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Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

irishfan85 said:
Emotions ran high at the time, but I can't imagine anyone in their right mind still believes it was anything but an accidental hockey play.
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Machnik's broadcast partner got called out calling into WEEI to blast Eaves. He didn't identify himself as a Merrimack AD employee. Someone fially got him to admit he worked with/for the program. He thought Eaves should be prosecuted.
 
Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

Salvo1017 said:
Seeing him on the point on the PP might be an interesting idea
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He has been used there on a limited basis over the past two years, but I still think our top PP pairing would be Stollery/Bigos. What I would love to see is a pairing of Ellis and Demers on the 2nd PP unit. IDK how likely that is, but that would be a deadly combination for any shot blocker...

Case in point: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9I2frkX7l4
 
Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

Salvo1017 said:
our home record speaks for its self.
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Easy there. If you look at their league play at home during the 5 seasons prior to last year, they ring in at 11-45-10.

The 'Mack has one season without a terribly dismal home ice record, and suddenly Lawler has some crazy mystique? Hardly.

They have a few special players, and most of them were underclassmen. Underclassmen tend to feel more confident at home, so they brought their A game while veteran teams looked past a perrenial cellar dweller. I'm not making excuses, or discrediting their accomplishments. Some of those wins were extremely impressive and legit. But let's not jump to the conclusion that the Warriors will enjoy the same home-ice record just because of what they achieved last year.

Don't you think teams will bring their focus when they play them now? It already started to show mid season. After the 6-0 start.... They won 5 of their last 10 home games in regulation. Sure, it was better than past performances, but still, it was nothing most strong programs would write to their families about...
 
Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

Anyone else find this talk about "well other teams are actually going to practice before playing Merrimack this season" a little pretentious?

Teams will certainly have an eye out for the warriors but I think they did last year as well. The buzz around HE about Da Costa and our goaltending tandem was evident amongst fans at every away arena I saw a game. Hockey East is full of some of the premier teams in the country...to think that they didn't prepare extensively for EVERY game whether it be against Merrimack or Boston College I find a little naive.
 
Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

All teams in Hockey East prepare to within an inch of their lives for every opponent. The scouting reports for Merrimack are just as detailed as the ones for BU, BC, Providence and UMass, etc, etc.

The issue is that most of the time in college hockey, the teams you face in October and November are not the same developmentally as the ones in February and March. The freshmen have a number of games under their belts and have adjusted to the college routine. Plus injuries, scholastic issues and player discipline can reshape rosters in 6 months of competition.

These coaches put a lot of time breaking down game film and scouting into every game, I find it hard to believe that there are any "light" opponents in Hockey East this coming season...
 
Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

agreed

They prepare 100% hard for eevry game. The schedule is to short to do anything but that. This is not an 82 game nhl or major junior schedule here.

Most of these kids know each other and respect each other. I will though bet that at thye end of the day, if you polled the players and coaches, they would not have Merrimack top 6 in teams they fear.
 
Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

Salvo1017 said:
Anyone else find this talk about "well other teams are actually going to practice before playing Merrimack this season" a little pretentious?
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Sure. Although to some extent it's just ingrained in their psyche as the Mack has rarely been competitive to the point of being a top 5 team in the league. Just as I saw people blaming the rink at Lawler for the reason their team would get beat there last year. Hard to digest that they could get beat so convincingly or get beat at all. I'd guess that if the team continues to improve on last year's showing and Cannata is consistent, they'll be in the top 5 pretty easily. With BC and BU in Lawler for two, a sweep of those two would go a long way.

Per Hoky's comments, I agree. But if you asked them which of the top players they fear the most, DaCosta would be top 5 or 10 and teams should have a lot of fear/respect for Barton offensively. Be interesting to see if Collins, Ellis and Heywood step in and contribute right away.
 
Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

WDR357 said:
Per Hoky's comments, I agree. But if you asked them which of the top players they fear the most, DaCosta would be top 5 or 10 and teams should have a lot of fear/respect for Barton offensively. Be interesting to see if Collins, Ellis and Heywood step in and contribute right away.
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Collins, Ellis and Heywood will all have ample opportunities to step in early. I would look specifically to the Niagara and UCONN games as something of an audition for those three. One other player that will be entering as a freshman in 2010-2011 is F Rob Morton. He posted very strong numbers in his junior career (36 goals in 45 games two years ago to lead the EJHL), and if he can chip in on a second or third line, it could go a long way.
 
Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

WarriorDJ said:
Collins, Ellis and Heywood will all have ample opportunities to step in early. I would look specifically to the Niagara and UCONN games as something of an audition for those three. One other player that will be entering as a freshman in 2010-2011 is F Rob Morton. He posted very strong numbers in his junior career (36 goals in 45 games two years ago to lead the EJHL), and if he can chip in on a second or third line, it could go a long way.
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I had forgotten about him. Given their top two lines return from last year, I'd guess either he, Collins or Ouimet will be on the 3rd line with Flanagan and Madsen.
 
Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

I haven't seen this posted yet- the athletics site posted some pics of the renovations. Gotta say, I'm loving the new press box. I thought Merrimack already had one of the best press boxes in HE, so I can't wait to see the new one in person.
 
Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

Federal League said:
Gotta say, I'm loving the new press box. I thought Merrimack already had one of the best press boxes in HE, so I can't wait to see the new one in person.
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Could you do us a favor and repost this in the Hockey East thread :D
 
Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

Still Crazy in section 17 said:
Just read this on the fine "Without a peer" blog as Adam Wodon was interviewed about the status of college hockey and this coming season http://www.withoutapeer.com/2010/08/media-pitstop-1-adam-wodon.html

"But do you know who my dark horse is nationally this year? Merrimack.... Yeah. My dark horse to make the NCAAs".
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Wow, high praise! To get to the NCAAs, it would require either:

1. A Hockey East Tournament championship
2. A 20-25+ win season to get recognized in the PWR or KRACH rankings

In order to pull either of those off it requires us to be both a lot better on the road and very solid out of conference (i.e. Harvard, Ala-Huntsville, RIT). The team likely knows this already, but the reality is they need to go out and be dominant this season to make the big dance.
 
Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

Salvo1017 said:
Anyone else find this talk about "well other teams are actually going to practice before playing Merrimack this season" a little pretentious?

Teams will certainly have an eye out for the warriors but I think they did last year as well. The buzz around HE about Da Costa and our goaltending tandem was evident amongst fans at every away arena I saw a game.
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I think you are overstating things just a bit. MC came onto everyone's radar very quickly because of superb play. However the initial part of the season, its not that people overlooked MC, but they had other priorties. If a team is playing MC and BC for example, when they practice that week do you think they are going to focus on MC's style of play or BC's? Later in the year, yes coaches focused on MC and Da Costa, and the production declined. No one is disrespecting MC or being pretentious. Any team can win in this league, and teams prepare for every game. But to think they don't prepare harder for one team versus another is just naive.


WarriorDJ said:
Wow, high praise! To get to the NCAAs, it would require either:

1. A Hockey East Tournament championship
2. A 20-25+ win season to get recognized in the PWR or KRACH rankings

In order to pull either of those off it requires us to be both a lot better on the road and very solid out of conference (i.e. Harvard, Ala-Huntsville, RIT). .
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To make it to the NCAA's MC would need a HE tournament. Their OOC isn't strong enough to get them in, and even going 20-7 in HE or 22-5, sadly there are likely 5 teams at most as TUC's, MC being one of them. The way the PWR are setup I'm not sure this is viable without one heck of a season.

But, I hope I am wrong, the more teams HE can get there the better.
 
Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

Federal League said:
I haven't seen this posted yet- the athletics site posted some pics of the renovations. Gotta say, I'm loving the new press box. I thought Merrimack already had one of the best press boxes in HE, so I can't wait to see the new one in person.
Click to expand...

i had read they were putting a student section or at least some stands behind one of the goals. i only saw one end in those pictures and the zambonis are there, at least it looks like 2 zambonis.......are plans still on for those seats or did i misremember?;)
 
Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

sterlippo1 said:
i had read they were putting a student section or at least some stands behind one of the goals. i only saw one end in those pictures and the zambonis are there, at least it looks like 2 zambonis.......are plans still on for those seats or did i misremember?;)
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Not to worry, those seats are still going in as per the Athletics Department's caption:

"View of the far side of the rink - new bleachers for students will replace the zambonis in September"​
 
Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

WarriorDJ said:
Not to worry, those seats are still going in as per the Athletics Department's caption:

"View of the far side of the rink - new bleachers for students will replace the zambonis in September"​
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i think that's a great idea and it's really needed. now you just gotta boost the attendance a few hundred or so more a game and fill them with students.............from the pictures it looks like they've done a nice job. i am looking forward to seeing the difference
 
Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

sterlippo1 said:
i think that's a great idea and it's really needed. now you just gotta boost the attendance a few hundred or so more a game and fill them with students.............from the pictures it looks like they've done a nice job. i am looking forward to seeing the difference
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It looks great so far! One thing I noticed last year from attending all the home games was the change in the student section, they were much louder and there were a lot more of them at HE games. Now that they have their own section directly behind the goal, I can forsee it being tougher mentally for opposing goalies to ignore them haha.
 
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