UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward

[Ray Dorn]

Re: UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward

I’ve seen many great college hockey players over the years, including ones at UNH from Gordie Clark to Bob Miller to Mowers, Krog and Haydar. What they all had that separated them from their peers was to see the game two or three steps ahead. And they were doing it at the age Gildon is now, so his being 20 with almost three years under his belt is no excuse. Mind you, he’s not the only one in this generation of college players who seems to be this way. I see plenty of high skilled play by kids 18 or 19 years old, but the ones who have that special gift are few and far between IMO and Gildon is not one of them.

Ah, the good old days! Clark and Miller played back in the 70's. The five players that you named are all forwards with an average height of 5'9". It is not fair to compare a 6'3" defenseman to a bunch of forwards that on average are six inches shorter. Who are the five best UNH defensemen you have watched over the years that are over six feet tall? How would you compare them to the UNH defensemen of today?

 

[Greg Ambrose]

In reference to this powerplay situation. I have noticed this a lot especially lately. The first group has a set formation, Pierson is in the middle at the blue line, Gildon at the right and Grasso on the left at the tops of the circles, Crookshank in the middle between the dots, and Macadams right at the net front. If this formation breaks down (particularly Gildon, Grasso, and Pierson end up in different places) to retrieve a rebound or to get the puck from a defender, and say Pierson ends up at the left side, Grasso center high, and Gildon on the left. They will take the time to get into their formation and forego any potential open passes or shots until they are in their known and comfortable formation. It usually takes 10-20 seconds off the powerplay for them to do that, I see it a lot and I would place that problem on the coaches if the players are uncomfortable going with an unconventional formation vs wasting the time to reset immediately once they have possession.

If this is the case, I’m pretty depressed. If the coaching staff has pre-programmed power play which allows no deviation, no wonder their PP percentage is so abysmal. I can’t believe that a guy like Souza, who played on UNH teams that had some pretty creative PP sets, would be reduced to this type of coaching. His forwards aren’t that bad. Scoring, especially on the PP, is all about movement, getting the defensemen and especially the goalie in a position where they are vulnerable. Running set plays with designated personnel is counterproductive, don’t you think?

And Ray, PP are only two minutes, zone time on one is even less. Setting up with the desired players in the desired positions, and taking 10-20 seconds to do it makes me want to tear my hair out. Teams looking for that one perfect shot, and spending inordinate amounts of time to do it, are only defeating themselves. Get the puck down low, a centering pass, or out to the point, get the defense scrambling around and shoot. Remember that, on a PP, more than 75% of goals are scored on tips or rebounds, not the perfect shot.

 

[HockeyRef]

Re: UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward

Early in the Beanpot final but BU is sticking it to NU. Scares me for the weekend EDIT: NU scares me.

 

[Greg Ambrose]

Ah, the good old days! Clark and Miller played back in the 70's. The five players that you named are all forwards with an average height of 5'9". It is not fair to compare a 6'3" defenseman to a bunch of forwards that on average are six inches shorter. Who are the five best UNH defensemen you have watched over the years that are over six feet tall? How would you compare them to the UNH defensemen of today?

Excuse me. When I referred to these players it was not about their physical ability but about their ability to envision plays before they were right in front of them. Some players have the knack to see two or three steps ahead and those I mentioned had that skill. IMO, Gildon, does not, and it has nothing to do with how tall or heavy he is.

 

[deltabravo62]

Re: UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward

If this is the case, I’m pretty depressed. If the coaching staff has pre-programmed power play which allows no deviation, no wonder their PP percentage is so abysmal. I can’t believe that a guy like Souza, who played on UNH teams that had some pretty creative PP sets, would be reduced to this type of coaching. His forwards aren’t that bad. Scoring, especially on the PP, is all about movement, getting the defensemen and especially the goalie in a position where they are vulnerable. Running set plays with designated personnel is counterproductive, don’t you think?

I'm not defending this as a good thing by any stretch, I don't like the fact that they are so rigid about this setup and all I was doing was explaining what I have been seeing and that being why you saw what you did that night. I am not a fan of the systems that we use on the powerplay and especially the 5 on 3 that has been discussed at times in this forum. I agree with you that flexibility and movement that is not predictable to create misdirection and odd man situations are preferable. In the stands I can read what they are doing and where the pass is going before it even happens so you know coaches and players for the opposition can pick it apart as well.

So yeah, I have watched this formation a lot and from what I see it completely neutralizes the middle man in between the circles. He hardly ever moves and the passes never get to him as he is at least double covered by sticks and bodies. This player never gets rebounds either (note: This player is Crookshank currently, the most pure scorer on our team). They are truly banking on the outside triangle getting a shot through clean or the lone net front guy mucking a puck in before the two plus defenders clear it out.

 

[e.cat]

Re: UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward

We interrupt this program to bring you early Primary results from Dixville Notch, New Hampshire. In a landslide victory Max Gildon has been voted the best UNH defenseman, well, since Rod Langway. In post election polling, voters commented that his creative offensive skills far outweigh any inability to see two or three steps ahead of the play. Of course the only player that has ever been able to do that with any success was Wayne Gretzky. He had the uncanny ability to go where the puck was sure to go before it got there!

