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

[jflory81]

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

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

just in my time as a fan...
http://www.uscho.com/box/mens-hockey/2010/10/23/rit-vs-union/
http://www.uscho.com/box/mens-hockey/2010/04/08/rit-vs-wisconsin/
http://www.uscho.com/box/mens-hockey/2010/01/01/rit-vs-minnesota-state/
http://www.uscho.com/box/mens-hockey/2008/11/07/rit-vs-niagara/
http://www.uscho.com/box/mens-hockey/2008/03/15/air-force-vs-rit/
http://www.uscho.com/box/mens-hockey/2007/12/30/boston-college-vs-rit/
http://www.uscho.com/box/mens-hockey/2005/10/14/rit-vs-quinnipiac/
http://www.uscho.com/box/mens-hockey/2005/12/10/rit-vs-rensselaer/
http://www.uscho.com/box/mens-hockey/2005/03/04/rit-vs-manhattanville/
http://www.uscho.com/box/mens-hockey/2005/02/12/elmira-vs-rit/

s**t happens man. but awesome things happen too. i could run and find box scores of our 6+ goal wins, OOC wins, and our frozen four run just as easily.

I was thinking about at the Ritter - I agree there have been worse performances away from home. That Minnesota weekend the FF year was brutal. I'm not sure any of these in the D1 era are definitively worse than tonight though. Territorally we did quite well in a couple, others were against better schools (BC, Wisconsin on horrendous ice)

 

[dutchbrowncoat]

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

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

I was thinking about at the Ritter - I agree there have been worse performances away from home. That Minnesota weekend the FF year was brutal. I'm not sure any of these in the D1 era are definitively worse than tonight though. Territorally we did quite well in a couple, others were against better schools (BC, Wisconsin on horrendous ice)

this is quite possibly the best team (currently #12) we have ever hosted at the ritter. i am not sure that is a fair standard to judge against.

 

[komey1]

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

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

I'm a little concerned about the lack of scoring. Goaltending does look to be better in general in league, so they will need to get better there.

I thought the effort tonight was better, but they were outmanned by a superior team that looked like it had something to prove to themselves.

I liked that Ruby was able to gather himself after a tough 1st period to keep it close the rest of the way. Looks like he needs to work on the glove hand.

I'm not one to jump on the panic button, and I'm certainly not on it yet. However, I am a little closer to it than normal at this time of year. Still lots of hockey, but the sooner they get the scoring figured out, the better and where the Tigers will start winning.

 

[jflory81]

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

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

this is quite possibly the best team (currently #12) we have ever hosted at the ritter. i am not sure that is a fair standard to judge against.

Merrimack last year was better - possibly significantly so. Of the away teams listed in your previous post, BC and Wisconsin were clearly better, and about half of them were from either their transition years to D1 or their D3 years. (And certainly there were some disappointing D3 moments)

 

[jflory81]

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

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

Out of town scoreboard tonight: Holy Cross beats BU, 5-4, Army ties Colgate at Colgate 3-3. Air Force gets revenge for a shaky tie last night by destroying UAH 7-2. Robert Morris split a pair against a Quinnapiac squad that completely demolished the same Canisius team we lost to. Air Force also played competitive games in a tournment against better teams than Union in North Dakota and Michigan State.

 

[burgie12]

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

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

Out of town scoreboard tonight: Holy Cross beats BU, 5-4, Army ties Colgate at Colgate 3-3. Air Force gets revenge for a shaky tie last night by destroying UAH 7-2. Robert Morris split a pair against a Quinnapiac squad that completely demolished the same Canisius team we lost to. Air Force also played competitive games in a tournment against better teams than Union in North Dakota and Michigan State.

Not to nitpick, but the Army-Colgate game was on Cape Cod.

 

[jflory81]

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

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

Not to nitpick, but the Army-Colgate game was on Cape Cod.

