Both the Norwich hockey players and coaches have very high expectations placed on them and at least this year I think the pressure is getting to them. With the facility and resources Norwich puts into hockey I think everyone expects a top 10 team every year, if not a team competing for the national championship. Last night at Castleton the lack of scoring production continued to factor in the loss. But the action of the Norwich player at the end of the game can not be justified and doesn't make the program look good. Maybe someone more of a hockey expert can explain the lack of scoring this year,
On a positive note I thought the Castleton video was outstand and I consider Jack Heally one of the best D3 broadcasters around.
I'm not any kind of expert, but I think all of us are guilty of continually overlooking the fact that not only did Pelletier and Niezgoda miss the entire first semester (plus some for Will), but it also takes time for lines to pick up their cohesiveness when players do return (despite Will's otherworldly first weekend back). Salvucci did a great job picking up some of the scoring slack while they were gone.
Not having Pelletier means we're missing our top offensive threat, but it also means other guys aren't given the space they are when he is on the ice. Teams have to account for him AT ALL TIMES, which often opens things up for other players. Frankly, Niezgoda is much more of a threat when Will is on the ice. He's a nice player, and one I really enjoy watching, but he isn't a big threat by himself. Finally, Austin Surowiec, for whatever reason has been non-existent this far. We need him to score, and he hasn't been.
Heading into the season, I think we had a handful of goal scorers, and a bunch of grinders. Due to the injuries, we've played much of the season with JUST a bunch of grinders. This has allowed us to be IN every game, but we lack the usual firepower.
As far as the butt-end goes, it was the most embarrassed I've felt as an NU hockey fan, ever. In 2011, Castleton committed a butt-end into Kyle Thomas's (I think it was Kyle) throat at the final horn and I thought it was a dirty, low class, scumbag move. Last night, we sunk to that level. Part of life, and athletics, is handling adversity with dignity. For the briefest of seconds, we failed mightily. You ought to be p***ed losing to Castleton, but you CANNOT, under any circumstance, act out that frustration. I believe Mike will deal with it, and harshly. Despite being often cast as Darth Vader on these boards, he is a discipline-oriented coach and he won't let that stuff go.
As Prez said a while back, at full strength this team can beat anyone. I just don't know if we'll be back at full strength until October. It it what it is.
