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Nescac Playoffs

Re: Nescac Playoffs

puxrex said:
Maybe my memory is getting fuzzy, but I don't ever recall anyone handing Middlebury a NESCAC title or a national championship. They played a lot of tough hockey against a lot of very good teams before any titles were handed out. There were several years when Middlebury was clearly not the favorite and somehow managed to get it done and more than a few years when things went the other way. As a Midd fan, I never felt that it was a foregone conclusion.
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I appreciate your humbleness but Middlebury was far better than everybody else, at least in the opinion of this non-Middlebury fan. I believe that to a large extent the overall quality of play in NESCAC improved because Middlebury set the bar so high.
 
Re: Nescac Playoffs

Here are some key NESCAC regular season stats for the four teams left in the tournament:

SCORING OFFENSE
Bowdoin 82
Middlebury 74
Hamilton 67
Trinity 59

SCORING DEFENSE
Bowdoin 45
Trinity 45
Midlebury 47
Hamilton 68

SCORING NET
Bowdoin +37
Middlebury +27
Trinity +14
Hamilton -1

POWER PLAY
Middlebury 25.8%
Bowdoin 23.4%
Hamilton 19.2%
Trinity 11.1%

PENALTY KILLING
Trinity 88%
Middlebury 86%
Bowdoin 84.7%
Hamilton 81.2%

COMBINED SPECIAL TEAMS
Bowdoin 56.6%
Middlebury 55.3%
Trinity 50%
Hamilton 47.8%

SPECIAL TEAM NET (PPF - SHA - PPA + SHF)
Bowdoin +12
Middlebury +9
Hamilton +6
Trinity +1

GOALS AGAINST AVERAGE
Vesperini (Trinity) 2.14
Rossi (Bowdoin) 2.16
J. Yanchek (Middlebury) 2.28
Bartel (Hamilton) 2.35

SAVE PERCENTAGE
Vesperini 93.6%
Bartel 92.1%
Rossi 91.9%
Yanchek 91.5%
 
Re: Nescac Playoffs

Stats don't matter at this point, will the coaches have their teams ready and focused, will their goalies show up, will the coaches have the right kids on the ice at the right times, If this were Vegas Middlebury and Bowdoin would be the favorites for the final. Believe me Trinity and Hamilton are capable of upsets. I will be there should be very exciting.
 
Re: Nescac Playoffs

OMG - I actually agree with Neverplayed on stats being irrelevant at this juncture!!

Here's the latest on ticket sales form the Bowdoin Atheltic Department - it sounds as though the unsold tix have been returned by the other 3 schools and will be placed on sale at Bowdoin tomorrow morning:

BRUNSWICK, Maine - The Bowdoin College Athletic Department has announced that a very limited number of tickets have been made available for Saturday's NESCAC semifinal doubleheader. Those tickets will be released to the general public beginning at 9:00 a.m. Friday morning. In addition, 175 student tickets have been made available and can be picked up by Bowdoin students with an ID at that time.

The general public tickets must be picked up in-person (no phone calls, please) and will be capped at four tickets per person. Tickets are $5 for adults and $2 for children.

The 175 student tickets are free to Bowdoin students with an ID.

The action will start at 1:00 p.m. Saturday at Sidney J. Watson Arena when the top-seeded Polar Bears play Hamilton College. Middlebury and Trinity will play at 4:00 p.m. The NESCAC Championship will be Sunday at 2:00 p.m. and tickets for that game will be sold on-site following Saturday's semifinals.
 
Re: Nescac Playoffs

neverplayed said:
Stats don't matter at this point, will the coaches have their teams ready and focused, will their goalies show up, will the coaches have the right kids on the ice at the right times.
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But they provide a few concrete facts for an informed discussion as they point to certain trends by certain teams. Unless, of course, you believe in magic...
 
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Re: Nescac Playoffs

Euler18 said:
Then, when are stats relevant?
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I didn't see stats as telling us much as to how last weekend's games would turn out except for perhaps the Middlebury-Tufts game. Bowdoin did not reach 50% of its average goals/game number against Colby even with 16 extra OT minutes and did not score its first goal of the game until well into the third period . . Similarly, the Hamilton defensive numbers were not particularly impressive during the regular season but somehow it managed to almost completely shut down the Williams' offense. Stats tell us a lot about the capability of a team over the season but perhaps not that much as to how it will actually perform when everything is on the table for both teams as it is during the play-offs.
 
Re: Nescac Playoffs

The latest from the Bowdoin Athletic Department as to the (un)availability of tickets for Saturday's NESCAC semi-finals:

March 5, 2010

BRUNSWICK, Maine - The Bowdoin College Athletic Department has announced that tickets for this Saturday's NESCAC Semifinal doubleheader have been sold out.

