Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

[driventoit]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

Yes, there was a time when the semis where held at the two highest remaining seeds. They did away with that format after the '10-'11 season I believe. The semis were held on a Thursday and then the championship at the remaining highest seed was held on Saturday. I think the logistics made it difficult to continue that format.

Too bad. It seems like a sensible way to do things, esp with a full day to travel, and certainly gives extra value to the top seeds.

 

[ARM]

Too bad. It seems like a sensible way to do things, esp with a full day to travel, and certainly gives extra value to the top seeds.

It makes it feel less like a tournament though, because you never have more than two teams at a site.

 

[driventoit]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

It makes it feel less like a tournament though, because you never have more than two teams at a site.

True, but given this current set-up wouldn't it then also be nice if the highest seeded team lost in the semis so the finals could be played, in true tournament fashion, on neutral ice?

 

[dave1381]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

Unless Maschmeyer has clearly fallen apart, I think you have to start her next weekend. I don't think you bench Liang for all the toughest games then suddenly start her against Cornell now. Yale was just a different story as the team just needed a change. Good for Liang coming up big when needed.

 

[dave1381]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

True, but given this current set-up wouldn't it then also be nice if the highest seeded team lost in the semis so the finals could be played, in true tournament fashion, on neutral ice?

Who is say that is true tournament fashion? Many sports give home advantage to top seeds.

 

[Skate79]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

Unless Maschmeyer has clearly fallen apart, I think you have to start her next weekend. I don't think you bench Liang for all the toughest games then suddenly start her against Cornell now. Yale was just a different story as the team just needed a change. Good for Liang coming up big when needed.

I understand your reasoning and it would be tough to bench Maschmeyer given how well she has played this season. It's also possible that fatigue and/or injury may be a consideration. We don't know. We do know that Harvard has two very good to great goalies so it's a nice problem to have.

 

[HockeyEast33]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

Unless Maschmeyer has clearly fallen apart, I think you have to start her next weekend. I don't think you bench Liang for all the toughest games then suddenly start her against Cornell now. Yale was just a different story as the team just needed a change. Good for Liang coming up big when needed.

Don't know the issue this weekend with Maschmeyer, but if I'm coaching I go with the hot goalie - Laing plays unless I see something in practice that suggests not. Remember, Tom Brady only got a chance because Drew Bledsoe got hurt. They didn't go back to Bledsoe, did they?

 

[OnMAA]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

True, but given this current set-up wouldn't it then also be nice if the highest seeded team lost in the semis so the finals could be played, in true tournament fashion, on neutral ice?

I look at that a different way. The highest Seed "Earned" the right to host, so that is what play-off home court advantage is all about.

Agree with ARM. Like the tournament style format. In many case less travel overall and less time away from school, since you play Sat/Sun at one venue, instead of potentially traveling a long distance twice and playing Thu-Sat or Fri-Sun.

Imagine this Scenario. Order is Clarkson, SLU, Princeton, Harvard.
Harvard and Princeton go up to the North to Play top seeds Clarkson and SLU.
Harvard and Princeton both win and then they have to go to Princeton to play the Princeton - Harvard game. That would be crazy travel wise.

 

[dave1381]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

I understand your reasoning and it would be tough to bench Maschmeyer given how well she has played this season. It's also possible that fatigue and/or injury may be a consideration. We don't know. We do know that Harvard has two very good to great goalies so it's a nice problem to have.

Agreed if fatigue/injury is a significant factor then I agree it's a tougher decision. I'm more asking the question of if both are healthy and doing similarly well in practice, who do you go with based on game results? I understand it's possible this question is irrelevant.

Don't know the issue this weekend with Maschmeyer, but if I'm coaching I go with the hot goalie - Laing plays unless I see something in practice that suggests not. Remember, Tom Brady only got a chance because Drew Bledsoe got hurt. They didn't go back to Bledsoe, did they?

And "just go with the hot goalie" if both are healthy I think is bad advice. Performance against Yale is not the same as performance against Cornell & Clarkson.

The Brady/Bledsoe comparison is entirely irrelevant because that switch happened Week 2 of a 16-game season. A better comparison might be Wisconsin switching to Jessie Vetter in the 2005-06 season from Meghan Horras. But that season Vetter outperformed Horras against Minnesota in a mid-February series, so I thought it was reasonable to go with Vetter in NCAAs (Wisconsin actually went with Horras for the WCHA final). You have nothing similar to go on for Liang against the best teams.

