UML 2011/2012 Season Thread

[leswp1]

Re: UML 2011/2012 Season Thread

Ah, what set the scrum off? Hate to see something dirty like that. There were some...questionable... plays all around tonight, and after Ruhwedel ended Speelman's season (I'm assuming based on the broken wrist, separated shoulder and concussion) in the last game, there was already some bad blood...

When I saw the replay of this . It did not look like a penalty- just bad luck in the way he hit the boards after contact which was started fairly far out from the boards. Who ever was commentating on TV watched the replay and said it was a clean hipcheck, shouldn't have been a penalty. IIRC He was flying in, just got clipped by the hip and looked like a yardsale as he headed to the boards. I can't imagine anyone looking at the replay would see it as intentional to injure. What happened last night I would classify as intent to injure.

Great win tonight. UML played a great 40 minutes of hockey and then it got ugly in the 3rd with a couple UNH PP's which Carr really stepped up on. The call on Thompson was really bad, especially after Pendanza's iffy goaltender interference penalty, there really just wasnt a need to call either of those. Also, was confused about throwing the 4th line out for a DZone draw directly after a timeout when you called it to rest your top line in the first place. However, they did the little things like chipping the puck to the neutral zone and blocking shots to get the win. Overall, those are two very big points, especially with PC's win tonight. Anything up in the Whit tomorrow would be great so well hope for the best.

Agree with the Holmstrom comment, he's not overly talented but he knows how to play the game and plays it the right way.

The rink was packed and loud which was a plus. They should really just bring the Cup in every night huh? Tomorrow's game should be vicious I am sure.

I wouldn't be surprised if they reviewed the ending scrum, the play on Kamrass was pretty vicious. Apparently his shoulder looked awful and he was going to the ER for X-Rays/MRI. Definite shoulder/collarbone issue.

Unfortunately this isn't the NHL- they may do nothing although I have the extremely unrealistic hope that the coach would bench him for this game.

 

[Go-UML]

Re: UML 2011/2012 Season Thread

When I saw the replay of this . It did not look like a penalty- just bad luck in the way he hit the boards after contact which was started fairly far out from the boards. Who ever was commentating on TV watched the replay and said it was a clean hipcheck, shouldn't have been a penalty. IIRC He was flying in, just got clipped by the hip and looked like a yardsale as he headed to the boards. I can't imagine anyone looking at the replay would see it as intentional to injure.

Agreed. He was well inside the circle and was already off-balance when clipped by Ruhwedel and once you're sliding, you're basically at the mercy of momentum. It's unfortunate that it had the effect it did, but it is a contact sport and sometimes it's not a penalty but 'just hockey'.

 

[Patronick]

Re: UML 2011/2012 Season Thread

It's the first time I've seen him play in person this season, but wow is DiGirolamo awful. He went 12 rounds with the puck last night, and while he almost always got a piece of the first shot, left every single rebound there for the taking. I refuse to believe this was the guy they were talking about as one of the best goalies in the nation when he's easily bottom half of Hockey East.

 

[WildShawn]

Re: UML 2011/2012 Season Thread

Agreed. He was well inside the circle and was already off-balance when clipped by Ruhwedel and once you're sliding, you're basically at the mercy of momentum. It's unfortunate that it had the effect it did, but it is a contact sport and sometimes it's not a penalty but 'just hockey'.

I admit I only saw it live at the rink, not on replay or the awful TV broadcast, but my recollection was Speelman was just inside the goal line when he was hit, are you saying he was all the way in the faceoff circle? Either way, I didn't think it was dirty or anything, it did seem like an obvious boarding call (but then again so did the 5 min/Game Misconduct hit from behind that was from the front/side later in that game, Fyrer is the 2nd worst official to Keenan in the league).

It's the first time I've seen him play in person this season, but wow is DiGirolamo awful. He went 12 rounds with the puck last night, and while he almost always got a piece of the first shot, left every single rebound there for the taking. I refuse to believe this was the guy they were talking about as one of the best goalies in the nation when he's easily bottom half of Hockey East.

