>>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

[TigerFan86-87]

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

On the bright side, 6 out of 8 points from Niagara on the season isn't bad, considering they always seem to rise to the occasion when RIT is the opponent.


Powers &8^]

To be fair, though, for a number of seasons NU wasn't required to "rise to the occasion" to beat RIT as much as the other way around. Until very recently (this season), NU was usually considered the better team so was expected to beat RIT more often than not (although it would have been nice if it weren't EVERY SINGLE time).

And that is 6 out of 8 points against the WORST team in D-I college hockey this season. 3-22-3. And we thought RIT had a tough season last year... yikes.

 

[RIT Winters]

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

To be fair, though, for a number of seasons NU wasn't required to "rise to the occasion" to beat RIT as much as the other way around. Until very recently (this season), NU was usually considered the better team so was expected to beat RIT more often than not (although it would have been nice if it weren't EVERY SINGLE time).

And that is 6 out of 8 points against the WORST team in D-I college hockey this season. 3-22-3. And we thought RIT had a tough season last year... yikes.

Not really true. RIT won the AHA for several years with Niagara still acting as their cryptonite.

Also let's not get too emotional here...RIT is currently in 5th place which earns us a bye in the new AHA. If we keep getting 3/4 points every weekend we will probably climb to the top 4 of the league. Just imagine where we'd be with a true #1 goalie..

 

[LtPowers]

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Just imagine where we'd be with a true #1 goalie..

Or a better PP%.


Powers &8^]

 

[cplinford]

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

I think I heard/read the PP is at 13%. That is terrible and probably a larger problem this season than goalie. I feel like the team might be starting on the up swing after a couple down years. I have not compared records to previous seasons just going on gut right now

 

[ithacat]

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

BTW over on the SLU thread lots of rumor talk about changes in the ECAC if Quinnipiac left and who would be a good fit, some say HC some say RIT.

Either HC or RIT would be a good fit[/QUOTE]

RIT all day long. Quinnipiac would be a great addition to Hockey East. From an ECAC perspective, I'd rather see RPI go than QU and not only for competitive reasons. I think Colgate/Union and Cornell/RIT would make nice travel partners. If QU goes Holy Cross probably makes for an easier fit with Princeton.

 

[RIT Winters]

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

I think I heard/read the PP is at 13%. That is terrible and probably a larger problem this season than goalie. I feel like the team might be starting on the up swing after a couple down years. I have not compared records to previous seasons just going on gut right now

That is terrible, but on the other side our PK this season has been lights out..so the net impact of special teams probably isn't hurting us that much.

Our powerplay is 49th in the country at just under 14%, but our penalty kill is 7th in the country at 88%. Meanwhile our team goals against average is 32nd, which is pretty terrible.

 

[komey1]

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Also let's not get too emotional here...RIT is currently in 5th place which earns us a bye in the new AHA. If we keep getting 3/4 points every weekend we will probably climb to the top 4 of the league.

This is important. These Holy Cross games are very winnable, as they have been in a funk lately. Then it's followed up with home games against Bobby Mo and what could shape up as a huge weekend for seeding with Mercyhurst.

 

[cplinford]

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

That is terrible, but on the other side our PK this season has been lights out..so the net impact of special teams probably isn't hurting us that much.

Our powerplay is 49th in the country at just under 14%, but our penalty kill is 7th in the country at 88%. Meanwhile our team goals against average is 32nd, which is pretty terrible.

I don't know how often I have heard NHL talking heads state your best penalty killer has got to be your goalie. Kind of ironic

 

[cplinford]

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Alright crunched some numbers from collegehockeystats.net just for fun. I only looked at conference games

RIT has 14 goals on 91 PP opportunities (14%). If we bumped that to something good like 20% its just 5 more PP goals.

RIT has 70 goals in 22 conference games, so if the PP was at 20% in theory that would now be 75 goals so not huge

Another interesting number I saw RIT shot totals is 800 for 70 goals in conference games which is about 8.8 shooting %
Opponents got 579 shots on RIT for 51 goals in conference games which is about 8.8 shooting %

Need finishers

 

[Ed Trefzger]

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

But five more goals in the right games would be worth five points in the standings, and RIT would be in second place instead of fifth.

 

[Tom Naeger]

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Rotolo needed to come up with a big save and he did not - that's the bottom line.

Bingo!

