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Union College: 2015-2016

Re: Union College: 2015-2016

I am always amazed at the correlation between a team blocking shots and a winning record. It's not perfect but it tells you a lot. What Q and RMU and RPI have in common is a willingness to block shots. Looking over college hockey and looking at the top 112 players based on a number of blocked shots, we (UNION) have exactly ZERO. The list is full of players from Q and RMU and RPI and others top hockey programs. Not a single player from Union. Q had 17 against us.
 
Re: Union College: 2015-2016

Way too much skill at QU for us to have a chance. Every chance they got was dangerous and made it to the goalie. We got shots on goal but nothing too dangerous.
And as usual, and I've been saying this for quite some time now, we cannot play against teams that defend high. We have no strategy (skill?) to get past the blue line or close to the net. Even on that 2 minutes 5 on 3 : we did nothing. Not one clean look at the net. Why? QU played us high, right up in our faces, forcing longer and more difficult passes that slow down the play. And giving them a huge advantage if they can intercept a pass... Now I've seen a shorty on a 5 on 3, there is a first for everything :)
 
Re: Union College: 2015-2016

The shadow of Sisyphus loomed over the Dutchmen. A game that was telling leaves the Union faithful wondering after the team's seeming resurgence. The Princeton club of recent years is no longer. Tonight's game is an important opportunity to reassert against a vastly improved outfit.
 
Re: Union College: 2015-2016

Dutchman: Blocked shot numbers are highly dependent upon the scorekeeper, and Union's home scorekeeper consistently comes up with low numbers. I've found it surprising how great the variability can be amongst scorekeepers. Agree with your opinion about blocked shots - though there's much more to it: blocked shots don't tell the story about quality of shots, shots not taken because of tight defense, effectively boxing out net front etc. Ex.: Physically smaller teams often have more blocks because they can't clear the net front etc.
 
Re: Union College: 2015-2016

Dutchman said:
I am always amazed at the correlation between a team blocking shots and a winning record. It's not perfect but it tells you a lot. What Q and RMU and RPI have in common is a willingness to block shots. Looking over college hockey and looking at the top 112 players based on a number of blocked shots, we (UNION) have exactly ZERO. The list is full of players from Q and RMU and RPI and others top hockey programs. Not a single player from Union. Q had 17 against us.
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This is definitely an indicator of where the team is at. Story in the New Haven Register on last night's game called it an "easy game" for Quinnipiac and is hard to argue with that. My biggest critique of the team over the past 2 seasons is that they are no longer difficult to play against. That was the hallmark of Leaman teams and was mostly the MO during Bennett's first three seasons. Things like blocking shots, clogging passing lanes, winning puck battles and owning the areas in front of the nets meant that opposing teams could not do what they wanted to do and dictate play. Even if U was outmatched talent-wise and couldn't really dictate play, they were tough to play against. As U's talent went up and they got better on special teams, the results took a huge jump and U was able to dictate play more.

Ironically, I think the problem started during the NC season. The coaches correctly saw that there was a ton of skating & puck handling ability on the team and that they could dictate a fast paced, puck possession style that obviously produced terrific results. But they kinda got away from the tougher, hard edged defensive style and haven't been able to get that genie back in the bottle now that the talent level isn't as high. The d-men are mostly undersized and not very physical, and while a couple are good skaters/puck handlers none are even close to the Bodie/Ghost class. The youth on the blueline and erratic play from Henry & Gingras have led to bad decisions and turnovers. The forwards have to go back further to get the puck out of the zone and can't get speed through the neutral zone, which is part of the problem against teams that "defend high" as UFan calls it. U has had some success using their speed to disrupt teams that aren't as physical, but have had big problems against bigger defensively disciplined teams. Quinnipiac brings skill, physicality and defensive discipline to the table and was too much for U last night. Princeton has size, is playing with some confidence, and likes to drive net - not a real good matchup. I'm hoping the team will eventually click into a more disciplined defensive mode at some point, like they did at the very end of last season, but am not sure they will.
 
