RPI Hockey 2017 - 2018: A Wealth of Notions

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: RPI Hockey 2017 - 2018: A Wealth of Notions

Looks like new blood is needed for the SLU game but it won’t be any of Samec, Payne or Burke. They were sitting to my side at tonight’s ACHA game @ HFH.

Theoretically they could make the trip; league rules seem to be (obviously they won't publish) that you're only allowed to make 3 lineup changes between the games; doesn't have to be people that specifically made the team trip, as we saw when the CCT player injured Kasdorf a couple years ago and we had to send up our 3rd stringer to be backup for Hackett. I'm fairly certain that was an extenuating circumstance, though.

 

[engineerhockeyfan]

Re: RPI Hockey 2017 - 2018: A Wealth of Notions

Turns out we're just bad again and hiring an Atlantic Hockey coach whose only successful seasons came when his goalies put up .930+ save percentages was never going to fix anything, or at least not in six months.

It's a little early to start blaming the coach.
This is a very young team. I didn't recognize half of the players names in last nights game.
Right now, this team has no chemistry. I can't find two players that look comfortable with each other, let alone a line.
The coach has a lot of work to do, so lets give him a chance to do the job.

 

[lugnut92]

Re: RPI Hockey 2017 - 2018: A Wealth of Notions

It's a little early to start blaming the coach.
This is a very young team. I didn't recognize half of the players names in last nights game.
Right now, this team has no chemistry. I can't find two players that look comfortable with each other, let alone a line.
The coach has a lot of work to do, so lets give him a chance to do the job.

I'm not so much blaming the coach as contradicting all of the "Dave Smith has fixed everything that was wrong with the Appert era" posts that came when we were 1-1-2.

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: RPI Hockey 2017 - 2018: A Wealth of Notions

I'm not so much blaming the coach as contradicting all of the "Dave Smith has fixed everything that was wrong with the Appert era" posts that came when we were 1-1-2.

I don't think he's fixed everything so much as he's brought some immediate things to the table that Appert never did. It still comes down to the execution by the players in the moment, which is something even Jack Parker couldn't solve. I've seen the same mistakes consistently made between a number of games, and as much as Coach Smith has helped to make adjustments to that end, it can only go so far. He obviously recognizes the faults and can address them in the short term, so as much as the old adage is "Players win, coaches lose", I would not put the fault on him.

 

[joecct]

"You would have had to see Juneau play to understand. Any time he touched the puck he put people on the edge of their seats wondering what he might do with it. Yes Pirri and D'Amigo were top end talent. Juneau was clearly the best player on the ice night after night and it was obvious."

That said, I'm not sure it's possible for that to happen today. Everyone can skate now. Unless we somehow find the next Connor McDavid or Austen Matthews.


Great description of Juneau - and I was one of the fans using the last 10% of my seat when he was there. I feel really lucky to have seen him play for 3 years.

They don't teach hockey skills anymore. Skating yes. But what to do off the puck and how to shoot, not so much.

 

[vicious]

Re: RPI Hockey 2017 - 2018: A Wealth of Notions

I'm not so much blaming the coach as contradicting all of the "Dave Smith has fixed everything that was wrong with the Appert era" posts that came when we were 1-1-2.

how many of us really believed everything was fixed at 1-1-2? Not me, and I can't imagine too many others. Let's not forget this team was 8-28 last season (and 38-69-7, by my count, the last three seasons).

This is a work in progress that will take awhile... hang in there. One game at a time.

 

[Ralph Baer]

Re: RPI Hockey 2017 - 2018: A Wealth of Notions

how many of us really believed everything was fixed at 1-1-2? Not me, and I can't imagine too many others. Let's not forget this team was 8-28 last season (and 38-69-7, by my count, the last three seasons).

This is a work in progress that will take awhile... hang in there. One game at a time.

I don't remember anyone saying that everything was fixed, just a bit of optimism.

 

[jericho]

Re: RPI Hockey 2017 - 2018: A Wealth of Notions

It's a little early to start blaming the coach.
This is a very young team. I didn't recognize half of the players names in last nights game.
Right now, this team has no chemistry. I can't find two players that look comfortable with each other, let alone a line.
The coach has a lot of work to do, so lets give him a chance to do the job.

