one of the hardest things to control, especially when it’s your own. Here’s to hoping!

[35TH40TH]

Here’s to hoping

Guess the team proved that hope is not a plan!

That game was so disappointing to watch. Let's take that good goalie mentality and quickly put that game behind us and move on to Saturday. Go Tigers!!!!

[blazer777]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2019-2020: "We're on the clock" <<<

Let’s make it one bad game and come back with a win tonight

[jflory81]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2019-2020: "We're on the clock" <<<

One point clinches the bye for RIT. Any kind of Air Force result that is not a regulation Air Force win also clinches a bye for RIT, because while both Niagara and Robert Morris could catch RIT right now, they can't both catch RIT because they have to play each other twice on the last weekend.

To clinch home ice in the 2nd round, the Tigers need to earn one more point in their game than Robert Morris does in theirs. A Robert Morris regulation win means RIT would have to wait until next week to clinch home ice.

[jflory81]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2019-2020: "We're on the clock" <<<

Yeah, they probably have the tiebreakers to clinch 4th tonight, but without seeing an updated list of tiebreakers I wasn't really keen to looking up possible 3-way ties with Army and Robert Morris at 47 points that would be the last piece of the clinching puzzle. Turns out that assuming H2H is the first tiebreaker, we don't have to go deeper than that to wrap up the 4th seed. RIT won the head to head series with Robert Morris, and even if Army loses out to end at 47 points as well, they would win the three way tiebreaker for 3rd, and then you're left with the same RIT-Robert Morris tiebreaker that RIT wins for 4th. So unless the AHA has dramatically changed the tiebrekears, RIT should have it. *If Army wins in the OT/shootout tonight, they're out of this tiebreaker talk anyway, as they'll be at 48 points.

Anyway, they really need to work on that 5 on 3. They're way too perimeter and don't move the puck quickly enough, and the result is eventually they waste a handful of seconds to just take a low percentage chance with shot blockers in the shooting lanes. Their 5 on 4 was a little better, but they obviously came up with the big goal on the 6 on 4. Huge goals from Brubacher. Exciting wins in front of a relatively big crowd are always nice to see.

Big series with Air Force next weekend. RIT still controls their own destiny for 3rd, but they're gonna have to play better than they did in Colorado Springs one would think to pull the season sweep. EDIT: With Army's SO win, it will take 5* points to clinch the 3rd seed next week. Four if RIT controls the tiebreaker with Army (which they could - they split H2H, would likely end up tied in wins, and then RIT would have less losses, which I think should be the 3rd tiebreaker. Actually, RIT owns the goal diffential tiebreaker too, so simply winning the weekend series should clinch RIT 3rd.

[Ed Trefzger]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2019-2020: "We're on the clock" <<<

RIT will finish as either the third or fourth seed overall. RIT can tie Sacred Heart for second place in the standings, but lose the tiebreaker.

If RIT is the 4th seed it's against either Robert Morris, Air Force, or Niagara in the quarterfinals as nobody else can get there. Third seed could mean anyone except AIC, Sacred Heart, or Army and whichever of those above three finishes fifth. Robert Morris is at Niagara this weekend and RIT has Air Force. Only Robert Morris controls its destiny for fifth, which it can clinch with four points. An Air Force loss and at least one point for Robert Morris means Air Force can't finish fifth. Niagara can take fifth with a sweep and Air Force getting no more than three points against RIT.

[mar7967]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2019-2020: "We're on the clock" <<<

RIT will finish as either the third or fourth seed overall. RIT can tie Sacred Heart for second place in the standings, but lose the tiebreaker.

If RIT is the 4th seed it's against either Robert Morris, Air Force, or Niagara in the quarterfinals as nobody else can get there. Third seed could mean anyone except AIC, Sacred Heart, or Army and whichever of those above three finishes fifth. Robert Morris is at Niagara this weekend and RIT has Air Force. Only Robert Morris controls its destiny for fifth, which it can clinch with four points. An Air Force loss and at least one point for Robert Morris means Air Force can't finish fifth. Niagara can take fifth with a sweep and Air Force getting no more than three points against RIT.

If I had to pick teams I wouldn't want to face in the playoffs, Air Force and Niagara are probably top 2...

[Ed Trefzger]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2019-2020: "We're on the clock" <<<

If I had to pick teams I wouldn't want to face in the playoffs, Air Force and Niagara are probably top 2...

Can you imagine a playoff series like Saturday night's game? Especially if it's officiated in a similar manner?

[TigerFan86-87]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2019-2020: "We're on the clock" <<<

If I had to pick teams I wouldn't want to face in the playoffs, Air Force and Niagara are probably top 2...

Neither AIC nor Sacred Heart even crack your top 2?
Just as a reminder, RIT is 0-4 against the top two in the conference this season, and decidedly so.
Not to mention, they are also 4-1-1 against AFA and NU so far.

... Not that I would want to play either AFA or NU by any stretch... just to be clear.
Aside from Mercyhurst and maybe Canisius, there's no one in this conference RIT should be over-confident against.

[Ed Trefzger]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2019-2020: "We're on the clock" <<<

Neither AIC nor Sacred Heart even crack your top 2?

RIT wouldn't see either one of them until the semifinal or championship round, so they aren't in play for the quarterfinals, which I think is what mar7967 was referring to. There indeed is no pushover in the league.

[mar7967]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2019-2020: "We're on the clock" <<<

RIT wouldn't see either one of them until the semifinal or championship round, so they aren't in play for the quarterfinals, which I think is what mar7967 was referring to. There indeed is no pushover in the league.

That is what I meant, although I wasn’t clear.