In other news from Dixville Notch, Elizabeth Warren met with local tribal councils and apologized for her blonde hair and blue eyes. Pete Buttegig made an appearance at an Afred Newman conference and Joe Biden revealed that his son Hunter is not a crook. Tom Steyer and Mike Bloomberg were busy wasting their billions while Bernie was busy vowing to spend your billions. Meanwhile Amy Klobuchar was seen building a blue wall that the Donald is supposed to pay for.

Is it me or are all these phonies living in alternate reality?

 

[HockeyRef]

Re: UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward

We interrupt this program to bring you early Primary results from Dixville Notch, New Hampshire. In a landslide victory Max Gildon has been voted the best UNH defenseman, well, since Rod Langway. In post election polling, voters commented that his creative offensive skills far outweigh any inability to see two or three steps ahead of the play. Of course the only player that has ever been able to do that with any success was Wayne Gretzky. He had the uncanny ability to go where the puck was sure to go before it got there!

In other news from Dixville Notch, Elizabeth Warren met with local tribal councils and apologized for her blonde hair and blue eyes. Pete Buttegig made an appearance at an Afred Newman conference and Joe Biden revealed that his son Hunter is not a crook. Tom Steyer and Mike Bloomberg were busy wasting their billions while Bernie was busy vowing to spend your billions. Meanwhile Amy Klobuchar was seen building a blue wall that the Donald is supposed to pay for.

Is it me or are all these phonies living in alternate reality?

No, it's just you and your warped sense of politics...

 

[HockeyRef]

Re: UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward

UNREAL the intensity NU is bringing to this game right now...this is how you take control of hockey game and win it...(we'll see)

 

[Snively65]

UNREAL the intensity NU is bringing to this game right now...this is how you take control of hockey game and win it...(we'll see)

I think that BU Terriors are our best shot to overtake the eight HEA slot by end of regular season.

 

[HockeyRef]

Re: UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward

I think that BU Terriors are our best shot to overtake the eight HEA slot by end of regular season.

You could be right...but we've gotta bring some major intensity to do it! Would love to see us rock their boat this weekend...it's been awhile.

 

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward

If this is the case, I’m pretty depressed. If the coaching staff has pre-programmed power play which allows no deviation, no wonder their PP percentage is so abysmal. I can’t believe that a guy like Souza, who played on UNH teams that had some pretty creative PP sets, would be reduced to this type of coaching. His forwards aren’t that bad. Scoring, especially on the PP, is all about movement, getting the defensemen and especially the goalie in a position where they are vulnerable. Running set plays with designated personnel is counterproductive, don’t you think?

And Ray, PP are only two minutes, zone time on one is even less. Setting up with the desired players in the desired positions, and taking 10-20 seconds to do it makes me want to tear my hair out. Teams looking for that one perfect shot, and spending inordinate amounts of time to do it, are only defeating themselves. Get the puck down low, a centering pass, or out to the point, get the defense scrambling around and shoot. Remember that, on a PP, more than 75% of goals are scored on tips or rebounds, not the perfect shot.

Preach.

Success on the power play is all about creating space and seams, overloads, and making the guys on the PK move and think about what's coming at them next. The more you slow it down from an attacking standpoint, the more time you give the PK to read and react to what you're doing. I try to explain to my players that they need to work hard to get themselves and the ball into dangerous positions, and once you beat a defender, it forces that defender's teammates to react and cover space or players they weren't originally covering. That's when bigger mistakes get made, players get left alone, and more often goals are scored.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with having a base set-up to work from, but rehearsed plays rarely come off live like they do on a whiteboard. SO many variables. The important thing is for the players to have e general understanding of roles, but have clear understandings of what they're really trying to accomplish, and to recognize when those opportunities present themselves. The easiest teams to defend are the ones who don't move the point of attack, move slowly, or move in easily predictable ways.

Good to have you back on the boards, Greg. Hope all is well.

 

[Chuck Murray]

Post of the Night - We Have a Winner!!

Post of the Night - We Have a Winner!!

We interrupt this program to bring you early Primary results from Dixville Notch, New Hampshire. In a landslide victory Max Gildon has been voted the best UNH defenseman, well, since Rod Langway. In post election polling, voters commented that his creative offensive skills far outweigh any inability to see two or three steps ahead of the play. Of course the only player that has ever been able to do that with any success was Wayne Gretzky. He had the uncanny ability to go where the puck was sure to go before it got there!

In other news from Dixville Notch, Elizabeth Warren met with local tribal councils and apologized for her blonde hair and blue eyes. Pete Buttegig made an appearance at an Afred Newman conference and Joe Biden revealed that his son Hunter is not a crook. Tom Steyer and Mike Bloomberg were busy wasting their billions while Bernie was busy vowing to spend your billions. Meanwhile Amy Klobuchar was seen building a blue wall that the Donald is supposed to pay for.