Will call as well as parent/family reserved tickets will be available in the lobby of Watson Arena when the doors open at 12:00 p.m. Saturday. Championship game tickets will be sold on-site following the semifinal games on Saturday afternoon.

Fans unable to attend the tournament can follow all the action online via live statistics and a live video webcast.
 
Re: Nescac Playoffs

Just got here...saw the paper. Nice article about Rossi.

Inside that page was a feature on the Bowdoin/Hamilton game where the reporter goes on at length about Hamilton Coach Bill Kangas who has been behind the Continental bench since 1991!!:eek:

Should be some great action Sat no matter who shows up to coach:D
 
Re: Nescac Playoffs

WillieC said:
Just got here...saw the paper. Nice article about Rossi.

Inside that page was a feature on the Bowdoin/Hamilton game where the reporter goes on at length about Hamilton Coach Bill Kangas who has been behind the Continental bench since 1991!!:eek:

Should be some great action Sat no matter who shows up to coach:D
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Yes - that article on tomorrow's games was good for quite a few laughs - John Yarchek is the goalie for Middlebury, Nick Resar is one of Middlebury's top scorers, Middlebury led the NESCAC in goals (You would think Bowdoin's hometown reporter would at least get that fact right!!), some guy named Richard Halstein is one of Trinity's top scorers, and so on.
 
Re: Nescac Playoffs

Two very good games today. D3 and Euler, I am very confident that Middlebury will win. Bowdoin's first goal was great, then they went to sleep in the 2nd period but finally wore down a tired Hamilton team that ran with a short bench. Middlebury was clinical beating a very good Trinity team 4-2 by putting the hammer down early and then closing out a game Trinity squad. I have had fun all season with you guys and I appreciate how much you love your team, they just don't match up well, I'd give you numbers that will be on the ice when middlebury scores tomorrow, but it wouldn't be fair to the kids. Bowdoin has one excellent line, but is too slow overall for Middlebury and you will see it tomorrow. If I am wrong you can enjoy telling me I was all wet all season and I will deserve it, but I won't be.
 
Re: Nescac Playoffs

Great atmosphere at the Sid Watson Arena this afternoon. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the games. With Bowdoin and Middlebury playing at the top of their games, Hamilton and Trinity didn't match up. Both Hamilton and Trinity have some very, very good players, but not enough depth.

I was extremely impressed with Middlebury. The Panthers play with a lot of skill and make very few mistakes. They're very good -- scary good. Martin Drolet is a beautiful player to watch and a true gamebreaker. (Let me disclose that I know his parents and brother Francis, who plays at Brown. The Drolets are a very classy family.) But Martin is not alone. Middlebury is loaded. In my modest opinion, this Middlebury team is even better than the last Middlebury team to win the NESCAC tournament (in 2007). And that team played in the national championship game.
 
Re: Nescac Playoffs

neverplayed said:
Two very good games today. D3 and Euler, I am very confident that Middlebury will win. [...] I have had fun all season with you guys and I appreciate how much you love your team, they just don't match up well, I'd give you numbers that will be on the ice when middlebury scores tomorrow, but it wouldn't be fair to the kids. Bowdoin has one excellent line, but is too slow overall for Middlebury and you will see it tomorrow.
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Thank you. I've also enjoyed our exchanges. You're correct about the skill level on this outstanding Middlebury team. As I've said many times before, Middlebury has set the standard of excellence for eastern Division III hockey and particularly NESCAC for a decade and a half. The Panthers are always a great team to watch.
 
Re: Nescac Playoffs

neverplayed said:
I am very confident that Middlebury will win. [...] Bowdoin has one excellent line, but is too slow overall for Middlebury and you will see it tomorrow.
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People like me, who are professionally trained to interpret texts from the past, are generally reluctant to make predictions. Nevertheless I am confident that both the Polar Bears and the Panthers will play with a lot of intensity and to the best of their ability. If indeed Middlebury is too good for Bowdoin, then the Panthers deserve to win and represent NESCAC in the national tournament.

Regarding the Bowdoin lines, because of the two-three system, one of the "wings" changes all the time, since it depends on the defensive trio that's on the ice. You probably mean that Dan Weiniger and Graham Sisson are the best of the four offensive pairs. But Colin MacCormick and Ryan Blossom also have quite a bit of experience and the potential to score big goals.
 
Re: Nescac Playoffs

What an awesome rink Bowdoin has. If the interlock is discontinued, it will be a great venue to come to annually. No guest wireless though?
 
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