SLU 2009-2010 Season

[Bill]

Re: SLU 2009-2010 Season

They were equal partners. Hoffort was incredible for the whole game, but the referee blew a key call at a crucial time. He failed to penalize LSSU for intentionally knocking off the net to prevent an SLU goal at the end of regulation. Even the SI recap of the game mentioned the officiating, saying that SLU should have been awarded a goal or a penalty shot on that play. There were a couple of other non-calls in the third that were big as well.

Had there been a penalty shot awarded, someone on SLU still would have had to beat Hoffort, which may have been difficult the way he was playing that night. Non-calls tend to be the rule when it get's late in an NCAA tournament game. Personally I would prefer to see the refs call a game consistently all the way through rather than having two different criteria for what constitutes a penalty depending upon at what point in the game it is. I don't think it's as bad as it used to be, but refs still have trouble overcoming the "I don't want to be the one to decide the game" syndrome.

 

[critsports]

Re: SLU 2009-2010 Season

Well anyone have anything else to post to cheer me up today?????

Unlike a previous poster I would rather have a kid for a year or two than lose him entirely before he even gets here.

Man I am major league bummed out. I was so looking forward to seeing some of these freshmen come in right away and contributing. Losing Stevenson is big blow.

Da_n it........I'm going back to Borders and returning Ted Leonsis's book!!!!

 

[critsports]

Re: SLU 2009-2010 Season

OK......for those not in the know here is what we are missing out on in this deal........a big, big, loss.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have signed free agent defenseman Dustin Stevenson to a three-year entry-level contract beginning next season, vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today.

Stevenson, 20, is a 6’5”, 220-pound native of Gull Lake, Saskatchewan, who plays for the La Ronge Ice Wolves of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL). The La Ronge captain was named the SJHL Player of the Year after posting 47 points (11 goals, 36 assists) and 134 penalty minutes in 56 games. He finished third among league defensemen in scoring and tied for eighth in the league in penalty minutes.

Stevenson and the Ice Wolves are currently playing in the SJHL’s Credit Union Cup Finals. He leads all SJHL defensemen with 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in 17 playoff games. The winner of the Credit Union Cup will face the winner of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League for the Anavet Cup.

Stevenson has spent three seasons with La Ronge, totaling 99 points (28 goals, 71 assists) and 323 penalty minutes in 163 regular-season games.

 

[Got 6 Want More]

Re: SLU 2009-2010 Season

Ok, this is the second bad thing to happen in the past week. Bad things come in threes. God, just please get it over with now so we can move on?

That does really suck, he probably would have been a very good addition to the defensive corps based on size alone. Ah well, let's hope Joe and the gang can find another late diamond in the rough to fill the void.

I guess that probably moves Riley Austin into 2010. He is also a great player. I was hoping to have both. He is a big, strong, solid kid.

***!! When is the last time a kid signs an NHL contract directly from Tier 2??? Very unusual. From my perspective, we really needed him next year. I got nothing good to say about a kid that leaves a team that treated him so well completely high and dry as the recruiting field is heavily picked over. If we had known, we could have used that scholarship to scoop up someone else that is good and would help us instead of having SLU hear things through the rumor mill and finding out April 5th. The only word that comes to mind is Brutal. I hope the Caps resign Miskovic and he takes the kids spot on the Caps blueline. Sorry, I feel some spite!

 

[TimU]

Re: SLU 2009-2010 Season

Had there been a penalty shot awarded, someone on SLU still would have had to beat Hoffort, which may have been difficult the way he was playing that night. Non-calls tend to be the rule when it get's late in an NCAA tournament game. Personally I would prefer to see the refs call a game consistently all the way through rather than having two different criteria for what constitutes a penalty depending upon at what point in the game it is. I don't think it's as bad as it used to be, but refs still have trouble overcoming the "I don't want to be the one to decide the game" syndrome.

Yes. Just a couple of clarifications, though. First, there's a difference between letting a borderline hold or hook go uncalled late in a game, and watching a skater lift the net up with two hands under the crossbar, with his goaltender out of position and an opposing player about to score. There is DEFINITELY no guarantee that Hoffort wouldn't have stopped a penalty shot attempt. The ones he saw he stopped. The ones he never saw he stopped anyway. It was his night. But I believe it's in the referee's discretion in a case like that to actually award a goal, and if I remember correctly, Sports Illustrated thought that was the correct call. It also could have been a penalty shot, or a minor penalty for delay of game. Nothing was called. I don't think there's ever an excuse for letting something that egregious go, because then as a referee you're doing exactly what you're trying to avoid - opening up the possibilty that you'll "decide the game."

