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Colgate 2010-2011 [Part II]

vicb said:
So when do the fans start up once again the fire Don Vaughn posts???? Or in the minds of the Colgate detractors did this playoff run garner your wish to keep him.
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Did not change my thinking. Players took a lot of the blame during the rough times so I give them credit for the run. They played with a grit and heart all year.

I think the turn started when Don started playing all 4 lines and gave players like Nasca and Rivalini a shot. That took minutes and pressure off lines 1 + 2, which resulted in less fatigue, better match ups for the scorers and more production. Those "scrub" players probably got a shot less because of coaches having faith in them and more because the coaches had almost thrown in the towel and figured what do we have to loose.

Come this past weekend, right back to the same old same old. Burned out players in a warm building and didn't manage match ups very well (same people were scoring against our same guys). Yale was rolling lines and kept their shifts very short. Don't think Don is a very good game coach but don't think the administration will make any changes until Don decides to leave or retire.
 
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Re: Colgate 2010-2011 [Part II]

Thanks again to GateRadio and to Rainman for the postgame analysis of his road trips through all kinds of weather :-)

Don't think playing Ivies first with fewer games under their belts or playing on the road makes any bit of difference. Either we come out strong or we don't. Took 50 line combinations and rotating different goalies to come up with something that produced winning results. Other teams have more luck by game 2 but we never gave up and were willing to try any possibility. Mihalik was our go-to goalie in the end, but who knows what next season may bring? Any hot goalie recruits who could steal the show? Can't wait for the twins to get here!

With the announcement of Big Ten Hockey, maybe this is Colgate's chance to bolt from the ECAC to the WCHA, CCHA, or Big Ten ;-) NoDak [and Frattin] at Colgate every year...pretty cool. Suddenly 12th place doesn't sound so bad!

CU 2012
 
Re: Colgate 2010-2011 [Part II]

Hate to see us on Page 3 until the NCAA's are over. Still stuff to talk about.

Echo Bill's comments on Rainman and GR. Good reporting. Raiman - appreciate it. GR did a great job all season with the play-by-play - enjoyed listening to the games when I couldn't be at Starr.

FWIW: why are Yale and Union both in the East division? Wouldn't it be logical to split up the ECAC teams and put one in the Northeast -- or the West where there are no eastern teams? Just saying...(I know it has to do with the PWR, but that's no excuse :))
 
Re: Colgate 2010-2011 [Part II]

second the kudos for GR...having listened to a number of "student" play-by-plays this year for video feed appreciation for GR's coverage increases all the more (only the RPI kids were any good)...to say it was a curious season would be a gross under statement. The kids and the coaches deserve all the credit in the world for their perseverence and work ethic in the last third of the season; the first two-thirds of the campaign were puzzling to say the least. My personal feeling going forward is that DV gets the most out of his players, but we do need a better "yield" on our recruiting efforts. The win over Union was simply a tremendous amount of "will" on the part of the program. If we can maintain that standard and bump up our skill and speed a little bit I think the next five years will be better than the last five. Mihalik is a better goalie than his .903 save percentage so we've got to reduce the glaring defensive lapses (improvement did occur in the last15 games). More skill will lead to a better dispersion of ice time (more fourth line time) and help us during the third periods of games. The PP was also better in the last 15 games, but we must get the PP percentage at least in the 17 to 18 per cent range. I kind of wish the Spinks were coming next year, but I think they'll be worth the wait. Bottom Line: although certainly not a great year, it was an interesting learning experience, not only for the kids, but for all of us who give a **** about 'Gate hockey. PS - saying we really finished in fourth place is a little cheesy folks, although by the end of the year we were probably playing top 4 or top 6 hockey; that in itself is worth something.
 
TheGreenCoat said:
More skill will lead to a better dispersion of ice time (more fourth line time) and help us during the third periods of games.
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And it should lead to better power play numbers. The PP came through against Union in key spots but it hurt us against Yale, where a PPG when the score was 0-0 could have made it a different game.
 
