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Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

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Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

Union deserved to lose the game tonight. The final score of 2-1 may indicate a close game, but Union was lucky Brown didn't have a few more goals. Stevens made a couple terrific saves, but the Union offense was disjointed and lacked much rhythm outside of their lone goal, which came 32 seconds into the game. Yanovitch committed an incredibly irresponsible penalty late in the first and Brown scored the eventual game winning goal on that power play. If it was my team, there's absolutely no chance I'd use Yanovitch tomorrow night. Just a dumb, ill-timed play, especially from a senior.

The game was pretty chippy at times, probably a result of Union's frustration. They'll be better than Brown over the course of the year, but sure as hell weren't better than them tonight. If Union comes out tomorrow night and play like they did tonight, it will be over with before too long.
 
Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

Tomorrow is already off to a bad start. Schott reports that Welsh got a 5 minute major and a game DQ for grabbing a player's facemask after the game.
 
Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

I thought that Brown played a perfect game from their perspective, packing it in and blocking all the passing lines. Union had no answer for the strategy and a game plan worked to perfection. The Brown PK was very effective by standing up U at the blue line and forcing them to dump the puck in. Welsh's penalty had to also be at least partially born of frustration as he was largely missing the net all night with the exception of a flurry in the final few minutes. I thought Stevens acquitted himself very well with the exception of a couple of juicy rebounds.
 
Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

"Disjointed" is a good description of U's play tonight.. the team just did not look cohesive and got more & more frustrated as the game went on. The line juggling may have had something to do with it, but it mostly looked like Brown just wanted the game more. U has to develop more of a killer instinct when they get a team on the ropes like they did in the first 10 minutes tonight. If U pops in one or two more there, the game takes on a totally different bent.. I know that sounds simple and really isn't, but it's what top level teams do and so far this season U has had problems "sealing the deal" to use the popular radio quote..

Maybe Welsh getting the DQ will be good for him.. he looks like he is putting a lot of pressure on himself. During that last PP he must have attempted 5 or 6 one-timers in a row that he mostly fanned-on or shot wide. He has an excellent wrist shot and should use it more in those situations.. it looked to me that he had time to "lock & load" and pick a spot. After all, it only counts as one goal no matter how hard the shot is.. Also was surprised that Bennett didn't use a timeout prior to that PP to help the team settle down and focus.

Brown definitely deserves props for tonight's game though, I think Whittet is starting to build a team that could make some real noise in the next couple years. The Bears were more disciplined and poised (other than the Farnham BS at the end) than I've seen them in the last couple seasons and have better speed & stick skills. They did a lot of things tonight (blocking shots, clogging the passing lanes, avoiding turnovers) that good teams do to win games and should only get better as the season goes on.

Won't say that tomorrow nights game is a must win, but it certainly is the biggest gut check of the season so far. Hopefully the boys will pull it together and respond..
 
Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

Brown was better than I thought. They struck me as a real gritty team that won't get outworked... a pesty team. Back to back wins against Cornell and Union (two teams who many picked to finish near the top of the league) indicates maybe this team won't end up near the basement. It's a hard loss to reconcile if you're a Union fan. Give Brown credit for not giving in after falling behind 30 seconds into the game. I never would have guessed the game would unfold as it did when Union quickly went up 1-0. It looked like it was going to set a tone for it to be Union's night.

Changes I'd make for the Yale game: bench Yanovitch for Ciampini and put Mark Bennett in there with Welsh being DQed. Welsh's team-leading 6 goals and his 6'3/210 size are tough to replace. Rick Bennett was non-committal about the goalie tomorrow night but I'd turn back to Grosenick instead of asking Stevens to go on back to back nights. Stevens did all he could tonight, but better to go into the Yale game with a fresher goalie, especially when said goalie has been one of the best in the country so far. We're in the enviable position of having two #1 caliber goalies.

TU game recap

Bennett post-gamer via Ken Schott
 
Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

I agree that U might have been a bit disjointed last night with the line changes but we have been struggling even strength and now a bit on the PP, so I guess it makes sense to shake things up a bit. I would expect Grosenick to start the next two games unless he suddenly starts to struggle which I don't think is likely. I don't think we will see Bennett, but perhaps another freshman.

It's apparent that U has fallen off a bit and maybe more than that, from the end of the last regular season, but things were a bit shaky last season as well during the early stages, and being tied for first (with just about every other team) is not so bad. I still think if we can win two more ECAC games going into the New Year we will be right in the thick of it and the upside potential for this team is huge. How many goals did Jooris and Carr have at this point last year? I don't think they forgot how to play but are just pressing a bit. Working hard is usually an antidote for scoring struggles and they seem to be going all out to my way of seeing.

I think we also have to keep in mind that we are entering exam week and that has always been a bit of a distraction. These kids work hard on and off the ice and it has to be physically and emotionally draining.

I think Yale could be vulnerable on our best effort. To me it seems they lost a lot to graduation and so far at least are not hitting on all cylinders. From the sounds of it, they were all out to beat a stuggling RPI last night. Still without Welsh and with our own issues, it will be a great challenge.
 