 

[clarksoncluck]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

Don't know the issue this weekend with Maschmeyer, but if I'm coaching I go with the hot goalie - Laing plays unless I see something in practice that suggests not. Remember, Tom Brady only got a chance because Drew Bledsoe got hurt. They didn't go back to Bledsoe, did they?

I think Harvard should play Laing as well, since Clarkson seems to have problems with Harvard tended by Maschmeyer. I know, Harvard plays Cornell first, but they have trouble with the same scenario.

Who knows, Laing could pull off the same feat, just never tested against ranked teams.

Time tells who plays, but certainly a tough decision of who Harvard decides to play. Maybe the Harvard forwards and D play differently in front of one or the other??

Yale attacked with Staentz/Ferrara and maybe Raines

Cornell will come with Saulnier/Fulton/Campbell/Woods/Bunton/Gaglardi/Poudrier/Cudmore (interesting Gaglardi/Poudrier/Cudmore all have over 20 pts as D)

Clarkson attacks with Rattray/Ambrose/Mercer/Styner/Gagnon/Bannon/Mercer/MacAuley/Howe and the rest of the team.

 

[driventoit]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

I look at that a different way. The highest Seed "Earned" the right to host, so that is what play-off home court advantage is all about.

Agree with ARM. Like the tournament style format. In many case less travel overall and less time away from school, since you play Sat/Sun at one venue, instead of potentially traveling a long distance twice and playing Thu-Sat or Fri-Sun.

Imagine this Scenario. Order is Clarkson, SLU, Princeton, Harvard.
Harvard and Princeton go up to the North to Play top seeds Clarkson and SLU.
Harvard and Princeton both win and then they have to go to Princeton to play the Princeton - Harvard game. That would be crazy travel wise.

I know. I know. Just saying I liked it better when the two top seeds were rewarded with home ice. Doesn't make logistical sense, just hockey purist sense. (Obviously I have a bias here . . . that's what the smilies are all about, no?) And who knows, given what this winter has been like maybe the ECAC should follow HE's lead and bring all four teams down from Potsdam to the sunny Cape, thereby pleasing everyone. (No smiley necessary, I hope.)

 

[OnMAA]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

maybe the ECAC should follow HE's lead and bring all four teams down from Potsdam to the sunny Cape

NOOOOOO !!!! Love the Cape in the Summer. IF you were to do it Central for the ECAC, I would bring it to Lake Placid. Plenty of accommodations. Lots of things to do. Facilities set up to host such an event.

BTW for those of you in the sunny southern climes of the ECAC. It is still very cold up north (0 to teens), and still mid winter type of conditions, with no real break in sight.

 

[john0128]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

I agree completely. I watched the game. Yes, Laing made the saves she needed to make. Yes, the Harvard Dmen played so much better in front of her than they did in front of Emerance. BUT, having seen both of them play, Emerance is the better goalie, and the more experienced goalie. Also, shutting out Yale is really not that impressive to me. They really only had maybe 3 players who were fairly skilled, and that is being generous.

I'd say the scoring opportunities Harvard had and the types of shots they were taking will be the type of action Harvard will see when they play Cornell. The Yale opportunities were for the most part, from the outside off of rebounds, or when they did have opportunities to score they would put it right back into Laing. Not to say that she didn't play an amazing game on Sunday, I just cannot see Cornell missing those types of opportunities. She made some big saves, but what is going to happen when the same opportunities are on Saulnier's stick?

 

[Skate79]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

NOOOOOO !!!! Love the Cape in the Summer. IF you were to do it Central for the ECAC, I would bring it to Lake Placid. Plenty of accommodations. Lots of things to do. Facilities set up to host such an event.

BTW for those of you in the sunny southern climes of the ECAC. It is still very cold up north (0 to teens), and still mid winter type of conditions, with no real break in sight.

Pretty cold in Minnesota as well. They haven't seen temps north of freezing since before Christmas. Maybe earlier.

It isn't exactly tropical on the Cape at this point. Everyone in the Northeast is going through a deep freeze. Commuter rail train broke down twice this morning causing a 20 minute delay for those of us waiting on the platform. Oh yeah, that was fun.

 

[Skate79]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

I agree completely. I watched the game. Yes, Laing made the saves she needed to make. Yes, the Harvard Dmen played so much better in front of her than they did in front of Emerance. BUT, having seen both of them play, Emerance is the better goalie, and the more experienced goalie. Also, shutting out Yale is really not that impressive to me. They really only had maybe 3 players who were fairly skilled, and that is being generous.

