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RPI 2009 - 2010 Part II: I Believe in Seth Appert

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Re: RPI 2009 - 2010 Part II: I Believe in Seth Appert

If there are any non-psychopaths who would like to join the Red Army in Boston three weekends hence, we have a couple of tickets kicking around.
 
Re: RPI 2009 - 2010 Part II: I Believe in Seth Appert

Red Cloud said:
Yes, I did restrain myself from lowering myself to your level.
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That's two uses of "myself" in the same sentence. A little narcissism showing perhaps? Please don't hold back Cloud, it is probably not good for you. Some of us enjoy watching you blow your top. :D

Did you enjoy M&M's perfomance last night ?
 
Re: RPI 2009 - 2010 Part II: I Believe in Seth Appert

blocker said:
That's two uses of "myself" in the same sentence. A little narcissism showing perhaps?
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You're not new around here, so ignorance can't be the reason for this stupid question.

Please don't hold back Cloud, it is probably not good for you. Some of us enjoy watching you blow your top. :D
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I'm glad you get a little thrill from watching one of your superiors operate. It's probably all you've got going for you.
 
Re: RPI 2009 - 2010 Part II: I Believe in Seth Appert

OK, sorry folks. Sometimes, the trash just needs to be taken out. You know how it is.

Oh snap. It's Monday. Must be time for Without A Peer's weekly recap.
 
Re: RPI 2009 - 2010 Part II: I Believe in Seth Appert

ThePeople said:
... I'm gonna say right now that I will be very disappointed if Merriam is in goal against Bentley. Other than his size, he has been anything but impressive and I feel changing goalies sends a very negative message to York who has been pretty much outstanding so far and will only get better by playing more games...
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Well, two games for a true freshman goalie is hardly an adequate sample size to make any judgments about anything other than the length of his hair.:p Appert has played Merriam in order to help him slowly start adjusting to the speed of the D1 game. This is exactly what he did with York last year, if you'll recall.

Your alternative, apparently, is to have a still-in-the-wrapper freshman as your #2, a kid who hasn't smelled game ice since the NAHL. Then, god forbid when the unthinkable occurs and your starter goes down, you're forced to send the virgin out there to take his lumps. No thanks.

Appert was a goalie. He recruited and coached goalies for a NC team. I think I'm OK leaving their handling to him thanks.
 
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Re: RPI 2009 - 2010 Part II: I Believe in Seth Appert

Wicked Slappaahs said:
Well, two games for a true freshman goalie is hardly an adequate sample size to make any judgments about anything other than the length of his hair.:p Appert has played Merriam in order to help him slowly start adjusting to the speed of the D1 game. This is exactly what he did with York last year, if you'll recall.

Your alternative, apparently, is to have a still-in-the-wrapper freshman as your #2, a kid who hasn't smelled game ice since the NAHL. Then, god forbid when the unthinkable occurs and your starter goes down, you're forced to send the virgin out there to take his lumps. No thanks.

Appert was a goalie. He recruited and coached goalies for a NC team. I think I'm OK leaving their handling to him thanks.
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"your alternative", a little much to base on one post, no?
Sorry if I want my team to have confidence and not go "we have to make up for the fact that our goalie will give up easy goals if a decent shot comes his way" which is exactly what Merriam did against Army.

I have no problem with playing a new goalie early in the season, but we're past that point, we need to build confidence and that comes from a great goalie. We have York for 2 more years after this one, hes our number one goalie and he needs to be consistent which comes from playing more. Bryce was an afterthought pickup from Appert and I bet we get a really good goalie that probably starts over Merriam when hes a Senior.

Obivously Merriam is our number 2, but he'll gain enough just from being around our "great" goalie coach and practicing with the team and he'll get plenty of play time if York does happen to go down.

It should also be stated that Appert was not a good goalie, had amazing goalies to work with at Denver, and seemed to ruin Lange who was amazing as a Freshman under Fridgen while he took Alford and made him mediocre from the horrendous he was before.

