>>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

[SmallTown]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

Much needed win, glad I didn't jump on the bandwagon and start with all the bashing, I know it can be frustrating, but this is college hockey, the majority of these kids will be hanging up their skates when they finish their collegiate careers as much as we want all of them to be playing in the NHL and hoisting the Stanley Cup. So let's enjoy the wins and not jump off any bridges when they lose, the program is okay.

I had a look at the rest of the schedule, all western pod teams (three at home, five on the road), and even though we are in 8th (holding the tiebreaker over Army and UConn according to our radio guys) we've yet to win a game against a western pod team this year. Let's hope that whatever mojo we take out of this win carries into next weekends series against RMU.

Well said! As a fan when your team does so well for so many years in a row as the Tigers have in the past you do become spoiled and start to just expect the winning to continue, but people have to remember that college sports are cyclical; every team experiences ups and downs it's just the nature of college sports. We're struggling this year, but like you said the program is okay. We're lucky that for the most part we get to watch the guys play for 4 years; get to know them a little bit. I try every game to just enjoy watching them play and watching them do what they love.

A sweep at Robert Morris would be huge for the Tigers and a big momentum swing for them I think. I was really looking for a sweep against UCONN to bring the team to .500 and I was pretty disappointed with Friday nights game, not because I thought they played terribly because I don't think they really did, but because there was just no energy out there; no drive; no sense of urgency to get it done. And for me that's much more disappointing than just a poorly played game. Really happy to see them bounce back on Saturday night and get a very convincing win, and I hope they carry that into this coming weekend.

 

[lmg6841]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

I still stand by my statement that RIT hasn't played well in front of Ruby. I'm glad the offense exploded and things worked well Saturday, but that was one of how many games we've had with Ruby in net? Ruby is still 2-5-1 with 30 goals against this season. If things get better with him back there, then great. As someone mentioned already, this team plays very inconsistently and splitting against Uconn this weekend, regardless of the goal differential, is not much to celebrate.

Ruby had a good game on Friday night, he was probably the best guy out there and he had an excellent game on Saturday night. He had a very good weekend and it was nice to see him be able to string a couple games together to show what he can do. He also played very well in Niagara when he came into the game. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets the start again Robert Morris this weekend. I'm fully behind Ruby and I think he's going to be a very good goaltender for us once given the chance to play on a regular basis.

I noticed you had an awful lot to say after Friday night's loss, but you've been awfully quiet since Saturday's win.

 

[TigerFan86-87]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

As a fan when your team does so well for so many years in a row as the Tigers have in the past you do become spoiled and start to just expect the winning to continue, but people have to remember that college sports are cyclical; every team experiences ups and downs it's just the nature of college sports.

But we all have to be honest with ourselves. Having an "off year" where the team doesn't do quite as well as usual is one thing. But going from finishing in the top 2 for 5 straight seasons to being mired around 9th or 10th in the worst conference in college hockey this late in the season is quite frustrating, even embarrassing.
2006-07 1st in regular season
2007-08 2nd in regular season, Semi-finalists
2008-09 1st (tie) in regular season, Semi-finalists
2009-10 1st in regular season, Champions
2010-11 1st in regular season, Finalists
2011-12 3rd in regular season, Finalists
2012-13 somewhere between 8th and 10th (if season ended today, which thankfully it does not

I think we all understand that RIT was not going to dominate the AHA each and every year (heck, they've only really done that once), but they did start their existence with six straight top 3 finishes, five straight trips to BCA and one championship. They clearly set the bar to the point where we would be justified to have believed that the recruiting and expectations should have been on the rise rather than dip quite this low. All the talk after the great 2010 post-season was how much better the recruits would be now that the program got so much more national attention and how many more players would be seeking RIT out rather than the other way around. So far that has not come to fruition, to say the least.
Fortunately this season is not over, but we haven't seen nearly enough consistency to hang our hat on as fans at this point. We'll just have to see what happens. But I for one will not be strutting around excited about the future much if this program finishes 3rd, 4th, or 5th to last in the worst conference in college hockey... arguably making RIT the 56th, 57th or 58th team out of 60 nationally. Not acceptable.
Basically my point in a long-winded manner is that a slight drop off in performance and a cliff-dive to the bottom of the standings are two different things. Great programs re-load, they don't re-build, especially this soon after reaching their highest heights. I thought last year was RIT's one "off-year", not this unfolding potential disaster.

 

[RITFan67]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

As someone mentioned already, this team plays very inconsistently and splitting against Uconn this weekend, regardless of the goal differential, is not much to celebrate.

