>>> RIT Tigers 2018/2019 - Time For The Tigers to Roar <<<

[Tom Naeger]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2018/2019 - Time For The Tigers to Roar <<<

It seems to be simple fact week for this Buffalo boy, and when it comes down to RIT. Air Force has now won 9 of the last 10 meetings, Air Force has won the last two AHA Tournaments. Boys you got slapped down at home. There is no nice way to put that and yes it should give everyone a moment to pause.

On Drackett's reaction I only got to see one or two replays on the big board but it really didn't seem to me at all that he had that puck so I was a little surprise at the reaction. You know, I've never been a big defender of AHA refs, but I have to say I am sick and tired of hearing complaints. Teams like Robert Morris and Air Force have consistently won the last couple of years despite the officiating. It's past time to man up as they say...

 

[Rochester]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2018/2019 - Time For The Tigers to Roar <<<

Dear Santa,

All I want for Christmas is an RIT Hockey Scholarship program like Clarkson University has.

 

[Hockeyplayer82]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2018/2019 - Time For The Tigers to Roar <<<

Dear Santa,

All I want for Christmas is an RIT Hockey Scholarship program like Clarkson University has.

Compare:

RIT Nice Rink, Strong Education, D1 Hockey, Recruiting pool is world wide, No Scholarship, heavy student loans, Pro career is possible

Air Force:

Ok Rink, Strong Education, D1 Hockey, Free Education ( Not really free-5 Year Service Commitment and potential tour or tours in an active war), Recuiting pool is American players only And their commitment typically means a pro career is void


Which program has more obstacles to overcome while recruiting? Or is it coaching? Or is it Both? (when I say coaching is AF just better)


Agree, regarding the Atlantic referees but every team has these referees. Play better then bad refs. RIT Friday woes continue, hope for splits and be around middle of the pack. Host first round and ..............

 

[Downstate_RIT_Fan]

Compare:

RIT Nice Rink, Strong Education, D1 Hockey, Recruiting pool is world wide, No Scholarship, heavy student loans, Pro career is possible

Air Force:

Ok Rink, Strong Education, D1 Hockey, Free Education ( Not really free-5 Year Service Commitment and potential tour or tours in an active war), Recuiting pool is American players only And their commitment typically means a pro career is void


Which program has more obstacles to overcome while recruiting? Or is it coaching? Or is it Both? (when I say coaching is AF just better)


Agree, regarding the Atlantic referees but every team has these referees. Play better then bad refs. RIT Friday woes continue, hope for splits and be around middle of the pack. Host first round and ..............

Next five games...two against SHU and three against Niagara, I’d say RIT needs to go at least 4-1 to sniff near the top, anything less and then yeah, middle of the pack, maybe host a first round.

Need to play a complete Friday game as it seems like every visiting team loves to play at the GPC. Congrats to RIT in building a fan and foe friendly barn, but hey, free T-shirts.

 

[mar7967]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2018/2019 - Time For The Tigers to Roar <<<

I think someone mentioned this already, but a big factor in all of Air Force's successes is their goalie. They have had a very good starting goalie for as long as I can remember. But their go-to guy, Billy Christopoulos, was out the two weeks prior to this past weekend. Zach LaRocque stepped in, and helped AF sweep Bentley, then got swept by AIC. So it's tough to compare the AIC losses to the RIT wins, in my opinion.

 

[Hockeyplayer82]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2018/2019 - Time For The Tigers to Roar <<<

I think someone mentioned this already, but a big factor in all of Air Force's successes is their goalie. They have had a very good starting goalie for as long as I can remember. But their go-to guy, Billy Christopoulos, was out the two weeks prior to this past weekend. Zach LaRocque stepped in, and helped AF sweep Bentley, then got swept by AIC. So it's tough to compare the AIC losses to the RIT wins, in my opinion.

Agree, but keep going back to prior goalies for Air Force..... Air Force defensemen and defensive effort year in and year out is extremely effective which does not expose a goalie to many quality chances against. Goalies buid confidence and when called upon make a quality save. This can also work against a team if the team defense is ineffective...quality chances against, goals, no confidence, weak goals against, goalie carousel...

Consistent effective coaching by Air Force!

 

[Downstate_RIT_Fan]

Consistent effective coaching by Air Force!

True, Coach Serratore seems to be the best at re-tooling his teams with the right players and then getting them to play his style of game. He even lost his goalie early a few seasons ago and was able to fill that slot with little trouble. Credit where credit is due.

 

[TigerFan86-87]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2018/2019 - Time For The Tigers to Roar <<<

I think someone mentioned this already, but a big factor in all of Air Force's successes is their goalie. They have had a very good starting goalie for as long as I can remember. But their go-to guy, Billy Christopoulos, was out the two weeks prior to this past weekend. Zach LaRocque stepped in, and helped AF sweep Bentley, then got swept by AIC. So it's tough to compare the AIC losses to the RIT wins, in my opinion.

Although to be fair to LaRocque against AIC, the team was shut out both games. So even if he stood on his head (which he clearly didn't), the best he could have done was steal two ties.