Oh and "if you'll recall" Lange was a horrible goalie last year (though our d and o were so bad it didn't matter), which more than anything forced Appert to play York in the games and York pretty much *had* to be ready for this year or else we would've been stuck with a second rate recruit as our starting goalie
 
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Re: RPI 2009 - 2010 Part II: I Believe in Seth Appert

ThePeople said:
"your alternative", a little much to base on one post, no?
Sorry if I want my team to have confidence and not go "we have to make up for the fact that our goalie will give up easy goals if a decent shot comes his way" which is exactly what Merriam did against Army.

I have no problem with playing a new goalie early in the season, but we're past that point, we need to build confidence and that comes from a great goalie. We have York for 2 more years after this one, hes our number one goalie and he needs to be consistent which comes from playing more. Bryce was an afterthought pickup from Appert and I bet we get a really good goalie that probably starts over Merriam when hes a Senior.

Obivously Merriam is our number 2, but he'll gain enough just from being around our "great" goalie coach and practicing with the team and he'll get plenty of play time if York does happen to go down.

It should also be stated that Appert was not a good goalie, had amazing goalies to work with at Denver, and seemed to ruin Lange who was amazing as a Freshman under Fridgen while he took Alford and made him mediocre from the horrendous he was before.

Oh and "if you'll recall" Lange was a horrible goalie last year (though our d and o were so bad it didn't matter), which more than anything forced Appert to play York in the games and York pretty much *had* to be ready for this year or else we would've been stuck with a second rate recruit as our starting goalie
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Wow. The level of arrogance in this post is phenomenal.

York is "a great goalie", but if he wasn't forced to play (because Lange was definitively "a horrible goalie last year", and that was obviously Appert's fault) last season, we would have been forced to use "a second rate recruit". I'm going to guess that you're talking about Merriam as the "second rate recruit". This is the goalie that you believe we would have "been stuck with" (you'd rather have a fresh rookie with no experience with this team, rather than a sophomore who had a chance to practice with the d-men for an entire year??), but you refuse to allow him to play in a game that has absolutely no direct result on our standings within the ECAC?

What about the perils of having a goalie play an entire 38-game season (we played a pair in Alaska this year, so that bumps the total up by 2, and we're also guaranteed two in the playoffs)? You don't think there is some amount of fatigue that the goalies could suffer from? There are only three teams that have only had one goalie start every ECAC game... Brown (Mike Clemente has been pulled, though), Cornell (the acting / flopping of Scrivens must be phenomenal), and good ol' Rensselaer. 9 out of the 12 teams in the ECAC believe that some form of rotation or some kind of shake-up needs to happen at the goalie position in order to keep the best possible team on the ice (and we're only 4 - 7 games into the ECAC season!) We cannot blindly pin our hopes on York and state, without doubt, that developing a second goalie could not possibly help the team.

Comments that I'll agree with:
"Merriam is our number 2"
Merriam will gain more experience practicing with the team than sitting in his dorm room doing homework.
"We get a really good goalie that probably starts over Merriam when hes a Senior." (not 100% sure on this one, but given Appert's recruiting abilities and the fact that we have two years to solidify a recruit, there's certainly a good possibility this happens)

None of those comments addresses the fact that there is a good probability that Allen York may be injured at some point in the next three years. At the very least, he will have to sit out a couple games, just to stay refreshed. Would it be nice to win this tournament? ABSOLUTELY! Do I expect to see York in net on Friday night? YES! Would it bother me if our head coach, who is also the goaltender coach, decides to start Merriam in a situation where he has pressure on him to perform, but it doesn't affect the standings? NO!

And that's the difference. I'm not going to throw a fit if we lose to Bentley. I was upset with the direction this team was headed in last year. I'm not afraid to admit that. I was one of RC's "bedwetters." But, I have not even come close to punching the panic button on this season. I have only been to see one game so far this season, so I don't have a wealth of personal experience to judge on, but I will be back to campus in January and I am excited to see this team in person.
 
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Re: RPI 2009 - 2010 Part II: I Believe in Seth Appert

WS, what's up with the hair length jokes? I'm saddened he's the only one that still has it.
 
Re: RPI 2009 - 2010 Part II: I Believe in Seth Appert

burgie12: Agree with most of what you said but not the last point. Losing to Bentley WOULD be upsetting. I can accept the loss the Army and even Niagara, But losing to 3 teams like this in 14 games played would be making it a habit. This season is not just starting now-it is more than 1/3 over. With the talent on this team (albeit a lot of it freshmen), we could still be a .500 team but it should not be coming at the expense of these lower ranked teams. RC said it well in one of his earlier posts-the Bentley game is huge-as a team we have to start showing that we are an improved team and can win the games we are supposed to. If we can't handle the Bentleys especially at home in our own Tournament-then there is indeed something to be concerned about.
 
