Union College Hockey 2014-2015 "ReUnion 2015? Why "Nott"?

[rdf8585]

Re: Union College Hockey 2014-2015 "ReUnion 2015? Why "Nott"?

Rick completely wiffed on his analysis on Stevens. Colin was the only reason tonight wasn't a repeat of the SLU game. Brown (!) is going to completely run us out of the rink tomorrow unless we have a major gut check over the next 24 hours.

I think I asked the question you're referring to. I was surprised, I thought Stevens earned more praise than he got. He's the only reason why it was 1-0 most of the way, could have been a lot worse.

Nothing against Sak, but games like tonight show why Stevens should have been the guy all along this year.

 

[Dutchfan]

I think I asked the question you're referring to. I was surprised, I thought Stevens earned more praise than he got. He's the only reason why it was 1-0 most of the way, could have been a lot worse.

Nothing against Sak, but games like tonight show why Stevens should have been the guy all along this year.

I fully agree. Sak is a serviceable backup in this league and nothing more. He just doesn't have the athleticism to be an elite ECAC goaltender. You can't blame the kid at all since he was brought on as a late replacement for Grosenick after Troy left early, but what we've seen from him at this point is what we're going to get out of him. Stevens is an All-American caliber goaltender who should've been the starter all season long as long as he was healthy. Rick's comments deeply worry me as they seem to elaborate that the rotation is in fact not over.

 

[Miami Ice]

Is there redemption for the Dutchmen? A win over Yale tonight would point them in the right direction. Unfortunately time is becoming of the essence. Nothing less than winning the ECAC tournament will put the bus on the Mass Pike. The Union faithful have hoped for the "turn" for many weekends. It has been frustrating, particularly not having swept one ECAC weekend. Playing catch up is tough.
Looking toward next year one might derive some solace from the success of BU and Miami, winners of just ten and fifteen games last season. But there is still some hockey to be played in the next several weeks.

It seems redemption remains elusive.

 

[rdf8585]

Re: Union College Hockey 2014-2015 "ReUnion 2015? Why "Nott"?

Video of a few of Stevens' better saves tonight: https://t.co/AZJ8YC18At

 

[Dutchman]

Re: Union College Hockey 2014-2015 "ReUnion 2015? Why "Nott"?

Sak is a serviceable backup in this league and nothing more.

Woow !!! This game clearly generated a lot of hatred against Sak, our back up goalie, who did not even play!!! Its been a tough year to be a Dutchman fan.
Sak was in Goal 60 minutes the first time we played Yale at Yale and won, 3-1.
Sak was in Goal 60 minutes when we beat Harvard in Boston.
Sak was in Goal 60 minutes when we tied BU 3-3, again in Boston.
Sak came off the bench against Q to shut them out when Colin gave up 4 goals in a blink of an eye and allowed us to come back.
Sak has never been chased from goal ... Colin was chased against RPI, Western Michigan, Q, St. Lawrence, and I think at least one other.
Sak is 3-3-2 and his numbers are about equal to RPI's Kasdorf, a very good goalie.

The USCHO rank goalies ..... Colin Stevens is ranked 49th out of the 50 goalies they rank on GAA. Last week he was 50th. Looks like he had a good game. Moved up one.
The ECAC rank goalies ..... Colin Stevens is ranked 10th in SV%

Stevens is an All-American caliber goaltender? Certainly was last year, when he had in front of him Bodie, Ghost, Sullivan, Hatch, Ikkela, Carr, etc.

ECAC has a lot of outstanding goalies this year
ECAC goalies ranked nationally 1,2,6,10,15,20,22,27 and Colin at 49.

It sounds like fans would like to see Colin in goal the rest of the way. If the players had a vote, I wonder who they would select? Should we keep him in goal when the rout is on, like when we were being routed by RPI, Western Michigan, Q or St. Lawrence. Maybe we should just leave him in.

It was reported that Yale blocked 15 shots? We blocked 5 ... we blocked 14 against Yale the first time, 20 against BU and 12 against Harvard.
Champ had one shot .... one shot.

Happy Valentines' Day

 

[aweise]

Put it this way: Who would you rotate in to give your team a better chance to win?

Fair question (and one I anticipated).

I may take some shots from this, but a benching of Vasaturo or Henry wouldn't have been a terrible idea. Neither has exactly been stout on defense and usually turn the puck over 2-3 times a game. Henry showed me even more last night that he's not improving from last year - he just seems too indecisive and passive handling the puck.