Excellent post. The team isn't even 10 games into their schedule and everything is all gloom and doom. Yes, you have to regress a little bit before you get better, and this team is showing that. I love the fact that Smith says that this team has to learn to work together, something I've never heard Seth say in his 11 years here, and I've interviewed the guy numerous times. I think that RPI is a season or two from being REALLY good, but right now, they aren't as bad as their record indicates. There was a sense of optimism going into the season, but expectations were still really low. Keep in mind, not only is Smith getting to know his team, he's also getting used to a new work environment and an entirely new area. Things will turn around, and to an extent they are already are, but we, as fans, have to be patient. I know it's hard at times, after 11 years of the same thing. Smith wasn't the person that most of us here would have chosen, but he was hired for a reason, the fans just have to trust that Smith has the right ideas to turn the team around. If not, then RPI will start over again. Say what you will about McElroy, but judging from his time at UAlbany, he doesn't tolerate mediocrity for long periods of time.

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: RPI Hockey 2017 - 2018: A Wealth of Notions

I see it's the return of the idiotic tags...

A point's a point. I'll take it at this junction. It was game 4 of 5 that we gave up the back door (this time Reisinger missing the assignment). Pair that with an own goal and a terrible breakout, both by D-men (neither of whom was the person mentioned on the score thread), and you're not going to win too many games. That's not to say we didn't have our chances.

Troy York has a great compete level out there, and if he keeps this up for his four years, we're going to see something special out of him.

I am a bit worried about Jake Marrello. After what should have been a hitting from behind for 5 and game but was only called as a 2, he never returned to the bench. Fingers crossed he can recover within a week or two. Thankfully after the HFB on Wilson, he was right back out there. We can say what we want about his play out there, but you don't want to see anyone injured.

 

[DrDemento]

Re: RPI Hockey 2017 - 2018: A Wealth of Notions

FDude: I think Wilson is quite an offensive talent with one of the few with a scoring shot. he makes numerous defensive errors but part of that is his participating in the offense. Sure it is easy to place blame for defensive errors but a lot of this can be made up for by a pairing with another defenseman who can cover for him when necessary. So much of this is made up for by good on ice communication and team play. This is what i kept indicating about our former coaching system. That part of the game seemed to be neglected in favor of just playing some system that the players were unable or unwilling to fulfill. When you have an offensive defenseman out there, often times you need a stay at home yet mobile partner who can move into the areas vacated or cover the back door plays. The Rangers did it for Brian Leetch and of course the Bruins did it for the best offensive defenseman in history in Orr. When someone like Wilson is valuable for the offense to succeed (and no question he is) you have to find a way to play the defense around him at times. He has considerable talent and will no doubt play elsewhere in the coming years (the professional level will make use of his offense and be able to adapt their defense). We just have to find the way to do it here and ow. My gut feeling is that this coach will recognize this (probably already has) and make whatever changes are necessary.
After about 1/4 of the season a quick assessment tells me that we are able to score (lperhaps more than most of us would have guessed) and our goal tending is mostly solid. The downside surprise has simply been the inability of our defense pairings to get the job done. We are being grossly outshot and giving up far too many good looks to opponents in closer range of our goal than we should be doing. Faceoffs? Still the iceberg for our Titanic.

 

[Ralph Baer]

Re: RPI Hockey 2017 - 2018: A Wealth of Notions

postgame interview from the SLU game https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQ3cHnywJzA.

 

[turk181]

Re: RPI Hockey 2017 - 2018: A Wealth of Notions

FDude: I think Wilson is quite an offensive talent with one of the few with a scoring shot. he makes numerous defensive errors but part of that is his participating in the offense. Sure it is easy to place blame for defensive errors but a lot of this can be made up for by a pairing with another defenseman who can cover for him when necessary. So much of this is made up for by good on ice communication and team play. This is what i kept indicating about our former coaching system. That part of the game seemed to be neglected in favor of just playing some system that the players were unable or unwilling to fulfill. When you have an offensive defenseman out there, often times you need a stay at home yet mobile partner who can move into the areas vacated or cover the back door plays. The Rangers did it for Brian Leetch and of course the Bruins did it for the best offensive defenseman in history in Orr. When someone like Wilson is valuable for the offense to succeed (and no question he is) you have to find a way to play the defense around him at times. He has considerable talent and will no doubt play elsewhere in the coming years (the professional level will make use of his offense and be able to adapt their defense). We just have to find the way to do it here and ow. My gut feeling is that this coach will recognize this (probably already has) and make whatever changes are necessary.
After about 1/4 of the season a quick assessment tells me that we are able to score (lperhaps more than most of us would have guessed) and our goal tending is mostly solid. The downside surprise has simply been the inability of our defense pairings to get the job done. We are being grossly outshot and giving up far too many good looks to opponents in closer range of our goal than we should be doing. Faceoffs? Still the iceberg for our Titanic.

