Wow, a couple days away because you're upset about the games means four pages of reading to do. Besides the fact that this post is a little late, there really isn't much left for me to comment on the current tournament status since it has been hashed and rehashed above. What I wanted to ask was if anyone at Sunday's game saw how intensely a couple of the players put their bodies on the line?
Specifically I'm talking about Brock, Pallos and Juice (Julseth-White). It was mentioned earlier that we played more like we were trying not to lose, rather than trying to win, which did seem the case. But there were several clutch blocks and plays made by those three guys and they had the crowd roaring! Pallos' sliding dive save, when Keith lost the puck in between his legs/pads, was amazing. Brock and Juice has several blocked shots when Keith didn't seem to be ready/ didn't look like he knew where the puck was, as well as several pucks they managed to turn over against the boards. From the student section right next to the goal, those plays were awesome to watch and its because of guys making moves like those that kept us in the game for as long as we were. Often after saves like those, the team got amped up and was able to put the pressure back on Colgate until another penalty came along. (Those happened quite often. I was worried that the rink's taunting the reffs didn't help any..)
Keith's playing was mentioned by several posters and it was difficult to watch. Sometimes, he was on top of his game, stopped some awesome shots and several one-on-one's, but then he did let in soft goals. Sunday's third goal was a fluke. It was in the air, then it wasn't. Keith didn't even know it had gone in at first. Even from next to the goal, we had no clue how that had happened. I hate to say this cause Keith is a great guy, but I don't think he's ready to go pro yet. If he can't handle all of the pressure of an ECAC semi-final tournament game and if he can't stop some of those softer goals, then one more year in the ECAC with Union certainly won't hurt. In fact, I think it would help. But that could just be me secretly wishing he stays for at least one more year.
Overall though, it was a very hard series to watch and Colgate did outplay us for several long sections. It's upsetting as a fan that with an atmosphere like there was, when we were out-skating them and out-playing them, that we couldn't get the puck in the goal. It is amazing the distance this team has come just in my four years at Union. I realize compared to others, I'm an amateur fan, but I love Union College hockey and I'm so excited to see it develop, both through the rest of this season and in the future.
I need to watch the nuance. So anyway, I've been thinking...hold the laugh track...but what is a bigger deal from Union's perspective at least.
