Re: UVM 2015-2016 The New Season
you either get a team like that which will give a challenge or beat you or you get the royal military guys from last year and win 8-0 and really AHL teams? clearly you know that is illegal they are pros come on amaturs can't play pros. truth is UVM doesnt care what any of us think and want the $25 bucks at least it is just one game remember them doing 2 of these 2 years ago and Reynolds getting out for year but could always be the basketball team scheduling 3 games agianst not D1 competition this year at home pathetic.
I would rather play a d3 locally later in the season like Norwich or Midd maybe even Castleton but UVM probably think it interrupts the season and since d3s dont start til later we won't see them here in October. also UVM doesn't want the nightmare of losing to any of them doubt it would happen now but those 6-win teams it was a strong possibility and UVM wants to make everyone believe no other school in state plays any kind of sports are are good at it on any level.
Also that article on the arena sounds like all the statements theyve made in the past it is part of the plan but how much money is dedicated to it and how much is raise Sullivan leaves it very vague we will see.
I too suspect a possible 0-5 start but to me this seems like bridge year they'll be fine by the end of the year but perhaps build toward true competitiveness next season.
Some random thoughts from watching the exhibition game and reading all your posts:
1) I think it is good to play an exhibition game against a good team, no matter where it comes from. I wish the NCAA teams were able to play 2 or 3 exhibition games. As for the Canadian teams being rough, you have to realize that the NCAA Division 1 is candy *** compared to pro, Major and Tier 2 level hockey in Canada and even the USHL. Plays that would be never called in those other leagues seem to be a penalty to these maternal NCAA referees. I don't want anyone to get hurt but learning to keep your head up is not a bad thing.
2) From the few shifts that Coughlin and Bowen got, it appears that we are getting some aggressiveness that is backed up by size, which is a good thing. It remains to be seen as to how long it will take them to catch up to the speed of the games but when they do, I think we are going to see a power forward game that was absent last year. O'Neil has the ability to do this as well but didn't show it on Sunday. Puffer is a smaller player but looks like he reads the ice well and may be a distributor of the puck.
3) On defence, only Pattyn and Abramson consistently looked like the other team was not going to be able to score. Those two control the boards, especially Abramson and that was good to see. Privittera and Phillips played well but have limitations in the defensive zone. Too bad as the coaches this year and last year seem to think that Privittera is all world, and he is not remotely that. He is an awkward skater, is small and has no shot, but has good hockey sense and heart. Hamilton looks to see a lot of ice and he scares me every time he is on the ice. So does Muscoby. Ferguson looked ok but not physical. The two new guys had better be better then they were last night. Lee is hyped as a puck moving D. The puck should move to his own team. I was also shocked at how slow he was. Not good for a puck moving D. Kearley had moments but seemed to trip over his own two feet on more then one occasion. Bottom line is that as much as the coaches talk about the new depth on defence, Abramson and Pattyn better kill most of the penalties and Pattyn, Abramson, Privittera and Phillips better log most of the ice. This won't happen though as they seem to be infatuated with Hamilton and overrate Privittera on defence. On the PP, they had Hamilton, Privittera, Lee and Phillips as the two d pair. Great, except not one of those guys can break an egg with their shot. Abramson has the hardest shot on the team and Pattyn's isn't bad either. Why are they on the bench during the pp? Kearley might have a big shot as well. Watching the smurf d work it around trying to get it close enough that they can get it all the way to the net in the air was a bit frustrating. Of course, this was an exhibition game so who knows.
