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Lol. He’s not taking the bait snives.Next thing we might see is Chuck “buying in” to the importance of SOG’s, right, e.cat?
I was wondering who that was. Huge play
One would think
Good post. Yeah the AVR were over the top.Long-time lurker, infrequent poster here ... It's a relatively short trip for me to Rochester, so I couldn't pass up a chance to see if this season's UNH resurgence was in fact for real or just a mirage. Late on Saturday night I thought I'd find myself driving home in a funk, but wow - did that change in a hurry! Way to go 'Cats! Probably way too much commentary follows - so sue me
Unlike Chuck, I'm still not ready to go ALL IN on this team (even with qualifiers) as a potential NCAA participant, but I will say this - this squad is filled with *relentless* competitors that opponents underestimate to their peril. Digging themselves into an early 0-2 hole both nights was certainly not part of the game plan, but these 'Cats didn't panic, didn't fold, and came roaring back to tie each time; I don't think that earlier Souza teams would've had the intestinal fortitude to do that. Both early RIT goals on Friday Ken Dryden in his Cornell prime wouldn't have stopped: a point-blank roof job off a horrendous UNH D-zone turnover, then another top shelf rocket off a seeing eye tip at the face-off dot. On Saturday UNH switched to a more aggressive fore-check scheme from the git go and began peppering Scarfone with shot after shot ... which is fine if you don't neglect the defensive side of things. RIT jumped out again to an early lead with 2 goals off of well-executed odd-man rushes, as UNH was caught both times with too many guys too deep in the O-zone to counter. "Not again," thinks I, but when RIT's Catalano is sent off on a major penalty (more on this in a bit) for "contact to the head," UNH nets 2 on the ensuing PP, the first on a nice move by Cafarelli, and the equalizer on an absolute pea by LeClerc, a rising slapper from the top of the left circle that was in/out so fast Scarfone never moved. Game on! After a scoreless 2nd, RIT regained the lead on a PP goal midway thru the 3rd and it looked grim, especially after M. Winters was assessed a major of his own (spearing; more in a bit) with ~ 6 minutes to play. But the 'Cats held firm and successfully killed it off, setting the stage for not 1, but 2 last second heroics that turned all but sure defeat - and a weekend RIT sweep - into a most improbable split (well sort of, since ot wins are now considered just 2/3 of a victory in the PWR). The stakes were much less dire, but I'd like to think they were channeling 2009 all over again, with RIT orange/black filling in for NoDak green/white. Or going back even further, BU red/white from 1998 in Albany. Let me tell you, I jumped out of my seat just the same
And now a word (OK, several words) on video review - I can't recall another series in recent memory that was defined so completely in my mind by video "reassessment" ... As we all know, unlike VAR in futbol, or video review as implemented by MLB and the NFL, the college hockey version is closer to that of the NBA, i.e, the same officials making the initial call during the run of play will review their OWN calls via video replay and render a follow-up judgement. In some sense it's a do-over, an opportunity to correct an egregious mistake or verify an on-ice call. All of that, and more, was on display in both these games this weekend ...
On Friday, late in the 2nd, with RIT nursing a 3-2 lead, LeClerc levels an RIT player as he crosses the UNH blue line, sending him sprawling. 2 mins. for interference thinks I, but no; AVR (After Video Review) the call is adjudicated up to a 5 min. major for "Blind Side Interference," a penalty I'd never even heard of in 40+ years of following hockey :-( OK rules experts - is that really a thing? RIT scores on the ensuing PP to pad their lead, and then another early in the 3rd on the back end of the wrap-around major, stretching the lead to 3. Grrrrr ... UNH gets one back on a PP goal of their own, then H. Blaisdell appears to net another 5x5, but wait - the official is waving it off! The crowd is buzzing - high stick? Goalie interference? AVR the call is overturned and UNH is back in it at 4-5 with just under 10 mins. to play - Game on! Soon after the ref's got his arm raised again, in fact, they both do, so I guess it was a pretty obvious RIT penalty. But wait - AVR not 1 but 2 separate penalties are assessed to 2 different players (slashing and holding), giving UNH a full 2 min. 5x3 to try and get the equalizer. Can't remember when I last saw that happen ... Good pressure by the 'Cats just couldn't do it, as Scarfone stood tall and turned aside all he saw; UNH falls 4-5 :-(
On Saturday it's more of the same ... RIT leads 2-0, but a seemingly routine elbowing call is elevated AVR to a 5 min. major for "Contact to the Head" and UNH quickly capitalizes; at penalty's end it's now 2-2: Game on! So far these video reviews seem to be benefiting both teams at various times, but then comes the Winters penalty ... Late in the game there's a scuffle near the net in the RIT D-zone; an RIT player cross-checks Winters into Scarfone and all 3 players end up sprawled atop one another in/around the cage. No call; play continues up ice ... Behind the play, as the players start untangling themselves, the same RIT player finds himself knocked to the ice again. No call; play continues. Now RIT coach Wayne Wilson starts going apoplectic on the bench, screaming along with the partisan crowd to do something, anything. At the next whistle it's announced that Wilson has initiated a Coach's Challenge re: the goalmouth scuffle; AVR Winters is assessed a 5 min. major for spearing. Did he do it? I didn't see it, but the officials clearly did. Two things: (1) I hadn't realized that a Coach's Challenge could be requested in circumstances like this, i.e, for a supposed uncalled penalty, and (2) if a call had been made on the initial RIT cross-check, the subsequent retaliation penalty never would've occurred. IMHO it was just the last in a long series of questionable calls - and non-calls - made both ways by the officials this weekend (UNH ended up 3 for 13 on the PP over 2 games; RIT 4 for 9). Keep out of the box boys, all of you ...