No objections. He was great last year though, and it's amazing at how much he's regressed. He's the reason they lost last night and at Harvard last week, and you can't find a UNH fan that can figure out why he wasn't pulled in the Harvard game and why one of the two backups, both of who are supposed to be very good, aren't getting some time.

Great win tonight. UML played a great 40 minutes of hockey and then it got ugly in the 3rd with a couple UNH PP's which Carr really stepped up on. The call on Thompson was really bad, especially after Pendanza's iffy goaltender interference penalty, there really just wasnt a need to call either of those.

You're kidding about the penalty calls right? Obviously I'm admittedly biased, but they were both clear as day calls. Thompson elbowed Moses in the back of the head from behind, and Pendanza ran Digi, doesn't matter if you're driving to the net with the puck, you can't bowl the goaltender over like that.

 

[Kenesky]

Re: UML 2011/2012 Season Thread

Was at the game last night. First time I've seen UMass-Lowell at home since they were a D3 program playing at the Skate 3 in Tyngsborough....Great crowd with a good mix of young and old.

As a Hamilton grad, I saw first hand the job Norm Bazin did turning things around there. Looks like he's well on his way to doing the same with the Riverhawks. Enjoy the ride.

Capped off the evening with a few (more) cold ones at the Old Worthen. Much has changed in Lowell since I lived there 35 years ago, but not that place.

 

[boblav1]

Re: UML 2011/2012 Season Thread

Was at the game last night. First time I've seen UMass-Lowell at home since they were a D3 program playing at the Skate 3 in Tyngsborough....Great crowd with a good mix of young and old.

As a Hamilton grad, I saw first hand the job Norm Bazin did turning things around there. Looks like he's well on his way to doing the same with the Riverhawks. Enjoy the ride.

Capped off the evening with a few (more) cold ones at the Old Worthen. Much has changed in Lowell since I lived there 35 years ago, but not that place.

Thanks for the comments Kenesky. Hopefully it will not be so long before your back. BC is in town next Friday night.

 

[snipeshow10]

Re: UML 2011/2012 Season Thread

I understand the Pendanza call, I just have never been a fan of a forward taking a defenseman hard to the net, the defensemanmaking contact and pushing him towards the goalie, and the player getting a call for goalie interference. That is personally just playing hockey to me. But yes I understand the call. The Thompson hit was called a check from behind which was why I didn't understand the call because Moses landed on his back. I don't think gravity would even allow that to happen. It looked like he came in from the side and popped him. I didn't get a great look at the elbow which was possible, but I just didn't think it was a check from behind. Regardless, the officiating didn't much matter because UNH really brought it in the 3rd period.

Also, when you call a Timeout, it resets the change so you can put whatever line you would like out. That's why I was so baffled.

I am sure UNH will come out guns blazing tonight in the first so hopefully Lowell can weather the storm and pop the first goal. 7th defenseman would be Eiserman, him and Corcoran have been 6/7 all year so I would imagine Eiserman slides into the 6 spot tonight.

 

[WildShawn]

I thought it was going to be an elbowing call, he made contact wth his head (granted moses is tiny, so it might be hard to avoid) as it was really more from the side. I don't think the officials had much of an effect on the outcome, though some of the offsides calls/non calls by kelleher (is he new?) On both teams were atrocious.

 

[UMLFan]

Re: UML 2011/2012 Season Thread

When I saw the replay of this . It did not look like a penalty- just bad luck in the way he hit the boards after contact which was started fairly far out from the boards. Who ever was commentating on TV watched the replay and said it was a clean hipcheck, shouldn't have been a penalty. IIRC He was flying in, just got clipped by the hip and looked like a yardsale as he headed to the boards. I can't imagine anyone looking at the replay would see it as intentional to injure. What happened last night I would classify as intent to injure.

