Yale Bulldogs Hockey 2013-14: Repeat after me.......CHARACTER IS DESTINY

[LTsatch]

Re: Yale Bulldogs Hockey 2013-14: Repeat after me.......CHARACTER IS DESTINY

Yale needs to come back from the north country with four points. Both will be tough games. Time to get the ball rolling through the ECAC. Anyone know if cooper is well enough to play?

 

[LTsatch]

Re: Yale Bulldogs Hockey 2013-14: Repeat after me.......CHARACTER IS DESTINY

Nice rebound tonight even though we are shorthanded again, Doherty was injured Friday and did not play tonight. Nice to see Hayden step up and Killian had a very nice backhand goal. you don't see that too often from a D-Man. Not sure what has happened to SLU, the team D for them is just not there. Off to the annual home and home Brown bloodbath.

 

[LTsatch]

Re: Yale Bulldogs Hockey 2013-14: Repeat after me.......CHARACTER IS DESTINY

Down to 14th in the Pairwise, the remaining schedule can only be described as very difficult.

 

[goblue78]

Re: Yale Bulldogs Hockey 2013-14: Repeat after me.......CHARACTER IS DESTINY

Sure, LT, but that's where the opportunity is. Up to now, the Elis have played the 43rd strongest schedule -- ie weak. We find ourself in the middle of a large group of teams with similar PWRs, including Brown (2 games) Union (2 games) Colgate (1 game) and a team well above us (QPac) with RPI (2 games) not far behind. Plus the playoff games count as well. So we'll see. If they win another 10 games this season, they're probably in.

The schedule's no easier for the ECAC teams in our standings neighborhood.

 

[LTsatch]

Re: Yale Bulldogs Hockey 2013-14: Repeat after me.......CHARACTER IS DESTINY

Sure, LT, but that's where the opportunity is. Up to now, the Elis have played the 43rd strongest schedule -- ie weak. We find ourself in the middle of a large group of teams with similar PWRs, including Brown (2 games) Union (2 games) Colgate (1 game) and a team well above us (QPac) with RPI (2 games) not far behind. Plus the playoff games count as well. So we'll see. If they win another 10 games this season, they're probably in.

The schedule's no easier for the ECAC teams in our standings neighborhood.

All good points. If the team somehow stays healthy and gets a little more consistent, especially on the PP, I think they have a shot as well. Hopefully deja-vu all over again.

 

[turk181]

Re: Yale Bulldogs Hockey 2013-14: Repeat after me.......CHARACTER IS DESTINY

The St. Louis Blues will be paying a visit to the Whale next Friday for the women's team's annual White Out for Mandi event. They will also hold a practice at the Whale during the afternoon. As many of you probably know, Mandi's brother Jaden (a CC alum) plays for the Blues.

....more of the story... http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=701720&navid=nhl:topheads

 

[nopuckluck]

Re: Yale Bulldogs Hockey 2013-14: Repeat after me.......CHARACTER IS DESTINY

Maybe its just wishful thinking, but I really thought the Bulldog powerplay was moving the puck much better especially rotating forwards and defensemen for one-timers from the circles. Agostino, Obuchoski, Fallen, Young, Root and O'Gara all got good wood on shots during the PP. Perhaps our opponents should take more 5-on-3. Also, a two-minute penalty should be assessed to the Yale All-Access broadcast team for indicating that the "slow-footing penalty against Brown was for taking too long to get to the penalty box." Later corrected to define "slew-footing." A comical moment.

 

[LTsatch]

Re: Yale Bulldogs Hockey 2013-14: Repeat after me.......CHARACTER IS DESTINY

Maybe its just wishful thinking, but I really thought the Bulldog powerplay was moving the puck much better especially rotating forwards and defensemen for one-timers from the circles. Agostino, Obuchoski, Fallen, Young, Root and O'Gara all got good wood on shots during the PP. Perhaps our opponents should take more 5-on-3. Also, a two-minute penalty should be assessed to the Yale All-Access broadcast team for indicating that the "slow-footing penalty against Brown was for taking too long to get to the penalty box." Later corrected to define "slew-footing." A comical moment.

Yale was also carrying into the O-zone instead of dumping in, which seemed to help the PP as well. Too bad we are not playing the depleted RPI and union this week, Slu and clarkson are getting a break from the fight.

