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UVM 2015-2016 The New Season

Re: UVM 2015-2016 The New Season

I missed the game....thought it was Sunday as it appears the team did as well....Just when I thought the power play was going to be better this year and they were actually scoring we go 0fer and give up two shorties 12 seconds apart!!!

I think Vermont was looking to help out HE as a whole and help a team get off the schneid giving them their first wiins and 7 goals for a team that had scored about 8
For the whole season. Maine can thank us later...

I actually don't mind be less defensively focused but that means you actually have more offense and have an actual offensive strategy. Clearly this team was not ready for this weekend which falls squarely on the coaches.
 
GreenCat said:
I missed the game....thought it was Sunday as it appears the team did as well....Just when I thought the power play was going to be better this year and they were actually scoring we go 0fer and give up two shorties 12 seconds apart!!!

I think Vermont was looking to help out HE as a whole and help a team get off the schneid giving them their first wiins and 7 goals for a team that had scored about 8
For the whole season. Maine can thank us later...

I actually don't mind be less defensively focused but that means you actually have more offense and have an actual offensive strategy. Clearly this team was not ready for this weekend which falls squarely on the coaches.
Click to expand...
Hate to say it, but this team sucks. I think it's an issue of coaching and talent, but mostly talent, in that our young players don't have much of it. The only remaining question for this season is how many games they can manage to win -- 8? 10?
 
Re: UVM 2015-2016 The New Season

UVM Cat in Texas said:
Hate to say it, but this team sucks. I think it's an issue of coaching and talent, but mostly talent, in that our young players don't have much of it. The only remaining question for this season is how many games they can manage to win -- 8? 10?
Click to expand...

Yup and to think i believed that this team would be dangerous midpack team that will make big leap into top 3 next year how wrong i was! it is funny the kool aid drinkers arent coming out now and those who hate on catmandoo well that person looking right everyday
It is coaching mostly i do actually think there are a few guys who have talent I think Coughlin does Bowen has a bit and i think Lee will be solid it is the fact that Brendan Bradley has look terrible this season and player you think may step in like Irwin are not right now and players like Hamilton still just suck and guys like Turk are what they are should be 4th liners but they play up because other forwards that were all brought in simply not good enough and Sneddon keep messing with lines to find fit which ok fine but at some point maybe it is the crapass hockey that being played that is the problem with no good look on offense that is real problem not player combo?
Cant wait to read in the free press this week Sneddon making all kinds of excuses again his staple when he starts losing but laughing all way to bank with that contract extension he got
 
Re: UVM 2015-2016 The New Season

I actually like the group of freshman playing this year and would like to see them getting more ice time.
 
Re: UVM 2015-2016 The New Season

jcarter7669 said:
So you think that not only is Sneddon a bad coach that can't recruit but also an unethical liar that is snowballing kids into committing to UVM? Sorry but Sneddon strikes me as a pretty upstanding guy and ethical guy.

Ever stop to think that the recruiting is what it is because he isn't telling kids lies... perhaps if he were to start lying maybe we'd be getting some blue chippers. Remember how good UNH used to be before Umile got busted...
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No not referring to Sneddon at all besides he never goes and recruits..I'm referring to one of the other guys. Follow the bread crumbs. The reason the team is going down hill again is cause the really good recruits that Micheletto brought in all graduated last year. Now what you see is the product of this one assistant coach that was supposedly the savior of the program 3 years ago. In Hockey East you win if you are first team to score 3 goals. Its an offensive league. If your strategy is to recruit small little skill guys to put up points and then take all that away in a defense first, lose or win by 1 goal, no creativity type system, you wont win many. If you want only knuckle dragging, hit everything that moves, off the glass and out defensemen then recruit those type. Don't bring skilled guys in and try and make them fit that mold cause you just end up churning through guys left and right and eventually the miss communication catches up.
 
