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2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

Re: 2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

You have to remember we are playing with hardly any upperclassmen right now, playing 3 seniors and a couple of juniors.

And its not like we are losing by 4 and 5 goals a night.....yea I know trying to be positive here.

However I dont think Sneddon has any longer than the end of next season to turn things around as next years team MUST(for him) be much better.
 
Re: 2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

Nick Papagiorgio said:
I still have to think the jury is out on him.

Had a nice team in 2009 but a FF team based on wins over Yale and Air Force? Meh. In HE finals the year before was nice and another trip to the Garden 2 years later with another shutout loss to BC (just some more detailed info for my friend jcarter). I'd say average performance.

He's seen an uptic in recruiting, especially after the FF trip. Some definitely notable players nationally. So I'd have to give him a little longer to get those guys in and develop them. If he can't, he either has problems identifying talent or developing them. Either way that would be bad.

In game coaching. No real bad moments like a Blasi or a Umile but nothing exciting either. System is (or was) meh... Seems like it has opened up a bit lately, is that true?

Program management. Here's the big one. Seems to be kicking a guy off the team every year. What is up with this? Is he bringing in bad kids (he has to take responsibility for that). Is he not able to motivate them (also his problem)? Do the players have fun playing there?

I'd have to give him 2-3 more years and see where he is at. He should be lobbying heavily for a new facility. He was a hot commodity in 2009 but that is wearing off quickly.

Realistic expectations from an outsider's view? Trip to Garden 50% of the time. Home ice 60% of the time. Playoffs 100% of the time. NCAAs 50% of the time. FF 10% of the time.

Notre Dame coming in isn't going to make it any easier for a program like UVM either.
Click to expand...

I think that is fair assessment not being clouded by the frustration of a second losing season in a row......:). I don't think the Gutt is a horrible place. Yes a new rink is needed but I don't think it impacts a recruits perception that much.....I could be wrong.
 
Re: 2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

Nick Papagiorgio said:
System is (or was) meh... Seems like it has opened up a bit lately, is that true?
Click to expand...
True, but maybe it's been at the expense of defense. Other than Brickley and sometimes Stalberg, we don't have players who can put the puck in the net. So, we've maybe had more quality scoring chances than in years past, but our offensive numbers are far from impressive, and our defense is terrible. I kinda long for those 2-1, 1-0 grind-em-out wins that we were getting 2-3 years ago. They weren't pretty, but they were effective.

Nick Papagiorgio said:
Program management. Here's the big one. Seems to be kicking a guy off the team every year. What is up with this? Is he bringing in bad kids (he has to take responsibility for that). Is he not able to motivate them (also his problem)? Do the players have fun playing there?
Click to expand...
This is one of the most baffling things to me. Apparently, Justin Milo had difficulty with the coach at Cornell before transferring to UVM, so maybe we can give Sneddon the benefit of the doubt on that one. But the others I'm not so sure. Don't know what happened with David Pecan, who had a solid freshman year and would be a real asset to us as a junior now. Although there was a rumor it might have had something to do with drinking, I can't imagine he was the first college hockey player to pound a few beers. And then there's Chris Atkinson, Josh Franklin, and Wahs Stacey who all just up and quit without good reasons--apparently, they just couldn't get along with Sneddon. Now Alex Vezzano, one of our two starting goalies has been suspended, which forced us to start a senior goalie against Maine who had never started a single game in his collegiate career and, in fact, had a total of only 25 minutes of ice time beforehand. All this leaves me scratching my head.

Nick Papagiorgio said:
He should be lobbying heavily for a new facility.
Click to expand...
Since I'm in Atlanta, maybe I don't know what's going on with this, but I hear almost nothing about a new facility despite our dire need for one. If I were Sneddon, I'd be doing car washes and bake sales in the off-season to start a fund for a new facility. Seriously. Of course you can't pay for one that way, but it would bring some much needed attention to the issue and perhaps get the ball rolling. With all the new facilities that have been constructed in the last 2-3 years at other universities, I don't see why we can't do it too. Instead, we seem to lead all of college sports in "studying" the issue.
 
Re: 2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

Its not like UVM has not had any money for projects lately, in the last year we got a new track, soccer field and that large housing
project overlooking the new track & soccerfield.
 
Re: 2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

Cat lover said:
Its not like UVM has not had any money for projects lately, in the last year we got a new track, soccer field and that large housing
project overlooking the new track & soccerfield.
Click to expand...

The Track and Lacrosse/Soccer field came from private donations specifically made for those projects (Track has been the works for around 7+ years) and the large housing project (Redstone Lofts) is not UVM funded it is just on UVM property (leased by the company) it is managed by Redstone Commercial group.
 
