Quinnipiac Bobcats 09-10: Part II

[MCL298]

Re: Quinnipiac Bobcats 09-10: Part II

i agree this has without a doubt been our worst year since in recent memory.

The sad thing is that you are supposed to get better each year not worse.

PS - I wonder what kind of crowd we are going to get against Yale. I know i'll be there but will the students show up? it's a saturday night and the team hasn't given them much to cheer for.

 

[MinniQUFan]

Re: Quinnipiac Bobcats 09-10: Part II

And let me quickly clarify about when I saw worst team in many years... at this point QU is going to be lucky to finish the season at .500. And they are buoyed there only because of their incredible early season run. I know everyone can blame the lack of luck and the breaks just not going our way, but when it comes down to it, it is simply inexcusable for a team to start as well as QU did and crash that badly. I remember when people were talking at the start of December about how QU only needed to go .500 the rest of the way and they would have coasted into a first round bye and maybe the NCAAs. So much for that.

I suppose I'm coming off sounding angrier than I really am, but I think it needs to be accepted that something(s) went horribly wrong with this season, and those problems need to be identified and addressed going forward... whether they be coaching, player, leadership, or recruiting issues.

I referenced this in my last post, but I'll say it again... where's the heart? And I'm not implying that this team and guys like Jean Marc don't have any... but I am saying that this program was built by a group of athletes who were a helluva lot less talented but had a helluava lot more heart. Just this week there was a discussion here of why Brian Leech wasn't a Hobey Baker candidate. And therein lies the problem.

 

[starlessixisky]

Re: Quinnipiac Bobcats 09-10: Part II

I have to agree with Minni. There is definitely a lack of heart. There is a small handful of players who everytime they hit the ice they skate their hearts out, but I think we can all attest to the fact that every game we have played, certain players have sat back. And as was pointed out, it's not that these kids don't care or don't want to do well, but every single shift you hit the ice, you need to play strong and give it your all to see consistent results. and i think we saw that the beginning of the season, and then it floated away, and here we stand.
in general, I think this has just been an interesting season in the ECAC. Yale continued their strong streak, Cornell really dominated, even Union stepped up in the ranks and blasted their way through the conference. Maybe QU could play well against those non-conference teams, but once the conference started, we fell to shreds. As much as we surprised everyone in the beginning, I think everyone else surprised us a hell of a lot more.

 

[allnightwong]

Re: Quinnipiac Bobcats 09-10: Part II

Heart is definitely an issue, so is confidence, coaching, motivation and leadership. We were saying for the longest time "at some point, it has to right itself." I thought after shutting out Colgate and SLU we were back. Now, they are playing worse than ever and laid a huge egg up in Capital District. You can say they are hard places to play on senior weekend, yada, yada, yada...Princeton went into Houston last night and won 7-0. There is no excuse for not taking any points.

Minni, I've made the Cash argument on here multiple times. AND we have not had a tender the likes of Holden since. Maybe it was the loss of Dicky who was playing at a high level, or Yuri who, talent wise gives you way more than the likes of those replacing him. Everything about this season rings rebuilding year, but the fact of the matter is we are losing arguably our five best players with maybe the addition of Zurevinski. We do not have any goaltending help coming in and let's be honest, Clarke for the most part has been pretty lousy. Chewy has not been given much time but from what we seen he's another Kleiman and Hartzell, though he does a nice pregame tennis ball routine, maybe his calling is in juggling and not being a D1 goalie.

I'm frustrated, we truly lost anything that had to do with the #4 team in the country. It's embarrasing.

I went to the Yale game against Clarkson yesterday and was smiling a little to myself when Clarkson was up 4-1. Kinda like "take that Yalies." And then, the best offense I've seen in a long time pours in three goals in nearly a minute. I heard the Yale Whale erupt in a way I haven't heard an arena erupt since the Banks first year. Forget Friday, cause who will be there to witness it, surely not our students, but Saturday we could get laughed out of our own building if we aren't careful.

The team needs to play with more of a sense of desperation. At least show up for the games this weekend, not like they did against RPI and Union.

I'll never jump ship, but I may have to enter the Bank, flask in hand this weekend.

Go Q!

 

[critsports]

Re: Quinnipiac Bobcats 09-10: Part II

You can say they are hard places to play on senior weekend, yada, yada, yada...Princeton went into Houston last night and won 7-0. There is no excuse for not taking any point.

And not only did Princeton go into Houston and put the wood to them, it was also the "Big Red Freakout" night where RPI's record is just about untouchable.