Re: UVM 2015-2016 The New Season

j24vt said:
My issues with the current coaching:
1. Undisciplined penalties. This has been a constant for the last couple years and the coaching staff has not addressed it. Taking a penalty after a goal should earn you a seat on the end of the bench for the rest of game.
2. Whoever is coaching the goalies NEEDS to get Santaguida to stop lunging for the puck and ending up sprawled out on his stomach.
3. Completely ineffective power play highlights the issues with the dump and chase offense. The team can not complete two passes in a row. Passing is a skill (rather than a talent) that good coaching improves.
Click to expand...

The power play will NEVER EVER EVER EVER be good at UVM under Sneddon so just get used to it. EVER EVER EVER EVER
 
Re: UVM 2015-2016 The New Season

So discouraging. The team looked better passing and in many other respects the first game of the season than they do now. I dont know the answers. Maybe
1.) Settle on some lines and stick with them 2-3 games, Christ.
2.) Front load the lines a little more. I love Turk and Pettruzelli and the real hard workers but I dont see them as top line guys, and I love the idea of rolling 4 legit lines and spreading the talent around, but I think we need a line with Puskarich, Shaw, and somebody else (Bradley, Coughlin maybe) that with some time together would be a line to fear.
3.) I dont know what to say about the defense, no idea at all. I thought Pattyn and Privaterra would step and fill in behind the loss of Paliotta.


About the coaching, many others have said it before but the most worrisome thing is that Stars don't really flourish and grow here. Mitchell left early, we all know the Brickley story, Fallon a former U-18 guy was certainly valuable at UVM but hasnt (yet at least) gone as far as once projected. V Stalberg is an exception but his main thing has always been raw speed.
 
Re: UVM 2015-2016 The New Season

I certainly hope this weekend was a wake up call. A sweep at the hands of a team averaging 1 GPG and winless through 11 games is unacceptable. I'm not sure why this team can't play defense but they sadly can't. Not a very good thing for a defense first team. Considering this team is not hugely different I'm going to question the leadership here. The Coach, Asst. Coaches... and the Captain and upper classman. The team is clearly not prepared to play 60 minutes of hockey for whatever reason especially the D.
 
Re: UVM 2015-2016 The New Season

The team has not demonstrated an ability to score goals. The freshmen look lost most of the time and the production from Shaw, Bradley and Puskarich has been spotty to say the least. J Priv has been a pleasant surprise but it remains unlikely that he will continue to score all season long. So why the offensive drought? Partly because the players may not be as good as thought, or may not be buying into the Coach's system. However, the system itself is suspect. Dump and chase sounds simple and compared to some other systems it is, but to be a game plan, it has to be accompanied by speed into the other team's zone so you have a chance at getting the puck back. We just chip and chase with no speed and no thought. This is a coaching thing. The coaches have taken all the creativity away from the players. Or, how about making that long stretch pass from our zone to the opposing blue line and instead of just chipping it in, where we never get it back, have it one timed to a forward breaking up the middle who can attack the zone with speed, and with possession. Having the lines stay the same for more then one game may help as well. Little chemistry exists but then again, hard to have chemistry when you work hard to get the puck only to be forced to get rid of it as soon as you get it on the dump and chase.
On defence, I believe that we have th horses to get it done. Lee has been ok, but is being played like Paliotta. He is not Paliotta. Pattyn hasn't been that good this year and I think it is because he is playing with Lee and feels he has to do more. Kearley is a work in progress. Needs way more seasoning to be a meaningful contributor. Hamilton is an accident waiting to happen and A. Priv is showing that his offensive game looks better when Paliotta is your d partner. Why not put Abramson and Pattyn together and let them be the shut down pair. Let A. Priv and Hamilton be pair number 2 and fit Lee, Phillips, Ferguson and Kearley in but with reduced ice time. What is being done now just isn't working.
The power play may be the worst in the nation. The coaching staff sends the same guys out every time. Why not change it up? Try Pattyn or Abramson on the point. They have harder shots then the other guys. Nobody ever screens the goalie on the pp. Either get Coughlin, Sinkbeil or Bowen to do it or put Abramson or Pattyn in front and start shooting the puck on the net.
It is very frustrating to watch.
 
