Yale Hockey 2010-2011 thread

[Yale84]

Re: Yale Hockey 2010-2011 thread

Well put, CGYF. Last night certainly wasn't our best showing - seemed to me our timing was off, and a number of potentially dynamic plays just missed. But Rondeau and the D were solid, as you say, and we kept pushing, particularly in the third period, as evidenced by the much more lopsided SOG. I thought Broc had some flashes of his early-season brilliance, too.

I'm thinking of sending flowers to the Quinnipiac team - sometimes you get by with a little help from your friends.

 

[goblue78]

Re: Yale Hockey 2010-2011 thread

I'm thinking of sending flowers to the Quinnipiac team - sometimes you get by with a little help from your friends.

And from the standpoint of the ultimate goal, they're now a TUC, which raises Yale's record against TUCs to 11-2. Now, they're barely a TUC, so they're probably going to have to win tonight and whatever their first round match is to stay there, but this definitely helps Yale in the Pairwise.

By the way, Yale was the only D-1 team without a tie until last night.

 

[cornellgradyalefan]

Re: Yale Hockey 2010-2011 thread

A couple more thoughts....

Both visiting teams tonight have much to play for. Cornell clinches a bye with a win and Princeton clinches a bye with a win and a Cornell tie or loss, or a tie and a Cornell loss. Princeton has to be thinking that Yale is really going to bring it tonight, so they should be especially amped up to play well against Union.

I am not sure what kind of game we will see tonight. Cornell has been up and down all season (losing to Brown last night with everything that was on the line for them was a disgrace) and has now lost 5 or 6 games in a row to Yale. Plus, Cornell has a really tough time dealing with Yale's speed, so the physical style that they need to play to win tends to not work against Yale. On the other hand, Cornell needs this game as far as their standing in the ECAC more than Yale does, and they will probably come in with a big chip on their shoulder after their loss last night. As for Yale, I see no issue with their level of motivation after last night's double disappointment, so I expect to see Yale's best tonight.

Why does every bad team play like world beaters against Yale this year? And why does every goalie play like Martin Brodeur in his prime?

Our friend Harry Z gave Brown his best (first 2 goals of the game) and his worst (5 minute major that gave Cornell a 5 on 3 PP and their first goal that got them back in the game) last night.

Union didn't have a sell out last night. How can you not sell out that little bandbox when you are first in the ECAC on the last weekend of the season?

Does anyone know what a loss tonight will do to Yale's standing in the Pairwise?

 

[cornellgradyalefan]

Re: Yale Hockey 2010-2011 thread

And a couple more thoughts....

Lags looked lost on the ice last night. I sure hope Anderson will be back for the playoffs.

Dueck didn't look so great either. I would like to see Gus Young in that defensive pairing with Peel more often.

How great is Andrew Miller?

Rondeau makes the tough save look easy because his positioning and movement are so good.

 

[Yale84]

Re: Yale Hockey 2010-2011 thread

Does anyone know what a loss tonight will do to Yale's standing in the Pairwise?

Would do, CGYF, would do.....

 

[goblue78]

Re: Yale Hockey 2010-2011 thread

Does anyone know what a loss tonight will do to Yale's standing in the Pairwise?

I don't think that it does very much by itself. From SS, it appears that a loss would take Yale's RPI below NoDak and they would project to stay below them if NoDak wins three or more of their remaining four regular season games, two of which are against Michigan Tech. It would also put Yale just below BC in RPI if they win their three remaining games. As long as QU remains a TUC, Yale's TUC lead is safe even with a loss. Should QU falter, however, a loss tonight would make Yale's TUC record 9-3, still in first, but with the potential to fall behind NoDak if they sweep Bemidji State. Thus, although the playoffs will still determine more, the worst Yale can fall in the Pairwise through next week is, I believe, second, unless I've missed something.

 

[RKarger]

Re: Yale Hockey 2010-2011 thread

Union didn't have a sell out last night. How can you not sell out that little bandbox when you are first in the ECAC on the last weekend of the season?

Snowstorm made for a lot of unsafe roads in this area leading up to game time. That was probably a factor.

 

[LTsatch]

Re: Yale Hockey 2010-2011 thread

What a crazy game last night, for all of the hard fought battles for the puck and excellent skating by both teams, to come away with a 1-1 tie was disappointing. If not for Rondeau, Yale gets beaten by the worst team in the league. I will disagree with the statement that Little looked better, he is not finishing anything he does, whether it's a forecheck or a passing play, Little at his best played like Miller is now, I hope the two weeks off takes care of whatever is ailing him because he looks like he needs the rest, Kearney as well. Millers goal was a thing of beauty, the goalie never stood a chance. It's hard to point out what Yale did wrong last night, I just think Colgate played a great game, as stated earlier they stuck to a plan and it worked. I will say that Yale got stiffed at least three times for non calls of penalties, especially the spearing incident in overtime, Testa is a horrible ref. Should be a good game tonight.