 

[TigerFan86-87]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2018/2019 - Time For The Tigers to Roar <<<

...Recuiting pool is American players only...

Not necessarily. Yes, a huge percentage of the student bodies at Air Force, Army and Navy are American, but there are foreign nationals at the service academies. I'm not sure how exactly that works, but they are there.

Which program has more obstacles to overcome while recruiting? Or is it coaching? Or is it Both? (when I say coaching is AF just better)

The obstacles are different, so it's hard to compare. Both have significant hurdles to overcome.
From a consistency standpoint, it is impossible to argue Coach Serratore's success since the Falcons joined AHA. Coach Wilson in about the same time has had darn good success himself. But from a night-in, night-out, year-in, year-out standpoint has not always had his guys ready to play 100% to make up for the natural cyclic nature of the talent level available.

 

[TigerFan86-87]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2018/2019 - Time For The Tigers to Roar <<<

On Drackett's reaction I only got to see one or two replays on the big board but it really didn't seem to me at all that he had that puck so I was a little surprise at the reaction.

I never heard what his complaint was. If he was complaining that he had the puck, that's kind of silly. There's no way he could have held it for very long. It didn't take all that long for that shot to come. I thought maybe he was arguing that the player on the ice batted it in with his hand or something. I didn't see anything wrong with it, so wasn't sure. The reaction was pretty emphatic though. Still shocked he wasn't suspended for that. Maybe the ref was so shocked that it happened he didn't even realize it had.

You know, I've never been a big defender of AHA refs, but I have to say I am sick and tired of hearing complaints. Teams like Robert Morris and Air Force have consistently won the last couple of years despite the officiating. It's past time to man up as they say...

I don't think too many of the complaints are implying that they are biased against RIT (I'm sure some are). That would be kind of ridiculous. The complaints, at least those expressed on the radio are mostly aimed at the total inconsistency and seeming incompetence at times. Although it doesn't intentionally favor any one team over another, it can decide contests. In a conference race as tight as the AHA always has, every little thing can tip the scales the wrong way. It is frustrating, I'm sure, to all 11 AHA teams for that very reason. You just never know what is or isn't going to be called at any given time for or against your team.
Actually, I've been somewhat ok with the penalty calling so far in RIT's home games. What has frustrated me more is the linesmen. I think they've gotten pretty lazy with the icing vs no icing calls. I can't even count the number of times they've not waved off an icing call when it is pretty clear the defense floated back there and could have easily beaten the puck to the goal line... or when the puck could have been played somewhere at center ice, but was not. Over the years that has happened to a point, but it seems like it's been pretty obviously bad the last couple years. Then there's always the 5 or 10 minute wait for the linesman to drop the darn puck. Like we all paid good money to watch him direct traffic and antagonize the centermen until they get so annoyed he ends up kicking one or both out of the faceoff only to drop the puck immediately for two guys who almost never take faceoffs at all.

 

[LtPowers]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2018/2019 - Time For The Tigers to Roar <<<

Officiating has seemed much improved this season, last weekend notwithstanding. But Air Force historically has seemed to get some significant home-cooking, almost as if service cadets get more benefit-of-the-doubt when it comes to penalties. Could just be confirmation bias, though.

It seems to me that AFA's biggest advantage, unless Serratore really is that good, is that all of their players are necessarily in peak physical condition and train at high elevations.


Powers &8^]

 

[blazer777]

Officiating has seemed much improved this season, last weekend notwithstanding. But Air Force historically has seemed to get some significant home-cooking, almost as if service cadets get more benefit-of-the-doubt when it comes to penalties. Could just be confirmation bias, though.

It seems to me that AFA's biggest advantage, unless Serratore really is that good, is that all of their players are necessarily in peak physical condition and train at high elevations.


Powers &8^]

I was just thinking the same thing. Is a tremendous advantage to workout at altitude.

As far as the refs, they are just very patriotic and therefore Air Force gets lots of breaks!

 

[komey1]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2018/2019 - Time For The Tigers to Roar <<<

The weekend play was rough. Friday was bad. They could not handle the forecheck of Air Force on Friday. They came out on fire in the first period, but could not get anything past Christopolis. Then Air Force seemed to make adjustments and RIT could not get as much pressure.

Time to move on against Sacred Heart. Hopefully, they can get back in the win column.

 

[krg]

I was just thinking the same thing. Is a tremendous advantage to workout at altitude.

As far as the refs, they are just very patriotic and therefore Air Force gets lots of breaks!

I agree that because they are a service academy they may feel they deserve a break & perhaps so do the refs sometimes. Way back in our last year at the Ritter arena we were playing Army. The Army fans (parents?) were standing directly behind the RIT complimentary seats (so Tiger player’s families) & the calls were not going their way. They started getting pretty vocal & rude & yelling about how their players were giving their lives for their country. We were all like what does that have to do with this hockey game . It got so bad that I went & got a security guard who spoke to them & then told them to stand somewhere else or they would be ejected.

