Mark gets great transfer help and is an ace at working that market.... it's pretty much a given that Hobart will always come back stronger than anyone thinks they will when they lose a lot of talent because he's so good at that, and is a superb tactician... He was great on that front on Saturday. That backcheck was stifling.
Utica may also have sang a different tune, and of course it's all what-if at this point because Hobart played a simply superb road game..... (Shot blocking, good percentage puck possession game, net presence, and willingness to shoot the puck). if Virtanen had gotten a good feel for the puck before that early one. It's tough to have that pad rebound happen on the first shot, get burned on it, and recover, and I give Pat all the credit in the world for how he battled back in that spot, but I think he doesn't give that one up on the fourth or fifth shot. Oplinger had the game he needed to have for 'Bart, and that was more than enough. All-in-all, goaltending for the majority was pretty solid, and maybe the best i've seen in this matchup since Therrien and Broadwater duked it out on SB Sunday 2013. Neal, Shaw, and Belizario were their typical selves, just complete warhorses one-on-one, and I really like Borsoi to explode for a huge point total next season at the rate he's progressing for Utica.
Hobart's going to have one hell of a run this postseason, I do forsee they'll be in Utica....
Next year, and for the next few years, this matchup's course will be defined by depth on the blue line. Hobart's old back there now and will lose a lot... Utica desperately needs to shore up their depth and have six healthy guys... You have....
Bors-Stefan
Carter-Szajner
That's a group of four i'm comfortable with. The kid they just committed from the OJ is a brick house. Huge kid. Forward and goaltending they're going to be fine, Ammirato's back, they need to find someone fast enough to play the wing with him opposite Justin, but that should be easy enough. There's enough back on the roster to ensure a progression.... but they need two-three more legitimate D. You can play Schultz or Grose, or Bart as a spare.... but none of those three are what i'd call "every day guys". The OJ kid should help there, he'll kind of be replacement Kirisits I suppose.
I think they go as far as their D Zone depth takes them next year. For now, it's the Hobart show again.
- but he'll be sorely missed by the hardcore Utica fanbase here. Ray is a D-3 maven who provided us with many an insightful nugget, and was the best analyst ESPN-UR has ever had by a country mile. I'm hopeful that he had a hand in selecting his replacement...