>>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

[Tweedle Dee]

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

Burt, the senior centerman, played very much like he is on a mission. But that's because he is.
A year ago, he was expecting great things. Like, really big things. As a sophomore he scored 16 goals, 31 assists and 47 points in only 40 games as RIT reached the NCAA Frozen Four. Last season, he wasn't nearly the same player, producing just 6-22-28 in 33 games.
He vows to make his final season his best.


"It's huge for me," he said. "I didn't have the year I wanted to have last year. I want to come back and be a better team player. As a senior, you never want to play your last game."
Wilson sees it, too. "He's been very dedicated to make this his best year."

Here's the full article from Sunday's paper.

If he keeps this mindset and keeps playing the way he did Saturday then this should be a really good season.

 

[LtPowers]

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

AHA has sent two teams once(Air Force and Holy Cross) they could always do it again

Er, and when was that?


Powers &8^]

 

[Tweedle Dee]

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

Er, and when was that?


Powers &8^]

I thought it was 2006 but apparently my memory failed me. I could of swore there was a year though where if the team that won the tournament lost it would of sent 2 in from AHA. And I could of swore it was Holy Cross that needed to lose. My research now that I've been asked shows that I'm wrong, but why would I remember that if it didn't happen?

 

[LtPowers]

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

I thought it was 2006 but apparently my memory failed me. I could of swore there was a year though where if the team that won the tournament lost it would of sent 2 in from AHA. And I could of swore it was Holy Cross that needed to lose. My research now that I've been asked shows that I'm wrong, but why would I remember that if it didn't happen?

That was Holy Cross and Bentley in 2006; if Bentley had won the championship game, Holy Cross likely would have been in as an at-large selection. But they didn't, so we sent only one team. (AFA wasn't even in Atlantic Hockey until that fall.)


Powers &8^]

 

[TigerFan86-87]

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

I thought it was 2006 but apparently my memory failed me. I could of swore there was a year though where if the team that won the tournament lost it would of sent 2 in from AHA. And I could of swore it was Holy Cross that needed to lose. My research now that I've been asked shows that I'm wrong, but why would I remember that if it didn't happen?

You remember the circumstances correctly, just not the final result. in 2006 there was an outside chance that had HC lost in the AHA Finals, their opponent (AFA wasn't in the conference yet - I think it may have been Bentley, but not sure) would have won the auto-bid while HC's PWR would have been right on the border line of getting in depending on how many other conference tournament upsets there may have been. Turns out to be all moot since HC won the AHA tournament. But it could have happened in theory.
I think since that time they have tweaked the PWR so that such an occurrence would be less likely, although not impossible. It would have been a kind of a perfect strorm or freak occurrence if HC would have earned an at-large spot in 2006. Not something AHA teams can bank on happenning again on any sort of regular basis. The conference's OOC results are atrocious and generally not against a very difficult slate of opponents (there are exceptions, obviously). The easiest and by far the most realistic way to try and make the NCAA's is to put yourself in the best position possible to make it to the BCA in March, then WIN both games.
I totally support Coach Wilson's goaltender rotation for NC games while focusing the # 1 on most conference games. Makes the most sense to me.

 

[Ed Trefzger]

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

Oh yes we can! RIT will never at an at large bid for the NCAA in the AHA. Wilson knows this, our only chance is to win the AHA Tournament. That is why he likes to devolop players in OOC games and I agree with it. Its nice to be ranked but in the end it only matters if we win the AHA.

Chances are that the AHA winner will be the only one in the tournament. However, should RIT continue to do well in OOC games, the opponents on the schedule -- particularly the two games with Wisconsin -- help immensely. The opponents record against their opponents is a big factor in the RPI calculation. Even games AIC had against MTU will help if Michigan Tech has a good season.

So ... a decent out of conference record for RIT (or teams like Robt. Morris, Niagara, Air Force) and a strong in-conference record could edge an AHA team to the bubble.

Part of that also is a recalculation of common opponents. Let's take St. Lawrence as an example. Say an ECAC team won twice over St. Lawrence in the regular season and won 2 games in the playoffs for a 4-0 record, vs. RIT's one win. Let's say the two teams also faced another common opponent four times, and split. The combined record against common opponents would be 5-2 for the ECAC team and 3-2 for RIT. In the old system, that would be a .714 percentage vs. a .600 percentage. In the new system, the percentage against each is calculated and those are totaled, so that the two teams would be 1.000 vs. St. Lawrence and .500 vs. the other team. Adding the percentages makes that 1.500 for each and a tie in that comparison.

It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out, but what it means is that a single win for RIT over St. Lawrence gives it a 1.000 comparison in common opponents against any ECAC team, so any team that doesn't sweep St. Lawrence will suffer in comparison. This new method gives a boost to non-conference wins and flattens out multiple wins over conference opponents.