Edit- Just checked the stats, Little had one shot on goal, Kearney gets a pass , he had eight to lead the team.

 

[cornellgradyalefan]

Re: Yale Hockey 2010-2011 thread

Snowstorm made for a lot of unsafe roads in this area leading up to game time. That was probably a factor.

And don't I feel like a jerk for shooting my mouth off. Thanks for the clarification

 

[cornellgradyalefan]

Re: Yale Hockey 2010-2011 thread

If not for Rondeau, Yale gets beaten by the worst team in the league.

I agree. But to be fair, the Colgate goalie kept Yale from winning the game also. I could easily make a case for Rondeau for team MVP this year. He has been that good, and his play has been more consequential than anyone else on the team.

I will disagree with the statement that Little looked better, he is not finishing anything he does, whether it's a forecheck or a passing play

I will take a middle ground here. Little had more life to his game last night, so that is a positive, but he didn't finish most checks or passes, although he had a few plays down low where he tried to pass to a shooter in front of the net and he had 1 rush that I remember in the first period where he fended off a Colgate defender while controlling the puck and shot just wide to the right of the goalie. I also thought that he had less energy as the game went on.

I will say that Yale got stiffed at least three times for non calls of penalties, especially the spearing incident in overtime, Testa is a horrible ref.

Testa might be the worst ref in the ECAC. He has taken the crown from Ritchie who retired. How that spearing penalty wasn't called is beyond me. Did the Yale player, I think it was Miller, spear himself with his own stick?

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

Re: Yale Hockey 2010-2011 thread

Testa is a horrible ref.

Testa might be the worst ref in the ECAC.

Testa is a linesman; he doesn't wear orange stripes.

 

[cornellgradyalefan]

Re: Yale Hockey 2010-2011 thread

Ok Yale fans, it's the end of one season within a season and the beginning of another. We didn't get the Cleary Cup but I'm not concerned about that. What's more important, I think, is that we are playing Yale hockey again. This bodes well for continued success in the postseason, in my opinion, but what do you think. We have 2 weeks with no hockey (what the heck am I gonna do with myself) so let's get the conversation flowing

 

[goblue78]

Re: Yale Hockey 2010-2011 thread

I would love to be as optimistic as you, but it has become increasingly clear that Yale is just perfectly well positioned to play your alma mater, CGYF. Yes, they played the sort of dominating game they played early in the season, but that's what they do against slow, big, hard-hitting teams. If every team in the country were like Cornell, I'd be hugely confident. I'm still convinced Yale can beat anyone, and deserves to be favored against just about anybody, though I put them roughly even with most of the top ten. We have two weeks to ensure everyone is healthy and integrate Anderson back into the team. Indeed, that's one of the things I'd focus on in the ECAC playoffs.

 

[cornellgradyalefan]

Re: Yale Hockey 2010-2011 thread

Irrational over-exuberance born of a decisive end of season win? Perhaps, but I think there are a number of reasons to believe that Yale can have a deep run in the post season. Mental toughness, relentless work ethic, scoring balance, good goal-tending, the experience of having been there before (twice) but not quite getting it done, a sense of unfinished business. Plus they shook off their mid-season malaise and got back to playing their style over the last 5 games of the regular season.

Last year going into the post season I was thinking: Backman is hurt, our goaltending is an adventure every night, we lost to Brown- Brown???!!!-in the play-offs at Ingalls, so we'll be lucky to not be embarrassed by UND. This year, and I realize that any number of things can happen in the ECAC play-offs to change that, I am thinking, and truly believing, we can beat anybody in the country and I don't need to cross my fingers behind my back when I say it.

 

[cornellgradyalefan]

Re: Yale Hockey 2010-2011 thread

I will disagree with the statement that Little looked better, he is not finishing anything he does, whether it's a forecheck or a passing play

Little played much better tonight and I'm not even talking about his goal. There were two instances in the game tonight where his work along the boards (keeping his feet moving and pushing the puck along with his stick) caused Cornell to take two penalties. He skated much better tonight also, and made some nifty passes out of the deep offensive zone to cutters to the net.

 

[LTsatch]

Re: Yale Hockey 2010-2011 thread

Little played much better tonight and I'm not even talking about his goal. There were two instances in the game tonight where his work along the boards (keeping his feet moving and pushing the puck along with his stick) caused Cornell to take two penalties. He skated much better tonight also, and made some nifty passes out of the deep offensive zone to cutters to the net.