Good observations Doc. Many in Ottawa are now seeing how important it was for Eric Karlson to have had a D partner like Mark Method (lost him in the exp.-draft). Karlson had that huge -6 game earlier in the week.

 

[Noresmen]

Re: RPI Hockey 2017 - 2018: A Wealth of Notions

There a some talented players on this team and like anything else change takes time. There though needs to be consistency from the coaching staff. If forwards and goalies are sat for poor play then defenseman, no matter who they are (letters on their chest or not) need to be held to the same standards. So far I have not seen this. And I don't mean in being scratched I mean in a game. Poor play shouldn't just be tolerated.

The passing has overall improved, still needs work but is better than in years past. I would like to see more east west in our game along with some play making vs north south and just throwing the puck at the net. I also don't understand the coaches approach to the power play this year. Although the team had 2 this weekend, its not a great looking unit. Last year (as he has pointed out more than once) we had the #1 rated PP in the ECAC and the #9 unit in the country. To me, and I may be wrong, it looks like the PP is being run completely different. Why change something that was so successful. This coach seems to ride the Ref's the same way as the old coach. Was hoping to see a different approach but that doesn't seem to be happening.

I'm happy with the improvement that has been made so far ... theres a long way to go to make this a winning program but its started.

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: RPI Hockey 2017 - 2018: A Wealth of Notions

FDude: I think Wilson is quite an offensive talent with one of the few with a scoring shot. he makes numerous defensive errors but part of that is his participating in the offense. Sure it is easy to place blame for defensive errors but a lot of this can be made up for by a pairing with another defenseman who can cover for him when necessary. So much of this is made up for by good on ice communication and team play. This is what i kept indicating about our former coaching system. That part of the game seemed to be neglected in favor of just playing some system that the players were unable or unwilling to fulfill. When you have an offensive defenseman out there, often times you need a stay at home yet mobile partner who can move into the areas vacated or cover the back door plays. The Rangers did it for Brian Leetch and of course the Bruins did it for the best offensive defenseman in history in Orr. When someone like Wilson is valuable for the offense to succeed (and no question he is) you have to find a way to play the defense around him at times. He has considerable talent and will no doubt play elsewhere in the coming years (the professional level will make use of his offense and be able to adapt their defense). We just have to find the way to do it here and ow. My gut feeling is that this coach will recognize this (probably already has) and make whatever changes are necessary.
After about 1/4 of the season a quick assessment tells me that we are able to score (lperhaps more than most of us would have guessed) and our goal tending is mostly solid. The downside surprise has simply been the inability of our defense pairings to get the job done. We are being grossly outshot and giving up far too many good looks to opponents in closer range of our goal than we should be doing. Faceoffs? Still the iceberg for our Titanic.

If that's the case, I'm not sure what we're doing putting Moore out there with him, because he's also offensively minded (thankfully IIRC that didn't last long). Yes, Wilson has a good shot. Obviously you can't expect him to properly let it rip 100% of the time, but one thing I did like during the SLU game, in the attacking zone, is that we limited the number of times that we "forced" shots, which has been one of our banes for a while. We were patient with possession and worked for the good shot. Not only did we work for that, but there was more than one person taking it. Sure there were times we looked for a rebound, and sometimes the goalie will gobble that up. That's going to happen, take the faceoff in the zone and try again, which I did see improvement on. The power play was a step in the right direction during the SLU game, and not just because of the two goals; I thought we looked pretty good on the ones where we didn't convert. Obviously we still have a ways to go, but if we can take what we did right on Saturday, apply it during both of these upcoming two games, as well as improve on other facets of the game, we can give Quinnipiac and Princeton a run for their money, and possibly even take some points on the weekend.

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: RPI Hockey 2017 - 2018: A Wealth of Notions

There a some talented players on this team and like anything else change takes time. There though needs to be consistency from the coaching staff. If forwards and goalies are sat for poor play then defenseman, no matter who they are (letters on their chest or not) need to be held to the same standards. So far I have not seen this. And I don't mean in being scratched I mean in a game. Poor play shouldn't just be tolerated.