Re: UVM 2015-2016 The New Season

Hoser said:
The team has not demonstrated an ability to score goals. The freshmen look lost most of the time and the production from Shaw, Bradley and Puskarich has been spotty to say the least. J Priv has been a pleasant surprise but it remains unlikely that he will continue to score all season long. So why the offensive drought? Partly because the players may not be as good as thought, or may not be buying into the Coach's system. However, the system itself is suspect. Dump and chase sounds simple and compared to some other systems it is, but to be a game plan, it has to be accompanied by speed into the other team's zone so you have a chance at getting the puck back. We just chip and chase with no speed and no thought. This is a coaching thing. The coaches have taken all the creativity away from the players. Or, how about making that long stretch pass from our zone to the opposing blue line and instead of just chipping it in, where we never get it back, have it one timed to a forward breaking up the middle who can attack the zone with speed, and with possession. Having the lines stay the same for more then one game may help as well. Little chemistry exists but then again, hard to have chemistry when you work hard to get the puck only to be forced to get rid of it as soon as you get it on the dump and chase.
On defence, I believe that we have th horses to get it done. Lee has been ok, but is being played like Paliotta. He is not Paliotta. Pattyn hasn't been that good this year and I think it is because he is playing with Lee and feels he has to do more. Kearley is a work in progress. Needs way more seasoning to be a meaningful contributor. Hamilton is an accident waiting to happen and A. Priv is showing that his offensive game looks better when Paliotta is your d partner. Why not put Abramson and Pattyn together and let them be the shut down pair. Let A. Priv and Hamilton be pair number 2 and fit Lee, Phillips, Ferguson and Kearley in but with reduced ice time. What is being done now just isn't working.
The power play may be the worst in the nation. The coaching staff sends the same guys out every time. Why not change it up? Try Pattyn or Abramson on the point. They have harder shots then the other guys. Nobody ever screens the goalie on the pp. Either get Coughlin, Sinkbeil or Bowen to do it or put Abramson or Pattyn in front and start shooting the puck on the net.
It is very frustrating to watch.
Click to expand...

I agree with most of this... I don't think I'd label Puskarich as having spotty production, he's pretty consistent with a point a game. But outside of that you hit the nail on the head with the chemistry aspect. It seems as if lines are constantly being reshuffled. The offense looked better the first few games and yet the lines were changed and now there is less production. Doesn't seem like to rocket science here to figure out that changing lines every other game isn't a good idea.

Also agree about the D... Pattyn as the leader of this team has to be better. He hasn't been very good. Hamilton shouldn't be on the ice, but if he is going to be then it needs to be severely reduced. He is one of the better offensive D-men, but he has to be the worst defensive D-man on the team. Play him on the PP and that's it, or maybe match him with the other teams 4th line, but for Pete's sake keep him off the ice as much as possible.

There needs to be some serious thought into the lines and then stick with it and let the guys adjust to each other. Shaw and Bradley both need to contribute more put them with J. Priv. Puskarich will get his point and make everyone around him better, put him with Puffer and Coughlin to get those guys some confidence and success.

But there is a different line up every night, and that's a poor decision by the staff. Sure guys are going to rotate in and out but there needs to be some semblance of consistency.
 
Re: UVM 2015-2016 The New Season

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful that I have a team to root for, free streaming video of home games when I can't make a game, and the means to attend games when I can find the time, even if this years results have been less then stellar.
 
Re: UVM 2015-2016 The New Season

Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Very thankful for the intelligent conversations on this board, even when the cats are not at their best. The passion for the team is contagious.
Looking forward to the trip to Philly on Sunday. Hope we get some fans to fill Wells Fargo Center a little.

Go Cats Go!
 
Re: UVM 2015-2016 The New Season

Anybody having any luck with the Penn State video stream? In the second period I continue to get an error message saying the **** event hasn't started.
 
j24vt said:
I think they did you a favor.
Click to expand...
No doubt. Shutout and scoring less than 2 goals a game on the season. 1-3 overall against a team that just recently began its program. Ironic how Sneddon turned things around enough to keep his job, and now we're right back where we were several years ago when people were calling for him to be fired. Oy vey, I feel the next cycle of goodness is a ways away.
 