Unfortunately this isn't the NHL- they may do nothing although I have the extremely unrealistic hope that the coach would bench him for this game.

Agreed. He was well inside the circle and was already off-balance when clipped by Ruhwedel and once you're sliding, you're basically at the mercy of momentum. It's unfortunate that it had the effect it did, but it is a contact sport and sometimes it's not a penalty but 'just hockey'.

Agreed completely. The original hit took place outside the goal line, and Speelman was off balance and the hit sent him sliding into the boards. I was shocked it was called a penalty.

I admit I only saw it live at the rink, not on replay or the awful TV broadcast, but my recollection was Speelman was just inside the goal line when he was hit, are you saying he was all the way in the faceoff circle? Either way, I didn't think it was dirty or anything, it did seem like an obvious boarding call (but then again so did the 5 min/Game Misconduct hit from behind that was from the front/side later in that game, Fyrer is the 2nd worst official to Keenan in the league).

Fyrer does suck. In regards to the hit, I believe you can still see the highlights of that game on HE's site.

You're kidding about the penalty calls right? Obviously I'm admittedly biased, but they were both clear as day calls. Thompson elbowed Moses in the back of the head from behind, and Pendanza ran Digi, doesn't matter if you're driving to the net with the puck, you can't bowl the goaltender over like that.

Moses hit, agreed. The Pendanza call was BS. He got shoved into Digi.

Anyway, from the Lowell side, what a win. What a crowd. Right now, I'm just a happy Lowell alum. And before the game, I even called Merrimack losing to PC. Makes me even happier.

 

[jrobes01]

Re: UML 2011/2012 Season Thread

Awesome game. Can't say enough about Doug Carr.. kid is playing spectacular this season. That save on the breakaway in the third period was stunning. Also glad to see a win like that in front of a 6,800+ crowd. Presumably there were a lot of people seeing their first UML game, hopefully they like what they saw and come back for more. BC should be another packed house on Friday.

Headed over to the Tsongas in a bit for some basketball. Although they're not playing up to expectations yet this season, I hope they get a decent crowd for that as well. Decent being over 1,000 of course, not really expecting much more than that..

 

[WildShawn]

Re: UML 2011/2012 Season Thread

Agreed completely. The original hit took place outside the goal line, and Speelman was off balance and the hit sent him sliding into the boards. I was shocked it was called a penalty.

Fyrer does suck. In regards to the hit, I believe you can still see the highlights of that game on HE's site.

Moses hit, agreed. The Pendanza call was BS. He got shoved into Digi.

Anyway, from the Lowell side, what a win. What a crowd. Right now, I'm just a happy Lowell alum. And before the game, I even called Merrimack losing to PC. Makes me even happier.

It was the first time I'd been to the Tsongas in a couple of years, and man, what a beauty of an arena you guys have. Seeing it jam packed like that (was it a sellout?) was great, hopefully for you guys it continues. Maybe the casual fans that came to see the cup and enjoyed a really good game will get hooked into coming back a few more times. Good luck the rest of the way (except tongiht and against UVM no matter how terrible they are this year)

 

[Gainzo]

Re: UML 2011/2012 Season Thread

It was the first time I'd been to the Tsongas in a couple of years, and man, what a beauty of an arena you guys have. Seeing it jam packed like that (was it a sellout?) was great, hopefully for you guys it continues. Maybe the casual fans that came to see the cup and enjoyed a really good game will get hooked into coming back a few more times. Good luck the rest of the way (except tongiht and against UVM no matter how terrible they are this year)

The Tsongas is one of the best places to watch a game in College Hockey. Lowell averages around 4,100 but last night must have been off the charts with nearly 7,000 in the building.

I would wish you luck tonight but you don't need it as UNH is money at home. I see a 6-2 UNH win.