Will it make a difference? We'll see how it shakes out, as I said. But it would have juggled some numbers in rankings a bit. RIT's poor OOC record last year would have dropped it a few notches.

 

[Tweedle Dee]

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

I think since that time they have tweaked the PWR so that such an occurrence would be less likely, although not impossible. It would have been a kind of a perfect strorm or freak occurrence if HC would have earned an at-large spot in 2006. Not something AHA teams can bank on happenning again on any sort of regular basis. The conference's OOC results are atrocious and generally not against a very difficult slate of opponents (there are exceptions, obviously). The easiest and by far the most realistic way to try and make the NCAA's is to put yourself in the best position possible to make it to the BCA in March, then WIN both games.
I totally support Coach Wilson's goaltender rotation for NC games while focusing the # 1 on most conference games. Makes the most sense to me.

Why has this fan base become so complacent with that fact? I support Coach Wilson and his decisions but I want to win big games. When you're playing the 10th ranked team in the country(Union) I want to have the best chance of winning out there and right now thats Shane. Give Ruby and Watson experience with the like of AIC, Canisius, Sacred Heart, etc. What I would like to see is Watson/Ruby on Thursday and Shane on Saturday.

 

[cplinford]

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

Give Ruby and Watson experience with the like of AIC, Canisius, Sacred Heart, etc. What I would like to see is Watson/Ruby on Thursday and Shane on Saturday.

Agreed. Having a proven track record against stronger OOC opponents will aid in attracting better recruits and further the program and help with broadening the fan base especially when those opposing teams have name recognition (like Penn State)

Either way I am a homer and just want to see RIT win, so whatever helps I am ok with that

 

[kingdobbs]

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

You remember the circumstances correctly, just not the final result. in 2006 there was an outside chance that had HC lost in the AHA Finals, their opponent (AFA wasn't in the conference yet - I think it may have been Bentley, but not sure) would have won the auto-bid while HC's PWR would have been right on the border line of getting in depending on how many other conference tournament upsets there may have been. Turns out to be all moot since HC won the AHA tournament. But it could have happened in theory.

It was Bentley, and it wouldn't have put the Crusaders on the borderline. Why it would have happened was that back in that year, teams that won their conference tournament automatically became TUCs, regardless of their other qualifications (or lack thereof). Holy Cross enjoyed a clean sweep of Bentley during the AHA season; even with the conference final loss, Holy Cross would add an extra 4-1 record to its record against TUCs, which flipped a goodly number of comparisons in the final PWR into HC's favor, and not only gotten them an at-large bid, but a third seed given the right breaks in conference tournaments. It was clearly a broken result, since Bentley performed poorly enough during the regular season that they were not even close to being a TUC. It might have gone entirely unnoticed if it were a team from one of the power conferences.

I think since that time they have tweaked the PWR so that such an occurrence would be less likely, although not impossible.

The tweak they made did indeed make it impossible, or at least that specific scenario. Teams that win their league AQ are no longer automatically Teams Under Consideration, meaning that in order to get swings like Holy Cross might have had, the team must have gotten over the TUC cliff with the tournament win. It is still plausible, but the winning team must have been on the edge of the Top 25 anyway, and the losing team would already have to have been a TUC.

 

[Bing]

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

It seems that this is the first year that RIT has a real chance at beating some of their OOC opponents and it seems to me that the experience of playing these tougher teams would serve to benefit our top players more than anyone else on the roster. For that reason, I think coach will give our top players (particularly Shane) the benefit of competing in these OOC games. RIT is good enough to put Watson and Ruby and our less experienced players into easier in-conference games to build their experience and confidence. Also, since the top four teams in AHA get a first round playoff bye this year, there is less pressure to be in the top 2 in the league (although, it'd sure be nice to be #1 at the end of the regular season).

 

[RIT Winters]

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

What makes you think that?

Canisius has 12 freshmen this year, and was just outscored 11-1 in two games against Quinnipiac. Watson and Ruby are both good goaltenders, even if not at Madolora's level, and Canisius is likely going to be punchless this year. Wilson has already stated he wants to give all three goalies playing time early in the season, so this seems like a great oppurtunity.

Wilson also stated he wants to win the OOC games this year, and so he's going to play our best goalie at Ritter to beat Union, so Madolora will play just as he did against SLU.

 

[Tweedle Dee]

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

Canisius has 12 freshmen this year, and was just outscored 11-1 in two games against Quinnipiac. Watson and Ruby are both good goaltenders, even if not at Madolora's level, and Canisius is likely going to be punchless this year. Wilson has already stated he wants to give all three goalies playing time early in the season, so this seems like a great oppurtunity.

Wilson also stated he wants to win the OOC games this year, and so he's going to play our best goalie at Ritter to beat Union, so Madolora will play just as he did against SLU.

