>>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

[dpm105]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Would love to hear some eyewitness accounts from this one.

Par for the course as far as RIT is concerned.

I thought that the Tigers were cycling the puck well and being creative in the offensive zone and had some really excellent goals / scoring chances. I also thought the forecheck was another positive tonight. The Tiger's forwards were able to create some opportunities for themselves through aggressive pressure up front.

Towards the end of the second period the wheels fell off defensively (again.) It seems at times that the defensive pairings are out of sync. I noticed the Tigers D get beat below their own goal several times, leading to some beautiful goals by Holy Cross from the slot. The tigers seemed to have trouble connecting on breakout passes, while HC seemed to make several great passes to string a forward up for a breakaway or odd man rush (leading to a few goals.)

MacLean looked like a goalie making his first collegiate start for sure, I thought the five hole goal on him (3rd for HC I believe) was especially "saveable." I thought Ruby looked like he was fighting the puck again.

HC was impressive, they seem to have some natural scorers. I thought they were a bit sloppy in their end, however, and could have easily given RIT a goal or two back.

I really thought the offensive play was encouraging, just need to make some corrections on D.

 

[RIT Winters]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Prediction: Team comes out tomorrow and plays better. Not sure if they win or not, but they won't be blown out. Watson plays well and earns the starting gig because, really, who else is going to do it?

 

[Zyklon]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Prediction: Team comes out tomorrow and plays better. Not sure if they win or not, but they won't be blown out. Watson plays well and earns the starting gig because, really, who else is going to do it?

Ya, thats how I feel. Ruby has more potential, but Watson so far this season has overall played better. Both have had a horrible defense in front of them and although maybe Ruby would play better than Watson with a good defense in front of him, Watson plays better with a horrible defense in front of him (mental ability to rebound from a goal). On another note, any hockey team ever tried playing a 3-2 (3 defenseman, 2 forwards)? haha

 

[WestsideTigersFan]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

On another note, any hockey team ever tried playing a 3-2 (3 defenseman, 2 forwards)? haha

We don't have 3 defenseman worth playing. This is quite frankly probably the worst RIT team in well over a decade. I'd even place the team that struggled through the transition year ahead of this one because while they may have been out talented, they got excellent goaltending and never quit. This team hasn't gotten good play in goal and quite frankly the effort level is pathetic.

This comes down to recruiting and to the quality of the player the recruiting staff and coaching staff are bringing into the program. The last few classes have been underwhelming and that falls squarely on the recruiting and coaching staff. I think its time for the program to seriously re-evaluate who it has evaluating talent and to consider making some big changes in that process because its not working.

This season is a write off at Thanksgiving, which is totally pathetic and quite frankly totally unacceptable. There needs to be a clear signal from the program or from the administration that this performance is totally unacceptable and someone needs to be held accountable. They need to immediately overhaul the recruiting staff, get out there and aggressively bring in a LARGE class of genuine prospects. Every year the staff doesn't really bring in any more than they plan on losing and it always seems like 1 or 2 guys don't ever end up on the roster and leave before the season ever starts, our number of reserve players is short and the guys who are there, or who dress regularly, get a very false sense of comfort for their roster spots and it shows. Bring in a group of hungry players, lets see who really has the talent and heart to play the game. Too much country club going on here.

 

[komey1]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

I wonder how much the improvement of other teams has had in terms of recruiting for RIT. Other teams have gotten better, which helps get better recruits. That means RIT could be losing recruiting battles that they had been winning before.

Last year's big problem was that RIT was not consistant in scoring goals. I think that has been addressed and improved. But when you look at who the Tigers lost in stay at home defensemen like Spivak and Eckenswiller - I don't know if that type of player has been recruited. It sounds like one of the recruits for next year is supposed to be a good stay at home D-man, so I'm pretty sure that the coaches in their recruiting are looking harder at the defensive side of the puck.

 

[MattS]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

This comes down to recruiting and to the quality of the player the recruiting staff and coaching staff are bringing into the program. The last few classes have been underwhelming and that falls squarely on the recruiting and coaching staff. I think its time for the program to seriously re-evaluate who it has evaluating talent and to consider making some big changes in that process because its not working.

I agree. I have said it before and I will say it again...Last years and this years classes should have been the best the RIT has ever brought in. And so far they are far from it. This falls squarely on the coaching staff. How they cannot turn a FF run into excellent recruits is beyond me. They are failing the program in this aspect.

 

[Downstate_RIT_Fan]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Is it more challenging for the few non-ivy, non-scholarship D1 schools to recruit quality players? I would think yes. By my count that's only four teams (counting the two service academy's) and Union that went to the Frozen Four last year and we had our run as well, but is the economy or other factors making it more difficult for RIT to recruit well? If our struggles continue this year would that make it harder to recruit for future years? Convincing an upper echelon USHL player to come to RIT over another AH or ECAC team offering a decent scholarship package must be a challenge, and if not possible then resorting to finding a not so top player but hoping he is a diamond in the rough. That cannot be easy for any of these teams.