That said, I don't see Bennett benching either of these guys, especially the captain. As you implied, there isn't someone to bring in that would be worlds better.

 

[Dutchman]

Re: Union College Hockey 2014-2015 "ReUnion 2015? Why "Nott"?

Just saw the complete replay ....
http://www.unionathletics.tv/archives/mhockey150213/index.html
As a whole, considering we were playing the #1 defense in the country, I saw a lot of positive takaways ....
We actually did keep the first line intact .....
Taylor was bleeding all over the place ... anyone know if he is ok? More Stitches

 

[rdf8585]

Re: Union College Hockey 2014-2015 "ReUnion 2015? Why "Nott"?

Yale's John Hayden was suspended for one game by ECAC Hockey today. The suspension stems from his hit on Jeff Taylor late in Friday's game.

See the hit: https://t.co/waaHYlZ4lr

Union head coach Rick Bennett said after the game that Taylor should be "good to go."

 

[Vaportrail]

Re: Union College Hockey 2014-2015 "ReUnion 2015? Why "Nott"?

Would have been nice to have had a major penalty for the last 3:20 of the game (instead of a penalty called against Union shortly thereafter).

 

[rdf8585]

Re: Union College Hockey 2014-2015 "ReUnion 2015? Why "Nott"?

Evidently, Jeff Taylor is not "good to go" afterall. He's a scratch tonight.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Taylor scratched tonight vs Brown. He took a hit to the head last night vs Yale, but was said to be OK afterwards. <a href="http://t.co/OvQFZD18AM">pic.twitter.com/OvQFZD18AM</a></p>— Union Hockey Blog (@UnionHockeyBlog) <a href="https://twitter.com/UnionHockeyBlog/status/566724148068900865">February 14, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Dutchfan]

Yale's John Hayden was suspended for one game by ECAC Hockey today. The suspension stems from his hit on Jeff Taylor late in Friday's game.

See the hit: https://t.co/waaHYlZ4lr

Union head coach Rick Bennett said after the game that Taylor should be "good to go."

BS hit. Can't believe nothing got called on that play when it initially happened. These seemingly weekly headshots are getting beyond tiresome at this point.

 

[rdf8585]

Re: Union College Hockey 2014-2015 "ReUnion 2015? Why "Nott"?

Recap and reaction from Union's 1-0 loss to Brown: http://bit.ly/177IUYG

 

[Miami Ice]

It seems redemption remains elusive.

Two bagels...
Talk of redemption looks to have been misplaced. Ten months after winning the national championship can now type "OUCH" blindfolded. Perhaps perdition is more apt. The fantasy of a season ending run is looking dubious. Still, the afterglow of Phila. is very much intact.

 

[ADK11]

Re: Union College Hockey 2014-2015 "ReUnion 2015? Why "Nott"?

Well in case you were thinking things couldn't get much worse, a weekend circa 1998.. Those were two pretty pathetic looking hockey games, though at least Yale looks like a good team with some skill and drive. My take is that everyone is just tired, beatup and/or mentally exhausted. I think the freshmen "hit the wall" a couple weeks ago, which partly explains the 3rd period and 2nd game lack of energy. Doesn't explain why the non-frosh seem to fade too, but maybe there was not enough off-ice conditioning over the summer in the NC afterglow. I feel bad for Stevens who maybe had his best weekend of the year with nothing to show for it. Next weekend could be an epic disaster, especially if Taylor is still out and Gingras still in the doghouse.. Looks like next season can't come soon enough.

 

[Vaportrail]

Re: Union College Hockey 2014-2015 "ReUnion 2015? Why "Nott"?

Despite the losses, that was one of Union's more encouraging weekends of the season. Colin was good, they weren't a hot mess on defense, and it took exceptional goaltending and some tough non-calls to beat them.

While one (meaningless) goal in three games doesn't cut it, and secondary scoring is needed, this team has too much talent to continue struggling offensively. They've faced a lot of adversity this year, and I think they'll be a tough out in the playoffs.

 

[aweise]

Well in case you were thinking things couldn't get much worse, a weekend circa 1998.. Those were two pretty pathetic looking hockey games, though at least Yale looks like a good team with some skill and drive. My take is that everyone is just tired, beatup and/or mentally exhausted. I think the freshmen "hit the wall" a couple weeks ago, which partly explains the 3rd period and 2nd game lack of energy. Doesn't explain why the non-frosh seem to fade too, but maybe there was not enough off-ice conditioning over the summer in the NC afterglow. I feel bad for Stevens who maybe had his best weekend of the year with nothing to show for it. Next weekend could be an epic disaster, especially if Taylor is still out and Gingras still in the doghouse.. Looks like next season can't come soon enough.