My bad. Just went by who was listed last on the tracker. Was that a tourney? (Also, while we're nitpicking, the final score was actually 2-2, not 3-3 )

 

[Bing]

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

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

Yeah. Canisuis is a real tough opponent. You can ignore how the games were played and just look at the final score if you want, but the reality is RIT hasn't looked this bad over their first 4-5 games since they were first finding their way in D-1. Both St. Cloud and UNO were empty-netters resulting in the 2 goal differential. Yes, the Capital district weekend was bad (I already mentioned that), but they had an awful non-conference weekend in Minnesota in 09-10 as well. I'm not worried about one weekend - I'm worried about being beat by conference foes that we usually dominate (Canisuis) and being lucky to work out a tie in our Ritter opener (120 minutes and counting without a goal at the Ritter - you can't win if you can't score, and I defy you to tell me you don't have concerns with this forward corps minus Brenner and Favot). Being lucky to score a miracle win against a lesser ECAC foe and getting blasted by a team that skated to a tie with Niagara last night.

Going by results on the ice, this is not one of the 4 best teams in Atlantic Hockey. It might not even be top 6 at this moment. Some of the freshmen have to step up on a game to game basis, because Burt is incredibly inconsistent, and I frankly don't see "go to guy" in either Hartley or Mitchell.

FWIW, you can go back and look to see if I was panicking over last year's start (I wasn't here the year before, so you can't look at that, but I didn't hate where we were then, too). I certainly wasn't. It's the Canisius/Niagara (mostly Canisius) games that I'm most worried about - as well as the reaction to it (read: not good) tonight. They came out and laid an egg after an embarrassing loss to a team that's probably not going to be very good at all this year.

You must live in an alternate reality.

 

[jflory81]

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

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

K. Care to address my points, or are you just going to make baseless statements like that. I expect steps forward now that they are 3-4 years removed from guys that were recruited to play D-3 graduating. They seem to be taking a step backwards instead.

 

[sammich824]

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

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

This team has the potential to be amazing this year. There is plenty of offensive talent out there, but it's gonna take some time for it to come together. The defense needs to get healthy and that part of their game will work itself out. As for goaltending, there's nothing to complain about there either - at best Mads will be back, at worst we have two goalies that can take care of business.

The Tigers biggest problem is leadership. They need someone to step up and take charge. Someone needs to get them back on track when they're losing focus.
They need a DeMike and a Ringwald keeping them hungry. And if someone does it, this team is going to tear the AHA up this year.

 

[Rolevio]

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

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

Air Force also played competitive games in a tournment against better teams than Union in North Dakota and Michigan State.

I take it you haven't watched either team play? Neither NoDak or Michigan State are off to good starts, and Michigan State is in a rebuilding year

 

[jflory81]

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

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

I take it you haven't watched either team play? Neither NoDak or Michigan State are off to good starts, and Michigan State is in a rebuilding year

Hate to break it to you, but the WCHA and CCHA (and HE) are significantly better conferences than the ECAC. Neither team has lost outside those conferences.

 

[blazer777]

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

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

For those harping on the BCA game and how the Tigers were so lucky to win, give me a break. For any team to come back down by 2 goals under the pressure of playing in front of 10K fans(this is college hockey remember), is quite the accomplishment. The fans were on their feet the last couple of minutes and you know the players were trying their hardest to get that last goal to tie it up instead of just playing out the final minutes and going down in defeat.

As for last night, I didn't watch or hear the game but putting a freshman goalie in net with the defense we have right now made the outcome very easy to forecast. When the first score update was texted to me, I wasn't suprised to by the 2=0 score. Losing your starting goalie will have a big impact on any team, regardless of the conference they play in and it affects the entire team, not just who's in goal. The Tigers ability to move beyond this will determine their success this year. I know it was a OOC game and Wilson likes to rotate goalies for these games but it's still something in the back of the players (and fans) minds.

Give the team some time to work out the kinks and save your frustrations for the middle of the season if they haven't pulled it together by then. I can't tell you how many teams I've seen 'stink it up' in the beginning of a season who then magically, put it all together and end up with a successful season.

The real work for any AHA team is in conference anyway and to play well in the AHA tourney as that is their only hope of getting into the NCAA tourney and hopefully the FF.

 

[RITProf]

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

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

I thought the effort tonight was better, but they were outmanned by a superior team that looked like it had something to prove to themselves.