I do agree with you overall point.

 

[Got 6 Want More]

Re: SLU 2009-2010 Season

Had there been a penalty shot awarded, someone on SLU still would have had to beat Hoffort, which may have been difficult the way he was playing that night. Non-calls tend to be the rule when it get's late in an NCAA tournament game. Personally I would prefer to see the refs call a game consistently all the way through rather than having two different criteria for what constitutes a penalty depending upon at what point in the game it is. I don't think it's as bad as it used to be, but refs still have trouble overcoming the "I don't want to be the one to decide the game" syndrome.

Hoffort wasn't in the net. He was lying face down 15 feet away. The proper call would have been a penalty shot on an empty net which is an automatic goal.


We in the ECAC know all about how inconsistent refs can be, but that game was completely blown by the officials.

 

[Got 6 Want More]

Re: SLU 2009-2010 Season

Well anyone have anything else to post to cheer me up today?????

Unlike a previous poster I would rather have a kid for a year or two than lose him entirely before he even gets here.

Man I am major league bummed out. I was so looking forward to seeing some of these freshmen come in right away and contributing. Losing Stevenson is big blow.

Da_n it........I'm going back to Borders and returning Ted Leonsis's book!!!!

On the bright side, the Caps won't have any money to pay him after paying for Ovechkin.

I would return the book too! This one is actually anoying. So many associated with the pro game are just blood-suckers. I sure hope he got a good deal because dealing with a lot of these guys has a pretty short honeymoon.

Austin is younger than Stevenson. He will develop into a good player. Now I think they have two scholarships open from Stevenson and Bollig. For a team that wanted to get bigger and stronger, it has been a really tough week.

I got to wonder if he'll just end up like Stu Bickell bouncing between the AHL and ECHL. Even Bollig could have got himself a much better contract with a great season next year as a Saint.

 

[Bill]

Re: SLU 2009-2010 Season

Hoffort wasn't in the net. He was lying face down 15 feet away. The proper call would have been a penalty shot on an empty net which is an automatic goal.


We in the ECAC know all about how inconsistent refs can be, but that game was completely blown by the officials.

Was there such a thing in the rules (back at that time) as a penalty shot on an empty net when the goalie was on ice for the play leading to the penalty shot, or an automatic goal being awarded for that matter?

 

[hockeyplayer1015]

Re: SLU 2009-2010 Season

Hoffort wasn't in the net. He was lying face down 15 feet away. The proper call would have been a penalty shot on an empty net which is an automatic goal.

Patrik Stefan says hello.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI0CFWPxdss

 

[Got 6 Want More]

Re: SLU 2009-2010 Season

Was there such a thing in the rules (back at that time) as a penalty shot on an empty net when the goalie was on ice for the play leading to the penalty shot, or an automatic goal being awarded for that matter?

Yes. Cole didn't even have the balls to call a minor or a regular Penalty Shot so having him make the right call was totally inconcievable.

The point TimU made is the right one....LSSU has no cause for complaint about Frank Cole after 1988! As for Saints, he screwed us at least 2 more times at BC and the Maine Tourney that come to mind.

 

[Muskieman]

Re: SLU 2009-2010 Season

Well anyone have anything else to post to cheer me up today?????

Unlike a previous poster I would rather have a kid for a year or two than lose him entirely before he even gets here.

Man I am major league bummed out. I was so looking forward to seeing some of these freshmen come in right away and contributing. Losing Stevenson is big blow.

Da_n it........I'm going back to Borders and returning Ted Leonsis's book!!!!

Between reading about this loss and the LSSU game, I just am ready to scream. This has not been a kind week for SLU.

 

[Bill]

Re: SLU 2009-2010 Season

Yes. Cole didn't even have the balls to call a minor or a regular Penalty Shot so having him make the right call was totally inconcievable.

