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Bowdoin ?

W

westscout

Registered User
Seeing Bowdoin get pounded in the Q-Final game makes me wonder what the NCAA was thinking. This is even more of a joke than before. The fact that every year an East team gets blown out in the NCAA shows that more teams in the East does not mean more better teams.

Did Bowdoin play the club team vs. Oswego? I can tell you one thing any of the 4 Western teams would have showed a lot better than 9-2! What a joke!

CSS and Hamline would have made this tournament so much better.

This set-up has to change.

I feel bad for GAC, they deserve to be in Lake Placid with SNC. Adrian also got the short end, not to mention STU.

I hope SNC can win the titile.

Westscout
 
Re: Bowdoin ?

I didn't love how it went down either westscout, but it's time to let it go. Scholastica especially has nobody to blame but themselves. They went 0-2-2 in their final 4 games. If they win 1 of them they might have gotten in. If they win 2 of those games they certainly would have gotten in. I don't believe it would have been too much to expect for them to win another game or two in home contests versus Eau Claire and Superior (X2).

We'll just have to hope for some home cooking with the brackets when the tournament takes a token trip out West to Ritter next March.
 
Re: Bowdoin ?

Bowdoin first of all had to travel a long ways to get to Oswego for Saturday's game. I know there is a 500 mile rule and that bus trip must of come close. Having watched Bowdoin play twice this year I consider them a very good D3 team as evidenced by there first place showing in the NESCAC (Middlebury had fewer points). But unlike Middlebury which plays in the Primelink and also plays Plattsburgh an extra game, Bowdoin schedule didn't include any top SUNYAC or ECAC West teans or extra games with Norwich. When playoff time arrived Middlebury had already been tested by the best where as Bowdoin had not been tested as much. If Bowdoin improved there schedule and got invited to the Times Argus or Cardinal Clasic I think they would be more ready come playoff time. Most posters probable have not seen there new hockey arena which is one of the best in the country. Also wasn't Bowdoin top player out for the Oswego game. Still can not understand why Bowdoin didn't go to Norwich and Elmira to Oswego based on travel considerations alone.
 
Re: Bowdoin ?

I am clearly no fan of Bowdoin but I saw them play Norwich very tough this season (as they always do) and Middlebury in the NESCAC Title game. They are no club team and to suggest that they are not only belittles them but indirectly suggests that Saturday's Oswego win was nothing more a tune up scrimmage. Actually, Oswego is a superb club--just ask the 24 other "club teams" that perished at their hand this season at an average score of 5 to 1.

I wanted GAC in the finals. I have followed them all season for family/personal reasons and hoped to see them in LP. Sure I am disappointed. And I also think most everyone--both East and West-- agrees with the frustrations that Western teams and their fans have with the NCAA.:mad:

But I am not sure they would agree that arguments should be based on insulting cracks and at the expense of any team be it Bowdoin, Oswego or anyone else. This is not about being politically correct. Once upon a time it was called good sportsmanship. Now have a nice day. :)
 
Re: Bowdoin ?

At this point in the season, all of the teams still in the tournament deserve to be there. Winning the NESCAC/interlock regular season is no small achievement. There are no easy games. Witness the #8 seed, Colby, taking the #1 seed (Bowdoin) to OT in the first round of the NESCAC tournament. Bowdoin was certainly a playoff worthy team. The list of possible reasons why they didn't perform better at Oswego has been covered previously. Two additional points as to the outcome on Saturday are: 1.) Oswego is real good and were playing at home and would most likely have taken anyone they played (east or west) to the woodshed. 2.) Bowdoin has a history of lacking the confidence to win at crunch time. They often have great regular season success, amazing individual players, but find a way to not get it done in the playoffs. Not sure if you can point fingers in a case like this, but I've seen this pattern by the P Bears in the NESCAC for many years. I have nothing but respect for the school, their players and coaches. However, they have a bit of a monkey on their backs when it comes clutch play. Congrats to the Polar Bears on a great season. They got beat bad on the road on Saturday, but they have to feel good about the body of work for the full season.

A few words on the Midd/Platty game. Plattsburgh played a very solid, complete game. If Midd had found a way to pull it out in OT, it would have been larceny. Platty came through the neutral zone at high speed all night and forechecked like mad. Midd seemed to hang back, dump and chase and look for transition opportunities. Not their normal game plan, but I'm sure there was a reason for that approach. I'm not hockey smart enough to understand that (or any) strategy. Martin Drolet was not close to 100% for Midd, but I make no excuses. As with the Bears, the Panthers have to feel very good about their season. They not only won the NESCAC tournament, they also went undefeated against NESCAC teams this year and turned things around after their lost weekend in New Hampshire back in January. The seniors showed a lot of leadership. John Sullivan really grew up this year and Charlie Townsend play like a leader down the stretch. The young Panthers have a lot to look forward to down the road.