I feel your pain........my teams value is falling like a penny stock at this point. Not only are we now likely to miss that 4th place bye but if we are not careful we could open up the playoffs at home against our arch rival Clarkson and that is never a good thing for SLU.

I might add that even though you do lose a lot of talent.....with that many freshman you might really have to consider it a re-building year. And you never know about goal tending. Petezian who has been a very good goalie for us was signed so late in the year and almost at the last moment and he has been a very good goalie for us.......so don't give up the recruiting ship yet.

As to one of the other posters quotes about the program always supposed to be building and getting better that is a pipe dream. Very few programs can consistently stay at a high level and at the top of the league standings. Teams almost always go up and down based on recruits not panning out, poor decisions, etc. Cornell is one of the few examples in our league that has stayed at or near the top but pretty much everyone else goes up and down and frankly consdier yourself lucky as some have never even been in the upper echelon.

 

[MinniQUFan]

Re: Quinnipiac Bobcats 09-10: Part II

I'm busy this weekend with plans I can't get out of, but I woulda loved to make it to at least one game to see Wonger and co play one last time.

 

[bobcatsfollower]

Re: Quinnipiac Bobcats 09-10: Part II

Heart is definitely an issue, so is confidence, coaching, motivation and leadership. We were saying for the longest time "at some point, it has to right itself." I thought after shutting out Colgate and SLU we were back. Now, they are playing worse than ever and laid a huge egg up in Capital District. You can say they are hard places to play on senior weekend, yada, yada, yada...Princeton went into Houston last night and won 7-0. There is no excuse for not taking any points.

Minni, I've made the Cash argument on here multiple times. AND we have not had a tender the likes of Holden since. Maybe it was the loss of Dicky who was playing at a high level, or Yuri who, talent wise gives you way more than the likes of those replacing him. Everything about this season rings rebuilding year, but the fact of the matter is we are losing arguably our five best players with maybe the addition of Zurevinski. We do not have any goaltending help coming in and let's be honest, Clarke for the most part has been pretty lousy. Chewy has not been given much time but from what we seen he's another Kleiman and Hartzell, though he does a nice pregame tennis ball routine, maybe his calling is in juggling and not being a D1 goalie.

I'm frustrated, we truly lost anything that had to do with the #4 team in the country. It's embarrasing.

I went to the Yale game against Clarkson yesterday and was smiling a little to myself when Clarkson was up 4-1. Kinda like "take that Yalies." And then, the best offense I've seen in a long time pours in three goals in nearly a minute. I heard the Yale Whale erupt in a way I haven't heard an arena erupt since the Banks first year. Forget Friday, cause who will be there to witness it, surely not our students, but Saturday we could get laughed out of our own building if we aren't careful.

The team needs to play with more of a sense of desperation. At least show up for the games this weekend, not like they did against RPI and Union.

I'll never jump ship, but I may have to enter the Bank, flask in hand this weekend.

Go Q!

We did have a tender that was proving he had all that it takes to win a championship, but he left. Pisellini came in as a freshman and knocked Fisher out of the #1 spot. Coaching staff said he left due to personal family related matters which played a part in his decision, but the bottom line is that he decided to commit elsewhere instead of coming back to the Bobcats because of Rand.

 

[burgie12]

Re: Quinnipiac Bobcats 09-10: Part II

And not only did Princeton go into Houston and put the wood to them, it was also the "Big Red Freakout" night where RPI's record is just about untouchable.

Not in recent years. RPI tied St. Lawrence in 2007 and has lost the past three BRF!s.

 

[ZYanksRule]

Re: Quinnipiac Bobcats 09-10: Part II

The people who throw ---- out there about this program, and about Rand, are pretty strange to me. Yes, we get it, you claim to be "inside" the program, but you're too gutless to tell us who you are, what your relationships are, or to even give facts behind your ridiculous statements. "So-and-so doesn't like Rand" -- how about some facts, before you throw statements like that out there.

Pisellini left because his dad was in serious health trouble. He didnt come back because he wanted to REMAIN close to his dad, who was still sick.

 

[starlessixisky]

Re: Quinnipiac Bobcats 09-10: Part II

We did have a tender that was proving he had all that it takes to win a championship, but he left. Pisellini came in as a freshman and knocked Fisher out of the #1 spot. Coaching staff said he left due to personal family related matters which played a part in his decision, but the bottom line is that he decided to commit elsewhere instead of coming back to the Bobcats because of Rand.