I agree, did you see the way the team mobbed him when he scored, hopefully a monkey of his back, with a much needed rest I would hope that he has his best moments when they really count. Great all out effort by the team tonight. I was in a very bad place until they scored that first goal though, Cornell made some great rushes and actually forechecked pretty well, Yale just had too much speed and depth. Miller has become quite the sniper and has really progressed into an offensive force this year, O'Neill played a great game as well..

 

[LTsatch]

Re: Yale Hockey 2010-2011 thread

Testa is a linesman; he doesn't wear orange stripes.

Whatever , he can still call a penalty and he still sux

 

[cornellgradyalefan]

Re: Yale Hockey 2010-2011 thread

I agree, did you see the way the team mobbed him when he scored, hopefully a monkey of his back, with a much needed rest I would hope that he has his best moments when they really count. Great all out effort by the team tonight. I was in a very bad place until they scored that first goal though, Cornell made some great rushes and actually forechecked pretty well, Yale just had too much speed and depth. Miller has become quite the sniper and has really progressed into an offensive force this year, O'Neill played a great game as well..

Yeah it was great to see both his reaction and the team's reaction. Let's face it, we need Little to be the guy that he was to win this thing. As for the game tonight, I wasn't too worried because from my vantage point it never looked like Cornell was going to finish a play. They rushed the puck up ice well enough, but they lacked scoring touch at the net. When you contrast Cornell's lack of ability to finish with what we often see from Yale in that area, it makes you really appreciate how gifted some of the Yale players are. I was sitting in the Cornell section tonight nearest the net that Cornell was defending (waited too long to get tickets) and had a perfect view of Miller's goal. The puck looked like it was shot out of a cannon and perfectly placed. Miller is a special talent. He has Gretzky-esque ice vision and a Bobby Orr like ability to stop and start on a dime. O'Neill is tough as nails. He was pushing through guys who had to be 3-4 inches taller and 30 lbs heavier. He has a great nose for the puck and an unbreakable will to get there. And how enjoyable is it to watch Cahill play? I can hardly believe this is the same guy who was an average player his junior year. He can sometimes take a foolish penalty, but his hitting brings a great added dimension to Yale's game.

 

[Yale84]

Re: Yale Hockey 2010-2011 thread

From the collegehockeynews.com bit on the Yale-Cornell game: "Meanwhile, Yale coach Keith Allain may not be the warmest and fuzziest guy in the league, and may not have a lot of friends as fellow league coaches -- but his team is darn fun to watch, and that accounts for something."

I know Allain isn't exactly loved by the press, but since when is a coach's demeanor the measure of a team??????????

Great game last night - good to see Broc play well and score. Bourbonnais doesn't see a whole lot of ice time, but has certainly delivered. The performance of the Agostino line bodes well for next year. It's really too early to think about 2011-12 with a post-season ahead of us, but I wonder who will replace Cahill on the O'Neill-Miller line?

As for what we're all going to do with ourselves next week, let's go cheer on Quinnipiac against Brown over in Hamden.

 

[cornellgradyalefan]

Re: Yale Hockey 2010-2011 thread

I was mining the RPI thread for thoughts on Union. I figured that who would know the Dutchmen better than the fans of their travelling partner. Let's open this up for discussion.

I think both you and tb are right. Union is good but if they go in the tourney they will do the Cornell deal where they go out quick. They do so because they are built for that rinky dink rink in Schdy and when they go to neutral site they will get run up and down the ice IMO.
Agreed the U is an excellent team but man for man Yale IMO is more talented by quite a bit but they find themselves in a dog fight for first place.It's all about defense,putting the puck on net and scrappy goals not my cup of tea but thats the formula.
I agree with 99% of this. I mildly disagree with your Union bashing...(sorry couldn't resist )

They are an excellent hockey team...#1 scoring def., #2 scoring off., #1 in GA, and most notably for me, they are 10th in penalty minutes. That's math even a non-engineer like me can understand: If you score a lot, don't allow many and you stay out of the box, you are a very good hockey team...

Was looking at the first round ECAC matchups. I think both RPI and Princeton should win their series, but each may take 3 games. I think QU and Brown is a toss-up. The interesting one is Clarkson-Harvard. Harvard has top 4 talent and has had bottom feeder team chemistry for most of the season. Recently, they have turned it around and, I think, should beat Clarkson. If they do and the other series go as I think they will, that means that Harvard will travel to Union for their second round series. I think Harvard could be a real threat to beat Union, if they can sustain their recent level of play. What do you all think.

Also, if those first round series go as I predict, that would mean Yale would have a rematch with Brown. Wouldn't that be interesting? Or a grudge match with Q, which would be great Hockey theater.