Re: RPI 2009 - 2010 Part II: I Believe in Seth Appert

Doc, My focus is really on the ECAC season, and finishing well in that regard. I am putting more stock in the upcoming Bentley game than what my post above would indicate, because I think it's a confidence game. Winning on Friday, against a team we're supposed to beat, without playing down to their level would be a big boost of confidence to everyone in the home locker room. But, if Bergin isn't back yet from his concussion, Appert decides to start Merriam, or some other changes happen which indicate that he is still toying with the line-up or finding the perfect combination, and the boys in Red still put out 110% effort, put high-quality shots on net, and don't commit egregious penalties, then I wouldn't be all that concerned with a loss. Again, it has no direct effect on the standings, and that is my primary concern as a fan. I'm not saying that it wouldn't have some kind of effect on the team, or the fan base, but personally, it still wouldn't have me reaching for the panic button. Let's get through this weekend injury-free, and hopefully with a couple more wins, and get prepared for the return of the ECAC schedule.
 
Re: RPI 2009 - 2010 Part II: I Believe in Seth Appert

I would have rather seen Merriam against Niagara. But I wouldn't mind him playing against Bentley. If we have our top two lines playing at full strength, we should have no problem.
This game means something to these guys, especially the seniors who have never won our own tournament.
Merriam is no stiff, he can play. He may not be number 1, but he is a good number 2. And as that, he has to get in some game time.
I will let Appert decide how to handle the goalies. That is his job.
 
Re: RPI 2009 - 2010 Part II: I Believe in Seth Appert

burgie12 said:
Doc, My focus is really on the ECAC season, and finishing well in that regard. I am putting more stock in the upcoming Bentley game than what my post above would indicate, because I think it's a confidence game. Winning on Friday, against a team we're supposed to beat, without playing down to their level would be a big boost of confidence to everyone in the home locker room. But, if Bergin isn't back yet from his concussion, Appert decides to start Merriam, or some other changes happen which indicate that he is still toying with the line-up or finding the perfect combination, and the boys in Red still put out 110% effort, put high-quality shots on net, and don't commit egregious penalties, then I wouldn't be all that concerned with a loss. Again, it has no direct effect on the standings, and that is my primary concern as a fan. I'm not saying that it wouldn't have some kind of effect on the team, or the fan base, but personally, it still wouldn't have me reaching for the panic button. Let's get through this weekend injury-free, and hopefully with a couple more wins, and get prepared for the return of the ECAC schedule.
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That makes a lot more sense:) I have to think that we are now well into this season-no longer the time to be experimenting and time to have a consistent line up out there (injuries of course aside). I suspect Helfrich will be back full speed and truly hope that Bergin has no lingering effects. Concussions scare me-I have seen enough careers affected by them. We haven't heard anything about Lee as yet and I sure hope he is back soon also-From what I have seen, he is a valuable addition to this team. I have to say though, I am real tired of us getting embarrassed in our own tournament against teams that we seem to hand pick to beat in the first round. I suppose I am spoiled by the past when we were usually a lock to at least play in the championship game.
 
Re: RPI 2009 - 2010 Part II: I Believe in Seth Appert

engineerhockeyfan said:
I would have rather seen Merriam against Niagara. But I wouldn't mind him playing against Bentley. If we have our top two lines playing at full strength, we should have no problem.
This game means something to these guys, especially the seniors who have never won our own tournament.
Merriam is no stiff, he can play. He may not be number 1, but he is a good number 2. And as that, he has to get in some game time.
I will let Appert decide how to handle the goalies. That is his job.
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Strong amen to that.
 
Re: RPI 2009 - 2010 Part II: I Believe in Seth Appert

burgie12 said:
Wow. The level of arrogance in this post is phenomenal...
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Thanks Burgie for taking this one on, I was busy pulling my hair out...:D

For the record, I never claimed Merriam wasn't the backup ...just that he needs some game experience to build confidence as the #2.
 
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