CARDS_rule_the_Burgh
Nate LePage, Siena '13
Re: Cardinal/Panther Classic '11
Having been at the games today, here are my personal observations:
Elmira's game-tying goal was probably the only one out of all 5 (out of shootout) that I don't feel was directly influenced by a referee. I don't know about Plattsburgh's goal, but I really felt as though the ref had blown that whistel before the puck crossed the line, and then changed his mind. (I'm a Plattsburgh townie, and I will admit that). But the Amherst's tying goal was a 5x3ppg after 2 RIDICULOUS calls. Last time I checked, it is not tripping if you have control of the puck on the end of your stick...
As for the other game. Wow, a personal best performance by Mike St. Louis. For those who didn't see it: Elmira D goes to pass it behind the net, and St. Louis (who was behind the net for whatever reason) skates backwards into the path of the pass. It bounces off his leg, onto the stick of a Middlebury skater on the open side of the net. I've heard that he did express his apologies to the Elmira team and coach, and that he reported to goal to the scorekeeper as "Son of a b****. Give the goal to 26, and the assist to me." And the rulebook does state that play cannot be stopped simply because the puck made contact with an official. But I wouldn't want any team I support to score like that, and I CERTAINLY don't want them getting scored on like that.
<strike>To top it off, St. Louis followed that up about 2 minutes later by blowing the whistle while the puck was still clearly loose (and based on his vantage point, he should have seen it was loose), disallowing an Elmira goal to tie it up right there in the 1st. Yeah Mike, real sorry, eh?</strike>
As I said, the game-tying goal was good. Probably the best offensive play I saw all day. Great tic-tac-toe play on a breakout from the defensive zone, culminating in a perfectly-placed backhander top shelf. Wonderful to see. As for the game winner in OT... Elmira should have been down 5x3 at that point, with the blatant trippings they were getting away with in the 2 minutes leading up to that goal. But I suppose if the ref gave Middlebury the goal that prevented an Elmira regulation win, it's only fitting that their no-calls gave Elmira the opportunity to score the game-winner in overtime.
All-in-all, both games were an absolute showcase in how to defend. Having not arrived until the 3rd period of the first game (I was at work), I will only make comments about the overall play by the 2 teams in the late game... I though both Elmira and Middlebury played phenomenally in the defensive zone, and both goalies absolutely played fantastic when called upon. On the offense, it's tough to say how much of this was because of the other team's defensive play, but it seemed as though the teams lost some ability to communicate as soon as they crossed the blue line into the offensive zone. However, I thought that Elmira played much better Neutral zone defense than Middlebury, and consequently faired much better on the breakout from the defensive zone. This is exactly how Elmira scored their game-tying goal, and consequently was the real difference-maker between these two great teams.
And just in case anyone missed it: Elmira/Amherst will be the EARLY game (3pm) tomorrow, and Plattsburgh/Middlebury will be the NIGHT game. This is because Middlebury is in session for classes, and the student-athletes will be expected to be in class tomorrow before returning to Plattsburgh for the night game. Remember, they are students before they are athletes. WIRY will only have the call for the Plattsburgh game.
EDIT: I'm listening to the WIRY delayed broadcast at the moment. I've stricken my comment about the disallowed goal. I did not realize, from my vantage point behind the goal at that time, that Bloom's helmet had come off in the play. If there is one safety rule I most agree with in this game, it is the rule that play stops immediately if a helmet comes off. Fair enough.
Having been at the games today, here are my personal observations:
Elmira's game-tying goal was probably the only one out of all 5 (out of shootout) that I don't feel was directly influenced by a referee. I don't know about Plattsburgh's goal, but I really felt as though the ref had blown that whistel before the puck crossed the line, and then changed his mind. (I'm a Plattsburgh townie, and I will admit that). But the Amherst's tying goal was a 5x3ppg after 2 RIDICULOUS calls. Last time I checked, it is not tripping if you have control of the puck on the end of your stick...
As for the other game. Wow, a personal best performance by Mike St. Louis. For those who didn't see it: Elmira D goes to pass it behind the net, and St. Louis (who was behind the net for whatever reason) skates backwards into the path of the pass. It bounces off his leg, onto the stick of a Middlebury skater on the open side of the net. I've heard that he did express his apologies to the Elmira team and coach, and that he reported to goal to the scorekeeper as "Son of a b****. Give the goal to 26, and the assist to me." And the rulebook does state that play cannot be stopped simply because the puck made contact with an official. But I wouldn't want any team I support to score like that, and I CERTAINLY don't want them getting scored on like that.
<strike>To top it off, St. Louis followed that up about 2 minutes later by blowing the whistle while the puck was still clearly loose (and based on his vantage point, he should have seen it was loose), disallowing an Elmira goal to tie it up right there in the 1st. Yeah Mike, real sorry, eh?</strike>
As I said, the game-tying goal was good. Probably the best offensive play I saw all day. Great tic-tac-toe play on a breakout from the defensive zone, culminating in a perfectly-placed backhander top shelf. Wonderful to see. As for the game winner in OT... Elmira should have been down 5x3 at that point, with the blatant trippings they were getting away with in the 2 minutes leading up to that goal. But I suppose if the ref gave Middlebury the goal that prevented an Elmira regulation win, it's only fitting that their no-calls gave Elmira the opportunity to score the game-winner in overtime.
All-in-all, both games were an absolute showcase in how to defend. Having not arrived until the 3rd period of the first game (I was at work), I will only make comments about the overall play by the 2 teams in the late game... I though both Elmira and Middlebury played phenomenally in the defensive zone, and both goalies absolutely played fantastic when called upon. On the offense, it's tough to say how much of this was because of the other team's defensive play, but it seemed as though the teams lost some ability to communicate as soon as they crossed the blue line into the offensive zone. However, I thought that Elmira played much better Neutral zone defense than Middlebury, and consequently faired much better on the breakout from the defensive zone. This is exactly how Elmira scored their game-tying goal, and consequently was the real difference-maker between these two great teams.
And just in case anyone missed it: Elmira/Amherst will be the EARLY game (3pm) tomorrow, and Plattsburgh/Middlebury will be the NIGHT game. This is because Middlebury is in session for classes, and the student-athletes will be expected to be in class tomorrow before returning to Plattsburgh for the night game. Remember, they are students before they are athletes. WIRY will only have the call for the Plattsburgh game.
EDIT: I'm listening to the WIRY delayed broadcast at the moment. I've stricken my comment about the disallowed goal. I did not realize, from my vantage point behind the goal at that time, that Bloom's helmet had come off in the play. If there is one safety rule I most agree with in this game, it is the rule that play stops immediately if a helmet comes off. Fair enough.
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