I see where you're going with that, and though it may be true that Pisellini left due to Rand - not every player will agree with how Rand decides to coach or it may turn out that Rand doesn't like the player's style of play, which we saw happen to Pat McGann.
At the same time, no player will like their coach, while they're a player. And that's how it should be. That's how a coach is able to push their team and get them to work harder.

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

Re: Quinnipiac Bobcats 09-10: Part II

At the same time, no player will like their coach, while they're a player. And that's how it should be. That's how a coach is able to push their team and get them to work harder.

One of my favorite lines from Miracle: "I'll be your coach, I won't be your friend."

 

[allnightwong]

Re: Quinnipiac Bobcats 09-10: Part II

The people who throw ---- out there about this program, and about Rand, are pretty strange to me. Yes, we get it, you claim to be "inside" the program, but you're too gutless to tell us who you are, what your relationships are, or to even give facts behind your ridiculous statements. "So-and-so doesn't like Rand" -- how about some facts, before you throw statements like that out there.

Pisellini left because his dad was in serious health trouble. He didnt come back because he wanted to REMAIN close to his dad, who was still sick.

Yeah a lot of anonymous sources on here. I don't put much stake in what they say. While I agree that Pisellini was the best goalie, even given a small sample size we've had since Holden, I find it hard to believe the notion that his leaving was influenced more by his distain for Rand than his love for his father. He wanted to play closer to home and be closer to his dad. Can ya fault him? Thanks for pointing out the "insiders" Yanks. Their opinions when they are so radical are hard to believe and should be taken very lightly.

 

[bobcatsfollower]

Re: Quinnipiac Bobcats 09-10: Part II

I see where you're going with that, and though it may be true that Pisellini left due to Rand - not every player will agree with how Rand decides to coach or it may turn out that Rand doesn't like the player's style of play, which we saw happen to Pat McGann.
At the same time, no player will like their coach, while they're a player. And that's how it should be. That's how a coach is able to push their team and get them to work harder.

You might not "like" your coach, but if he's a great coach, you will respect him and play for him. A great coach realizes it's about the team, not about the guy behind the bench. Therein lies the problem. Miracles happen when players respect their coaches. He gets paid a lot of money to run this program and as with all of us who work hard to put food on the table for our families, our job performance gets evaluated once a year. He should not be exempt from having to justify how a team can go from #4 ranking to the bottom in such a short period of time. Accountability is what it's about. You don't have to look far in the hockey world to see what happens when a team is underperforming. Coaches get fired all the time. Just ask Guy Carbonneau, Tom Renney, Michel Therrien, Denis Savard, Barry Melrose, Peter Laviolette, Craig Hartsburg why they were given their walking papers. Accountability. Bottom line.

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

Re: Quinnipiac Bobcats 09-10: Part II

You might not "like" your coach, but if he's a great coach, you will respect him and play for him. A great coach realizes it's about the team, not about the guy behind the bench. Therein lies the problem.

So you're saying that there's guys on this team that don't respect Rand and aren't playing their hardest? Give me a break. If there's anyone doing that, they deserve an academy award!

He gets paid a lot of money to run this program and as with all of us who work hard to put food on the table for our families, our job performance gets evaluated once a year. He should not be exempt from having to justify how a team can go from #4 ranking to the bottom in such a short period of time. Accountability is what it's about. You don't have to look far in the hockey world to see what happens when a team is underperforming. Coaches get fired all the time. Just ask Guy Carbonneau, Tom Renney, Michel Therrien, Denis Savard, Barry Melrose, Peter Laviolette, Craig Hartsburg why they were given their walking papers. Accountability. Bottom line.

Comparing pro coaches to D-I coaches is apples and oranges. In the pros, winning is the only thing. There's a whole lot more to a college team, starting with academics (the reason these kids are on the team in the first place). Not to mention a college coach can't go out and "buy" proven talent.

Since no one expected us to be better than an average team this year, why should the coach have to justify climbing so high and then sliding down the hill?

 

[MinniQUFan]

Re: Quinnipiac Bobcats 09-10: Part II

Yeah a lot of anonymous sources on here. I don't put much stake in what they say. While I agree that Pisellini was the best goalie, even given a small sample size we've had since Holden, I find it hard to believe the notion that his leaving was influenced more by his distain for Rand than his love for his father. He wanted to play closer to home and be closer to his dad. Can ya fault him? Thanks for pointing out the "insiders" Yanks. Their opinions when they are so radical are hard to believe and should be taken very lightly.