 

[LTsatch]

Re: Yale Bulldogs Hockey 2013-14: Repeat after me.......CHARACTER IS DESTINY

Yale really needs to protect it's house this weekend, hopefully get one or two guys back from injury. Both games are tough but the Cornell match-up should be the tightest. Yale needs to use the team speed again and stay of the boards against the Big Red. Colgate has been flighty this year and scary good at times. Beating them 5-2 in their barn hopefully does not lead to over confidence at Ingalls. Hopefully we see Fallen continue to increase his shot total, he is not as offensive minded as last season.

 

[Professor]

Re: Yale Bulldogs Hockey 2013-14: Repeat after me.......CHARACTER IS DESTINY

Yale really needs to protect it's house this weekend, hopefully get one or two guys back from injury. Both games are tough but the Cornell match-up should be the tightest. Yale needs to use the team speed again and stay of the boards against the Big Red. Colgate has been flighty this year and scary good at times. Beating them 5-2 in their barn hopefully does not lead to over confidence at Ingalls. Hopefully we see Fallen continue to increase his shot total, he is not as offensive minded as last season.

Yale needs to protect its house and damage the residencies of other ECAC teams as well. Believe it or not, they may be a better team, at least on paper, than that of last year. The strength of schedule hurts. If you saw Saturday's game on the internet, you will see that Fallen after he scored his goal came to the bench pulling on the back of his sweater - "getting the monkey off his back." His shot total has been fine, but unlike last year and his first year the shots have not been getting through. I think, at least I hope, that you are going to see a surge from him in points over the next few games. His confidence is back. Notwithstanding, the biggest problem with this team is exemplified by the scoring against Brown - 4 of the 6 goals came from defensemen. The forwards need to capitalize. Granted, the team has had key injuries to key people at different points of the year to the forwards. Root has come back with a scoring vengeance. However, the loss of Doherty who may return soon and Cooper has had a negative impact. Both are tough kids, and Cooper would mix it up in front of the other team's net. Against Brown on Friday night, the goalie left a lot of rebounds out front but there was no one there to get the tough goal. They miss Bourbanais immensely, because he had the nack to to get the tough goals when they counted. The next two weekends will determine the season to a large degree.

 

[LTsatch]

Re: Yale Bulldogs Hockey 2013-14: Repeat after me.......CHARACTER IS DESTINY

Yale needs to protect its house and damage the residencies of other ECAC teams as well. Believe it or not, they may be a better team, at least on paper, than that of last year. The strength of schedule hurts. If you saw Saturday's game on the internet, you will see that Fallen after he scored his goal came to the bench pulling on the back of his sweater - "getting the monkey off his back." His shot total has been fine, but unlike last year and his first year the shots have not been getting through. I think, at least I hope, that you are going to see a surge from him in points over the next few games. His confidence is back. Notwithstanding, the biggest problem with this team is exemplified by the scoring against Brown - 4 of the 6 goals came from defensemen. The forwards need to capitalize. Granted, the team has had key injuries to key people at different points of the year to the forwards. Root has come back with a scoring vengeance. However, the loss of Doherty who may return soon and Cooper has had a negative impact. Both are tough kids, and Cooper would mix it up in front of the other team's net. Against Brown on Friday night, the goalie left a lot of rebounds out front but there was no one there to get the tough goal. They miss Bourbanais immensely, because he had the nack to to get the tough goals when they counted. The next two weekends will determine the season to a large degree.

Maybe it just seems that Fallen has taken a step back. His shot per game totals are down from 2.7 pg to 2.4, not a huge difference, but he was one of those guys who I thought would improve dramatically. His time on ice playing defense has most likely increased due to the young D-Corps as well. It is true that Yale lacks the finishers up front this year. Ago, Wilson and Root could be called by that name but have been having average seasons so far. The PP took a step forward last week, but it could be a gilded lily considering the amount of PK time that Brown had on it's hands. Adlon mentioned in the broadcast that Yale had changed the way they were approaching the zone on the PP, a couple of times the lead puck carrier back passed just before the opposing blue line, creating some misdirection. The PP is another area where they can improve and they need to take advantage, especially when they are one of the least penalized teams in D-1. Looking forward to two good games this weekend. Rumor has it that #24 will be back.