I heard (albeit secondhand) that Gingras has been out because of a head injury. Any truth to that? If so, I'd rather hear that he's in the doghouse...head injuries aren't to be messed with.

 

[ADK11]

Re: Union College Hockey 2014-2015 "ReUnion 2015? Why "Nott"?

I heard (albeit secondhand) that Gingras has been out because of a head injury. Any truth to that? If so, I'd rather hear that he's in the doghouse...head injuries aren't to be messed with.

I can't confirm anything, but know he has been banged up at times this season. Certainly hope it isn't a head injury. Sebastien needed to take a step up this season to make up for the loss of Bodie & Ghost. Early on he looked great, but then things got a little more inconsistent & then he was out with an injury. Sometimes things just don't come together and we'll probably never know how much injuries played a part. Everything we hear is second hand, as Bennett & company are very tight lipped about any injury status. Seems like this season has been especially taxing on the top players on the team, lack of depth may mean they get more attention and big hits - certainly the case with Champ and Taylor the last 2 weekends. Makes you realize how perfectly everything fell together last season, including the lack of key injuries at key times. Hope Sebastien is ok regardless of how the hockey goes.

 

[UnionHockeyRadio]

Re: Union College Hockey 2014-2015 "ReUnion 2015? Why "Nott"?

I can't confirm anything, but know he has been banged up at times this season. Certainly hope it isn't a head injury. Sebastien needed to take a step up this season to make up for the loss of Bodie & Ghost. Early on he looked great, but then things got a little more inconsistent & then he was out with an injury. Sometimes things just don't come together and we'll probably never know how much injuries played a part. Everything we hear is second hand, as Bennett & company are very tight lipped about any injury status. Seems like this season has been especially taxing on the top players on the team, lack of depth may mean they get more attention and big hits - certainly the case with Champ and Taylor the last 2 weekends. Makes you realize how perfectly everything fell together last season, including the lack of key injuries at key times. Hope Sebastien is ok regardless of how the hockey goes.

According to our pre-game interview before Saturday's game, Coach Rick Bennett said that Gingras was out for the same reasons Taylor was, and they were being cautious and monitoring him.
Coaches in the past have cited illness/generic injury instead of the actual cause of a player being out, but being as specific as Rick was, gives me more reason to believe that's the situation.

 

[UFan]

Re: Union College Hockey 2014-2015 "ReUnion 2015? Why "Nott"?

Despite the losses, that was one of Union's more encouraging weekends of the season. Colin was good, they weren't a hot mess on defense, and it took exceptional goaltending and some tough non-calls to beat them.

While one (meaningless) goal in three games doesn't cut it, and secondary scoring is needed, this team has too much talent to continue struggling offensively. They've faced a lot of adversity this year, and I think they'll be a tough out in the playoffs.

Very true.

This part of the season looks like the coaches are trying to fix the issues we had at the beginning of the season and the team is slowly adjusting. The drawback is that our offense isn't performing as it was at the beginning of the year. I was hoping we'd have more offensive depth at this point... Things are slowly becoming more even and I do believe our still weak defense is improving. I hope we can reach some kind of equilibrium before the end of the season, to at least make it past the first round of the playoffs.
If not, I hope the guys that had an "off" year take the spring and summer to work on their hockey (stick skills, skating, bulking up a bit...).

Not to forget that Brown did what they were supposed to (ie win the game), and their goalie had a stellar game. Congrats to them!

 

[Dutchman]

Re: Union College Hockey 2014-2015 "ReUnion 2015? Why "Nott"?

... our still weak defense is improving.

I don't mean to sound negative but Yale and Brown are not the offensive powers where we could say ... "look at what we did". That being said I thought we really had a pair of 1-0 games. I thought we played Yale extremely well. I feel bad for the freshmen .... they were playing with lights out enthusiasm in the beginning of the year. They look a little battle worn. We are still doing well on the road this year at 8-4. Maybe its good that we don't have home ice to start the tournament. We are looking at the possibility of only six more games ..... The Dutchmen made us Boston alumni very proud the way they played BU and Harvard. The body of work the team has produced these past five years has made us a highly respected program in what some consider the capital of the College Hockey World. We were predicted by some to be a .500 team this year and sure enough that is what we are. I hope we make it to the second round. The smell of Lake Placid may be enough for us to make it.