Hah! I'll celebrate enthusiastically ANY win that we get this year... especially a game like Saturday's. Also, Ruby played a great game that night... I hope he's in goal against RoMo.

 

[lmg6841]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

Going from AHA finalist to bottom of the table in one season... this sounds familiar guys... Oh yes, we're the new Sacred Heart. Thankfully, the old Sacred Heart is still around to make us look good lol.

2011-12 3rd in regular season, Finalists
2012-13 somewhere between 8th and 10th (if season ended today, which thankfully it does not

 

[komey1]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

Unlike Sacred Heart, RIT will have some new toys to flaunt for recruiting, such as arguably the best facilities in the AHA whne the new arena comes - and don't think that doesn't matter. I don't think RIT's stay in the second half of the conference is going to be very long.

But we also have to face this reality. RIT and Air Force MADE the rest of the conference step up their game. Now you add Niagara and Robert Morris into the mix and you added some quality depth like the conference has never seen. There are 3 AHA teams as TUCs. Niagara is a #3 seed in bracketology in spite of only 1 non-conference win.

 

[Loki]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

But we all have to be honest with ourselves. Having an "off year" where the team doesn't do quite as well as usual is one thing. But going from finishing in the top 2 for 5 straight seasons to being mired around 9th or 10th in the worst conference in college hockey this late in the season is quite frustrating, even embarrassing.
...
Basically my point in a long-winded manner is that a slight drop off in performance and a cliff-dive to the bottom of the standings are two different things. Great programs re-load, they don't re-build, especially this soon after reaching their highest heights. I thought last year was RIT's one "off-year", not this unfolding potential disaster.

A couple things your are overlooking, 1) the AHA teams have gotten significantly better than they were 5 years ago. Just look at the OOC record. Very few games are automatic wins anymore. Also with only 4 points separating us from 3rd, things can change very quickly. and 2) your are assuming RIT is a great program. The big fish in a small pond argument only goes so far when recruiting. We have had some phenomenal years in the distant and recent past. But it is really rare for anyone to constantly preform at such a high level. (Like superbowl champs not even making the playoffs the next year...)

So cool your jets, keep things in perspective. And lets see if this team can apply what happened on Saturday to the rest of the season.

 

[kerwing7]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

You make some good (and mildly depressing) points. Some things I've wondered about myself. We have some of the best recruits we've ever had, on paper. Yet the results haven't been anywhere near where you would expect, at least to this point. If only we could get players like we did before we were famous
Players like: Ringwald, Brenner, Burt, Madalora, Tanev, Favot, Lambert, etc...

But we all have to be honest with ourselves. Having an "off year" where the team doesn't do quite as well as usual is one thing. But going from finishing in the top 2 for 5 straight seasons to being mired around 9th or 10th in the worst conference in college hockey this late in the season is quite frustrating, even embarrassing.
2006-07 1st in regular season
2007-08 2nd in regular season, Semi-finalists
2008-09 1st (tie) in regular season, Semi-finalists
2009-10 1st in regular season, Champions
2010-11 1st in regular season, Finalists
2011-12 3rd in regular season, Finalists
2012-13 somewhere between 8th and 10th (if season ended today, which thankfully it does not

I think we all understand that RIT was not going to dominate the AHA each and every year (heck, they've only really done that once), but they did start their existence with six straight top 3 finishes, five straight trips to BCA and one championship. They clearly set the bar to the point where we would be justified to have believed that the recruiting and expectations should have been on the rise rather than dip quite this low. All the talk after the great 2010 post-season was how much better the recruits would be now that the program got so much more national attention and how many more players would be seeking RIT out rather than the other way around. So far that has not come to fruition, to say the least.
Fortunately this season is not over, but we haven't seen nearly enough consistency to hang our hat on as fans at this point. We'll just have to see what happens. But I for one will not be strutting around excited about the future much if this program finishes 3rd, 4th, or 5th to last in the worst conference in college hockey... arguably making RIT the 56th, 57th or 58th team out of 60 nationally. Not acceptable.
Basically my point in a long-winded manner is that a slight drop off in performance and a cliff-dive to the bottom of the standings are two different things. Great programs re-load, they don't re-build, especially this soon after reaching their highest heights. I thought last year was RIT's one "off-year", not this unfolding potential disaster.

 

[five8five]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

Tanev scored his first NHL goal - OT winner!!

 

[RIT Winters]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

Tanev scored his first NHL goal - OT winner!!

