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Vermont Hockey: Taking No Prisoners In 2012-2013

Re: Vermont Hockey: Taking No Prisoners In 2012-2013

GreenCat said:
Funny I was thinking the exact same thing. We were getting decent offensive pressure 5x5 and when Sneddon pulled the goalie I knew we were done for with a team like MN. You know they are going to gain control of the puck in that situation. Not sure Sneddon makes any adjustments based on game situations. Part of the general lack of creativity or in this case reading the game of this coach.
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Maybe he needs the headset again......I haven't seen that in a couple of years. He wore that back in the Frozen Four days of old if I recall. Who was talking in his ear then? Does he just have a more concealed unit now or has he moved away from that option?
 
Re: Vermont Hockey: Taking No Prisoners In 2012-2013

"Not sure Sneddon makes any adjustments based on game situations"

This is a great question. I'd love to hear from anyone with any insight to this comment. I've felt for awhile now he does not. But, I'm not the most qualified person to know this and would be curious to know what others who have watched think.

Also, UVM #1.....in moral victories. For the players sake they probably need to hear this from the coach...but from a fan's point of view it has and always will mean absolutely nothing unless they use it to actually WIN a hockey game against the "lesser" teams out there.
 
Re: Vermont Hockey: Taking No Prisoners In 2012-2013

GreenCat said:
Maybe he needs the headset again......I haven't seen that in a couple of years. He wore that back in the Frozen Four days of old if I recall. Who was talking in his ear then? Does he just have a more concealed unit now or has he moved away from that option?
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It used to be one of the assistant coaches would watch the first two periods from the upper boxes and communicate with Sneddon about what they were seeing from that view point. Then in the third period they would join the team on the bench.

I have no idea if Sneddon is still employing the tactic. I haven't seen a headset and all coaches seem to be on the bench. It is possible there is someone else watching and a smaller headset is being used.

Pulling the goalie is frustrating as it almost never works. I do understand why it is done and why Sneddon would do it in that game. UVM was carrying play relatively well, and were controlling the puck. There was a minute left... In hindsight it didn't work. If MN had been dominating the play it wouldn't have worked and would have been an easy choice... with the Cats putting pressure on and being down a goal...... well I can see why and I'm not sure it was a bad choice. Wilcox was solid and putting 1-2 shots on him in the last minute and scoring was as unlikely, being able to set up and get people in place definitely would have increased the chances.......had that happened.

Let's face it, had Sneddon not pulled the goalie and UVM went on to lose 2-1 everyone would be on here giving him crap for not trying something to win the game.
 
Re: Vermont Hockey: Taking No Prisoners In 2012-2013

jcarter7669 said:
It used to be one of the assistant coaches would watch the first two periods from the upper boxes and communicate with Sneddon about what they were seeing from that view point. Then in the third period they would join the team on the bench.

Pulling the goalie is frustrating as it almost never works. I do understand why it is done and why Sneddon would do it in that game. UVM was carrying play relatively well, and were controlling the puck. There was a minute left... In hindsight it didn't work. If MN had been dominating the play it wouldn't have worked and would have been an easy choice... with the Cats putting pressure on and being down a goal...... well I can see why and I'm not sure it was a bad choice. Wilcox was solid and putting 1-2 shots on him in the last minute and scoring was as unlikely, being able to set up and get people in place definitely would have increased the chances.......had that happened.

Let's face it, had Sneddon not pulled the goalie and UVM went on to lose 2-1 everyone would be on here giving him crap for not trying something to win the game.
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Any coach would pull their goalie with a mintue to go. You don't win at 2-1 and if you haven' scored you need to try a one-man advantage to get a goal. I have seen it happen on this team as well as others. I also saw us miss about 3 empty net chances ourselves against Providence. Can't seem to score even with no goalie. Pulling Hoffman was the right thing to do.

Now I do think Kevin needs to start thinking outside the box. Something needs to change, and I don't mean jswitching lines around, I mean the style. I have seen them try and shoot more, which they need to do and get some crap goals. Fallon was spectacular - ihe was working hard and putting the puck in front of the net from behind the goal line. Everyone else skates to the corner then loses the puck. Get the puck near the crease and s--t happens; a bounce off a defenders skate, the goalies back, our players stick. Just get it toward the net then look for opportunities.
 
Re: Vermont Hockey: Taking No Prisoners In 2012-2013

I agree about Fallon, he is an exciting kid to watch. I also thought Matt White had a strong weekend, his set up of Bruneteau on Friday was superb.
 