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Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

Brown/Union is becoming, if not already, a great rivalry. I have been at Achilles for every Brown/Union DI game since 1992 and last night's game was another solid effort by both teams. Both teams checked vigorously, some chippiness but no over the line conduct. Just good hockey. I find it interesting to see U continues to recruit solid golaies, starting with Trevor Koenig, and dmen, starting with reid Somonton. Your goalies and d played well last night. During U's DIII years I was a major fan of the team and I still root for U except when it plays Brown. BTW, it was great to see the ECAC and NCAC banners noting U's achievements last year hanging over center ice!!
 
Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

If you can't get down to Messa tonight, Time Warner will be broadcasting the game live at 7:30.
 
Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

At some point you figured Grosenick's other-worldly numbers were due for some kind of correction, but he had absolutely nothing tonight. The fourth and last goal he gave up (yanked) was inexcusable - it looked to me by that point Yale had taken his head out of the game. Grosenick pretty much took Union out of the game before they had much of a chance. Union did out shoot Yale 38 to 10 in the final two periods, but the game was pretty much done when Yale scored that fourth goal (if not the third). I noticed a handful of occasions where it looked like Union was going to have something nice set up, but guys were in the wrong spots and nothing materialized. A few times a pass was put out in front of the net, but nobody was there. Union's power play was abysmal, going 0-7 on the night. Maybe it wouldn't have mattered the way Yale's goalie was playing. Apparently, the Yale goalie now has a 182 min shutout streak going.

Stevens pretty much has to be in there on Tuesday against RPI. I'll continue to say Ciampini needs to be starting, especially after the team had a one goal weekend. The kid has a track record of being a prolific scorer and has a goal in two games this year. His upside is WAY higher than a few who R.Bennett seems strangely attached to.

M.Bodie got shaken up in the third, but he did return. Hatch was also banged up late (it looked like his hand/wrist) and I don't think I saw him back in the game. His body language made it look pretty bad, but hopefully he's alright.

Words can't describe how lousy this weekend was. 1 goal all weekend and 0 points in the standings. Some of the worst hockey I've seen from Union in the past couple years.

Jason Klump has the post gamer with Rick Bennett @ http://youtu.be/QDpYFyX5L9E
 
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Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

rdf8585 said:
At some point you figured Grosenick's other-worldly numbers were due for some kind of correction, but he had absolutely nothing tonight. The fourth and last goal he gave up (yanked) was inexcusable - it looked to me by that point Yale had taken his head out of the game. Grosenick pretty much took Union out of the game before they had much of a chance. Union did out shoot Yale 38 to 10 in the final two periods, but the game was pretty much done when Yale scored that fourth goal (if not the third). I noticed a handful of occasions where it looked like Union was going to have something nice set up, but guys were in the wrong spots and nothing materialized. A few times a pass was put out in front of the net, but nobody was there. Union's power play was abysmal, going 0-7 on the night. Maybe it wouldn't have mattered the way Yale's goalie was playing. Apparently, the Yale goalie now has a 182 min shutout streak going.

Stevens pretty much has to be in there on Tuesday against RPI. I'll continue to say Ciampini needs to be starting, especially after the team had a one goal weekend. The kid has a track record of being a prolific scorer and has a goal in two games this year. His upside is WAY higher than a few who R.Bennett seems strangely attached to.

M.Bodie got shaken up in the third, but he did return. Hatch was also banged up late (it looked like his hand/wrist) and I don't think I saw him back in the game. His body language made it look pretty bad, but hopefully he's alright.

Words can't describe how lousy this weekend was. 1 goal all weekend and 0 points in the standings. Some of the worst hockey I've seen from Union in the past couple years.

Jason Klump has the post gamer with Rick Bennett @ http://youtu.be/QDpYFyX5L9E
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You can not blame this on Troy, yes he had an off game and yes he hasn't had an off game all year. But, that fourth goal was definitely his goal I wouldn't say the other three were really his fault that much. Its a learning experience for him. Why do you think stevens HAS to be in there tuesday?

To the part about putting Ciampini in and why hes not playing. A lot of us dont see what the coaches do in practice and off the ice. Maybe the players that you think Bennett is attached to are just working harder in practice. If you have a good week of practice your gonna play.
 
Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

For an early season game, Tuesday is pretty important. Grosenick laid a dud tonight and Stevens is coming off a very good weekend. Go with the hot hand in this case. They need to get a win on Tuesday considering what happened this weekend and considering their schedule for the next several weeks is brutal. They have almost 2 weeks off after Tuesday and you don't want to go into that sitting around dwelling on potentially losing your last 3. I still believe in Grosenick quite a bit, but Stevens earned the start based on this weekend.

Practicing hard is great, but does it matter how great someone is in practice if the game results aren't getting it done? There are a few players not making any visible on ice impact, but there are a couple freshman (Ciampini, Bennett) who I think could.
 
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Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

The only semi-positive I take from tonight is that the team played hard the last 2 periods and didn't quit after a brutal 1st period.. this doesn't exactly make me feel good, but it leaves me with some hope.