Anyway, now it's on to Orono for our first game with the Black Bears this season. I'm not making any predictions but this: they won't get out-worked no matter the score (especially given how Saturday's game ended), and with a little bit of puck luck - who knows? Go Blue!
Long-time lurker, infrequent poster here ... It's a relatively short trip for me to Rochester, so I couldn't pass up a chance to see if this season's UNH resurgence was in fact for real or just a mirage. Late on Saturday night I thought I'd find myself driving home in a funk, but wow - did that change in a hurry! Way to go 'Cats! Probably way too much commentary follows - so sue me
Unlike Chuck, I'm still not ready to go ALL IN on this team (even with qualifiers) as a potential NCAA participant, but I will say this - this squad is filled with *relentless* competitors that opponents underestimate to their peril. Digging themselves into an early 0-2 hole both nights was certainly not part of the game plan, but these 'Cats didn't panic, didn't fold, and came roaring back to tie each time; I don't think that earlier Souza teams would've had the intestinal fortitude to do that. Both early RIT goals on Friday Ken Dryden in his Cornell prime wouldn't have stopped: a point-blank roof job off a horrendous UNH D-zone turnover, then another top shelf rocket off a seeing eye tip at the face-off dot. On Saturday UNH switched to a more aggressive fore-check scheme from the git go and began peppering Scarfone with shot after shot ... which is fine if you don't neglect the defensive side of things. RIT jumped out again to an early lead with 2 goals off of well-executed odd-man rushes, as UNH was caught both times with too many guys too deep in the O-zone to counter. "Not again," thinks I, but when RIT's Catalano is sent off on a major penalty (more on this in a bit) for "contact to the head," UNH nets 2 on the ensuing PP, the first on a nice move by Cafarelli, and the equalizer on an absolute pea by LeClerc, a rising slapper from the top of the left circle that was in/out so fast Scarfone never moved. Game on! After a scoreless 2nd, RIT regained the lead on a PP goal midway thru the 3rd and it looked grim, especially after M. Winters was assessed a major of his own (spearing; more in a bit) with ~ 6 minutes to play. But the 'Cats held firm and successfully killed it off, setting the stage for not 1, but 2 last second heroics that turned all but sure defeat - and a weekend RIT sweep - into a most improbable split (well sort of, since ot wins are now considered just 2/3 of a victory in the PWR). The stakes were much less dire, but I'd like to think they were channeling 2009 all over again, with RIT orange/black filling in for NoDak green/white. Or going back even further, BU red/white from 1998 in Albany. Let me tell you, I jumped out of my seat just the same
And now a word (OK, several words) on video review - I can't recall another series in recent memory that was defined so completely in my mind by video "reassessment" ... As we all know, unlike VAR in futbol, or video review as implemented by MLB and the NFL, the college hockey version is closer to that of the NBA, i.e, the same officials making the initial call during the run of play will review their OWN calls via video replay and render a follow-up judgement. In some sense it's a do-over, an opportunity to correct an egregious mistake or verify an on-ice call. All of that, and more, was on display in both these games this weekend ...
