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RIT Tigers 2012-2013 season

Re: RIT Tigers 2012-2013 season

Saw some good things (at least from the stats) didn't get shutout both games, and a couple scoreless periods. At least now the speculation about league comparison can stop. We have seen were we need to go. Did the penalties look like frustration, or just still being used to steamrolling the oppositions PP ;) I'm excited to get back and see some games in person.
 
Re: RIT Tigers 2012-2013 season

Stat Man said:
Might be tougher to find the positives in todays game. I'm surprised there is such a gap between the best D3 team and a D1 team.
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I would say a scoreless first can be taken away as a positive. Keep in mind they are one of the best D1 in the country. I think its cool we are playing them 1st and last. Its a chance to see just how much this team can grow and step up in a year. And maybe for fun extrapolate out to when we can host the FF again based on the growth haha
 
Re: RIT Tigers 2012-2013 season

Loki said:
I would say a scoreless first can be taken away as a positive. Keep in mind they are one of the best D1 in the country. I think its cool we are playing them 1st and last. Its a chance to see just how much this team can grow and step up in a year. And maybe for fun extrapolate out to when we can host the FF again based on the growth haha
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While they are picked as tenth in the preseason poll this team has lost a lot of talent from last year.

I think they will be challenged by Robert Morris this year for the CHA title and doubt they will stay in the top 10 for long.

Playing RIT,Lindenwood and Penn State a lot will certainly help pad their stats but will not do a lot for national rankings.
 
Re: RIT Tigers 2012-2013 season

Stat Man said:
While they are picked as tenth in the preseason poll this team has lost a lot of talent from last year.

I think they will be challenged by Robert Morris this year for the CHA title and doubt they will stay in the top 10 for long.

Playing RIT, Lindenwood and Penn State a lot will certainly help pad their stats but will not do a lot for national rankings.
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Mercyhurst - 9 freshman, 3 transfers and "new" goalies (for practical purposes). I would think they are generally happy with this weekend.
 
Re: RIT Tigers 2012-2013 season

Stat Man said:
Might be tougher to find the positives in todays game. I'm surprised there is such a gap between the best D3 team and a D1 team.
Click to expand...

Mercyhurst isn't just any D-I team. They are one of the best in the country year in and year out.

Of course there is going to be a noticable gap between the top Division I teams and the best D3 team.
 
Re: RIT Tigers 2012-2013 season

PrezdeJohnson09 said:
Mercyhurst isn't just any D-I team. They are one of the best in the country year in and year out.

Of course there is going to be a noticable gap between the top Division I teams and the best D3 team.
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As opointed out by the previous poster with 9 freshmen and goalies that have never played a meaningful D1 game (Pattenden played every important game for the last 3 yeras) I'm not sure this team is one of the best D1 programs this year. I could be wrong but I would rank them more towards the middle than the top. At least until they do something to prove differently.
 
Re: RIT Tigers 2012-2013 season

Stat Man said:
I could be wrong but I would rank them more towards the middle than the top. At least until they do something to prove differently.
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I'd guess the Lakers will wind up in the top ten. Year in and year out, that's where one finds them, whether or not they have a star-studded roster. They are very good at winning their share of those "must" games.
 
Re: RIT Tigers 2012-2013 season

Stat Man said:
I'm surprised there is such a gap between the best D3 team and a D1 team.
Click to expand...
I am reminded of what was said about basketball during last year's NCAA men's championships. Kentucky U was said to have 5 players already of NBA caliber and the suggestion was made that Kentucky could play with and possibly defeat the worst NBA team, I believe at that moment it was Washington.

The suggestion was dismissed as ludicrous by one commenter who noted that even if Kentucky had 5 players who might prove to be of NBA caliber that Washington had 13 players each of whom had already clearly established that he was an NBA caliber player by playing in the NBA.

A similar analysis seems to apply to even the very best D3 team rising up to the next level. RIT may have some, even several players of D1 level, Mercyhurst has a roster which is a mixture of players who have already played D1 and have proven that they belong and new players who were recruited to play at D1 by a staff experienced at making the decision to recruit based on their assessment that the recruited players were capable of playing at the highest level.

As good as RIT may have been in D3 the only reasonable expectation is that the next step is a very large step.

Good luck to the Tigers.
 
Re: RIT Tigers 2012-2013 season

I will offer a few observations of the two matches, if I may...