 

[LtPowers]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

This team hasn't gotten good play in goal and quite frankly the effort level is pathetic.

I'm going to call you out on this one. For whatever criticisms we can make, I don't think a lack of effort is the problem. We've seen Tiger teams when they don't put out effort, and it's disgusting. But that's not what I'm seeing this year.

What I'm seeing is a somewhat higher rate of mental mistakes, and a much higher rate of opponents capitalizing on those mistakes. Do we have a lock-down defensive pairing? No. Do we have a goalie that can bail us out when we make mistakes? No. I think those two elements alone, along with a general improvement in our opponents' talent levels, are sufficient to explain the struggles without resorting to accusing the team of not trying.

We need to get better in our own zone, period. If that requires blocking more shots, or going back to basics, or getting the forwards more involved in the backchecking, I don't know. But "Try harder" is too trite and not very useful to a team that looks to me like they're trying just as hard as usual.

That said, anyone know where the broadcast is?


Powers &8^]

 

[lmg6841]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Well that was fast.

 

[mar7967]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

That said, anyone know where the broadcast is?

Per Ed (@EdTrefzgerUSCHO):
.@WITR897 nobody is at station to engineer hockey! HELP!

 

[WestsideTigersFan]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

I'm going to call you out on this one. For whatever criticisms we can make, I don't think a lack of effort is the problem. We've seen Tiger teams when they don't put out effort, and it's disgusting. But that's not what I'm seeing this year.

What I'm seeing is a somewhat higher rate of mental mistakes, and a much higher rate of opponents capitalizing on those mistakes. Do we have a lock-down defensive pairing? No. Do we have a goalie that can bail us out when we make mistakes? No. I think those two elements alone, along with a general improvement in our opponents' talent levels, are sufficient to explain the struggles without resorting to accusing the team of not trying.

We need to get better in our own zone, period. If that requires blocking more shots, or going back to basics, or getting the forwards more involved in the backchecking, I don't know. But "Try harder" is too trite and not very useful to a team that looks to me like they're trying just as hard as usual.

That said, anyone know where the broadcast is?


Powers &8^]

To me part of "effort" is mental discipline. It's focusing for the whole shift. It's not losing your checking assignment. It's hustling to back check. It's a willingness to go into a corner and work your butt off, its a willingness to get into a shooting lane and block a shot. And those things are sorely lacking. The defense is clearly an issue. As a forward you have to be willing to make the extra effort to get back and back check, to make sure a point gets covered if a D pinches. That kind of stuff isn't happening. Those are "effort" type activities. It's not trite. I don't know, maybe we aren't watching the same game, but this team impresses me as tremendously lazy and undisciplined.

 

[Ed Trefzger]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Per Ed (@EdTrefzgerUSCHO):
.@WITR897 nobody is at station to engineer hockey! HELP!

Engineer is on his way. Scheduling SNAFU because of changed game schedule. (Games originally were Friday and Saturday and were changed to accommodate RIT exam schedule.)

 

[LtPowers]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

I don't know, maybe we aren't watching the same game, but this team impresses me as tremendously lazy and undisciplined.

Undisciplined, maybe. But not lazy.

I also think part of the problem may not be the underclassmen but the upperclassmen. I like what I've seen out of players like McGowan, Garbowsky, Kuqali, etc. But I've felt like this year's seniors and juniors have been a little weak. Maybe the actual downturns (however slight) were three or four years ago instead of one and two; it would make sense, then, for that to show up on the ice now. It's way too early to pass judgement on the freshmen and sophomores.


Powers &8^]

 

[Sons of Vaval]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Sounds like there are more RIT fans at the Hart Center today, and they're definitely louder.

2-2 midway through the second.

 

[Ed Trefzger]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

WITR now has the game on.

 

[mar7967]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

WITR now has the game on.

Thanks for the info!

 

[blazer777]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Apparently being drunk at a hockey game is popular major at holy cross.

 

[Sons of Vaval]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Apparently being drunk at a hockey game is popular major at holy cross.

Sunday Funday is pretty popular at HC. Couple that with an afternoon hockey game, and you get a few kids acting like idiots, I'm sure.

 

[Sons of Vaval]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Heading to OT. Very evenly played game today.

 

[RIT Winters]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS 2012-2013 - Locked, Loaded, And Ready To Roar <<<<<

Nice game today. I think Watty may have earned the starting gig..great numbers put up by him in a big game.

Called both games in AHA pick'em