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Maine Black Bears, 2010-2011, Redemption or FORE, I say......

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Re: Maine Black Bears, 2010-2011, Redemption or FORE, I say......

Fishman'81 said:
And they need to score as much as they can,because Maine can be gawd-awful in its own end.
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Seems to me that Maine is really only terrible in their own end when it's on the rush. The defense gets moving and haven't a clue who they're supposed to cover.

That's why when they pound the opposing goalie with 35-40 SOG and try forecheck in after those rebounds, the other team can push up ice and take advantage of Maine's shoddy defense by counter-attacking before the forwards realize they can't get back to help fast enough.

As much as I'd love to see Maine drop 3-5 goals per game, I'd rather see them playing the same way defensively as the two UML/MER series.
 
Re: Maine Black Bears, 2010-2011, Redemption or FORE, I say......

FWIW, I hope your Black Bears take care of business this weekend. Not that I don't think MC's season is a feel good story, but the atmosphere at the Garden is so much better with all those Bear fans in attendance. :)
 
Re: Maine Black Bears, 2010-2011, Redemption or FORE, I say......

I opened the thread at the wrong end, saw something about a Diamond suspension, and thought oh, for crying out loud, what's that about?"

Been that kind of year.
 
Re: Maine Black Bears, 2010-2011, Redemption or FORE, I say......

tylerzx2002 said:
Seems to me that Maine is really only terrible in their own end when it's on the rush. The defense gets moving and haven't a clue who they're supposed to cover.
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I agree 100% that they are even lousier covering the rush than they are when they have a chance to get set up defensively...But even in the latter situation,a few of the guys consistently make awful decisions with the puck(and without it.)

Frustrating thing is that you see the same guys make the same mistakes repeatedly. Seems like I see 5-6 really boneheaded moves per game,game after game.
 
Re: Maine Black Bears, 2010-2011, Redemption or FORE, I say......

FiveHole12 said:
FWIW, I hope your Black Bears take care of business this weekend. Not that I don't think MC's season is a feel good story, but the atmosphere at the Garden is so much better with all those Bear fans in attendance. :)
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I think that's a compliment, but I'm not quite sure if...........:D
 
Re: Maine Black Bears, 2010-2011, Redemption or FORE, I say......

Fishman'81 said:
I agree 100% that they are even lousier covering the rush than they are when they have a chance to get set up defensively...But even in the latter situation,a few of the guys consistently make awful decisions with the puck(and without it.)

Frustrating thing is that you see the same guys make the same mistakes repeatedly. Seems like I see 5-6 really boneheaded moves per game,game after game.
Click to expand...

Banwell especially is guilty of playing like a schmuck most nights. Van Dyk to a lesser extent, but I think he's taken a big step forward defensively this season.

I'd like to see O'Connor take Banwell's spot, but I think him being a senior gives him priority (unfortunately).

EDIT: Anyone heard info on Diamond/Beattie's status for this weekend?
 
Re: Maine Black Bears, 2010-2011, Redemption or FORE, I say......

Stick salute for the Beattie clan per BDN: http://new.bangordailynews.com/2011/03/07/sports/maine’s-path-to-ncaa-tourney-starts-at-merrimack/

Beattie gets visit from brother

Maine sophomore right wing Kyle Beattie has had a chance to spend some time with his brother, Travis, who flew in from California to watch him play Saturday night at UMass and is spending a few days in Orono.

Twenty-three-year-old Travis Beattie is in the Marine Corps stationed at the Twentynine Palms base in Califorina and will be leaving in a few weeks for his second deployment to Afghanistan. He was a sniper and now he’s a squadron leader, accoring to Kyle.

“That was the first time he had seen me play (live) in college,” said Kyle. “It’s pretty cool. It’s nice to have him up here.”
 
Re: Maine Black Bears, 2010-2011, Redemption or FORE, I say......

tylerzx2002 said:
Banwell especially is guilty of playing like a schmuck most nights. Van Dyk to a lesser extent, but I think he's taken a big step forward defensively this season.

I'd like to see O'Connor take Banwell's spot, but I think him being a senior gives him priority (unfortunately).

EDIT: Anyone heard info on Diamond/Beattie's status for this weekend?
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When both of these guy's came in..(Banwell/Van Dyk)....I figured by their Junior and Senior years that they would be the top defensive d-men on the team,but they have never progressed other then good one night/bad one night...so-so for a long stretch and not to be seen or heard from for long periods of time except for careless turnovers in the d-end....simple put they should have been both better at this time then they have shown...imo. With that said lets hope for the Good Banwell/Van Dyk for the remainder of the Hockey Season..!
 
Re: Maine Black Bears, 2010-2011, Redemption or FORE, I say......

Ma#1ne Hky said:
When both of these guy's came in..(Banwell/Van Dyk)....I figured by their Junior and Senior years that they would be the top defensive d-men on the team,but they have never progressed other then good one night/bad one night...so-so for a long stretch and not to be seen or heard from for long periods of time except for careless turnovers in the d-end....simple put they should have been both better at this time then they have shown...imo. With that said lets hope for the Good Banwell/Van Dyk for the remainder of the Hockey Season..!
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Agreed.