Re: Colgate 2010-2011 [Part II]

ColSkate65 said:
FWIW: why are Yale and Union both in the East division? Wouldn't it be logical to split up the ECAC teams and put one in the Northeast -- or the West where there are no eastern teams? Just saying...(I know it has to do with the PWR, but that's no excuse :))
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It's a combination of bracket integrity, ensuring hosts play at their host site, intra-conference matchups, and attempting to maximize attendance. It just so happened, with Yale being #1 and Union being #8 that they ended up in the same bracket. RPI pretty much didn't have a choice (can't play Yale since both are in the ECAC, UNH hosts the Northeast) and had to be moved out to the midwest.

Also, when it comes to the NC$$, there's no such thing as "logical". ;)
 
Re: Colgate 2010-2011 [Part II]

We need to improve pp numbers, no question...but against RPI and Union, we were disciplined, plain and simple. We did not afford them [enough] opportunities to be on the power play because we seemed focused. No bench minors, no hitting after the whistle...we buckled down AND finally had some lucky bounces on our own pp for a change. Much different story in Atlantic City and it was obvious. Back to sin bin central. Poplawski was on Polacek like glue. Gotta do that to any team's top player. Couldn't get it done against Yale.

We lost a dozen games by one goal and Union won ten by that same margin. Amazing what a difference a bounce can make to that %$&# piece of rubber!

Can't wait to catch the games this weekend. Good luck ECAC.

Still can't believe we made it to AC. CU there in 2012!
 
Re: Colgate 2010-2011 [Part II]

0-6 on the PP doomed us against Yale. After Mihalik became our #1 tender, we played with much more confidence. I was told that the defensmen were mortally terrified of making a mistake in their own zone and played with "no" confidence(thus leading to mistakes and giveaways). Their was a "new found confidence" towards the end and it was very visible. Especially against Union where McPherson, Larkin, Poplawski and Price were just tremendous breaking out of our defensive end.

To me Price was just fantastic, he has wheels and hits everything in sight. The Union series was a war, some of the best hockey I've seen Gate play in quite awhile. Mihalik is very very fast going from post to post, I think he's going to get "even better'.

Very upbeat with the product we'll be putting on the ice next year. Joey Wilson is a tremendous player, should help on the PP. Losing three leaders but gained tremendous experience from a still young team, and they now know what it takes to win the close ones. Go Gate !!
 
Re: Colgate 2010-2011 [Part II]

"There was reasonable evidence to believe the puck crossed the goal line..." I think that's the quote...I feel for Univ of Neb - Omaha Mavericks and I just wonder if it's a coincidence that once again Michigan greases into the second round of the NCAAs. We all remember eleven years ago when Colgate was simply stiffed, simply denied a victory by a referee who opted NOT to go upstairs to review what was, in fact, a Colgate goal. This is not as egregious, but I can't help but wonder where was the evidence??? The initial call on the ice was NO GOAL...unless they had a better look than what we saw on ESPNU (and they may actually use the ESPNU cameras) I did not see the puck cross the line. It may have, but from the angle available there was no evidence that it did. I hope the following isn't true, BUT...Michigan is big time, they bring fans (travel well) and they have a hockey legend as coach...I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I think UN-O got stiffed last night. It brought back bitter memories from eleven years ago. I wonder whether either call would've been the same if Colgate and UN -O had been playing Air Force or R.I.T...congrats to Yale for a gritty win...BC gets a #1 seed in St. Louis??? The announcers were favoring Colo College, the fans were from CC...please...a #2 or a #3 overall seed being sent to the west from Hockey East? Can you imagine if Minnesota was a #2 or #3 overall seed (and #1 seed in its bracket) being sent to Manchester, NH???
 