Is it me or are all these phonies living in alternate reality?

I think you'll be receiving a job offer from the Effingwoods Hockey Almanac shortly, e.cat.

 

[Snively65]

Re: UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward

JvR with a goal and an assist, but no word whether he completed a Gordie Howe hat trick the other night.

 

[e.cat]

No, it's just you and your warped sense of politics...

Guilty as charged Ref!

 

[e.cat]

I think you'll be receiving a job offer from the Effingwoods Hockey Almanac shortly, e.cat.

I accept;-)

 

[BlackI]

Preach.

Success on the power play is all about creating space and seams, overloads, and making the guys on the PK move and think about what's coming at them next. The more you slow it down from an attacking standpoint, the more time you give the PK to read and react to what you're doing. I try to explain to my players that they need to work hard to get themselves and the ball into dangerous positions, and once you beat a defender, it forces that defender's teammates to react and cover space or players they weren't originally covering. That's when bigger mistakes get made, players get left alone, and more often goals are scored.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with having a base set-up to work from, but rehearsed plays rarely come off live like they do on a whiteboard. SO many variables. The important thing is for the players to have e general understanding of roles, but have clear understandings of what they're really trying to accomplish, and to recognize when those opportunities present themselves. The easiest teams to defend are the ones who don't move the point of attack, move slowly, or move in easily predictable ways.

Good to have you back on the boards, Greg. Hope all is well.

Just put breaks on when coming into the zone... if no offsides then blast it wide or high off the glass. Now that would be unpredictable.

 

[Ray Dorn]

Re: UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward

JvR with a goal and an assist, but no word whether he completed a Gordie Howe hat trick the other night.

JvR did not complete the Gordie Howe hat trick last night with a fight. Better yet, for those of you who are fans of the +/- statistic he was a +3 in the game!

 

[Ray Dorn]

Re: UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward

Preach.

Success on the power play is all about creating space and seams, overloads, and making the guys on the PK move and think about what's coming at them next. The more you slow it down from an attacking standpoint, the more time you give the PK to read and react to what you're doing. I try to explain to my players that they need to work hard to get themselves and the ball into dangerous positions, and once you beat a defender, it forces that defender's teammates to react and cover space or players they weren't originally covering. That's when bigger mistakes get made, players get left alone, and more often goals are scored.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with having a base set-up to work from, but rehearsed plays rarely come off live like they do on a whiteboard. SO many variables. The important thing is for the players to have e general understanding of roles, but have clear understandings of what they're really trying to accomplish, and to recognize when those opportunities present themselves. The easiest teams to defend are the ones who don't move the point of attack, move slowly, or move in easily predictable ways.

Good to have you back on the boards, Greg. Hope all is well.

Very good post on powerplays. Just to add a thing or two. Over 90% of the movement on the power play should be the puck, not the players skating around. If a team can execute three or four lateral and/or diagonal passes in a short amount of time you should be able to pull the penalty killers and goalie off balance and out of position to get a quality scoring opportunity.

 

[Jon]

Re: UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward

I think that BU Terriors are our best shot to overtake the eight HEA slot by end of regular season.

I feel like UMASS, BC, and maybe UML are a cut above the rest right now.
BU is BUing in very BU fashion right now.
UCONN is probably going to drop a bit.
NU looked like they were in terrible shape but they got a massive boost last night.
I do not know what to make of the SMTs and Chucks' favorite Downeast team right now.
It was nice of the Friars to let Tim Army coach the team last weekend. PC is not PC right now and Leaman has his work cut out for him - but after 2015 he has earned a lot of good will.

 

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward

Very good post on powerplays. Just to add a thing or two. Over 90% of the movement on the power play should be the puck, not the players skating around. If a team can execute three or four lateral and/or diagonal passes in a short amount of time you should be able to pull the penalty killers and goalie off balance and out of position to get a quality scoring opportunity.

Not quite, Ray. If the players aren't moving that much, then they won't be changing the angles on the defense, which can then anticipate where those angles and seams might be, and clog those lanes much more easily. I do agree, puck movement is the most important piece, but if the attacking players are semi-stationary, it doesn't force defenders to move, and it's when you get defenders to move that scoring chances open up.

When I was younger, in a decidedly less high-tech world, I used to explain to players that the straight-line movement you see in one of those vintage table hockey games of our youth was exactly the way NOT to score goals. You create chances either when you can beat someone with skill and/or speed while on the puck, OR with creative movement off the puck, in doing so allowing yourself or a teammate to get a clean look at goal.

Sometimes you get lucky and there's a friendly bounce, or you can set things up for a screen or deflection. Forcing opponents to give up possession deep in their own zone is good, too. But so long as we're talking effective PP production, movement is at the top of the list of how to make it work. And it can't all be just puck movement. Only so many permutations/combinations to be played between 5 fixed position players around 4 (or sometimes 3) defenders. And whatever you do ... don't get Snives all worked up about the approach that puts 3 attacking players below the opponent's goal line …