Video can be seen here: http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=35&id=198894

Such a snipe!

 

[lmg6841]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

Awesome goal. If only he beat Conacher to it #hatecanisius

Video can be seen here: http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=35&id=198894

Such a snipe!

 

[blazer777]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

A couple things your are overlooking, 1) the AHA teams have gotten significantly better than they were 5 years ago. Just look at the OOC record. Very few games are automatic wins anymore. Also with only 4 points separating us from 3rd, things can change very quickly. and 2) your are assuming RIT is a great program. The big fish in a small pond argument only goes so far when recruiting. We have had some phenomenal years in the distant and recent past. But it is really rare for anyone to constantly preform at such a high level. (Like superbowl champs not even making the playoffs the next year...)

So cool your jets, keep things in perspective. And lets see if this team can apply what happened on Saturday to the rest of the season.

Lerch's blog, with some help from RMU's Schooley sums it up nicely.

http://www.uscho.com/atlantic-hockey-blog/2013/02/03/three-things-atlantic-hockey-monday-feb-4/

A lot can happen in the next four weeks so don't count anybody out of the top or bottom 5.

 

[MattS]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

Fortunately this season is not over, but we haven't seen nearly enough consistency to hang our hat on as fans at this point. We'll just have to see what happens. But I for one will not be strutting around excited about the future much if this program finishes 3rd, 4th, or 5th to last in the worst conference in college hockey... arguably making RIT the 56th, 57th or 58th team out of 60 nationally. Not acceptable.

Basically my point in a long-winded manner is that a slight drop off in performance and a cliff-dive to the bottom of the standings are two different things. Great programs re-load, they don't re-build, especially this soon after reaching their highest heights. I thought last year was RIT's one "off-year", not this unfolding potential disaster.

For the most part I tend to agree. This year has been a stunning drop off. While there is still a fair amount of games to play, RIT still has 8 conference losses already. That’s one more than last season and the most since 07-08. I think the most maddening thing is the inconsistency.

Unlike Sacred Heart, RIT will have some new toys to flaunt for recruiting, such as arguably the best facilities in the AHA whne the new arena comes - and don't think that doesn't matter. I don't think RIT's stay in the second half of the conference is going to be very long.

I have to wonder how much the new arena is really going to help. RIT already has one of the better (best?) facilities in the AHA and presumably at this point in time RIT is mostly competing against other AHA teams for recruits, so I am not sure it is going to help that much. Even though I am going to sound like a broken record, if a FF run can’t turn into more talented recruits I am not sure a new building is going to help either.

But we also have to face this reality. RIT and Air Force MADE the rest of the conference step up their game. Now you add Niagara and Robert Morris into the mix and you added some quality depth like the conference has never seen. There are 3 AHA teams as TUCs. Niagara is a #3 seed in bracketology in spite of only 1 non-conference win.

So what you are saying is the other teams in the AHA have passed RIT by. Others have gotten better where RIT has either stayed the same or gotten worse. Either is not good.

A couple things your are overlooking, 1) the AHA teams have gotten significantly better than they were 5 years ago. Just look at the OOC record. Very few games are automatic wins anymore. Also with only 4 points separating us from 3rd, things can change very quickly. and 2) your are assuming RIT is a great program. The big fish in a small pond argument only goes so far when recruiting. We have had some phenomenal years in the distant and recent past. But it is really rare for anyone to constantly preform at such a high level. (Like superbowl champs not even making the playoffs the next year...)

So cool your jets, keep things in perspective. And lets see if this team can apply what happened on Saturday to the rest of the season.

That AHA overall has improved over the past few years. However, the OOC record isn’t improving all that greatly. If I did my math correctly: 25, 16, 16, 7, 13, 8, 9 wins over the past 7 years. This season’s total, in my opinion, is padded because of 8 wins against Penn St. Yes, I know Penn St. has played decently but still they are a weak team that the AHA teams should and are beating (8-4).

It’s not that rare for teams to consistently perform at the top. Actually the top 10 teams are pretty much the same year-to-year. It’s the next level that changes with frequency. Michigan, NoDak, BC, BU, UNH, Denver, Maine, Minnesota are all consistent top performers.

I don’t RIT is anywhere near a great DI program, and I don’t think TigerFan86-87 does either, but it is fair to say that RIT has certainly not gotten appreciably better since shortly after the move to DI. It is fair when amidst a poor season by RIT standards to question why and wonder about the direction RIT is headed.

 

[LtPowers]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

Even though I am going to sound like a broken record, if a FF run can’t turn into more talented recruits I am not sure a new building is going to help either.