 

[Kepler]

Re: Yale Bulldogs Hockey 2013-14: Repeat after me.......CHARACTER IS DESTINY

Yale really needs to protect it's house this weekend, hopefully get one or two guys back from injury. Both games are tough but the Cornell match-up should be the tightest. Yale needs to use the team speed again and stay of the boards against the Big Red. Colgate has been flighty this year and scary good at times.

Colgate is hitting their stride; they're playing like a league #3 and I wouldn't take them lightly.

Cornell played well last weekend, at least against Clarkson. They have everybody reasonably healthy and they have stability in their lines and pairings. Last weekend our second line of Hilbrich (9), Mowrey (20), and Ferlin (17) was outstanding but we need our first line of Lowry (28), Bardreau (22) and J. McCarron (14) to play better if we are going to stay with Yale. This is likely our second-most important road trip of the RS (after the Capitol District, on which we got just one point), and our upperclassmen have memories of Yale embarrassing them in years past, so there will be no motivation problem. The win at Lynah was satisfying and seemed deserved, but to repeat it at Ingalls will I think require a stronger effort and the right bounce.

 

[Professor]

Re: Yale Bulldogs Hockey 2013-14: Repeat after me.......CHARACTER IS DESTINY

Maybe it just seems that Fallen has taken a step back. His shot per game totals are down from 2.7 pg to 2.4, not a huge difference, but he was one of those guys who I thought would improve dramatically. His time on ice playing defense has most likely increased due to the young D-Corps as well. It is true that Yale lacks the finishers up front this year. Ago, Wilson and Root could be called by that name but have been having average seasons so far. The PP took a step forward last week, but it could be a gilded lily considering the amount of PK time that Brown had on it's hands. Adlon mentioned in the broadcast that Yale had changed the way they were approaching the zone on the PP, a couple of times the lead puck carrier back passed just before the opposing blue line, creating some misdirection. The PP is another area where they can improve and they need to take advantage, especially when they are one of the least penalized teams in D-1. Looking forward to two good games this weekend. Rumor has it that #24 will be back.

LT: I agree with most of what you have said. On the PP they had the defenseman bring up the puck through center ice and drop pass the puck to a trailing forward who then followed into the zone. Literally a pick play. Doherty is rumored to be back. As to Fallen per game shots, I am not a mathematics Professor - Liberal Arts - and statistics still baffle me. His shot total may be down but they are not getting through. That will change with his new-gained confidence. Fallen has not seen an increased in playing time - quite the contrary for him, O'Gara and Young. The D squad is not at all younger, but more experienced from last year. The major, but subtle difference, is that Gendron was very line pairing oriented particularly as the game time closed. Gendron shortened his end of the bench last year when 6 minutes were left. Muse has been until this weekend rolling out the 6 defensemen regardless of time. In several of the ties, where Gendron would have shortened the bench and made sure that Fallen, O'Gara or Young were always on the ice in some combination, Muse has not. Several times the pairings could not get the puck out of Yale's end, and Fallen was not on the ice where he is clearly the best offensive defensemen on the team. Last year, Gendron would make sure that defensive end faceoffs had O'Gara and Young and on occasion Dueck to get the puck out into the offensive end and then they would change up on the fly to get Fallen out there.

 

[LTsatch]

Re: Yale Bulldogs Hockey 2013-14: Repeat after me.......CHARACTER IS DESTINY

LT: I agree with most of what you have said. On the PP they had the defenseman bring up the puck through center ice and drop pass the puck to a trailing forward who then followed into the zone. Literally a pick play. Doherty is rumored to be back. As to Fallen per game shots, I am not a mathematics Professor - Liberal Arts - and statistics still baffle me. His shot total may be down but they are not getting through. That will change with his new-gained confidence. Fallen has not seen an increased in playing time - quite the contrary for him, O'Gara and Young. The D squad is not at all younger, but more experienced from last year. The major, but subtle difference, is that Gendron was very line pairing oriented particularly as the game time closed. Gendron shortened his end of the bench last year when 6 minutes were left. Muse has been until this weekend rolling out the 6 defensemen regardless of time. In several of the ties, where Gendron would have shortened the bench and made sure that Fallen, O'Gara or Young were always on the ice in some combination, Muse has not. Several times the pairings could not get the puck out of Yale's end, and Fallen was not on the ice where he is clearly the best offensive defensemen on the team. Last year, Gendron would make sure that defensive end faceoffs had O'Gara and Young and on occasion Dueck to get the puck out into the offensive end and then they would change up on the fly to get Fallen out there.

