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Union Hockey 2012-2013 - Unfinished Business

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Re: Union Hockey 2012-2013 - Unfinished Business

FlagDUDE08 said:
How do you know Merrimack does not have exams scheduled for that week? It's probably the same reason why we don't play ECAC games the week before Thanksgiving: you have exams.
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I guess Merrimack does have finals that week (ending on December 14th)... though they have a Tuesday game against Army that week anyway. Not many windows for these two to play this year.
 
Re: Union Hockey 2012-2013 - Unfinished Business

Bowling Green has lost defenseman Jake Sloat to a broken leg. Sloat played in 42 games last year and led BG with 48 blocked shots. Union sees them next weekend.
 
Re: Union Hockey 2012-2013 - Unfinished Business

Chefvad said:
So, after traveling 1,200 miles and winning award after award, this is how the home crowd is thanked? With a flat performance? Hey team - stop reading your press releases. No one is going to hand you a game. Pay the price, clog lanes, race for every icing puck, and create your own chances. Perhaps you need a puckless practice to remember what hard work and desire means. I think Union simply overlooked Merrimack - not a name brand school, not a great history, blah blah blah. Guess what? They can play, and they beat you pretty badly tonight. Keep up the sloppy effort, undisciplined penalties and you'll see what Union Hockey was for the better part of the last 20 years.

Yes, I'm irritated.
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Hey Chef, take a breath would you? No one from Union was happy about the outcome but I wasn't expecting a 34-0 season either. Merrimack is a quality opponent and they deserved the win.

First game of the season and we've regressed 20 years? Actually, I think you raise a point in a way about reasonable expectations for this program going forward. Let's face it, another Frozen Four berth this season though not impossible, has to be viewed in my opinion as a very longshot. Let's take it one step at a time and aim for home ice in playoffs, top 4 finish and a trip to AC, etc. Fans need to set realistic expectations because although we've come a long way, the challenges remain the same season after season for this program and one dreamlike season guarantees nothing.
 
Re: Union Hockey 2012-2013 - Unfinished Business

Very disappointed with the performance on Saturday. This should have been a night to remember with the banner-raising, but it's a night I'd rather forget.
 
Re: Union Hockey 2012-2013 - Unfinished Business

Wholin1 said:
New recruit from Ken Schott's blog. http://dailygazette.com/weblogs/schott/2012/oct/08/pontarelli-commits-to-union-for-2014-15-season/
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Sometimes, you have to take chances on someone like that. Everyone makes mistakes.

Another article from the summer -

http://www.standard-freeholder.com/2012/07/03/colts-get-their-man

Is Pontarelli a big lad?

“He’s a scoring lad,” said MacInnis of the Laval native.

Make no mistake, Pontarelli is coming to Cornwall to score, and MacInnis believes he will.

“He’ll be a top-scoring forward with us,” said MacInnis. “The power-play, a lot of stuff will be running around him.

“He’s very dynamic in the offensive zone.

“I don’t get too excited (about players), but he’s exciting.”
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Re: Union Hockey 2012-2013 - Unfinished Business

LOL.. this is not a rebuilding year and the sky hasn't fallen because of one game before the team had even one full practice with the coaches. Not saying everyone shouldn't be disappointed, but this game wasn't much different than other early season games in the last 2-3 seasons; lack of defensive discipline, bad gap control, inconsistent cohesiveness offensively. In the past U's had just enough offense to coverup for these shortcomings in the early games, but it caught up with them on Saturday. And to take nothing away from Merrimack, I think the main culprit was scheduling a game before having at least a couple organized practices. I don't understand why Union doesn't schedule their first game with a non-NCAA like practically EVERYONE else does. It's the perfect way to get the players game intensity and give the coaches a view of what needs to be worked on before a "real" game. From the sounds of Bennett's interview, I doubt we'll see a repeat of this scenario again.

What I do take from this game though are a number of things to be concerned about going into the rest of the season:
- U is going to see some semblance of EVERY team's A game. Nobody is just going to roll over and expect to be beat and nobody is going to look past U.
- Opponents are going to be physical with U's smaller forwards and d-men. How U adjusts to this and the ability to give it back and not get called for penalties will be a key.
- Without Welsh & Zajac on the PP, opponents will likely pack it in more and let U take shots from the outside. Will need some new snipers to step up and maybe some new PP strategies to fit the new personnel.
- U is a team that is the sum of it's parts and not a collection of NHL draft choices that just needs a couple of highlight reel individual efforts to win. Coaching and strong captains are & have been key to U's success and every player needs to be on the same page.

My other critique has to do with line combos and the spreading of the top forwards among 3 lines on Saturday. I know its a coaching dilemma, especially given that Welsh & Zajac were not only the top 2 forwards on the team but were the top 2 centers (& faceoff men). The top returning forwards (Simpson, Carr, Jooris, Bodie & Hatch) are all wings. I know that Novack has played center and may be a good fit, but I'm not sold on Bodie who has more of the body/sniping ability of a wing. And nothing against Ciampini or Sullivan but I just don't think they are dynamic enough for the top 2 lines. Personally I think you have to have Carr & Simpson on the same line and Jooris is the kind of playmaker that could make a good center. Then could have Hatch/Bodie/Novack on the 2nd with more size and oomph.. or could mix Hatch or Novack with Simpson/Carr. Bottomline is I'm glad I'm not a coach and would guess this will take some time to sort out.