 

[UMLFan]

Re: UML 2011/2012 Season Thread

The Tsongas is one of the best places to watch a game in College Hockey. Lowell averages around 4,100 but last night must have been off the charts with nearly 7,000 in the building.

I would wish you luck tonight but you don't need it as UNH is money at home. I see a 6-2 UNH win.

Considering Carr is in net, I hope they don't give up 6.

The 4,100 figure unfortunately is due to the UAH game, otherwise the other home games have been around 5k.

 

[UMLFan]

Re: UML 2011/2012 Season Thread

Wow ... was it just as simple as changing the coach and changing the system? UML improves to 9-4 (6-3 in HE) with a 5-3 win and a weekend sweep of UNH.

A third of the way through the league season and Lowell owns the tiebreaker over both Maine and UNH. Wow, don't wake me ... I'm going to enjoy this dream.

 

[Patman]

Re: UML 2011/2012 Season Thread

this season certainly gets more and more curious every weekend

edit: we have a 3 point lead with 2 games in hand AND THE TIE-BREAKER on UNH... freaky freaky freaky

 

[WildShawn]

Re: UML 2011/2012 Season Thread

Wow ... was it just as simple as changing the coach and changing the system? UML improves to 9-4 (6-3 in HE) with a 5-3 win and a weekend sweep of UNH.

A third of the way through the league season and Lowell owns the tiebreaker over both Maine and UNH. Wow, don't wake me ... I'm going to enjoy this dream.

Congrats on the weekend sweep, and on the season so far. For the most part, you guys have good (and funny) fans, and deserve some success!

 

[Gainzo]

Re: UML 2011/2012 Season Thread

Wow ... was it just as simple as changing the coach and changing the system? UML improves to 9-4 (6-3 in HE) with a 5-3 win and a weekend sweep of UNH.

A third of the way through the league season and Lowell owns the tiebreaker over both Maine and UNH. Wow, don't wake me ... I'm going to enjoy this dream.

Don't know what to say. Can we pack the Tsongas on Friday against BC?

The great thing about this season is I'm going a weekend at a time. BC on Friday and Northeastern on Saturday. Get 2 points out of that and I'll be happy.

 

[leswp1]

Re: UML 2011/2012 Season Thread

Wow ... was it just as simple as changing the coach and changing the system? UML improves to 9-4 (6-3 in HE) with a 5-3 win and a weekend sweep of UNH.

A third of the way through the league season and Lowell owns the tiebreaker over both Maine and UNH. Wow, don't wake me ... I'm going to enjoy this dream.

who would've believed that Dorothy and Toto would spend so much time in Oz after watching the exhibition game? My mindset is totally changed when I listen now. After last yr every win is an unexpected thing in one part of my brain and yet I expect them to win now. I know that sounds weird but last yr they were so awful I barely listened and knew they were going to lose before they ever hit the ice. This yr good stuff seems to happen.

Also was glad it wasn't a blood bath after all.

 

[Patman]

Re: UML 2011/2012 Season Thread

who would've believed that Dorothy and Toto would spend so much time in Oz after watching the exhibition game? My mindset is totally changed when I listen now. After last yr every win is an unexpected thing in one part of my brain and yet I expect them to win now. I know that sounds weird but last yr they were so awful I barely listened and knew they were going to lose before they ever hit the ice. This yr good stuff seems to happen.

Also was glad it wasn't a blood bath after all.

How about this... granted things can change in 2-3 weeks... the current league standings (accounting for games in hand)... some order of... BC, Merrimack, BU, UML/Providence... *GAP*.... etc. Not quite world turned upside-down but not exactly on its axis.

 

[leswp1]

Re: UML 2011/2012 Season Thread

How about this... granted things can change in 2-3 weeks... the current league standings (accounting for games in hand)... some order of... BC, Merrimack, BU, UML/Providence... *GAP*.... etc. Not quite world turned upside-down but not exactly on its axis.

I thought perhaps the worls had just stopped spinning altogether.