Re: The University of Vermont Official 2010-2011 Season Thread : Part 1
60% of sports is mental....
At this level it is more than 60%, most of the players have a similar skill level so the difference is the mental part of the game. Maybe more like 90% mental and 10% skill??
vermont looked like the best team BC played in game one and the worst one they have played in game three. i'm just glad i saw all the games in person or else i wouldn't be able to come to terms with the box scores.
I too was able to witness all 3 games in person. The difference between a team like BC and UVM other than talent level is the "hockey sense" the kids at BC have over this current group at UVM.
Seemed like when a BC player was in trouble with some sort of pressure, he would move the puck into an open area of the ice. Only problem for UVM was that as the puck was moving to that area of the ice, a BC teammate was moving in to catch the puck and continue the puck possession. The opposite seems to happen with the UVM players. When in a panic mode, they tend to pass to, well.....really.....no one in particular, more often than not, someone on the other team.
When watching the 2 teams during this 3 game stretch I could not help to wonder if the UVM kids actually practice together? It seems as if they don't. At this point of the life of a Division I hockey player, they should get it and with this group, that does not appear to be the case.
As I watch this season unfold, it seems like too many players have abandoned the team aspect of the game and are trying to do everything on their own. Too much individual skating, not enough team passing. As far as the upper classmen (juniors and seniors) are concerned; Downing carried the puck from blue line to blue line yesterday when his line mates were already ahead of him. Miller skates to much when a pass to a forward would work just as well. MacKenzie seems to be the new Burrows and spends way to much time down in front of the crease trying to score versus play D like his is listed in the program. Marshall has less than 5 goals in his college career and is a NHL draft pick???? Hope he is focused on his education as a pro career seems like a very distant reality. Leonard works hard and I agree with a previous post that he maybe should be paired with some more talented players. His assist against UNH showed he kind of has some hockey sense. Burrows is not a forward, he has only one move and it hasn't been working this year. Medvec and Lawson are leading the team in minuses. Stacey is out of the lineup now for whatever reason. Herrington doesn't play enough and after yesterday probably won't for awhile.
This team is missing that "guy"....the one who after floating around the ice during a majority of the game....Lenes, Vic Stalberg, Irwin....could change the outcome of the game with a "you need a goal?, I will go get you one" attitude and skill.
I like Sneddon's comment in today Ted Ryan blog, "“Hang with us. We’re all committed to trying to turn this around. The true fans will understand that,” he said Monday.
“I’m sure we’ll have a lot of criticism out there. Nobody can criticize me or criticize our players more than we’re criticizing ourselves..."
All we can do is hang, I guess....