- Mercyhurst has a very strong combination of both system play and very talented individual players. They seamlessly transition from defence to offence, making a sustained forechech difficult. Their D are very adept at making the first pass which is critical to a succesful breakout.
- RIT struggled greatly with their breakout. They seemed content to fire the puck off the glass to clear the zone instead of finding the open outlet. Don't know if this was the result of trying to relieve pressure but it very rarely resulted in them regaining possession in the neutral zone. If they want success against the top teams their D will need to gain confidence in their abilities to make the outlet pass.
- Mercyhurst has some incredibly talented individuals. Bestland, Bram and the freshman Janiga can change momentum easily with their puck-handling skills.
- RIT are a fairly quick team. They were able to maintain momentum with a very aggresive forecheck and had a few reasonable stretches of carrying the play. Offensive finishing will be an issue and the loss of their top goal scorer, McCrea really hurts them.
- Mercyhurst blocked an incredible number of shots, probably 15 - 20 in the game.
- RIT took way too many untimely penalties. I know they have always been a highly penalized team, but top D1 teams have real powerplays and they will make them pay. I think Mercyhurst scored 3 PP goals on Saturday and that ain't gonna cut it at this level.
- Attendance was over 1000 for the first game and over 600 for the second. Pretty good support from the student population and the Pep band makes the event lively and fun.
- RIT has an opportunity to regroup and gain some confidence back as they face Independant Sacred Heart this weekend. Hopefully their offence can click and they can leave the weekend with a couple of wins.

Notes:

- Congrats to Mercyhurst Emily Janiga for her 5 point weekend, enough to earn her the CHA rookie of the week I am sure.
- Congrats also to RIT freshmen Carly Payerl and Katie Hubert for each scoring their first NCAA goals.
 
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Re: RIT Tigers 2012-2013 season

Cali and man....good observations, IMO. RIT has a ways to go but at least they are at the top level now and this Mercyhurst fan is looking forward to a new rivalry. As for the poster who said Mercyhurst isn't top 10. First, if you are a RIT fan, how would you know? How many Div 1 games do you go to? Quite honestly, there are really only 12-14 teams that can pull of any big wins in Div 1. The rest of the teams are still trying to catch up. Mercyhurst isn't in that "catch up" department.
 
Re: RIT Tigers 2012-2013 season

MICZamboni said:
Cali and man....good observations, IMO. RIT has a ways to go but at least they are at the top level now and this Mercyhurst fan is looking forward to a new rivalry. As for the poster who said Mercyhurst isn't top 10. First, if you are a RIT fan, how would you know? How many Div 1 games do you go to? Quite honestly, there are really only 12-14 teams that can pull of any big wins in Div 1. The rest of the teams are still trying to catch up. Mercyhurst isn't in that "catch up" department.
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I follow D1 hockey quite closely and it is just my opinion but Mercyhurst has lost a lot of high end talent the kind of players that are difficult if not impossible to replace.

Mercyhurst only have 3 top ten opponents (according to the preseason poll) on their schedule this year and those games do not happen until Jan. Two against BC and 1 against Cornell. Those three games will have a major impact on your ranking.

In the next few weeks they have some good opponents in Qpac and Clarkson and if you come out of the next three weekends unbeaten then I would admit that you are closer to the top then the middle.
 
Re: RIT Tigers 2012-2013 season

Stat Man said:
I follow D1 hockey quite closely and it is just my opinion but Mercyhurst has lost a lot of high end talent the kind of players that are difficult if not impossible to replace.

Mercyhurst only have 3 top ten opponents (according to the preseason poll) on their schedule this year and those games do not happen until Jan. Two against BC and 1 against Cornell. Those three games will have a major impact on your ranking.

In the next few weeks they have some good opponents in Qpac and Clarkson and if you come out of the next three weekends unbeaten then I would admit that you are closer to the top then the middle.
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Middle? So you are saying 19? There are 18 teams better than Mercyhurst? Um...ok. In no way do I think they deserve to be higher than they are but to say they are in the middle is crazy.
 
Re: RIT Tigers 2012-2013 season

MICZamboni said:
Middle? So you are saying 19? There are 18 teams better than Mercyhurst? Um...ok. In no way do I think they deserve to be higher than they are but to say they are in the middle is crazy.
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What I said was that at the moment MercyHurst are closer to the Middle than the Top. I count 8 in Hockey East, 12 in ECAC, 6 in CHA nd 8 in WCHA for 34 so if you add Sarcred Heart that makes 35 so from my perspective middle is 18. Even at 10th in the Nation (preseason Poll) you are closer to the middle than you are the top. I never suggested that ther are 18 teams in D1 better than Mercyhurst. Just that they are not the powerhouse that one of the previous posters was making them out to be.
 
Re: RIT Tigers 2012-2013 season

Stat Man said:
In the next few weeks they have some good opponents in Qpac and Clarkson and if you come out of the next three weekends unbeaten then I would admit that you are closer to the top then the middle.
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MC vs Clarky should be a great match-up and a good early barometer for both teams. IMHO Clarkson will be much improved from last year, specially at D and they have a top notch tender.
 
Re: RIT Tigers 2012-2013 season

Per RIT Sports text messages: "Women's hockey leads Sacred Heart 4-0 after two periods of play, out-shooting the Pioneers 43-7. Kim Schlattman has 2 goals."
 
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