Re: Bentley Falcons Official 2011-2012 Thread
First that I can remember, going back over a decade, I think.
After Bentley tied Clarkson in their second game in Potsdam last season, we won five of our next seven, including a 2-1 upset at Northeastern. Bentley was still competitive through December without much to show for it, but then the roof fell in the rest of the way, which seemed strange, as we did not have the major and nagging injuries throughout the line up that we suffered the previous season.
Anyway, looking forward to Clarkson's visit at the end of October. Hope that we can get a few Bentley fans to the JAR, but that might be asking too much.
I've heard a couple of different things in the wake of the offseason heading into the summer on last season.
First, Coach Soderquist made reference ina couple of game recaps to the team worrying about "who has what shift" as opposed to going out there and playing a team game. He didnt' name names, but there were a couple of larger-named players and key guys who, by the end of the year, were hardened for whatever reason. On any given night, they could play a great team game, but they chose to sacrifice that for individual effort. There wasn't much puck movement, and it came at a price. The losses mounted, and it was like a snowball effect in that regard. The more they lost, the more they became less cohesive.
Second, I heard the lines were not as cohesive as in past years. Chemistry was a BIG problem. In 2009-2010, the lines were cohesive, they just weren't any good. This past year, the line combinations changed almost week-to-week because players couldn't get on a run. The only line that stayed together was the 3rd line instigator special of mini-mites. Koudys, Hartung, and Nudy played together almost all season, but they weren't as talented as Cloutier and Peterson. The problem was finding the right players to play together. Late in the year, they went head-to-head with lines that gelled all season and they still didn't have the right combos. That's not necessarily a coaching issue, but there needs to be some chemistry after the first 15 games.
Third, they had an issue with youth. There are a couple of forgettable recruiting classes that Coach White brought in, namely because it was his first couple of years. If you go back a few years, there were name players that stayed in the program and kept an impact - namely Menzione, Peterson, Preece, and Cloutier. BUT, there are a bunch of names who dropped off that list and dropped off the roster. I won't name the names because I don't want to, but when you have a couple of recruiting classes that lose 2-3 players over the course of 4 years, that's a killer. Those are guys expected to carry the program, and instead, they pack up shop and leave for whatever reason. It's their decisions, so I can't be too critical (esp. if it's personal), but they need to keep the recruits in the program.
I've personally seen Clarkson come on road games. Although FlagDude and I rarely, if ever agree (and will probably snipe at each other come the fall again.. like when I start crapping on RPI for not belonging in the NCAAs and getting murdered by North Dakota hehehe
), I wholeheartedly agree that they bring a great crowd. They usually bring their band, which never exists at the JAR (nobody brings a band), and the arena is going to be rocking those nights. The band comes and waves a huge green-and-white flag. Don't get me wrong - there's not a whole lot else to do in Potsdam, but it will certainly be an event. They bring a great resume compared to some of our other opponents (no offesne to RPI... we don't play you at home and have only gone to Albany).
It's going to be a lot of fun, and I know I"m looking forward to it.