The point TimU made is the right one....LSSU has no cause for complaint about Frank Cole after 1988! As for Saints, he screwed us at least 2 more times at BC and the Maine Tourney that come to mind.

When the net was knocked off by an LSSU player, Hoffort had just made a save and there was a scrum for the puck to his left about 4 or 5 feet. Hoffort was at the left front corner of the crease, not 15 feet away and flat on his face. A St Lawrence player then gained control of the puck off to that side of the net and looked to be either going around the net or maybe passing back out front when the ref blew his whistle. There was no open net situation where dislodging the net saved a sure goal. There should have been a penalty called on LSSU for knocking the net off, so yes the ref blew that call. If the rules back in 88 called for a penalty shot in that situation, so be it. But SLU would still have needed to score on the penalty shot and held LSSU off for the last minute and a half or so to win the game. There was nothing there to justify a penalty shot on an empty net.

 

[Got 6 Want More]

Re: SLU 2009-2010 Season

When the net was knocked off by an LSSU player, Hoffort had just made a save and there was a scrum for the puck to his left about 4 or 5 feet. Hoffort was at the left front corner of the crease, not 15 feet away and flat on his face. A St Lawrence player then gained control of the puck off to that side of the net and looked to be either going around the net or maybe passing back out front when the ref blew his whistle. There was no open net situation where dislodging the net saved a sure goal. There should have been a penalty called on LSSU for knocking the net off, so yes the ref blew that call. If the rules back in 88 called for a penalty shot in that situation, so be it. But SLU would still have needed to score on the penalty shot and held LSSU off for the last minute and a half or so to win the game. There was nothing there to justify a penalty shot on an empty net.

Okay, thanks for your opinion. Just because it doesn't agree with our collective recollection, either ESPN analyst and Sports Illustrated, we'll be sure to take your word for it.

It was the last two minutes of the game and the rule book did call for a penalty shot same as covering the puck in the crease by someone other than the goalie.

FYI the puck was on the stick of a very capable scorer (Pete Buckeridge right in the slot when Stauber cheated. Further, the SLU PP was around 30% that season. If that ref was remotely competent, who knows if it would have even gone to OT. No one gets too worked up over judgement calls, but that was blatant and the ref was just gutless and incompetent.

We don't need a recap. Hoffort had the game of his life and was good enough to sign a fat contractwith Philadelphia (where he never did crap) but there is no question that SLU was a better team or that the ref had a direct impact on the outcome. And to remind you, the only reason we are having this crappy stroll down memory lane is because an LSSU fan is griping about Frank Cole robbing them!! He was just as important figure in their NCAA crown in 1988 (and in subsequent years thanks to the recruiting boost) as any player on that night.

 

[Muskieman]

Re: SLU 2009-2010 Season

When the net was knocked off by an LSSU player, Hoffort had just made a save and there was a scrum for the puck to his left about 4 or 5 feet. Hoffort was at the left front corner of the crease, not 15 feet away and flat on his face. A St Lawrence player then gained control of the puck off to that side of the net and looked to be either going around the net or maybe passing back out front when the ref blew his whistle. There was no open net situation where dislodging the net saved a sure goal. There should have been a penalty called on LSSU for knocking the net off, so yes the ref blew that call. If the rules back in 88 called for a penalty shot in that situation, so be it. But SLU would still have needed to score on the penalty shot and held LSSU off for the last minute and a half or so to win the game. There was nothing there to justify a penalty shot on an empty net.

When Macker scored late in game #3 vs Clarkson I recall looking up at the clock, amid the and my euphoria at Appleton, and it displayed 1:23. I further recall saying to myself, "you got to be hosing me, that was the time left when LSSU's Stauber dislodged the net." Oh, the irony!

 

[bothman]

Re: SLU 2009-2010 Season

Speaking of recruiting, just saw that Clarkson inked Luke Juha from Burlington - a real offensive-minded puck-moving defenseman. This is a big get. Did SLU take a look? I was hoping Harvard would land him (they have signed his teammate Mark Luzar)

 

[Muskieman]

Re: SLU 2009-2010 Season

Those here who know me know I've been around for many many years. Have watched all sports for many many decades and without question can say that non-call was the worst non-call I've ever seen. And, why oh blanking why, does Bruce Hoffort have to have my initials?