Re: 2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

jcarter7669 said:
That's a Vermont thing. I think one time the Legislature ordered a study on all the studies ordered.
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I don't think it is the states job to build a hockey arena. Maybe a token 5% contribution since it is a state school...I think they could get a big chunk through private means and then bond the rest. Current interest rates are dirt cheap. But I know very little about University funding.
 
Re: 2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

GreenCat said:
I don't think it is the states job to build a hockey arena. Maybe a token 5% contribution since it is a state school...I think they could get a big chunk through private means and then bond the rest. Current interest rates are dirt cheap. But I know very little about University funding.
Click to expand...

Actually they are looking for someone else to build and pay for it on University property, similar to the Redstone Apartment Complex.
 
Re: 2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

jcarter7669 said:
Actually they are looking for someone else to build and pay for it on University property, similar to the Redstone Apartment Complex.
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Yeah, what ever became of that? Didn't they solicit proposals and were then going to release the top three proposals to the public, or something like that? Never heard anything more about it and I don't think the best proposals were ever released.
 
Re: 2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

Here we go lets get on a roll. We have the skills needed to sustain a second half push. We just need the pieces to fall into place. lets do it! Lets go Cats!
 
Re: 2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

I see a lot of posters saying give Sneddon another year or two, I couldn't disagree more. I support the team, but not the coach! I don't think he should be fired mid-season, but once the season is over the program should move in a different direction. He lost last years team and I think he's lost this years team already. This years team is more talented than last years (albeit weaker on D) but I don't see them making the HE playoffs (after just sneaking in last year), that's on the coach. The team gets talented kids. I don't know if that because of Sneddon or not, but either way once they get there he can't coach them.

Unfortunately I don't see UVM eating the remaining years on his contract, so we will have to just hope the players can win despite of Sneddon......

On a side note: Get a new facility. I love the Gutt, but going to a place like BU's arena is so nice. I think it would help with recruiting.
 
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Re: 2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

New Recruit:

http://indyhockey.blogspot.com/

Kicked off NTDP. Kicked off Michigan. Coming to UVM. I can't think straight enough to comment other than to say I hope the kid has changed (i.e. leopard). They must be planning on Brickley leaving or Girgenson not coming.
 
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Re: 2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

"Did not meet U of M's expectations" pretty wierd. This will be one of those " He is the next best thing to St. Louis" if he is a scorer and " Sneddon must go" if he does not meet the hype" Kinda put's the program in an odd spot.
I want to know if UVM has a #1 goalie on there radar!

http://www.annarbor.com/sports/mich...cob-fallon-suspended-for-remainder-of-season/
 
Re: 2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

Looks like we will be able to start a new streak of years with a player having to get the Boot.

Is it me or is the number of players getting kicked off college teams been going way up in the last
few years? Now BU gets to see what its like. Are these kids that dis-illusioned that they really think
they are above school or team rules or do they not care if they get kicked out of school because they
are already drafted and have somewhere else to go.

Makes you wonder how many players feeling tired of the grind of college classes and want out but dont
want to be thought of as a quitter instead try to get booted off the team to make it easier to move on
to his pro career. Maybe being a rule breaker is less of a label than a quitter.
 
Re: 2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

catmandoo said:
New Recruit:

http://indyhockey.blogspot.com/

Kicked off NTDP. Kicked off Michigan. Coming to UVM. I can't think straight enough to comment other than to say I hope the kid has changed (i.e. leopard). They must be planning on Brickley leaving or Girgenson not coming.
Click to expand...
Hmmm, sounds a little like a Justin Milo situation. Hopefully, this one will work out better.
 
Re: 2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

Are the UVM students still on campus?

I'm making my first trek to the Gutt for a men's hockey game tonight. Looking forward to the experience especially if the students are still around. I went to the RPI/UVM women's game earlier this year and I can't get over how much the Gutt looks like my alma mater's (SUNY Oswego) old rink, Romney Fieldhouse. Pretty much a spitting image of Romney, just bigger with a larger capacity.

I know the Gutt isn't on the same level as the new state of the art arenas springing up all over the place, but count me in on one of the Gutt lovers because that barn has history and tradition and IMHO is everything that's right about college hockey.
 
Re: 2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

The Fallon kids seems opposite to the kind of player Kevin like to have on his teams. I will reserve judgement until I hear Kevin speak to the issue. Hopefully sooner than later. Getting booted from the US team seems to be a deal breaker to me.
 
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