And not to pile on,but I'm surprised by how little some guys seem to have learned about basic principles,such as not skating/passing the puck through the low slot in heavy traffic...One would think they'd have learned that the hard way by now.

I'm really curious as to why O'Conner hasn't played for a while.I only saw him at Providence,but he was very noticeable there.That kid flew up and down the ice and showed a refreshing level of commitment to his own end,starting right at his own blue line(Yeah,he was maybe a little chippy at times,but he skated well enough to recover from any mistakes he made.I think he only took 1 penalty,but I'm not gonna look it up!)

I have no idea what's kept him off the ice since then,but I would gladly see 6 of him playing for Maine right now.Nobody on PC waltzed in unmolested and got off a wrister from 15' out on his side of the ice,such as I saw at UMass a couple of times this past weekend from other guys.

Bottom-line:I see no way in the world that Maine is going to get through HE unless they shore up the D.O'Conner might not help as much as I think;maybe nobody on the roster will,but the current formula is sadly lacking,that much is clear.

I see no reason at all to stick with the game plan,and keep our fingers crossed...This team can play with anyone,if managed properly,and given a bounce or two.
 
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Re: Maine Black Bears, 2010-2011, Redemption or FORE, I say......

Fishman'81 said:
Agreed.

And not to pile on,but I'm surprised by how little some guys seem to have learned about basic principles,such as not skating/passing the puck through the low slot in heavy traffic...One would think they'd have learned that the hard way by now.

I'm really curious as to why O'Conner hasn't played for a while.I only saw him at Providence,but he was very noticeable there.That kid flew up and down the ice and showed a refreshing level of commitment to his own end,starting right at his own blue line(Yeah,he was maybe a little chippy at times,but he skated well enough to recover from any mistakes he made.I think he only took 1 penalty,but I'm not gonna look it up!)

I have no idea what's kept him off the ice since then,but I would gladly see 6 of him playing for Maine right now.Nobody on PC waltzed in unmolested and got off a wrister from 15' out on his side of the ice,such as I saw at UMass a couple of times this past weekend from other guys.

Bottom-line:I see no way in the world that Maine is going to get through HE unless they shore up the D.O'Conner might not help as much as I think;maybe nobody on the roster will,but the current formula is sadly lacking,that much is clear.

I see no reason at all to stick with the game plan,and keep our fingers crossed...This team can play with anyone,if managed properly,and given a bounce or two.
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With Whitehead you have a Coach that does not DARE take a chance with a O'Conner...I also like the kid's play...guess we'll wait till next season to see his talents...you know what we've seen from TW.
 
Re: Maine Black Bears, 2010-2011, Redemption or FORE, I say......

O'Connor hasn't yet learned the TIMMAY/DANNY style of defensive play. He's often too willing to rub someone into the boards at the blueline, or crush him in the open ice, instead of backpedalling deeper and deeper into his own zone, flailing at the puck with his stick, until the guy gets a good shot off.

TIMMAY can't have that, and so he sits.

Banwell's had some brutal games, but he's also played pretty well at times. He's a big guy, but can't put that size to use in this defensive scheme, or TIMMAY gets angry. And he's not quite skilled enough to be a finesse defensive player.

Van Dyk I had issues with early in the season, the first five or so games he just looked absolutely lost out there. But after that, he settled right in and has been pretty consistent, often times Maine's best defensman on the ice.
 
Re: Maine Black Bears, 2010-2011, Redemption or FORE, I say......

rufus said:
O'Connor hasn't yet learned the TIMMAY/DANNY style of defensive play. He's often too willing to rub someone into the boards at the blueline, or crush him in the open ice, instead of backpedalling deeper and deeper into his own zone, flailing at the puck with his stick, until the guy gets a good shot off.

TIMMAY can't have that, and so he sits.

Banwell's had some brutal games, but he's also played pretty well at times. He's a big guy, but can't put that size to use in this defensive scheme, or TIMMAY gets angry. And he's not quite skilled enough to be a finesse defensive player.
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Imagine how good this D corp could be if they were actually developed from their strengths right from their first year, instead of turned into wimps afraid of taking ANY penalty, not just a bad one. Banwell, Nemec, Hegarty, Cornell have all had the physical, gritty game coached right out of them. Instead of learning how to control their physical play and develop their entire game, they have been coached to eliminate all physical play from their game...or pay the price and watch from the stands. The least physical players don't get sat (arguably Dimmen the exception here)

Will be interesting to see how Maine responds to Merrimack's physical D men. Roll over and take it? Match it? Act like caged animals and finally snap at being manhandled all game?
 
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Re: Maine Black Bears, 2010-2011, Redemption or FORE, I say......

bu's loss tonight moves maine back up to 16 (tied w/ rpi) in the pwr.
 
Re: Maine Black Bears, 2010-2011, Redemption or FORE, I say......

gscott13 said:
bu's loss tonight moves maine back up to 16 (tied w/ rpi) in the pwr.
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Another Northeastern win would make them a TUC ...and then it would really get interesting for Maine in the Pairwise...course the Bears would need to get by Merrimack to take advantage of the possible comparison gains.
 
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