Yes. That was one of my concerns going into the game. Union could not have been happy at all skating to a tie at Niagara and they were probably very determined to not let that (or a loss) happen again. Unfortunately, it didn't look like RIT responded the same way to a similar disappointment at Canisius. That's what I'm looking for going forward.

Also, I think Union is just plain better than people are giving them credit for. They reminded me of the best of the good SLU and Cornell teams of the past combined! (And I never thought I'd be praising Union!)

 

[MattS]

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

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

You can't be serious.

I am serious.

I think that they were mentally focused and motivated, I just think they were playing a very talented team.

You saw a different game than I did. I saw a lot of lackluster play and very little motivation. I would have thought that after Thursday's game it would have been different. I didn't expect a win, but I did expect them to compete, which I did not see much of.

I will say that RIT needs to work on making smarter passes and better decisions with the puck. However, tonight's game will provide invaluable video for them to study. They'll be able to see where they need to improve and how to fix their bad habits. It's very good for RIT to play such a good team this early in the season in order to shed light on their weaknesses. It would be worse if RIT started rolling by winning a bunch of AHA contests and were not adequately challenged early on.

If the best thing you can think of to take from a game is to watch video and see where they are making mistakes which are the same ones from earlier in the season, then it was for certain a bad game all around. If the Tigers continue to play like they did last last night, they will be adequately challenged by enough AHA teams.

Unfortunately, it didn't look like RIT responded the same way to a similar disappointment at Canisius.

Well said. This is my biggest disappointment in the team from last night and why I am so critical.

 

[WestsideTigersFan]

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

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

Full credit to Union, they came out and played the exact type of game that they needed to play, especially after what had to be a disappointing result the night before. They quite frankly controlled every aspect of play at will. Faster, stronger, better special teams, better defense, stronger on the puck, more effort away from the puck (backcheck and forecheck) and quite frankly they appeared to want it more. The score was not even an accurate measure of the contrast between the 2 teams, if not for a couple of posts and a couple of nice saves by Ruby,this easily could have been an 8-1 game.

Quite frankly I would be ok with the result if I thought it was merely driven by the pure difference in talent levels between the 2 teams. But quite frankly RIT failed to compete. That team simply looks like its going through the motions. VERY few guys really showed much in terms of leaving everything out on the ice. I'll give Knowles a pass, he competed his *** off from the first shift to the last, even when it was clear those around him had long since mailed it in for the evening. He was RIT's best player on the ice by a long shot last night. But generally speaking that looked like a bunch of guys dressed in the same uniform more than it looked like a team.

The RIT special teams are quite frankly brutal. No other way to describe it. The power play is a disaster. It hasn't been good really since Smith had that one incredible season and no one could defend the way they ran that powerplay. However, the changes since then have been minimal and the rest of the world has caught up to it. How about some imagination in that department? How about changing it up a bit? You can't keep running the same basic powerplay scheme year after year and expect it to be a success. Talent changes, scouting catches up and you have to shake things up a little bit. And the PK is really no better. There is a severe lack of ability to clear the front of the net and play strong down low. And while Union did a nice job executing on the 5-3 PP goal they got, equally lacking was the way in which RIT defended it. The triangle got shoved lower and lower in virtually no time at all and Union buried it pretty quickly.

The talent level between the 2 teams is stark, no question about it. Union is a far superior team talent wise. When RIT has been able to compete against superior talent, its been because the effort level was superior. It wasn't last night and result was in line with that.

The goaltending situation is obviously in flux right now, and who knows how that will shake out, but quite frankly it wouldn't have mattered who was in the net last night, the result wouldn't have been much different.

 

[ken66]

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

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

Not a good effort last night vs Union, and a lot of discussion as to how that portends for the new season. A lot of good comments from many perspectives, but one thing truly puzzles me. Why are you all so accepting of RIT's "slow starts" to each season? Air Force doesn't start slowly. Holy Cross certainly isn't starting slowly. The recruiting cycle at RIT always seems to produce a nice mix of older and younger players, so having a young squad from time to time doesn't seem to be the culprit. So, it seems that y'all have talked about everything except the coaching.