Very interesting Professor, you are obviously a student of the game and I tend to take in the game as a whole rather than analyze the D-Man pairings. I DO agree that the team may miss Red. I will say that young has gotten better at carrying the puck out this year. On the PP it seems that Yale wastes alot of time getting to and setting up the PP breakout. Fallen is THE player to run that breakout if he is available. His ability to outskate the forecheck and also carry in deep is a real asset. On the subject of defense, Yale's D-corps this year has far exceeded my expectations, along with Lyon's skill, Yale is in mostly every game. I probably should not have called them young, but when you are counting on two sophomores on D, things sometimes happen. I am still wondering what has happened to O'Keefe, maybe saving him for a red-shirt?

 

[LTsatch]

Re: Yale Bulldogs Hockey 2013-14: Repeat after me.......CHARACTER IS DESTINY

Colgate is hitting their stride; they're playing like a league #3 and I wouldn't take them lightly.

Cornell played well last weekend, at least against Clarkson. They have everybody reasonably healthy and they have stability in their lines and pairings. Last weekend our second line of Hilbrich (9), Mowrey (20), and Ferlin (17) was outstanding but we need our first line of Lowry (28), Bardreau (22) and J. McCarron (14) to play better if we are going to stay with Yale. This is likely our second-most important road trip of the RS (after the Capitol District, on which we got just one point), and our upperclassmen have memories of Yale embarrassing them in years past, so there will be no motivation problem. The win at Lynah was satisfying and seemed deserved, but to repeat it at Ingalls will I think require a stronger effort and the right bounce.

How about that game by Scrivens tonight! 59 save shut out, the best in the modern age NHL era which began in 1967.

 

[turk181]

Re: Yale Bulldogs Hockey 2013-14: Repeat after me.......CHARACTER IS DESTINY

How about that game by Scrivens tonight! 59 save shut out, the best in the modern age NHL era which began in 1967.

....as Bob McKenzie just said in between periods of Chi./Van. "most saves since 59 save performance since a 2-1 loss to.........Yale.

 

[LTsatch]

Re: Yale Bulldogs Hockey 2013-14: Repeat after me.......CHARACTER IS DESTINY

....as Bob McKenzie just said in between periods of Chi./Van. "most saves since 59 save performance since a 2-1 loss to.........Yale.

Where's the "like" button? Glad you said performance and not shutout!

 

[Kepler]

Re: Yale Bulldogs Hockey 2013-14: Repeat after me.......CHARACTER IS DESTINY

How about that game by Scrivens tonight! 59 save shut out, the best in the modern age NHL era which began in 1967.

The good news is he stopped 59 shots. The bad news is his team gave up 59 shots.

I have been amazed at how Ben has continued to improve throughout his career at Cornell and now in the pros. I had no idea he would just keep getting better. When he was an underclassman I wasn't even sure he was going to be able to hold the starting job! Talk about a Christmas present.

 

[Professor]

Re: Yale Bulldogs Hockey 2013-14: Repeat after me.......CHARACTER IS DESTINY

Very interesting Professor, you are obviously a student of the game and I tend to take in the game as a whole rather than analyze the D-Man pairings. I DO agree that the team may miss Red. I will say that young has gotten better at carrying the puck out this year. On the PP it seems that Yale wastes alot of time getting to and setting up the PP breakout. Fallen is THE player to run that breakout if he is available. His ability to outskate the forecheck and also carry in deep is a real asset. On the subject of defense, Yale's D-corps this year has far exceeded my expectations, along with Lyon's skill, Yale is in mostly every game. I probably should not have called them young, but when you are counting on two sophomores on D, things sometimes happen. I am still wondering what has happened to O'Keefe, maybe saving him for a red-shirt?