Re: Colgate 2010-2011 [Part II]

TheGreenCoat said:
"There was reasonable evidence to believe the puck crossed the goal line..." I think that's the quote...I feel for Univ of Neb - Omaha Mavericks and I just wonder if it's a coincidence that once again Michigan greases into the second round of the NCAAs. We all remember eleven years ago when Colgate was simply stiffed, simply denied a victory by a referee who opted NOT to go upstairs to review what was, in fact, a Colgate goal. This is not as egregious, but I can't help but wonder where was the evidence??? The initial call on the ice was NO GOAL...unless they had a better look than what we saw on ESPNU (and they may actually use the ESPNU cameras) I did not see the puck cross the line. It may have, but from the angle available there was no evidence that it did. I hope the following isn't true, BUT...Michigan is big time, they bring fans (travel well) and they have a hockey legend as coach...I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I think UN-O got stiffed last night. It brought back bitter memories from eleven years ago. I wonder whether either call would've been the same if Colgate and UN -O had been playing Air Force or R.I.T...congrats to Yale for a gritty win...BC gets a #1 seed in St. Louis??? The announcers were favoring Colo College, the fans were from CC...please...a #2 or a #3 overall seed being sent to the west from Hockey East? Can you imagine if Minnesota was a #2 or #3 overall seed (and #1 seed in its bracket) being sent to Manchester, NH???
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If a WCHA team was the host and 4th seed in that regional, then yes.
 
Re: Colgate 2010-2011 [Part II]

Two out of three ECAC teams gone. Will Yale hold up against a good Minn-Dul. team?
 
Re: Colgate 2010-2011 [Part II]

EZAC chants have resurfaced again. Can't say I blame them and I may join the bandwagon. What a lackluster game for Union. One columnist stated the pp was their 'Achilles' heel; ironic how it doomed them. RPI against NoDak?! Please. Wouldn't have minded had AFA pulled off the upset against Yale. It was a great game to watch with great speed with two great teams. Yale was fortunate to get the W IMHO.

Had the same horrible, vivid memory of Colgate v. Michigan. What else is there to say; refs ruin everything and the bigger school ($$$) advances yet again.

When Vermont left the ECAC, I was sorely disappointed. But now, even with mediocre records (their FF run notwithstanding), at least they get to play BC/BU/Maine on a regular basis. From what I can tell, hockey is still king in Burlington.

STILL speechless after ousting RPI and Union in stunning fashion 3 weeks later!

Go 'Gate
 
Re: Colgate 2010-2011 [Part II]

A very disappointing showing by the 3 ECAC teams. Union played well in stretches, but for the most part couldn't get out of its own way. RPI looked intimidated, played scared and embarrassed themselves... didn't want to go near anybody from N. Dakota. Yale/AFA was a fast, fun game to watch. However, against UMD, Yale became flustered after falling behind, ran around, and just imploded. ECAC clearly, sad but true, had the weakest teams in the tournament once again. Our level of play is now comparable to that of Atlantic Hockey teams and below the big three WCHA, CCHA and Hockey East.
 
Re: Colgate 2010-2011 [Part II]

'Gate Man is correct: no ECAC team in the Frozen Four again! Some are posting that the PWR is a lousy way to rank teams, as Yale does not play nearly the tough teams that the WCHA teams face every night. They feel KRACH or SOS is a better way to rank teams and seed them in the tourney. Maybe the're right. It is disheartening to see the ECAC fail in the Big Dance. I thought this season with Yale and Union...and RPI..showing some real strength in the league, we would have a better outcome. Three teams in, and all three come up empty. What does that say about our league? Maybe we ARE on a par with Atlantic Hockey nowadays :(
 
Re: Colgate 2010-2011 [Part II]

feel for Yale...yes, they were undisciplined, but the call on O'Neill was a bad one...frankly, the hit looked legal and if you're going to award a penalty there it should be two minutes and not five...disappointed again for ECAC, but no question we're above Atlantic Hockey...again, last ECAC team to reach an NCAA final? Terry Slater's 31-6-1 team in 1990, although I would have traded this stat for Yale in the finals...
 
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