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Re: Union College: 2015-2016

Complete lines for tonight.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Full lines for tonight's <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UnionHockey?src=hash">#UnionHockey</a>-<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PUHockey?src=hash">#PUHockey</a> clash at Hobey Baker Rink. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ECACHockey?src=hash">#ECACHockey</a> <a href="https://t.co/9SYjKeS2Lj">pic.twitter.com/9SYjKeS2Lj</a></p>— Garnet Hockey Report (@GarnetHockey) <a href="https://twitter.com/GarnetHockey/status/685586602400329728">January 8, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Re: Union College: 2015-2016

UFan said:
Way too much skill at QU for us to have a chance.
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I am not sure. Great skill yes, but I saw some of the BU vs Q game and as best as I could tell, BU totally dominated (4-1) and this was at High Point and this was hyped. Q's man to man coverage could not keep up with the speed of BU. (We don't seem to have the speed to skate it out of the zone like BU). Q was 0-5 on the man-up. Q focusses on conference wins the same way we focus on non-conference wins. I am not sure I know why. I was listening to the Q announcers and one said that we should stop trying to be fancy in our passing and just blast away from the blue line or dump and chase. He also felt we won period 2 but got nothing and gave up a shorty.
 
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Re: Union College: 2015-2016

Whither Union? After putting some impressive points on the board just prior to the break, the Dutchmen skate to a stinker at Q and a fortunate tie at Princeton. With Cornell looming as another stern test this weekend, not to mention a frustrated Colgate club, the clock is ticking in anticipation of some big wins. If those wins do not begin to materialize quickly, the Dutchmen look to being consigned to also ran status. Should they reignite, the Union faithful can begin to lift their glasses again. The championship season has left those faithful with great expectations for at least contender status on a regular basis. Unfortunately the margin for error is so tiny in DI hockey. The intangibles and the tangibles have to mix perfectly, a very tall order.
 
Re: Union College: 2015-2016

Miami Ice said:
Whither Union?
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I had low expectations this year, given the fact that we were one of two ECAC teams that did not have a starting Goalie returning. The other was Harvard. I also had low expectations because we were losing 35% of our scoring and it was the GWG side of scoring. We were also starting lots of freshmen and only had two starting seniors. I started getting excited again when we beat BU. How great is it that a program like that comes to Schenectady !!!

My hopes were dashed when we gave up the tie to Michigan. I had never seen a Dutchman team collapse so fast and give up such a big lead. By the way, how great that a program like Michigan came to our barn. Since then we have won some and lost some but our wins are just barely wins. We are not dominating anyone.

As the BU Coach said, Union can beat anyone. I saw the first Merrimack game. We were perfect. That was 60 minutes of effort. Merrimack was a perfect game against a ranked opponent.

As ADK11 noted, we have transitioned to an offensive minded team and I sometimes cringe when I see Henry & Gingras miss-queues. We can't seem to resurrect that reputation for a gritty defense, a workmanlike disposition and being tough to play against. However, I can still see it in seniors Wilkins and DePauli and Cruise.

If we can come up with another top notch recruiting class ... next year might be our year. In the interim, it would be great to shake things up come tournament time. ;)
 
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Re: Union College: 2015-2016

The Curseeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Oops that's at Starr. Sorry, been a tough year.
 
Re: Union College: 2015-2016

sshablak said:
Sorry, been a tough year.
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sshablak: Let us think about happier times. I was at Lake Placid (2013-2014) when you beat Q in the semifinals. That was a great hockey game !!! You lost in the first round of the NCAA's to Ferris State after having beaten them twice during the regular season.
 
Re: Union College: 2015-2016

sshablak said:
The Curseeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Oops that's at Starr. Sorry, been a tough year.
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Ok Shabby, I'm sure its just coincidence that Union is slated to be the last regular season game at Starr :rolleyes:. I guess in many ways it is fitting - Union can see off the dreaded Starr with pomp & ceremony, and of course Gate can send the fans home happy with one more "Curse" win.. hopefully the two teams are fighting for something other than the basement of ECAC.
 
Re: Union College: 2015-2016

We have two tough games this weekend and you can forget about their records. Both Cornell and Colgate have a lot of pride, excellent coaching, long memories and size (Cornell) and speed (Colgate).
 
Re: Union College: 2015-2016

Looks like forwards Roy (6'4") and Dufour (6'3") are in and Cruice is becoming a regular on that 4th line. Gingras is out and Cambell is in. Seniors and Size. Can Brassard score his first goal? Can we get some scoring from the 3rd and 4th lines?
 
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