Re: Vermont Hockey: Taking No Prisoners In 2012-2013

As the person who started the discussion on pulling the goalie, I agree, from a hockey tactics standpoint, it's something you have to do as a coach. It's just frustrating in that seemingly every time we do, the puck quickly ends up in the back of our net. I can't remember a single game in recent memory that we really reaped the benefits of an extra attacker, even if we didn't score. It was particularly frustrating Saturday in that we seemed to have the momentum and were generating some scoring chances before Hoffman was pulled.

In regard to scoring, UVM seems to have a perennial problem scoring goals dating back to when Mike Gilligan was coach. I'm a little baffled as to why since teams with equal or lesser talent don't seem to struggle nearly as much. I think Vermont Ref is on the right track in that we don't do enough of the things that make scoring possible. Stamping "Pride, Selfless, Tough" on a dog tag is okay, but it won't win us any hockey games. I'm gonna be seriously bummed if we don't start scoring some goals and come away with at least 2 points at Maine this weekend.
 
Vermont Ref said:
Any coach would pull their goalie with a mintue to go. You don't win at 2-1 and if you haven' scored you need to try a one-man advantage to get a goal. I have seen it happen on this team as well as others. I also saw us miss about 3 empty net chances ourselves against Providence. Can't seem to score even with no goalie. Pulling Hoffman was the right thing to do.

Now I do think Kevin needs to start thinking outside the box. Something needs to change, and I don't mean jswitching lines around, I mean the style. I have seen them try and shoot more, which they need to do and get some crap goals. Fallon was spectacular - ihe was working hard and putting the puck in front of the net from behind the goal line. Everyone else skates to the corner then loses the puck. Get the puck near the crease and s--t happens; a bounce off a defenders skate, the goalies back, our players stick. Just get it toward the net then look for opportunities.
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What the problem is is that Sneddon for most of this until the 3rd period Saturday is not manage the game. For example, we had last change both nights. On the whistles Friday he would have the next line out before seeing what MN did. So if line 3 was out then line 4 would be next out regardless of the zone or who MN put out. On Friday Reynolds, Turk and Polessello created a great offensive zone opportunity after 30 seconds of hard work, they got the face off and Sneddon left them out. why not put your other scoring line out there to maintain pressure. They were dead, lost the draw, puck out, momentum gone. On one PP, McCarthy drew a penalty after a shift and they leave him out on PP. I mean adjust for crying out loud. On Saturday I noticed in period 3 he out mostly 3, 17, 16 out on offensive zone draws or 29,8,9 and look we had pressure.

Also seen where after a PK he goes with next line out. You killed a penalty you got some momentum put your scorers out. You can't score if your best scorers aren't put in positions to do what they are supposed to. UNH, BU, BC what when there is a draw offensively, it's not their 4th line or checking line taking the draw.

Game management must be better or he will be gone!
 
Re: Vermont Hockey: Taking No Prisoners In 2012-2013

UVM Cat in Texas said:
As the person who started the discussion on pulling the goalie, I agree, from a hockey tactics standpoint, it's something you have to do as a coach. It's just frustrating in that seemingly every time we do, the puck quickly ends up in the back of our net. I can't remember a single game in recent memory that we really reaped the benefits of an extra attacker, even if we didn't score. It was particularly frustrating Saturday in that we seemed to have the momentum and were generating some scoring chances before Hoffman was pulled.

QUOTE]

Off my head Lenz scored twice last year with the goalie pulled, once at home versus UNH and that game ended in a tie and the other was the OT win at UNH. The reason we dont score as much on the extra attacker is no different than why we dont score in the other 59 minutes. Lack of people that can bury the puck.

With what we have this year we cant hope for more effort than we saw Saturday and for the most part Friday, Minnesota dressed 14 draft picks to our 2. 8 Forwards..5 of 6 D and the goalie. Its like when Vermont beat Syracuse yea it can happen but alot of things need to go your way and effort alone isnt enough.

Cant say enough about the effort of Fallon & McCarthy on Sat as the Cats played most of the 3rd with 2 lines. They gave everything they had and more.
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Re: Vermont Hockey: Taking No Prisoners In 2012-2013

jcarter7669 said:
Let's face it, had Sneddon not pulled the goalie and UVM went on to lose 2-1 everyone would be on here giving him crap for not trying something to win the game.
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Very true. Hindsight is 20/20 or maybe 20/50........:D
 
Re: Vermont Hockey: Taking No Prisoners In 2012-2013

27.5%. That is Coach Sneddon's winning percentage since losing the national semi-final game in 2009. I think he is a good coach, but something has to change. Speaking of which, has there been any update on a new facility? I thought UVM was going to make an announcement this year. No news is bad news??
 