I don't think its fair to lay this one on Grosenick. Troy definitely wasn't at his sharpest, but even if he was MAYBE its "only" a 2-0 or 3-0 game. U inexplicably got in a track meet with Yale for the first 25 minutes and Troy was left out to dry way too many times. Forwards were getting caught up ice, d-men making risky passes, terrible coverage in front of the net - overall a total lack of poise and discipline to the type of Union Hockey they need to play to be successful.

What's more disturbing to me is the lack of poise and offensive confidence that U has shown in these type of big games. I know I shouldn't compare (different players, coaches etc.), but this weekend's games gave me eerie flashbacks to last year's final 3 games in the playoffs and NCAAs. When things start to get tough in these big games, U seems to abandon their more disciplined style and suddenly its "get a shot on goal at all costs". The intensity is there, which is good, but the execution goes right out the window. I honestly don't know what the answer is to cure this, but the coaches and players have a lot to work on before another really tough game this Tuesday. I'm not saying that the line juggling was absolutely a bad idea, but I wonder if maybe putting the top 2 units back together makes some sense, though definitely concerned that there may be a couple of banged up bodies after tonight that could make this impossible.
 
Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

Grosenick didnt have his best game, but we weren't playing like the usual Union in front of him either in the first. Stevens had 6 shots on goal against Yale you can't judge much off that other than he had 6 saves from a team that was getting dominated at that point in the game by Union. He did played good enough to win against Brown but just didn't get the offense to support him. I really think Bennett just has to go with his gut feeling on this one. I do think Troy is the better goaltender as a whole.

But you have to look at it like a coach, if a player has a bad week of practice and someone has a better week then you should play him. Those guys will get their chances though.
 
Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

Having two #1 goalies is a luxury most teams don't have. Whoever goes on Tuesday, hopefully it proves to be a good call, because this team really needs to get a couple points.
 
Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

The weekend reminded me of the "bad old days" and hopefully is an aberration. I still think this team is in the formative stages with a lot of new hands being plugged in, juggled around, whatever. I thought Troy definitely looked shaky and as an amateur coach mentioned to my friend after the first that I would have switched him out going into the start of the second. I think both he and Stevens are going to be bigtime goalies and in particular I think the upside potential for Stevens is huge. Keep in mind he is on the young side and really could have used a year at the USHL level to mature physically and in terms of experience. I think his on the job training so far has been very encouraging and that he's probably ahead of KK at this stage as a freshman.

The unsettling part to me remains the turnovers and lack of physical "Union style" play to which we have become accustomed. I think part of it is the large number of younger players and perhaps the general lack of size. Our best scoring opportunities come from working down low and making things happen around the goal, haven't seen that very consistently yet.

I will admit I had a sick feeling when I saw Mat Bodie go down late on what I thought was a cheap shot by Dueck. O'Neill who also has some history in that department kneed a player at midice earlier but I think that was more inadvertent. Union is definitely banged up and dealing with exams. Tuesday isn't necessarily a must win, but pretty close to it.

All teams go through these stretches and I think we are more than capable of emerging intact. Let's hope. Go U!
 
Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

If we all had the power to put together a lineup for Tuesday, how would your lines look?

Mine:

Hatch-Zajac-Simpson
Carr-Welsh-Jooris
Ciampini-Bodie-Bennett
Sullivan-Novak-Mingoia

If Hatch is out, move Sullivan to the Zajac line and put Ikkala where Sullivan is.

Bodie-Stuart
Julseth White-Coburn (Vasaturo here over Coburn if healthy)
Forgaard (Coburn here over Forgaard if Vasaturo is healthy) - Gostisbehere

Stevens
Grosenick
Pieri
 
Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

Its early in the season let's not question Rick on his lineup just yet ! Its obvious in previous posts you take issue with some players. Its easy to blame certain players for the teams lack of success lately. Your last post is calling out the coach on his line up, not well for the fans to be telling coaches what there line up should be. It was a bad weekend; it happens it will get better very talented team here. Let's not push the panic button. How about go back over the loses and see all the turn overs the missed passes the bad goals. Looks like you have a few scapegoats and you want to blame them for the teams problems! Maybe you should have interviewed for the job. Twice you have complained about two big hits in a game first one was legit and warranted no penalty. But player got one anyway. Second one against Brown player went down like he got shot and ref only put his hand up after whole Brown bench chirped , put his hand up very late and after we reviewed it, it was a good hit maybe a little early. But if you were there you would have seen Brown player laughed all the way to the bench and high fived team mates on his flopping. Its two bad loses look at the whole problem. This is a good team and a great program let's not get sour yet !!! Rick will fix the problems , very young team and he will find the best lineup to win.
 
Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

Wholin1 said:
I thought that Brown played a perfect game from their perspective, packing it in and blocking all the passing lines. QUOTE]

They call that the 1-3-1 trap. W1, will you guys bring your own personal ref...Bryan Hicks for the festivities on tues.? We had a goal cam installed just for the occasion. Looking forward to our good friends from the end of Rte. 7 visiting HFH. We wish you well but not luck. Tell Schottsie we won't talk about his Eagles either. Hope all is well. Always enjoy your takes.
Click to expand...
 
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