Plattsburgh came to play and got it done when it counted. First time I've seen Bob Emery get animated (in a positive way) after a hockey game. Didn't know he had it in him. It has to be a good feeling for the Cards after last year's disappointment in the quarters. Should be a great final 4 in LP. The four best D3 teams are there.
 
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Re: Bowdoin ?

berbs91 said:
The top 4 teams throughout the year are in the final four... the only way GAC deserved to be there is if they had beaten SNC....
Click to expand...
I felt like Oswego, Norwich and SNC were the top teams this season. The 4th was either Middlebury or Plattsburgh. Those two got a chance to play it out, so I think it worked out just fine. There were several other NCAA worthy teams, but I would agree these teams are a little better than the rest.
 
Re: Bowdoin ?

hawk said:
Bowdoin first of all had to travel a long ways to get to Oswego for Saturday's game. I know there is a 500 mile rule and that bus trip must of come close. Having watched Bowdoin play twice this year I consider them a very good D3 team as evidenced by there first place showing in the NESCAC (Middlebury had fewer points). But unlike Middlebury which plays in the Primelink and also plays Plattsburgh an extra game, Bowdoin schedule didn't include any top SUNYAC or ECAC West teans or extra games with Norwich. When playoff time arrived Middlebury had already been tested by the best where as Bowdoin had not been tested as much. If Bowdoin improved there schedule and got invited to the Times Argus or Cardinal Clasic I think they would be more ready come playoff time. Most posters probable have not seen there new hockey arena which is one of the best in the country. Also wasn't Bowdoin top player out for the Oswego game. Still can not understand why Bowdoin didn't go to Norwich and Elmira to Oswego based on travel considerations alone.
Click to expand...

Per google maps, Bowdoin to Oswego is 467 mi.
Per NCAA, it's about that:
From: BOWDOIN COLLEGE
To: OSWEGO, ST UNIV OF NEW YORK
Miles: 471.0
Click to expand...

Now, why didn't Bowdoin go to Norwich and Oswego to Elmira? Because geographic proximity is used only to reduce or eliminate 500+mi trips, and none of those schools were more than 500 miles apart. So the committee was free to base it on seeding, and Bowdoin was ranked higher than Elmira, so Elmira had to face the #1 team and Bowdoin faced the #2 team.

I agree with your assessment of Bowdoin's situation, and I'm afraid that being unprepared come playoff time due to a weaker schedule has been their problem for a while. Meagher is a great coach, certainly not a Beany, McShane, or Emery, but he is a great coach nonetheless. His one weakness as a coach is that he needs to learn how to make his schedule to bes prepare his team. Was their best player out? Well, both the top-scoring player, and the top-scoring Forward (because the top scorer is a Dman) were in the starting lineup, and the top Goalie was in net... so I'm inclined to say no. But even if that were the case, this team has the requisite talent and should be able to play without the best player anyway.

Do I think Bowdoin should have been a tourny team over St. Scholastica? Absolutely. Especially since they split primary criteria, and Bowdoin owned the secondary criteria. I just think they picked one helluva night to not play their best hockey on the road. :(
 
Re: Bowdoin ?

CARDS_rule_the_Burgh said:
Was their best player out? Well, both the top-scoring player, and the top-scoring Forward (because the top scorer is a Dman) were in the starting lineup, and the top Goalie was in net... so I'm inclined to say no. But even if that were the case, this team has the requisite talent and should be able to play without the best player anyway.
. .
Click to expand...

Bowdoin's top goal scorer Jeff Fanning was out due to a game DQ in the NESCAC championship game and one of the better d-men (Kyle Hanson) was out due to an injury in the NESCAC semi-finals. Also the Bowdoin starting goalie Chris Rossi injured his knee after the third goal but was not pulled until after he had allowed two more goals. Be that it at may, I don't think that the absence of any of either player or the injury to Rossi mattered in terms of affecting anything other than perhaps Oswego's margin of victory. Oswego is an amazing team and was very on for Saturday's game - it probably would have beaten any D3 team on Saturday.
 