On Friday, late in the 2nd, with RIT nursing a 3-2 lead, LeClerc levels an RIT player as he crosses the UNH blue line, sending him sprawling. 2 mins. for interference thinks I, but no; AVR (After Video Review) the call is adjudicated up to a 5 min. major for "Blind Side Interference," a penalty I'd never even heard of in 40+ years of following hockey :-( OK rules experts - is that really a thing? RIT scores on the ensuing PP to pad their lead, and then another early in the 3rd on the back end of the wrap-around major, stretching the lead to 3. Grrrrr ... UNH gets one back on a PP goal of their own, then H. Blaisdell appears to net another 5x5, but wait - the official is waving it off! The crowd is buzzing - high stick? Goalie interference? AVR the call is overturned and UNH is back in it at 4-5 with just under 10 mins. to play - Game on! Soon after the ref's got his arm raised again, in fact, they both do, so I guess it was a pretty obvious RIT penalty. But wait - AVR not 1 but 2 separate penalties are assessed to 2 different players (slashing and holding), giving UNH a full 2 min. 5x3 to try and get the equalizer. Can't remember when I last saw that happen ... Good pressure by the 'Cats just couldn't do it, as Scarfone stood tall and turned aside all he saw; UNH falls 4-5 :-(
On Saturday it's more of the same ... RIT leads 2-0, but a seemingly routine elbowing call is elevated AVR to a 5 min. major for "Contact to the Head" and UNH quickly capitalizes; at penalty's end it's now 2-2: Game on! So far these video reviews seem to be benefiting both teams at various times, but then comes the Winters penalty ... Late in the game there's a scuffle near the net in the RIT D-zone; an RIT player cross-checks Winters into Scarfone and all 3 players end up sprawled atop one another in/around the cage. No call; play continues up ice ... Behind the play, as the players start untangling themselves, the same RIT player finds himself knocked to the ice again. No call; play continues. Now RIT coach Wayne Wilson starts going apoplectic on the bench, screaming along with the partisan crowd to do something, anything. At the next whistle it's announced that Wilson has initiated a Coach's Challenge re: the goalmouth scuffle; AVR Winters is assessed a 5 min. major for spearing. Did he do it? I didn't see it, but the officials clearly did. Two things: (1) I hadn't realized that a Coach's Challenge could be requested in circumstances like this, i.e, for a supposed uncalled penalty, and (2) if a call had been made on the initial RIT cross-check, the subsequent retaliation penalty never would've occurred. IMHO it was just the last in a long series of questionable calls - and non-calls - made both ways by the officials this weekend (UNH ended up 3 for 13 on the PP over 2 games; RIT 4 for 9). Keep out of the box boys, all of you ...
Anyway, now it's on to Orono for our first game with the Black Bears this season. I'm not making any predictions but this: they won't get out-worked no matter the score (especially given how Saturday's game ended), and with a little bit of puck luck - who knows? Go Blue!
Next thing we might see is Chuck “buying in” to the importance of SOG’s, right, e.cat?
Long-time lurker, infrequent poster here ... It's a relatively short trip for me to Rochester, so I couldn't pass up a chance to see if this season's UNH resurgence was in fact for real or just a mirage. Late on Saturday night I thought I'd find myself driving home in a funk, but wow - did that change in a hurry! Way to go 'Cats! Probably way too much commentary follows - so sue me
Unlike Chuck, I'm still not ready to go ALL IN on this team (even with qualifiers) as a potential NCAA participant, but I will say this - this squad is filled with *relentless* competitors that opponents underestimate to their peril. Digging themselves into an early 0-2 hole both nights was certainly not part of the game plan, but these 'Cats didn't panic, didn't fold, and came roaring back to tie each time; I don't think that earlier Souza teams would've had the intestinal fortitude to do that. Both early RIT goals on Friday Ken Dryden in his Cornell prime wouldn't have stopped: a point-blank roof job off a horrendous UNH D-zone turnover, then another top shelf rocket off a seeing eye tip at the face-off dot. On Saturday UNH switched to a more aggressive fore-check scheme from the git go and began peppering Scarfone with shot after shot ... which is fine if you don't neglect the defensive side of things. RIT jumped out again to an early lead with 2 goals off of well-executed odd-man rushes, as UNH was caught both times with too many guys too deep in the O-zone to counter. "Not again," thinks I, but when RIT's Catalano is sent off on a major penalty (more on this in a bit) for "contact to the head," UNH nets 2 on the ensuing PP, the first on a nice move by Cafarelli, and the equalizer on an absolute pea by LeClerc, a rising slapper from the top of the left circle that was in/out so fast Scarfone never moved. Game on! After a scoreless 2nd, RIT regained the lead on a PP goal midway thru the 3rd and it looked grim, especially after M. Winters was assessed a major of his own (spearing; more in a bit) with ~ 6 minutes to play. But the 'Cats held firm and successfully killed it off, setting the stage for not 1, but 2 last second heroics that turned all but sure defeat - and a weekend RIT sweep - into a most improbable split (well sort of, since ot wins are now considered just 2/3 of a victory in the PWR). The stakes were much less dire, but I'd like to think they were channeling 2009 all over again, with RIT orange/black filling in for NoDak green/white. Or going back even further, BU red/white from 1998 in Albany. Let me tell you, I jumped out of my seat just the same
And now a word (OK, several words) on video review - I can't recall another series in recent memory that was defined so completely in my mind by video "reassessment" ... As we all know, unlike VAR in futbol, or video review as implemented by MLB and the NFL, the college hockey version is closer to that of the NBA, i.e, the same officials making the initial call during the run of play will review their OWN calls via video replay and render a follow-up judgement. In some sense it's a do-over, an opportunity to correct an egregious mistake or verify an on-ice call. All of that, and more, was on display in both these games this weekend ...