Maybe the "slow start" to the season can be examined from the first goal of the evening. A senior defenseman takes a bad angle on a Union player pushing the puck up the boards that results in a goal. I think I actually heard Haltigan say "Ole!" as he failed to stop the play with a high elbow, and eventually allowed a four-foot shot into the upper corner of the net. I sure hope watching the video will help.

One final point, and I feel pretty secure saying this because a number of folks in the stands around me were saying it. When you're having your clock cleaned by an obviously better team, cheering should generally be focused on encouraging your own team. The Corner Crew's insistence on telling Union that they "suck" long after it was clear that they did NOT suck was way over the top, and frankly, sounded pretty foolish.

 

[komey1]

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

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

Out of town scoreboard tonight: Holy Cross beats BU, 5-4, Army ties Colgate at Colgate 3-3. Air Force gets revenge for a shaky tie last night by destroying UAH 7-2. Robert Morris split a pair against a Quinnapiac squad that completely demolished the same Canisius team we lost to. Air Force also played competitive games in a tournment against better teams than Union in North Dakota and Michigan State.

If you are going to argue that Holy Cross is better than BU, then you are crazy. Read Jack Parker's comments about the game. They sound very familiar to the comments we are making here.

Slow starts definately suck and nobody wants them. But let's look at who they played. Niagara was a toss-up game and somone who RIT has never beat in DI. St. Lawrence was a toss up game. Canisius was the should win game. Union was a game that RIT was not expected to beat. When you look at that, the record of 1-2-1 should not be unexpected. The results of who they beat yes - but not the record.

The Tigers traditionally have played some of their toughest games early in the season. This year is not an exception. That will contribute to the slow start. Injuries are playing a part. RIT lost 3 double digit scorers and their top offensive defensemen has not played since the first period of the Niagara game.

Starting with Mercyhurst, RIT has games against teams closer to their level. Mercyhurst is scuffling right now, like RIT. Follow that up with an Army team that is struggling to score as well. These are games that RIT will need to step up their play. Win these, and I think RIT will be on the right track.

 

[cplinford]

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

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

I thought RIT had a far worse game against Merrimack last year at the Ritter. They came in frankly dominated RIT physically, at least against Union we didn't see that. There were several bright spots though. For coming into the situation I thought Ruby played very well. Lets not forget one of DeMike's first starts was against Canisius and was a 6-2 stinker. I also disagree that the team "mailed it in". There were a lot of guys out there playing hard. I thought all the freshmen were showing a lot of heart - Reid, Thompson, McGowan, and Garbowsky were all skating their asses off. Its obvious our freshmen class has more skill now than our senior class does. The Lynch/Hartley/Colavechia line got several chances and I think is showing some chemistry, it just needs to finish now.

The PK does need work, and there needs to be faster/better movement/decision making on the power play. There are several players moved up to the first line power play (replacing the likes of Favot and Brenner) and are still adjusting I think.

Apologizes for any player names I misspelled I was too lazy to double check them

 

[blazer777]

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

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

Not a good effort last night vs Union, and a lot of discussion as to how that portends for the new season. A lot of good comments from many perspectives, but one thing truly puzzles me. Why are you all so accepting of RIT's "slow starts" to each season? Air Force doesn't start slowly. Holy Cross certainly isn't starting slowly. The recruiting cycle at RIT always seems to produce a nice mix of older and younger players, so having a young squad from time to time doesn't seem to be the culprit. So, it seems that y'all have talked about everything except the coaching.

Maybe the "slow start" to the season can be examined from the first goal of the evening. A senior defenseman takes a bad angle on a Union player pushing the puck up the boards that results in a goal. I think I actually heard Haltigan say "Ole!" as he failed to stop the play with a high elbow, and eventually allowed a four-foot shot into the upper corner of the net. I sure hope watching the video will help.

As far as slow starts, they really don't mean anything. It's a long season and even with the previous 'slow starts' by RIT, they've always made it to the finals and on home ice. It would be far worse to blast out of the gate only to fall apart at the end of the season (Red Sox did both this season).

Wilson and staff (talking about coaching ) will get the team turned around and everything will be right in the world.