I know this is gonna sound strange coming from me... but we can't take anything away from Bud Fisher of his freshman and sophomore year. And I'm being serious... the biggest Fisher critic there is... he helped carry that team especially in the playoffs. I think as a sophomore he tied or broke the record for most career shutouts in the ECAC post season. Very impressive feat. All I'm getting at is while Pisellini looked like the next great thing, it wasn't enough to say QU really lost out when he left for home.

Basically what this all comers down to, is it seems we haven't had a player since Reid put together a full 4 year stretch of being a great player.

 

[LTsatch]

Re: Quinnipiac Bobcats 09-10: Part II

You might not "like" your coach, but if he's a great coach, you will respect him and play for him. A great coach realizes it's about the team, not about the guy behind the bench. Therein lies the problem. Miracles happen when players respect their coaches. He gets paid a lot of money to run this program and as with all of us who work hard to put food on the table for our families, our job performance gets evaluated once a year. He should not be exempt from having to justify how a team can go from #4 ranking to the bottom in such a short period of time. Accountability is what it's about. You don't have to look far in the hockey world to see what happens when a team is underperforming. Coaches get fired all the time. Just ask Guy Carbonneau, Tom Renney, Michel Therrien, Denis Savard, Barry Melrose, Peter Laviolette, Craig Hartsburg why they were given their walking papers. Accountability. Bottom line.

Sounds an awful lot like when Yale finally parted ways with Tim Taylor. When you are up with the big boys, resting on your past reputation only gets you so far. Taylor is still revered around Yale and in the hockey world in general. I don't think you will find too many Yale fans who miss him on the bench though. Looking forward to Saturday night. good luck scouting who the yale goalie will be.

 

[bobcatsfollower]

Re: Quinnipiac Bobcats 09-10: Part II

Sounds an awful lot like when Yale finally parted ways with Tim Taylor. When you are up with the big boys, resting on your past reputation only gets you so far. Taylor is still revered around Yale and in the hockey world in general. I don't think you will find too many Yale fans who miss him on the bench though. Looking forward to Saturday night. good luck scouting who the yale goalie will be.

My point exactly, and how has Yale performed since Keith Allain took the reins? And let's face it, Tim Taylor's resume is far more impressive than Rands. I'm sure the Athletic Director took a lot of heat when he dismissed him, but when you look at the team now one can hardly debate that it was a bad decision.

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

Re: Quinnipiac Bobcats 09-10: Part II

And let's face it, Tim Taylor's resume is far more impressive than Rands.

Pecknold is 281-183-44 in 16 years at Quinnipiac with 3 regular season championships (99, 00, 01), 1 league championship (02), 1 NCAA appearance (02), and only 2 losing seasons.

Taylor was 342-433-55 in 28 years at Yale with 1 regular season championship (98), 1 NCAA Appearance (98), and 17 losing seasons.

Granted, Taylor did much more for hockey outside of Yale but I'm not sure I'd call that far more impressive as a D-I coach.

 

[MCL298]

Re: Quinnipiac Bobcats 09-10: Part II

I know this is gonna sound strange coming from me... but we can't take anything away from Bud Fisher of his freshman and sophomore year. And I'm being serious... the biggest Fisher critic there is... he helped carry that team especially in the playoffs. I think as a sophomore he tied or broke the record for most career shutouts in the ECAC post season. Very impressive feat. All I'm getting at is while Pisellini looked like the next great thing, it wasn't enough to say QU really lost out when he left for home.

Basically what this all comers down to, is it seems we haven't had a player since Reid put together a full 4 year stretch of being a great player.

Granted I'm a big Bud fan, but, at least in my opinion, comparing Bud's and Clarke's freshmen and sophomore years, Bud is the superior goalie. All Clarke has done was have 1 hot streak when him and the whole team were playing well other than that he has been Mr. Inconsistent, even losing some games for us.

When Bud was on the team Rand gave other the goalies a chance (Vetri, Pisellini, Clarke). It frustrates me so much that he won't give the other guys a chance this year. Why is he so set on Clarke? Clarke keeps giving Rand opportunities to take his #1 job away and Rand won't bite

 

[MCL298]

Re: Quinnipiac Bobcats 09-10: Part II

We do not have any goaltending help coming in and let's be honest, Clarke for the most part has been pretty lousy. Chewy has not been given much time but from what we seen he's another Kleiman and Hartzell, though he does a nice pregame tennis ball routine, maybe his calling is in juggling and not being a D1 goalie.

What do you mean by Chewy being another Kleiman?
Kleiman transferred after 1 year right? I don't know much about him.