Okay so if shutting out Yale isn't that impressive yet Maschmeyer is the better goalie, how do you reconcile her giving up an average of three goals per game (slightly less actually when factoring in the 2OTs from Friday) to Yale in her last two starts? She didn't play well against a team you claim isn't very strong offensively. That isn't a ringing endorsement. I'm not saying she doesn't deserve to start against Cornell; just that your argument doesn't hold up.

I'd say the scoring opportunities Harvard had and the types of shots they were taking will be the type of action Harvard will see when they play Cornell. The Yale opportunities were for the most part, from the outside off of rebounds, or when they did have opportunities to score they would put it right back into Laing. Not to say that she didn't play an amazing game on Sunday, I just cannot see Cornell missing those types of opportunities. She made some big saves, but what is going to happen when the same opportunities are on Saulnier's stick?

Laing saved Harvard's season on Saturday with two great stops, the first in regulation a minute before Crugnale scored the tying goal and the second in OT before D'Oench netted the game winner. If she fails to make either stop, Harvard is sitting in the their dorm rooms pondering their fate for the NCAAs. I didn't get to Sunday's game but when you are faced with a do or die situation, every save is important.

That said, I agree that Cornell has more skill and will most likely not miss if given those opportunities. The game plan for Cornell will be different than Yale; this is a one and done versus a series. I expect it to be tight, close checking with good to great goaltending no matter who starts in net.

 

[john0128]

Okay so if shutting out Yale isn't that impressive yet Maschmeyer is the better goalie, how do you reconcile her giving up an average of three goals per game (slightly less actually when factoring in the 2OTs from Friday) to Yale in her last two starts? She didn't play well against a team you claim isn't very strong offensively. That isn't a ringing endorsement. I'm not saying she doesn't deserve to start against Cornell; just that your argument doesn't hold up.

There is a lot more to consider about a goalie than goals against. You need to look at things like speed, positioning, hand speed. My son was a goalie. He is now a goalie coach. And the reason Yale scored so many times on matschmeyer has more to do with defensive breakdowns. Just because Ashley holt has a better GAA and save percentage than Kimberley Newell does that mean holt should play in the playoffs? The reason Harvard won on Sunday had more to do with Leonoff not making saves she made in the other two games. Giving Harvard the early lead was huge.

 

[OnMAA]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

Pretty cold in Minnesota as well. They haven't seen temps north of freezing since before Christmas. Maybe earlier.

Yup. This is more than just a "Polar Vortex". Me thinks its a "Polar Hex" or perhaps a "Polar Flex"

 

[ARM]

Pretty cold in Minnesota as well. They haven't seen temps north of freezing since before Christmas. Maybe earlier.

There were a couple of very warm days between Christmas and New Years. Two weeks ago, it got up into the 30s for a few hours in advance of a storm so it could start with rain/freezing rain/wet snow that could turn to ice and freeze on the roadways when the temperature dropped by 25 degrees. This weekend we head north to Bemidji where night-time temperatures can routinely be 20 or 30 degrees colder than they are around Minneapolis. So yeah, it's getting kind of old around here. The good news is we aren't hosting the Frozen Four this year so we don't have to inflict this on other hockey fans.

 

[driventoit]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

While whiling away the time before the puck drops in Potsdam let me play "Ask the Experts" (or, maybe, "Hockey 101"): What can account for the wide disparity in PK (#1) and PP (#24) performance for a team like Harvard? No other top team comes close to this particular stats gap. Only the Dartmouth PK (at #8) has a similar drop-off (to #31 on the PP), and Dartmouth isn't 23-5-4. I realize that the game is more than statistics, and that Harvard is not an offensive machine, and that defending the goal while being a player down and attacking the goal while being a player up are two different animals, but both units are made up of the same players (more or less), play under the same coach, and face the same opponents. Harvard's team offense/defense numbers pretty much jibe, as you would expect, so what gives with the less than stellar power play? (I almost wish they were really bad so I could quote Eeyore's priceless line about the SCSU PP, but I want to stay focused here so you'll have to look that up yourselves.)* No complaints, since we're talking about a great PK, but I still would like some feedback/insight on what it takes, given the basic ingredients, to have a good PP.

* 1/26/14 Gopher post

 

[THEWIZARD]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

The power play was the best it was all year before the break and was doing fine. They keep messing around putting different players out there and they have zero chemistry. They are a shoot first and ask questions later power play which is a recipe for disaster. They don't move the puck around long enough to create seams and passing lanes....I would like to see if there was a stat for the number of shots that the Harvard D get blocked on the PP , it has to be at least 6 or 7 per game. I did hear that the PP was brutal against Yale and the Yale PP looked like the second coming of the Russian Red Army team slinging the puck around and creating seams and passing lanes.