Re: UVM 2015-2016 The New Season

UVM Cat in Texas said:
No doubt. Shutout and scoring less than 2 goals a game on the season. 1-3 overall against a team that just recently began its program. Ironic how Sneddon turned things around enough to keep his job, and now we're right back where we were several years ago when people were calling for him to be fired. Oy vey, I feel the next cycle of goodness is a ways away.
Click to expand...

Yes. He got lucky with a hot goalie but now we are seeing the true fruits of labor of the new assistant coaches who are very very poor recruiters. Remember a few years back and Hamilton was going to be the savior of the program? Then it was Trey Philllips and Johnathan Turk? Puskarich would have 25 goals in any other system. I say it again, you cant win consistently in Hockey East or anywhere for that matter with Sneddon's style of pretend offense and shut down D. You stifle all the creativity and confidence of the skilled players you bring in and they have limited development progress from year to year. Sneddon's and his staff's solution to that is to bring in 5-6 new guys, churn out the others and hope that enough S*&^T sticks once in a while.
 
Re: UVM 2015-2016 The New Season

harry said:
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Very thankful for the intelligent conversations on this board, even when the cats are not at their best. The passion for the team is contagious.
Looking forward to the trip to Philly on Sunday. Hope we get some fans to fill Wells Fargo Center a little.

Go Cats Go!
Click to expand...
Curious your thoughts on the game having been there live....assuming you made it.
 
Re: UVM 2015-2016 The New Season

Thanks.
I did get down there. Had a nice lunch and got to seats right as warm-ups were finishing.
The atmosphere was great. The announced attendance was 9000+. Seemed like a bit less but nice crowd anyways.
Penn State fans were about 90% of the group, maybe a touch more than that.
Nice video presentation on the Jumbotron before the lineups were announced and the anthems.
Boy will it be great if the Gut ever gets one of those! Instant replays, fun crowd shots and easy to read shot counts and scores. Pix of players after goals too.
I personally thought the seats were not that comfortable for what its worth though and I'm only 6' , anyone taller would have their knees in their face.

On to the game.
After the press conference last week I was expecting major changes on the special teams units.
What we got was basically the Coughlin/Bradley/Puskarich line out there then the Turk line on the PP's.
The D pairs were pretty much rolled as far as I can tell.
The PK had a little more shakeup with one good shift and one bad and one score right off the draw. (which we still lose most of the time.....)

Some serious lack of battle/grit with some of the guys on the 1st two lines.
I really think there has to be more heart in those guys.

The Turk line and Puffer line at least seem to have been working there butts off most of the time.
All of the lines had a few scoring chances but terrible breakouts and offensive zone entries.
We actually make our first pass to a STATIONARY player on the wing OFTEN! Then he skates back towards our zone and passes back to a d man (if its a good pass at all) just so he can then make a cross ice pass to a forward already just about waiting to cross the blue line. It's crazy looking and totally discombobulated.
We beat guys to the puck on the dump and chase sometimes....only to lose the 50/50 battle or have poor support on the forecheck.

To my eyes the team really needs to simplify the game. Penn State had a precision few plays off the draw and an excellent breakout.
I may be crazy, but I do see some flashes of skill in some of the guys.
Some guys have the hands but no vision, some have vision and good passing but dont get the puck on their stick, too many shots were blocked, I think I believe Sneddon when he said he still likes these guys. They need a simplified system base and let them be creative from those few set plays. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, I think.
The upperclassmen seem to be going through the motions a bit and playing a bit selfishly at times. There was MUCH less communication on the ice than I thought there would be amongst the players. The coaches seemed to have been getting at it ok and barking out communication.
We NEVER plant a guy in front of the goalie and just let him get the crap beat out of him while he screens the goalie and bothers a d-man.
It seems very much a perimeter shooting team.
The one time we 'crashed' the net...we literally bowled the dude over....not subtle contact....

Very depressing writing and I am not too good at getting this across.

There is 2 cents from someone who sat through 5hrs+ of traffic to get home.

-harry
 
Re: UVM 2015-2016 The New Season

I could write another essay on the sights and sounds leading up to the George Washington Bridge in NYC as well!
There was lots of time to look around.

I hope someone else gets up to Boston to get a progress report this weekend.
 
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