With TV timeouts, you don't have to use your 4th line, or if you have injuries, it’s a little easier to deal with. Nowadays it probably all evens out but in the days without TV timeouts, if three lines are ticking but the fourth line is in quicksand, you could be at a considerable disadvantage to a team with a deeper depth chart.
While it was fair game that coach called out the senior leadership on the Saturday night tough loss, I think some of the blame, if that's what you want to call it, can be also placed on the coach's. Sacred Heart not only out hustled RIT on the second night but perhaps also out coached them. Other than Canisius, what has RIT done on the second night of a two game series so far this year? What adjustments have they made? I know it's early and we're not in the locker room or watching the tapes, but the results speak for themselves. Teams have done better against RIT (with the exception of the aforementioned Canisius) on the second night of a two game series.
Use Sacred Heart as an example. Sacred Heart has yet to lose on the second night of a two game series against an AHA foe. Split series with wins on the second night against Army, Bentley, and RIT, and tied Holy Cross and Canisius on the second night. C.J. Marottolo and his staff obviously did not want RIT's first line to put up the numbers that they did on the first night so they adjusted and pulled out a win. Good for them. Whatever it was, it worked; Sacred Heart took 4 penalties the first game, 10 penalties the second game, maybe that took RIT out of their game. The first game was exciting with lots of wide open skating, the second game dragged on with lots of chippiness. RIT has to stick with what works for them and just not play into the hands of the other team. Show it on the scoreboard not with retaliatory penalties. Whatever style of play best fits this current group of players, I hope the coaching staff figures it out because after Yale we play a much improved Niagara and it would be nice to put together a couple of four point weekends rather than languish in the standings near a position of not hosting a first round playoff.
Speaking of Yale, whatever the outcome of the game, it would be a class act for Yale to start coaches son.