Re: Vermont Hockey: Taking No Prisoners In 2012-2013

HOCKEYGUY23 said:
What the problem is is that Sneddon for most of this until the 3rd period Saturday is not manage the game. For example, we had last change both nights. On the whistles Friday he would have the next line out before seeing what MN did. So if line 3 was out then line 4 would be next out regardless of the zone or who MN put out. On Friday Reynolds, Turk and Polessello created a great offensive zone opportunity after 30 seconds of hard work, they got the face off and Sneddon left them out. why not put your other scoring line out there to maintain pressure. They were dead, lost the draw, puck out, momentum gone. On one PP, McCarthy drew a penalty after a shift and they leave him out on PP. I mean adjust for crying out loud. On Saturday I noticed in period 3 he out mostly 3, 17, 16 out on offensive zone draws or 29,8,9 and look we had pressure.

Also seen where after a PK he goes with next line out. You killed a penalty you got some momentum put your scorers out. You can't score if your best scorers aren't put in positions to do what they are supposed to. UNH, BU, BC what when there is a draw offensively, it's not their 4th line or checking line taking the draw.

Game management must be better or he will be gone!
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Game management has to do with standing behind the bench, knowing your team, which means knowing what each player is capable of. You really have to be in tune to your personnel. You can throw off your team if you continue to match lines instead of rolling four lines and getting everyone involved. In today's game, it is not so much about matching lines. It is more about matching your D pairings to the opponents lines. The more you try to match the opposition, the more you take your team out of what they need to do and what your game plan might be. I support Coach Sneddon in that he is less worried about matching lines, and he is concentrating on his team. Let the opposition match lines.

However, if the opposition is trying to shut down one of your top lines and you recognize that, having the last change is definitely an advantage.
 
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Re: Vermont Hockey: Taking No Prisoners In 2012-2013

catmandoo said:
My guess is a healthy scratch. On the ice for 4 of 5 goals on Friday and 7 of the last 8 five on five goals. Off to a rough start.
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Makes sense, didn't know if anybody heard anything specific. Thanks!
 
Re: Vermont Hockey: Taking No Prisoners In 2012-2013

sk8tronthepond said:
Game management has to do with standing behind the bench, knowing your team, which means knowing what each player is capable of. You really have to be in tune to your personnel. You can throw off your team if you continue to match lines instead of rolling four lines and getting everyone involved. In today's game, it is not so much about matching lines. It is more about matching your D pairings to the opponents lines. The more you try to match the opposition, the more you take your team out of what they need to do and what your game plan might be. I support Coach Sneddon in that he is less worried about matching lines, and he is concentrating on his team. Let the opposition match lines.

However, if the opposition is trying to shut down one of your top lines and you recognize that, having the last change is definitely an advantage.
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You don't match lines, you know your team and put the best matchup out. Just putting out the next line isn't coaching at the D1 level, its coaching at the Mite level. I am sorry, if MN is putting out its top line you don't roll out a fourth line that has two or three guys in the lineup that weren't in the linup the day before. If you do that it's advantage MN.
 
Re: Vermont Hockey: Taking No Prisoners In 2012-2013

HOCKEYGUY23 said:
Just putting out the next line isn't coaching at the D1 level, its coaching at the Mite level. I am sorry, if MN is putting out its top line you don't roll out a fourth line that has two or three guys in the lineup that weren't in the linup the day before. If you do that it's advantage MN.
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No, and yes! I have seen many coaches with team depth roll 4 lines, so it does depend on team depth, and they were not coaching Mites!!!!

As the game progresses and you have last change, you can switch it up if you don't like a particular match up.

If you read the last line of my previous post, it goes the other way too if the opposition puts out it's top line, why would you put out your fourth, unless you have a deep team and your fourth line is your shut down line. On offensive zone draws, if the opposition puts out its fourth line and you have last change, counter with your first.
 
Re: Vermont Hockey: Taking No Prisoners In 2012-2013

UMLFan said:
Not sure if this is old news, but UVM has picked up a commitment from '92 forward Brendan Bradley, currently playing for the Jersey Hitmen (EJHL). He's the leading point-getter in the EJHL, with a 6-30-36 in 21 games.
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Thanks for the link UMLFan. The Cats can certainly use someone who "scores at an alarming pace." And he says he can't wait to get to Burlington and help us win a HE championship. Gotta love that attitude!

The Jersey Hitmen. Love that name -- how appropriate!
 
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