That has been the only thing both guys have really struggled on this season is the Big Save at a key point in the game. I thought Rotolo was getting the knack for that, but Friday it didn't happen. I think Mike let a chance slip away. His performance Friday wasn't horrible, but nothing to write home about. 3rd Period Saturday, Stephen Pietrobon had two goals on the season. He doubled that goal output on Rotolo and all most gave Niagara a win. RIT plays a pinching style in the offensive zone and especially this season relies on it to produce offense. The result is going to be some odd man rushes the other way, so if you want to play goal for this team you are going to have to stop more odd man rushes.

At this point, both guys have had a chance and at them moment I see them as even. Barring something very unforeseen or an injury I'd give them both 3 starts the rest of the year. Tell them right in the coaches office, you both get one game a weekend and we will see what you do. The one thing we should not dismiss as a possibility is a rotation, while I agree it's not ideal I have seen it work for other teams. Unless one guy really stands out I am comfortable with a rotation.

The biggest test for this team come playoff times will be playing 60 minutes. RIT has outplayed their AHA opponents for the majority of the games they have played. The Achilles heel of this team has been sloppiness for small periods that have cost them dearly. If they can eliminate that pattern I see them going down to the wire with RMU in the AHA Championship game....

 

[TigerFan86-87]

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Not really true. RIT won the AHA for several years with Niagara still acting as their cryptonite.

In the Tigers' first four years of full time D-I status, RIT won the AHA regular season three times (2007, 2009, and 2010) and the playoffs once (2010), all while NU was in the CHA, generally considered to be a tougher conference than AHA. While you may dispute that CHA was better than AHA, remember that Air Force rarely contended in the CHA and were usually at or near last place, but immediately upon joining AHA the Cadets became the top program in the league. I'm sure they upgraded their program in other ways around the same time, but the conference shift was definitely a bonus for them.
Since NU (and RMU) joined the AHA, RIT has finished higher than NU in the standings only once, although it has been relatively close with the exception of 2013 (and now likely this year):
2011:
# 1 RIT (37 pts)
# 5 NU (32 pts)
2012:
# 2 NU (35 pts)
# 3 RIT (34 pts)
2013:
# 1 NU (42 pts)
# 7/8 RIT (26 pts)
2014:
# 6 NU (27 pts)
# 9 RIT (23 pts)

Anyways... My point was just that it hasn't been a matter of NU having to play up to RIT's level, but usually to just do what would be expected (just not quite at that rate) given the relative strengths of the two teams. They did prove to be RIT's kryptonite, but a number of seasons (especially in their CHA days) they were a lot of teams' kryptonite, too.

 

[TigerFan86-87]

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Also let's not get too emotional here...RIT is currently in 5th place which earns us a bye in the new AHA. If we keep getting 3/4 points every weekend we will probably climb to the top 4 of the league. Just imagine where we'd be with a true #1 goalie..

Emotional??? I'm not sure what you're talking about. I never even mentioned this season's team in that post. Not sure where you're going with this.

As an aside... Yes, 5th place earns a weekend off, but also earns no home playoff games. What is a reward for the players and coaches is also a punishment for the fans and the program (although I think a bunch of the gate $ goes to the AHC). That is an odd playoff format. I think Hockey East used it last year, but only temporarily now that they have 12 teams. How the 6th, 7th, and 8th place teams get the benefit of 2 or 3 home dates while the 5th gets none is on its face unfair.... Not that I can think of any better solution to an 11 team playoff format... just saying...

 

[cplinford]

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

But five more goals in the right games would be worth five points in the standings, and RIT would be in second place instead of fifth.

That is very true as well. Couple of those ties move over to the win column

 

[Tom Naeger]

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Ran the attendance numbers at lunch for the GPC.

Saint Lawrence 3,103
Clarkson 3,502
Holy Cross 2,807
Holy Cross 2,681
Sacred Heart 2,050
Sacred Heart 2,578
Niagara 2,554
AIC 2,182
AIC 3,142
Army 3,403
Army 2,650
Niagara 3,205

TOTAL 36,678
AVERAGE 2,821

Only one crowd would have been small enough to fit in the Ritter and that was just short of 50 people for a sell out in the old barn.

I think overall it's been a success, like to see some big crowds push the average up above 3,000 and near 50,000 total mark.

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

RIT all day long. Quinnipiac would be a great addition to Hockey East. From an ECAC perspective, I'd rather see RPI go than QU and not only for competitive reasons. I think Colgate/Union and Cornell/RIT would make nice travel partners. If QU goes Holy Cross probably makes for an easier fit with Princeton.