The passing has overall improved, still needs work but is better than in years past. I would like to see more east west in our game along with some play making vs north south and just throwing the puck at the net. I also don't understand the coaches approach to the power play this year. Although the team had 2 this weekend, its not a great looking unit. Last year (as he has pointed out more than once) we had the #1 rated PP in the ECAC and the #9 unit in the country. To me, and I may be wrong, it looks like the PP is being run completely different. Why change something that was so successful. This coach seems to ride the Ref's the same way as the old coach. Was hoping to see a different approach but that doesn't seem to be happening.

I'm happy with the improvement that has been made so far ... theres a long way to go to make this a winning program but its started.

With the PP, there's a lot more movement (at least 5v4), and more than one person taking the shot and creating a chance with rebounds. Anyone who knew Appert's style for PP only had to figure out who was taking the shot, and then be on him for a block like white on rice. Right now, we're 1/6 both overall and in conference. I'd say that's fairly solid, and I'd think most would find it satisfactory; obviously 20+% would be an A, but this is a B, which is nothing to sneeze at. Still 1 or 2 more turning into goals to get to 20%, but if we play the PP like we did vs. SLU, we'll be just fine there.

Smith definitely wanted to rip the refs a new one a few times, and he definitely had a beef with some of those calls, especially the hit on Marrello being only a 2. To be fair, we got away with a VERY quick whistle early in that game, and even the ref knew he got that one wrong and owned up to it. That's the first time I've really seen that though, and it's a very small sample size. We'll see what happens in the coming games.

 

[Ralph Baer]

Re: RPI Hockey 2017 - 2018: A Wealth of Notions

With the PP, there's a lot more movement (at least 5v4), and more than one person taking the shot and creating a chance with rebounds. Anyone who knew Appert's style for PP only had to figure out who was taking the shot, and then be on him for a block like white on rice. Right now, we're 1/6 both overall and in conference. I'd say that's fairly solid, and I'd think most would find it satisfactory; obviously 20+% would be an A, but this is a B, which is nothing to sneeze at. Still 1 or 2 more turning into goals to get to 20%, but if we play the PP like we did vs. SLU, we'll be just fine there.

Smith definitely wanted to rip the refs a new one a few times, and he definitely had a beef with some of those calls, especially the hit on Marrello being only a 2. To be fair, we got away with a VERY quick whistle early in that game, and even the ref knew he got that one wrong and owned up to it. That's the first time I've really seen that though, and it's a very small sample size. We'll see what happens in the coming games.

I agree that the powerplay seems to be improving, although conceivably SLU was just not too good on the penalty kill.

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: RPI Hockey 2017 - 2018: A Wealth of Notions

I agree that the powerplay seems to be improving, although conceivably SLU was just not too good on the penalty kill.

Opposition coverage is always going to be a factor, and them being able to defend is going to happen. The trick is to be patient with the shot, really get them moving around to create some openings especially if we're trying to chuck it from the cheap seats, and eventually we get an opening. Somehow I think we'll be able to get up to 20% on the PP this year.

 

[sk8tronthepond]

Re: RPI Hockey 2017 - 2018: A Wealth of Notions

Opposition coverage is always going to be a factor, and them being able to defend is going to happen. The trick is to be patient with the shot, really get them moving around to create some openings especially if we're trying to chuck it from the cheap seats, and eventually we get an opening. Somehow I think we'll be able to get up to 20% on the PP this year.

I'm surprised you were never a Division 1 coach?

 

[Wicked Slappaahs]

Opposition coverage is always going to be a factor, and them being able to defend is going to happen. The trick is to be patient with the shot, really get them moving around to create some openings especially if we're trying to chuck it from the cheap seats, and eventually we get an opening. Somehow I think we'll be able to get up to 20% on the PP this year.

Eddie Olcyzk distills it to its essence: " Move the puck or move yourself."

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: RPI Hockey 2017 - 2018: A Wealth of Notions

Eddie Olcyzk distills it to its essence: " Move the puck or move yourself."

Just as long as it isn't the 5v3 atrocity I saw at RIT, where we spent at least 5 seconds motionless with Tironese handling the puck. We looked like a deer in the headlights.