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RPI @ Brown 1/29/10

Re: RPI @ Brown 1/29/10

As an eyewitness who saw the penalty that put RPI down two men from less than 20 feet away, I can attest that it was, indeed a penalty- though one that I would probably let go in the final seconds of a tied game, if I were a referee. Any other time in the game, it's a blatant foul, but with a few seconds left and the team already down a man? Eh. Not so much. I like that the refs are willing to be objective about the rules, but it was a bit of a soft penalty to call in that particular situation. Right off the faceoff, the RPI center tied up Brown's center and, using his stick, shoved the Brown guy to the ground while play continued. Certainly a penalty with 6 seconds to go in the first or second periods. Again, however I'd have probably let it go myself given the situation.

That said, I'll take the two points, regardless of how they came!

The second period was one of the best Brown has played all season, and it was partly because RPI let them dictate the game. If you let Brown dictate the game, we will beat you- just ask Princeton and Quinnipiac. However, RPI showed a lot of spirit and tenacity in coming back in the third, as it was Brown's turn to sort of fall asleep.

I was standing next to a pro scout, and I could see on his Brown roster that Harry Zolynierchuk (I still can't spell his name right after three years) and Aaron Volpatti were highlighted. So it was great that Aaron got the game-winning goal.


By the way, I read through the early parts of the thread where some people were commenting on the crowd, and it did fill in on the side where the press box is after the first period. I assume the basketball team must have been getting blown out or something, because a couple hundred students just kind of strolled in at the beginning of the 2nd period. There were also about 50-75 RPI fans sitting on that side. It would seem as though it was empty if you watched it on B2, but as the other side was fairly full, it wasn't a bad crowd for us. :rolleyes:
 
Re: RPI @ Brown 1/29/10

Just back from the game. Sorry for the garbled post after the 2nd period - blackberry malfunction.

First of all, with respect to Malchuk's penalty at the end. I had no issue with the infraction or the call. He was trying to get to the puck just to the right of the slot. The Brown player had position and he tried to chop the opponents stick - a play that you see 20 or 30 times in a game. It was not some kind of wind up ferocious slash. The Brown player lost his stick on the play and bam, automatic call. If the same play happened 9 more times the Brown player probably hangs on to the stick 8 of the 9. It's unfortunate that it happened as RPI was all over them by then. It was a hustle play that didn't work out and I'd send Malchuk right back out there.

The Merth call was a mystery to me. I didn't see it. The Brown fan above claimed it was the center who interfered but Merth wasn't the center - Polacek was. Hard to say.

The Pirri call seemed marginal to me but the rules on hitting from behind (which I assume is what was called) are so open to interpretation that you never know what to expect on those.

Other than that, all I can say is that the best team doesn't always win. A fair score for this game was probably 5-3 RPI. We had a couple of extremely close calls including a post by D'Amigo on the PP and a flurry in the 2nd on the PP where 3 separate players had hacks at an open net from very tough angles to the left and right of the goal. They just didn't go in.

I find that the tenor of the comments in this thread don't match the game I saw. RPI controlled the 1st period. Brown controlled the 1st 10 minutes of the 2nd. RPI fought back from there, got one goal and were fighting for an equalizer when Pirri made a very bad pass on the PP - which resulted in a 3 on 1 in the other direction and a goal that was the only one of the 4 that I can blame York for. RPI dominated the 3rd. The OT was not a fair fight obviously.

Our PK was very good. Our PP was not as good as I saw against BU and Princeton. But it wasn't a problem (other than the turnover - sorry to harp on that Brandon).

I'll say it again. The best team doesn't always win. That is what happened tonight. That is hockey. We'll see what coach has to say about it.
 
Re: RPI @ Brown 1/29/10

One more comment to add... what a deal it is to see games there. My ticket was only $5 and my son got in for free. Gotta love it.
 
Re: RPI @ Brown 1/29/10

I just got back from the game. Here's my biased take on the penalties.

The Pirri Major was pretty weak. It looked like a minor for boarding at most. One of the Brown Coaches grabbed Wahl's ear and was signaling for the 5 minute major. Pirri was ushered to the box at first, but the ref clearly changed his mind and decided to go with the Brown Coach and bounce him from the game. I understand the whole "hitting from behind" debate...but in this case I thought it was marginal at best.

The two penalties at the end should not have been called. I am not making the argument that the first one was not a penalty. I am just a huge proponent of refs swallowing their whistles in the 3rd period, for all but the most blatant penalties. Malchuk's penalty was not serious enough to warrant calling a penalty when two teams are tied, with less than ten seconds of regulation. The second penalty was a complete mystery. It was right off the face off, and was another case of being so minor, that it has no business being called at that point in the game. Most people on my side of the ice could barely see what the problem was. I don't know what was going through the refs' heads when they felt it was appropriate to send a team into ot on a prolonged 5 on 3.

Brown had a strong second period, but RPI certainly had the momentum in the third and going into the OT. The refs handed the victory to Brown. In the OT period it could have gone either way, but by calling those penalties when they did, they made it almost impossible for RPI to mount any kind of offense, regardless of what momentum they had. It was a virtual inevitability that Brown was going to break through.

One of the most poorly officiated games I have ever seen. I hope the guys can shake this one off, and get it done tomorrow. They deserved better.
 
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