On Friday, late in the 2nd, with RIT nursing a 3-2 lead, LeClerc levels an RIT player as he crosses the UNH blue line, sending him sprawling. 2 mins. for interference thinks I, but no; AVR (After Video Review) the call is adjudicated up to a 5 min. major for "Blind Side Interference," a penalty I'd never even heard of in 40+ years of following hockey :-( OK rules experts - is that really a thing? RIT scores on the ensuing PP to pad their lead, and then another early in the 3rd on the back end of the wrap-around major, stretching the lead to 3. Grrrrr ... UNH gets one back on a PP goal of their own, then H. Blaisdell appears to net another 5x5, but wait - the official is waving it off! The crowd is buzzing - high stick? Goalie interference? AVR the call is overturned and UNH is back in it at 4-5 with just under 10 mins. to play - Game on! Soon after the ref's got his arm raised again, in fact, they both do, so I guess it was a pretty obvious RIT penalty. But wait - AVR not 1 but 2 separate penalties are assessed to 2 different players (slashing and holding), giving UNH a full 2 min. 5x3 to try and get the equalizer. Can't remember when I last saw that happen ... Good pressure by the 'Cats just couldn't do it, as Scarfone stood tall and turned aside all he saw; UNH falls 4-5 :-(
On Saturday it's more of the same ... RIT leads 2-0, but a seemingly routine elbowing call is elevated AVR to a 5 min. major for "Contact to the Head" and UNH quickly capitalizes; at penalty's end it's now 2-2: Game on! So far these video reviews seem to be benefiting both teams at various times, but then comes the Winters penalty ... Late in the game there's a scuffle near the net in the RIT D-zone; an RIT player cross-checks Winters into Scarfone and all 3 players end up sprawled atop one another in/around the cage. No call; play continues up ice ... Behind the play, as the players start untangling themselves, the same RIT player finds himself knocked to the ice again. No call; play continues. Now RIT coach Wayne Wilson starts going apoplectic on the bench, screaming along with the partisan crowd to do something, anything. At the next whistle it's announced that Wilson has initiated a Coach's Challenge re: the goalmouth scuffle; AVR Winters is assessed a 5 min. major for spearing. Did he do it? I didn't see it, but the officials clearly did. Two things: (1) I hadn't realized that a Coach's Challenge could be requested in circumstances like this, i.e, for a supposed uncalled penalty, and (2) if a call had been made on the initial RIT cross-check, the subsequent retaliation penalty never would've occurred. IMHO it was just the last in a long series of questionable calls - and non-calls - made both ways by the officials this weekend (UNH ended up 3 for 13 on the PP over 2 games; RIT 4 for 9). Keep out of the box boys, all of you ...
Anyway, now it's on to Orono for our first game with the Black Bears this season. I'm not making any predictions but this: they won't get out-worked no matter the score (especially given how Saturday's game ended), and with a little bit of puck luck - who knows? Go Blue!
You may be right. I looked at the replay a few times and also could not get a clear view of the number. Huard's number was easily visible at the other point. I went with Gagne because he is a defenseman, but LeClerc is often at the point. Viewing the replay frame by frame on a larger screen, the jersey is still not clear, but the name might be longer than Gagne(?) Either way a NH guy!