I wonder if he's getting pressure from administration to play to win the OOC games to drum up money for the new rink. If he is or not i'm still pleased that he wants to win the OOC games.

 

[XCTiger]

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

I wonder if he's getting pressure from administration to play to win the OOC games to drum up money for the new rink. If he is or not i'm still pleased that he wants to win the OOC games.

While none of us know for sure, I'm sure the greater pressure to win all of our games is to establish and build the strength of the program across the board. I believe Wilson said it a few years ago, and Serratore said after AFAs first games this year. "No more moral victories".....

 

[komey1]

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

This may be one of the hidden "advantages" of later OOC games. In the past, RIT has been able to use the OOC games to see what line combinations work best and possibly be able to tweak some things. With conference games earlier, Coach does not have that luxery.

Since Ed brought it up, I believe someone did the calculations for RIT and had they beaten Merrimack - they would have been in a lot better position for an at-large berth. I believe at the time I thought a win there would be huge for that. I am also curious about how the new common opponents piece of the PWR breaks out. From what I read, applying this change last year would not have changed the teams. But it certainly makes OOC games more important. St Lawrence hopefully can give some ECAC teams trouble. Getting a win over Union would give RIT a great shot of winning that comparisons over all ECAC teams.

 

[burgie12]

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

Since Ed brought it up, I believe someone did the calculations for RIT and had they beaten Merrimack - they would have been in a lot better position for an at-large berth.

2011 Do It Yourself Rankings

A win over Merrimack on Jan 1, 2011 (change RIT's 3 to a 6) moves RIT from 29 to 23 in PWR, mainly because their RPI goes from 0.5061 to 0.5134. Merrimack is the biggest loser, going from 5th to 9th. RPI is the biggest gainer, going from 15th to 12th by flipping the Maine comparison.

RIT still would have had a lot of work to do to get into the tournament. For example, I had to flip the UNO and RPI games, in addition to the Merrimack game, to put RIT into the tournament (12th place, BTW). If RIT had gone perfect in non-conference games last year (but still lost in the AHA finals to AFA), then they could've gotten up to 7th (Disclaimer: That's ignoring that flipping the game v SCSU may have changed their match-up on the second day, I forgot whether that was a fixed format or a true tournament.).

The broader point is that since the AHA as a whole does fairly poor in non-conference games and 27 games each season are dedicated to these opponents that will end up having poor overall records, it is difficult to put two teams into the NCAA tournament. It's not impossible, it's just difficult.

 

[kbranch]

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

Why has this fan base become so complacent with that fact? I support Coach Wilson and his decisions but I want to win big games. When you're playing the 10th ranked team in the country(Union) I want to have the best chance of winning out there and right now thats Shane. Give Ruby and Watson experience with the like of AIC, Canisius, Sacred Heart, etc. What I would like to see is Watson/Ruby on Thursday and Shane on Saturday.

I am guessing that relegating Ruby and Watson to AIC and Canisius experience may lead to disaster next year when they are called for much bigger games.

 

[komey1]

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

I am guessing that relegating Ruby and Watson to AIC and Canisius experience may lead to disaster next year when they are called for much bigger games.

It's a double edged sword. They can get confidence and win games, which will obviously help next year. The flip side is that they may not see tough competition the next year. I would say that not seeing much action did not hurt Madolora much last year since he barely saw ice time the year before that.

 

[Zyklon]

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

And Ruby is #4 on INCH's recruit rankings for goalies (http://www.insidecollegehockey.com/7Archives/Features/1112/recruitsgoal_1112.htm). If i remember correctly wasn't Watson #3 or #4 last year as well?

 

[LtPowers]

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

And Ruby is #4 on INCH's recruit rankings for goalies (http://www.insidecollegehockey.com/7Archives/Features/1112/recruitsgoal_1112.htm). If i remember correctly wasn't Watson #3 or #4 last year as well?

Good memory! http://www.insidecollegehockey.com/7Archives/Features/1011/recruitsgoal_1011.htm


Powers &8^]

 

[dpm105]

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

Re: >>>>> RIT Tigers 2011-2012 <<<<< Dreaming is Done, Time to ROAR

It seems that this is the first year that RIT has a real chance at beating some of their OOC opponents

I'm not sure I agree just yet...

Too small a sample, one game in conference where we couldn't find the net, another OOC where we barely got out of the building with a W (against what in my opinion is a bad team with half a coach) isn't instilling a whole bunch of confidence in me.

Don't get me wrong, I believe this team is very very good, especially if the defense can get healthy. But we need to find the goal scorers, hopefully Burt's performance was a sign of things to come.

I want to be optimistic about our team OOC, but show me a W against Union, or even a good effort, before I start pouring a glass of the kool aid.