As painful as it might be for any SLU fan to watch, Pete Buckeridge shaking his head and laughing his butt off at Stauber as Stauber skated away -- says it all.

 

[Got 6 Want More]

Re: SLU 2009-2010 Season

Speaking of recruiting, just saw that Clarkson inked Luke Juha from Burlington - a real offensive-minded puck-moving defenseman. This is a big get. Did SLU take a look? I was hoping Harvard would land him (they have signed his teammate Mark Luzar)

Not sure. I know they saw him as they looked at Carey on that team a long time before offering him. I know SLU was pretty well stocked for the next two years and as he is a bit on the small side and a 1993 birthday making him a better fit for 2012, I am really not sure. I know the philisophical preference is not to sign kids who are 2-3 years away. Clarkson maybe got him by saying they would take him in 2011?

Who knows. Knowing what we know now, I am sure we would have been looking at a lot of different options!

 

[Got 6 Want More]

Re: SLU 2009-2010 Season

Those here who know me know I've been around for many many years. Have watched all sports for many many decades and without question can say that non-call was the worst non-call I've ever seen. And, why oh blanking why, does Bruce Hoffort have to have my initials?

As painful as it might be for any SLU fan to watch, Pete Buckeridge shaking his head and laughing his butt off at Stauber as Stauber skated away -- says it all.

Sure would love to have seen Buckeridge with a great set of hands or Pete Lappin taking a penalty shot there. But since when do NCAA refs actually have to call by the rules?? Cole probably thought he was doing us a favor by giving us a faceoff in the zone.

Christmas 1989, that fricken ref swallowed his whistle again when Nelson Emerson from Bowling Green nearly put Shawn Rivers through the boards on a hit from behind. After getting treated by the trainers and taken off the ice, we enjoyed the shortest PP in history....zero seconds!

 

[Ralph Baer]

Re: SLU 2009-2010 Season

Speaking of recruiting, just saw that Clarkson inked Luke Juha from Burlington - a real offensive-minded puck-moving defenseman. This is a big get. Did SLU take a look? I was hoping Harvard would land him (they have signed his teammate Mark Luzar)

Juha would have been nothing if RPI '11 recruit Patrick Koudys wasn't backing him up.

 

[Bill]

Re: SLU 2009-2010 Season

Okay, thanks for your opinion. Just because it doesn't agree with our collective recollection, either ESPN analyst and Sports Illustrated, we'll be sure to take your word for it.

It was the last two minutes of the game and the rule book did call for a penalty shot same as covering the puck in the crease by someone other than the goalie.

FYI the puck was on the stick of a very capable scorer (Pete Buckeridge right in the slot when Stauber cheated. Further, the SLU PP was around 30% that season. If that ref was remotely competent, who knows if it would have even gone to OT. No one gets too worked up over judgement calls, but that was blatant and the ref was just gutless and incompetent.

We don't need a recap. Hoffort had the game of his life and was good enough to sign a fat contractwith Philadelphia (where he never did crap) but there is no question that SLU was a better team or that the ref had a direct impact on the outcome. And to remind you, the only reason we are having this crappy stroll down memory lane is because an LSSU fan is griping about Frank Cole robbing them!! He was just as important figure in their NCAA crown in 1988 (and in subsequent years thanks to the recruiting boost) as any player on that night.

No, it's not just my opinion. I have the game on DVD and got it out and watched the last few minutes of it this afternoon to see what happened. I agree that the ref blew the call; at a minimum a penalty should have been called on Stauber, and if the rules called for a penalty shot back then (as they do today in the last 2 minutes), so be it. That in itself doesn't mean SLU would have scored on a penalty shot (or power play). The puck wasn't on the stick of an SLU player right in the slot when Stauber knocked the net off. It was off to the left of the net after a save by Hoffort. An SLU player (I'll take your word for it being Buckeridge) gained control of it on the far side of a scrum as the whistle blew, but he was hardly in prime scoring position based upon how close he was to the end line. If you don't want to take my word for it, fine. Get a DVD (or tape) of the game and take a look at it yourself. It will verify what I've said.

I don't have anything against SLU. In fact I was cheering for SLU at the Frozen Four in 2000 where you came up short in the semifinals. I like to see the little guys win the title. Good luck next season.