LT: I try to analyze all of the pairings, Forwards and D, but the injuries to the Fs this year has made it difficult. I totally agree about Fallen bringing up the puck in the PP. Without question, he is the most explosive of the D core in creating things. What I tried to express, but maybe not as clear as I should have, is that defensively the last two years, and this year in particular, is that Yale has the ability to keep the puck out of the net. Lyons, and do not forget Spano who is in a tough situation, has been outstanding. When Spano early in the year had his opportunity, he performed well. Allain has the fortunate (or some would say unfortunate) situation where he has two outstanding freshman goalies. Lyon has done well, and has been the most consistent Goalie in several years. I am not denigrating Malcom, who led Yale to the Promised Land. Lyon, and Spano, as freshmen, are a duo upon which to build the future. Yale loses one defenseman. Four or five years ago, Yale led the Nation in scoring, but while they had one or two defensemen, the D squad as a whole was lacking. The last two years, and I think this year in particular, the D has been solid, maybe more than solid, but the Yale offensive threat has not been what once it was. My comments about the D scoring is that if you look at this year in several of the games the D (even without Fallen, who I think will now flourish) has been scoring percentage wise more of the goals for a given game. I know little about O'Keeefe beyond knowing that he missed most of the pre-season will illness. Given the strength of the D corp, it will be tough to break in the line-up. However, Killian was scratched (possibly an injury) in favor of Ward who took an unfortunate hit that makes him an unlikely candidate to play this weekend. It will be interesting to see whether Allain will go with 5 defensemen (and add an extra forward as he has done in the past), choose to put Killian back in the line-up (not sure on this situation as to injury, but Allain never discloses injury), or go with an O'Keefe and give the kid a chance with a proper pairing. Tough to see breaking up O'Gara and Young or Fallen and Obuchowski although it has been done on occasion. Witek, who has been great in the last few weeks, paired with Killian or O'Keefe may make sense. At the end of the day, Yale needs: Doherty back, Izmarlian and DiChara playing as they did in the early part of the season, Hayden continue to show what he can really do, Wilson to get back to he has been doing this year controlling the puck but what he did last year creating plays for him and others to score; and Root and Agostino to do what they do best - put the puck in the net when it counts. They need a great run for the next 5 weekends. Period.

 

[LTsatch]

Re: Yale Bulldogs Hockey 2013-14: Repeat after me.......CHARACTER IS DESTINY

LT: I try to analyze all of the pairings, Forwards and D, but the injuries to the Fs this year has made it difficult. I totally agree about Fallen bringing up the puck in the PP. Without question, he is the most explosive of the D core in creating things. What I tried to express, but maybe not as clear as I should have, is that defensively the last two years, and this year in particular, is that Yale has the ability to keep the puck out of the net. Lyons, and do not forget Spano who is in a tough situation, has been outstanding. When Spano early in the year had his opportunity, he performed well. Allain has the fortunate (or some would say unfortunate) situation where he has two outstanding freshman goalies. Lyon has done well, and has been the most consistent Goalie in several years. I am not denigrating Malcom, who led Yale to the Promised Land. Lyon, and Spano, as freshmen, are a duo upon which to build the future. Yale loses one defenseman. Four or five years ago, Yale led the Nation in scoring, but while they had one or two defensemen, the D squad as a whole was lacking. The last two years, and I think this year in particular, the D has been solid, maybe more than solid, but the Yale offensive threat has not been what once it was. My comments about the D scoring is that if you look at this year in several of the games the D (even without Fallen, who I think will now flourish) has been scoring percentage wise more of the goals for a given game. I know little about O'Keeefe beyond knowing that he missed most of the pre-season will illness. Given the strength of the D corp, it will be tough to break in the line-up. However, Killian was scratched (possibly an injury) in favor of Ward who took an unfortunate hit that makes him an unlikely candidate to play this weekend. It will be interesting to see whether Allain will go with 5 defensemen (and add an extra forward as he has done in the past), choose to put Killian back in the line-up (not sure on this situation as to injury, but Allain never discloses injury), or go with an O'Keefe and give the kid a chance with a proper pairing. Tough to see breaking up O'Gara and Young or Fallen and Obuchowski although it has been done on occasion. Witek, who has been great in the last few weeks, paired with Killian or O'Keefe may make sense. At the end of the day, Yale needs: Doherty back, Izmarlian and DiChara playing as they did in the early part of the season, Hayden continue to show what he can really do, Wilson to get back to he has been doing this year controlling the puck but what he did last year creating plays for him and others to score; and Root and Agostino to do what they do best - put the puck in the net when it counts. They need a great run for the next 5 weekends. Period.

Well the info dam broke at Yale. NH Register with an injury report. Chip Malafronte blog about this weekend, http://nhrcollegehockey.blogspot.com/ Quote.. Allain expects injured players Alex Ward, Mike Doherty and Carson Cooper to be out for this weekend.

This could be misinformation as well, at least in the Doherty case. (wishful thinking)