Re: Bowdoin ?

d3follower said:
Bowdoin's top goal scorer Jeff Fanning was out due to a game DQ in the NESCAC championship game and one of the better d-men (Kyle Hanson) was out due to an injury in the NESCAC semi-finals. Also the Bowdoin starting goalie Chris Rossi injured his knee after the third goal but was not pulled until after he had allowed two more goals. Be that it at may, I don't think that the absence of any of either player or the injury to Rossi mattered in terms of affecting anything other than perhaps Oswego's margin of victory. Oswego is an amazing team and was very on for Saturday's game - it probably would have beaten any D3 team on Saturday.
Click to expand...

Ah, okay. I was looking at points, not goals. My bad.
And I knew there might have been a D that I missed, because I can't know that based on the stats. :p

But as has been said, congratulations to the Polar Bears for a great full-season body of work.
 
Re: Bowdoin ?

CARDS_rule_the_Burgh said:
Per google maps, Bowdoin to Oswego is 467 mi.
Per NCAA, it's about that:


Now, why didn't Bowdoin go to Norwich and Oswego to Elmira? Because geographic proximity is used only to reduce or eliminate 500+mi trips, and none of those schools were more than 500 miles apart. So the committee was free to base it on seeding, and Bowdoin was ranked higher than Elmira, so Elmira had to face the #1 team and Bowdoin faced the #2 team.

I agree with your assessment of Bowdoin's situation, and I'm afraid that being unprepared come playoff time due to a weaker schedule has been their problem for a while. Meagher is a great coach, certainly not a Beany, McShane, or Emery, but he is a great coach nonetheless. His one weakness as a coach is that he needs to learn how to make his schedule to bes prepare his team. Was their best player out? Well, both the top-scoring player, and the top-scoring Forward (because the top scorer is a Dman) were in the starting lineup, and the top Goalie was in net... so I'm inclined to say no. But even if that were the case, this team has the requisite talent and should be able to play without the best player anyway.

Do I think Bowdoin should have been a tourny team over St. Scholastica? Absolutely. Especially since they split primary criteria, and Bowdoin owned the secondary criteria. I just think they picked one helluva night to not play their best hockey on the road. :(
Click to expand...

Actually I think coaching was a disaster for Bowdoin against Oswego. Their coach set them up to fail, pinching and trying to hang behind the defense looking for a long outlet pass against possibly the best transition and finishing team in D3 is a recipe for disaster. They weren't going to run and gun with Oswego - a smothering defense and solid goaltending would have been the better play.
 
Re: Bowdoin ?

Old Rook NU'66 said:
I am clearly no fan of Bowdoin but I saw them play Norwich very tough this season (as they always do) and Middlebury in the NESCAC Title game. They are no club team and to suggest that they are not only belittles them but indirectly suggests that Saturday's Oswego win was nothing more a tune up scrimmage. Actually, Oswego is a superb club--just ask the 24 other "club teams" that perished at their hand this season at an average score of 5 to 1.

I wanted GAC in the finals. I have followed them all season for family/personal reasons and hoped to see them in LP. Sure I am disappointed. And I also think most everyone--both East and West-- agrees with the frustrations that Western teams and their fans have with the NCAA.:mad:

But I am not sure they would agree that arguments should be based on insulting cracks and at the expense of any team be it Bowdoin, Oswego or anyone else. This is not about being politically correct. Once upon a time it was called good sportsmanship. Now have a nice day. :)
Click to expand...

++1 Right on.

hawk- "Their: his, her, its (possessive); There: in or at that place".

-The Div III Hockey Grammar Police ;)
 
Re: Bowdoin ?

westscout said:
Seeing Bowdoin get pounded in the Q-Final game makes me wonder what the NCAA was thinking. This is even more of a joke than before. The fact that every year an East team gets blown out in the NCAA shows that more teams in the East does not mean more better teams.

Did Bowdoin play the club team vs. Oswego? I can tell you one thing any of the 4 Western teams would have showed a lot better than 9-2! What a joke!

CSS and Hamline would have made this tournament so much better.

This set-up has to change.

I feel bad for GAC, they deserve to be in Lake Placid with SNC. Adrian also got the short end, not to mention STU.

I hope SNC can win the titile.

Westscout
Click to expand...

Congratulations for continously posting the most assinine posts on the board.

If you were at the game, you would know that no matter who Oswego played they would have crushed them. You should have seen the Bowdoin coach at the press conference. Not just what he said, but the look on his face. Anybody would have been victim of that buzzsaw. Adrian already lost to Oswego, and Oswego didn't play half as good as they did this past Saturday night. STU? Are you joking? They couldn't even handle GAC the second time.

SNC better have some darn great defense if they expect to stop Oswego on the larger ice surface.

The last few weeks, Oswego is the best D3 team I have seen since RIT in 2001. But then, RIT didn't win the national championship that year and Plattsburgh is still alive...
 
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