 

[komey1]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2018/2019 - Time For The Tigers to Roar <<<

I agree that because they are a service academy they may feel they deserve a break & perhaps so do the refs sometimes. Way back in our last year at the Ritter arena we were playing Army. The Army fans (parents?) were standing directly behind the RIT complimentary seats (so Tiger player’s families) & the calls were not going their way. They started getting pretty vocal & rude & yelling about how their players were giving their lives for their country. We were all like what does that have to do with this hockey game . It got so bad that I went & got a security guard who spoke to them & then told them to stand somewhere else or they would be ejected.

It's interesting, but I don't think Army tends to get the same calls that Air Force does.

 

[Tom Naeger]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2018/2019 - Time For The Tigers to Roar <<<

Not necessarily. Yes, a huge percentage of the student bodies at Air Force, Army and Navy are American, but there are foreign nationals at the service academies. I'm not sure how exactly that works, but they are there.

The obstacles are different, so it's hard to compare. Both have significant hurdles to overcome.
From a consistency standpoint, it is impossible to argue Coach Serratore's success since the Falcons joined AHA. Coach Wilson in about the same time has had darn good success himself. But from a night-in, night-out, year-in, year-out standpoint has not always had his guys ready to play 100% to make up for the natural cyclic nature of the talent level available.

Interestingly enough Air Force did have a verbal commitment for this year Squad from Rob Johnson whose place of birth is Kamloops, British Columbia and as far as I can tell only has Canadian citizenship. However his name never appeared on the roster and it appears he is not in any high level leagues anymore.

For many years RIT and Air Force match up has been pretty even, except for Blue Cross. Serratore's teams have really feasted on RIT during it's present downturn and the question mark of this year, yet to be complete. Frank's team though has had their off nights and his post game pressers on those nights are the thing of legends. Air Force did have a 2-3 year down turn themselves so they are not immune, but it is very impressive how they bounced back to the take back to back Championships right after Wayne and RIT won their own back to back titles and HAD started the debate again on which was the best program. Last 2 and a half years that debate has gone silent. I do think a big difference was goaltending, since Mads they really struggled with the exception of one good year that Ruby was able to put together. And I agree that it really was inexcusable as the guys they brought in all had the resume and talent to compete, but just did not happen. There been some much needed changes in that area and it appears to be paying off, will see how the long run goes.

I still see this team as dangerous, but they have to bring it night in and night our or this debate is moot...

 

[Russell Jaslow]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2018/2019 - Time For The Tigers to Roar <<<

Interestingly enough Air Force did have a verbal commitment for this year Squad from Rob Johnson whose place of birth is Kamloops, British Columbia and as far as I can tell only has Canadian citizenship. However his name never appeared on the roster and it appears he is not in any high level leagues anymore.

I know you're aware that foreigners can attend a US military academy. They can even volunteer straight up.

I met an Englishman once who had joined the U.S. Army, but was never an American citizen. His father was in the auto industry, and when the guy was a young teenager, they moved to Detroit from England as his father's job took him there (I believe he worked for Ford). So, his teen years were spent in America. Then, when he graduated high school, he decided to join the U.S. Army. Still as an English citizen.

After he served his time, he wound up moving back to England, started a business, and has lived there ever since.

 

[Tom Naeger]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2018/2019 - Time For The Tigers to Roar <<<

I know you're aware that foreigners can attend a US military academy. They can even volunteer straight up.

I met an Englishman once who had joined the U.S. Army, but was never an American citizen. His father was in the auto industry, and when the guy was a young teenager, they moved to Detroit from England as his father's job took him there (I believe he worked for Ford). So, his teen years were spent in America. Then, when he graduated high school, he decided to join the U.S. Army. Still as an English citizen.

After he served his time, he wound up moving back to England, started a business, and has lived there ever since.

Yep I am well aware and why I brought that up, just trying to help people on here who should know better, been trying to do that since I started on the board in 99... Am I old?

 

[Hockeyplayer82]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2018/2019 - Time For The Tigers to Roar <<<

Yep I am well aware and why I brought that up, just trying to help people on here who should know better, been trying to do that since I started on the board in 99... Am I old?

Air Force website goes back to the 06-07 roster. All of the players are American born. SOOOOOO.....either Air Force cannot recruit a foreign player for an athletic team or they do not because of choice . Maybe a foreign person can enlist or had lineage from 1 parent and had dual citizenship (just guessing) but not play on an athletic team? I looked at the Air Force Lacrosse rosters. Canada has a strong lacrosse presence as well as hockey and there were no foreign players on the lax team, back to 06-07.

Lets just agree, the recuiting pool for Air Force and Army are smaller then every other team in college hockey and they do more with less then others.

Just helping people.....

 

[komey1]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2018/2019 - Time For The Tigers to Roar <<<

I still see this team as dangerous, but they have to bring it night in and night our or this debate is moot...

And that is why this past weekend was mind boggling. A good effort against a strong Northeastern squad was followed up by a couple disappointing games against Air Force. This team is good enough to get to the NCAAs and even win a game or two when they are at their best.

Hopefully, they can get back on track with Sacred Heart. While this should be 2 wins, they are more than capable of stealing points.