If QU goes and RIT comes in, one thought I had was to make the travel partners Cornell/Princeton and Colgate/RIT, with the rest remaining the same. Might work better from a routing standpoint.

 

[blazer777]

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Ran the attendance numbers at lunch for the GPC.

Saint Lawrence 3,103
Clarkson 3,502
Holy Cross 2,807
Holy Cross 2,681
Sacred Heart 2,050
Sacred Heart 2,578
Niagara 2,554
AIC 2,182
AIC 3,142
Army 3,403
Army 2,650
Niagara 3,205

TOTAL 36,678
AVERAGE 2,821

Only one crowd would have been small enough to fit in the Ritter and that was just short of 50 people for a sell out in the old barn.

I think overall it's been a success, like to see some big crowds push the average up above 3,000 and near 50,000 total mark.

Better product this year as compared to last years.

 

[TigerFan86-87]

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Ran the attendance numbers at lunch for the GPC.

Saint Lawrence 3,103
Clarkson 3,502
Holy Cross 2,807
Holy Cross 2,681
Sacred Heart 2,050
Sacred Heart 2,578
Niagara 2,554
AIC 2,182
AIC 3,142
Army 3,403
Army 2,650
Niagara 3,205

TOTAL 36,678
AVERAGE 2,821

Only one crowd would have been small enough to fit in the Ritter and that was just short of 50 people for a sell out in the old barn.

I think overall it's been a success, like to see some big crowds push the average up above 3,000 and near 50,000 total mark.

Not bad. I'm guessing pretty much as expected, maybe a little under. The shocker for me was that they didn't sell out the first weekend, or at least the first game in the new arena. Having been to a couple other firsts in Rochester in the past (Frontier for both soccer and baseball and Blue Cross for lacrosse and hockey), those type of events are normally automatic sellouts with the novelty wearing off and crowds returning to normalcy shortly thereafter. I'm sure we've discussed this before, but it seems to me that the student turn-out has been pretty good while the general public has not turned out in any greater numbers than they did at Ritter. The difference then being that now 50% or more of the fans are squeezed into the 6 sections at the one end. This is painfully evident on TV when at least half the time, the only seats that can be seen on camera are mostly empty. Maybe they ought to consider extending the GA sections to cover a larger % of the arena and squeeze the general public into a smaller space so there are fewer vast open sections of seats. Or, they could let the students (first come first serve of course) sit at center ice on both sides in the front like they do at Duke basketball. Keeps the older folks like myself that sit on their hands most of the time out of camera range and makes the atmosphere look much better in the arena and on TV.
It obviously is much easier to get students and any other GA ticket holders in there than it is to get people to pay the extra bucks to get a reserved seats. It's hard to imagine too many students purchasing reserved seats, which leaves a lot of them standing when their sections are all filled up and the others seem so empty sometimes. If they leave the seating the way it is, they are going to run into similar issues as with Ritter. The students are going to stop trying to go because they know the GA sections are full every game. They need to do everything the can to increase the student fan base, not restrict it.
Then there's the section the band uses. I haven't seen them fill that section (or even close) yet this season. However they still take the entire thing, leaving a significant number of seats in the busiest area of the arena unoccupied. It looks weird.

 

[RIT Winters]

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Ran the attendance numbers at lunch for the GPC.

Saint Lawrence 3,103
Clarkson 3,502
Holy Cross 2,807
Holy Cross 2,681
Sacred Heart 2,050
Sacred Heart 2,578
Niagara 2,554
AIC 2,182
AIC 3,142
Army 3,403
Army 2,650
Niagara 3,205

TOTAL 36,678
AVERAGE 2,821

Only one crowd would have been small enough to fit in the Ritter and that was just short of 50 people for a sell out in the old barn.

I think overall it's been a success, like to see some big crowds push the average up above 3,000 and near 50,000 total mark.

We seem to be trending in the right direction. Attendance fell solidly below the 3,000 mark after opening weekend but in 2015 we've had more games over 3,000 than under. Likely this is a product of the team proving itself to the community after the dumpster fire that was last season. If we were to manage to get a home playoff series I think we could inch closer to capacity than our current record of 3,502.

 

[Ed Trefzger]

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Re: >>>>>RIT TIGERS... The Polisseum, just like the Ritter only more of us!<<<<<

Realignment talk in this week's ECAC Hockey column from USCHO's Brian Sullivan: http://www.uscho.com/2015/02/11/wei...alignment-and-where-ecac-hockey-might-fit-in/