The quality of post-Frozen Four recruits remains to be seen, don't you think? Garbowski and McGowan are coming along nicely, while Schuler and Kuqali look pretty good already. Our top line has two sophomores and a freshman on it; I think that says a lot.


Powers &8^]

 

[MattS]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

The quality of post-Frozen Four recruits remains to be seen, don't you think? Garbowski and McGowan are coming along nicely, while Schuler and Kuqali look pretty good already. Our top line has two sophomores and a freshman on it; I think that says a lot.


Powers &8^]

Not really. If my theory is correct and a FF run should translate into more talent, then I would also think that the better talent should show fairly quickly.

The underclassmen can always improve greatly but so far I am overall unimpressed compared to other classes in recent times. I'm not saying they are bad players. I think some of them have been, and will contine to be, solid players. However, they are not a appreciable step upward in talent. I think that should have happened after a FF run. If RIT is essentially recruiting the same level of talent now as was done 5 years ago then that is a failure. Unless of course the coaching staff and administration is content with the level that RIT has achieved.

 

[TigerFan86-87]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

I don’t RIT is anywhere near a great DI program, and I don’t think TigerFan86-87 does either, but it is fair to say that RIT has certainly not gotten appreciably better since shortly after the move to DI. It is fair when amidst a poor season by RIT standards to question why and wonder about the direction RIT is headed.

True. When I said "great programs", I was referring in general. Clearly RIT is not amongst UND, BC, UMn, UM, etc.. But relative to their peers (AHA programs), they have certainly established themselves as amongst the best.
If RIT plans on maintaining that level of performance, the whole "Well, all the other teams have gotten better and stepped up their game so its ok that we haven't" excuse doesn't fly with some of us. If your competition is going forward, standing still is not an option. note: I strongly suspect the people involved with the program wouldn't ever use this as an excuse and that it is pretty much only some fans that do. I am just tired of hearing it repeated again just like it was back in the D-III days when the Tigers spent their last few years in decline from the heights of the nearly undefeated season.

 

[lmg6841]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

When the new rink was announced I was pretty excited since it seemed like a good sign that this program was growing and looking to advance in the college hockey world. However, as the the renderings seem to become more plain, stripped down from their original grandeur, I feel as if this is just an attempt to sell more tickets than the program itself. If you're going to spend money on an upgrade why not go all out (then again it's not my money..)?

The only way I think RIT can show it's commitment to college hockey would be to move into a stronger conference. Hopefully the rink and tough homecoming competition are just steps in that direction.

I strongly suspect the people involved with the program wouldn't ever use this as an excuse and that it is pretty much only some fans that do. I am just tired of hearing it repeated again just like it was back in the D-III days when the Tigers spent their last few years in decline from the heights of the nearly undefeated season.[/I]

 

[komey1]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

I think a factor we could be overlooking is the economy. While hockey players tend to be more afluent than they are in other sports, going to a school where there is no scholarship as opposed to one with a scholarship makes a differance.

 

[RIT Winters]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

When the new rink was announced I was pretty excited since it seemed like a good sign that this program was growing and looking to advance in the college hockey world. However, as the the renderings seem to become more plain, stripped down from their original grandeur, I feel as if this is just an attempt to sell more tickets than the program itself. If you're going to spend money on an upgrade why not go all out (then again it's not my money..)?

The only way I think RIT can show it's commitment to college hockey would be to move into a stronger conference. Hopefully the rink and tough homecoming competition are just steps in that direction.

Again, it's unrealistic to expect any program to foot the bill for a $60 million rink, which is roughly where the original renderings would have placed us. As it stands, the community is doing a pathetic job of raising funds, so even the $30 million target is being, at best, limped towards. It's not for lack of effort on RIT's part, they marketed the Power Play pretty aggressively. Admittedly, a winning season would certainly have helped, but the well seems to have dried up faster than RIT expected, and now they are already looking at the very real possibility of spending more than $15 million of their own cash on the barn.

No matter what, the new rink will be a significant improvement over Ritter and a great thing for this program. But if you want it to be better, and this applies to everyone here, you better open your wallet rather than your mouth.

 

[lmg6841]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-13: Clawing our way up the standings in the 2nd half

I'd glady donate if I wasn't already ~$140k in the hole because of RIT. A $10 donation doesn't seem like much in comparison, but I'm still getting over the owch factor from graduation.

But if you want it to be better, and this applies to everyone here, you better open your wallet rather than your mouth.