Finally, Wholin makes a good point about the expectations of us fans. This is a strange new world for us that have followed the team a long time, as there has ALWAYS been room for improvement and better results going into the past 20 seasons. But let's face it, to make a F4, let alone win an NC you not only need great players, great coaching and great team chemistry, you also need a good amount of luck. Union was quite fortunate last post-season and we can't just expect that having many returning players means we're now ready to beat BC or North Dakota in the NC game. This is going to be a very challenging season and the ECAC should be very competitive - Cornell, Harvard, Quinnipiac & Yale should all be very good and would not surprise me if there is at least one "surprise" team. The margin between winning and losing and making NCAAs is razor thin. Personally, I agree with Wholin that this team has the potential to be in the top 4 in the league and challenge for a league title. Beyond that is gravy. Hopefully we see better next weekend and some of the questions get answered.
 
Re: Union Hockey 2012-2013 - Unfinished Business

I wouldn't dismiss Merrimack so cavalierly Chef. We would argue (quite successfully) that Merrimack has more of a hockey brand than Union (which is 7-19-3 all-time against the Mack). Don't let the Frozen Four go to your head. Merrimack nearly knocked off eventual champion Lake Superior State to get to the FF in 1988 (splitting two games in the total goals format) ..... as essentially a Division 2 team.
 
Re: Union Hockey 2012-2013 - Unfinished Business

I thought the new PA system is much improved. BTW, the new PA announcer is Rich Becker, formerly of Fox23 Sports.
 
Re: Union Hockey 2012-2013 - Unfinished Business

Union looked much better tonight. There are still some things that need work, but the team played very well after some early hiccups.

The power play scored on every chane tonight, going 3 for 3. Gingras has a bomb from the point, but his defensive game has a lot of room for improvement. I really liked what Cruice brought to the table in his debut; he's got nice speed and is very physical.
 
Re: Union Hockey 2012-2013 - Unfinished Business

Congratulations to the boys on the first win of the season.. that was more like it! Saw the video feed from near the end of the first period on and looked like the team got stronger as the game went on. From the sounds of it, BGSU jumped on them early, but U got back in it on the PP. Still plenty of room for improvement, but a good first step and much more consistent effort than last weekend. The Falcons are a decent team with good forwards and a large goalie, but they were a little deliberate coming out of their own end and U took advantage of that as the game went on. Will need another good effort tomorrow.

Agree with Dutchfan on Cruice, he is a bull. The 4th line with Cruice, Roy and Ikky put some serious hurt on out there.
 
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Re: Union Hockey 2012-2013 - Unfinished Business

That was more like it - a weekend sweep of a CCHA team in their place. Even better, the offense tallied 9 goals between the two games. Gingras picked up two goals over the weekend, giving him 2 goals and an assist in his first three collegiate games. The defense has been active in the scoring so far. Of Union's 10 goals this year, 6 have been scored by defensemen (2 each by Gingras, Gostisbehere, M.Bodie). It seems like a week of official practices made a huge difference. I'd still like to have last weekend back, but getting two on the road this weekend helps put that behind.

Union is off for two weeks before two road games at AIC and at UConn. Though you can't overlook anyone, Union will be the heavy favorite in both contests. I'd have to guess that Stevens starts one of those games. Then November begins with a home-and-home against what looks to be a much improved RPI team. RPI tallied 3 points this weekend against #11 Ferris State. Last year's RPI team probably would have lost both games.
 
Re: Union Hockey 2012-2013 - Unfinished Business

Interesting weekend indeed. Special teams were back in full force. Odd that the majority of scoring came from the back line, but I'll take it. With two weeks off, I am sure the coaching staff relishes the opportunity to work out the kinks and to work on the line combinations. I agree that RPI looks much improved, but then again, after last season the bar was set pretty low. :p One thing we probably don't have to worry about is the U motivational level in facing them.
 
Re: Union Hockey 2012-2013 - Unfinished Business

Union up two spots to #8 in the USCHO poll. They even had one first place vote.

Team (First Place Votes) Record Points Last Poll
1 Minnesota (46) 2- 0-0 991 2
2 North Dakota ( 1) 0- 0-0 894 4
3 Boston College ( 2) 0- 1-0 878 1
4 Miami 2- 0-0 751 8
5 Michigan 1- 1-0 726 3
6 Cornell 0- 0-0 714 5
7 Denver 0- 0-0 690 7
8 Union ( 1) 2- 1-0 606 10
9 Notre Dame 2- 0-0 583 14
10 Massachusetts-Lowell 0- 0-1 576 6
11 Boston University 1- 0-0 549 12
12 Western Michigan 1- 1-0 422 9
13 Minnesota-Duluth 1- 1-0 308 13
14 Northeastern 2- 0-0 283 NR
15 New Hampshire 2- 0-0 273 NR
16 Ferris State 0- 1-1 218 11
17 Harvard 0- 0-0 213 17
17 Northern Michigan 2- 0-0 213 NR
19 Colorado College 2- 0-0 194 NR
20 Quinnipiac 2- 1-0 74 18
Others receiving votes: Air Force 47, Wisconsin 47, Maine 40, Rensselaer 40, Ohio State 39, Nebraska-Omaha 37, Merrimack 33, Michigan State 17, Rochester Institute of Technology 12, St. Cloud State 9, Lake Superior 7, St. Lawrence 6, Providence 4, Minnesota State 3, Yale 3.


Read more: http://www.uscho.com/rankings/d-i-mens-poll/#ixzz29O0VXT9j
 
Re: Union Hockey 2012-2013 - Unfinished Business

A bit late but worth noting, defenseman Sebastien Gingras was named ECAC Rookie of the Week.
 
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