Providence/Dartmouth

[GIMMEMORE]

Just wondering if anybody saw this game.If so, what were your impressions of the play-was it a good game-was it as close as the score indicated.Give me your take on where both of these teams are heading.

[Travelingman]

There were not many shots taken in this game and I know Providence could have beaten Dartmouth. Providence is just looking a bit flat right now. Scoring is not coming easy. They have been in some games and goaltending wasn't there. I think come the second half they will be back on track and a team to beat. Dartmouth, is looking very flat compared to last season (except towards the end). I really think they need to focus on having more fun. They just don't look like they are having a good time on the ice. I have seen them play 4 times this year and I sense too much pressure, not enough fun or something I can't put my finger on. Amazing what a couple of Olympians do for a team.

[ncaafan]

There were not many shots taken in this game and I know Providence could have beaten Dartmouth. Providence is just looking a bit flat right now. Scoring is not coming easy. They have been in some games and goaltending wasn't there. I think come the second half they will be back on track and a team to beat. Dartmouth, is looking very flat compared to last season (except towards the end). I really think they need to focus on having more fun. They just don't look like they are having a good time on the ice. I have seen them play 4 times this year and I sense too much pressure, not enough fun or something I can't put my finger on. Amazing what a couple of Olympians do for a team.

That's funny because I thought Providence looked uptight. They seem to be skittish and are playing like they're afraid to lose. I don't know if the coach is putting too much pressure on them, or they're doing it to themselves. I agree with you, that you have to have fun to play this game. You have to want to come to the rink everyday and you can't be afraid to make mistakes. The PC men are playing great for that very reason - kudos to Tim Army.
I thought PC marginally outplayed Dartmouth but are having trouble putting the puck in the net - maybe they're gripping the stick too tight?? PC's powerplay is not very effective and I've seen lesser clubs, like Maine, come here and run a very effective powerplay. I did notice that they changed the first line by putting Beach at center, which I think was smart as she seems to add much more speed to that line. I think an effective second line would be Kelch at left, Chrissy at center, and Laffin on the right. That would be another speedy line. Laffin is playing very well right now and isn't getting the icetime she deserves.
Dartmouth is definitely missing those Olympians this year. They also have a young team with a lot of Freshman, so it will take time for them and they should be better in the second half. This is only the second time I've seen Dartmouth this year so it's hard to get a read, but they're definitely missing leadership and experience, but that will come I'm sure.

[Hux]

That's funny because I thought Providence looked uptight. They seem to be skittish and are playing like they're afraid to lose. I don't know if the coach is putting too much pressure on them, or they're doing it to themselves. I agree with you, that you have to have fun to play this game. You have to want to come to the rink everyday and you can't be afraid to make mistakes. The PC men are playing great for that very reason - kudos to Tim Army.

You hit the nail on the head, to a degree. To quote one of the freshman on the team who I ran into yesterday at UNH. "Every game is a learning experience. The game is so fast, and we are all still kinda trying to get used to each other."

Based on that and other comments I would say it is more internal, and an experience issue, than say pressure from the coach. She said she was loving it, and school, and Providence, and the area, so I would venture to say that coaching is not the issue, or not to the extent that is creating a problem.

[cavbim]

I'll take it a bit further. This week in one of the columns in the Providence Journal the guy who writes about college sports spoke with the area hockey coaches, in particular Murphy and Deraney and about how the break begins after this weekend and goes into January. One of the things he did say (and she echoed) was that the grind of starting with some sort of practice almost from the day you begin school was wearing on them.

Also consider on a team of just about 20 kids 8 of them are just days away from their first set of semester exams. Another burden of a young team is learning to adjust to all the demands of college. This can be a trying time.

One more thing while its getting late I kind of got the impression it is still felt Thatcher still might be called to the US team and that must play on the how he plans to make moves. Of course she is the team captain so a lot of the holding the team together falls to her. I always thought Mathias, Butsch, Youlen and Bourgette played a much more unsung role in winning behind the scenes during PC's 4 year run.

As for the game my choice of words wouldn't be uptight but tenative. At least tenative in all but one way. I think they greatly fear other team's speed. I've said it and a couple others echoed it the defense is slow. I thought Yale outquicked them a couple of weeks ago. Harvard ate them up. I thought he was trying to work more of the offense from down low. He didn't have the defense firing shots (the infamous shots on shins leading to odd man rushes) They also fall into the trap of being very predictable in trying to move up ice to even get momentum. Dartmouth seemed very good at sliding over and breaking up the rush. Conversely PC reacted to what Dartmouth did.

The one area they aren't tentative. Again it might be a lack of foot speed or getting caught flat footed too often but they are very aggressive when they whack with their sticks. Dorion actually called a good game as he let the game have some flow and if both teams wanted to bang he was only going to deal with the most egregious penalties. Among the sins they did commit was an avoidable penalty by Smith and an unecessary checking penalty by Payton that essentially wiped out a 5 min power play chance. On top of that Watrous capped a 3 penalty day by slashing the goalie in the dying seconds of the game with the goalie pulled and PC pressing

[dayglo]

Amazing what a couple of Olympians do for a team.

Make that four.
(Dartmouth national team players away for the season).

As I've said before, it's not just that but also the losses from graduation (incl. co-captains Walton and BreMiller) and injury (Muranko), which leaves Dartmouth with a very young team. It's true that they're lacking some spark and definitely have less offensive punch.

That said, I've seen every game but one that they've played this year and there is a definite, steady improvement. Their team defense looks much better, the PK did a great job (except for when they got caught in their own end too long and gave up the one goal with a few seconds left in the penalty). The PP is getting a little better but they definitely miss Piper and need to move the puck more quickly and shoot more. Lane is playing well and has kept them in every game, even when the team in front of her has shown their youth.

Dartmouth has also shown some tentativeness which is due I believe to their young team. That was more apparent toward the end of the Wisconsin game (which DC lost by one goal), whereas at PC I thought the Green played much smarter at the end of the game. There were no chancy long shots at the empty net, they kept the puck along the boards and killed time well.

The freshmen are making gains every game, imo. Bowman is impressive at center and Newnam has a great shot from the point. The defenders are playing better all the time. It is coming together. I don't know if they will "arrive" in time for the playoffs this year but the future looks very bright for this team.

I hadn't see PC play before this year; I thought they played a decent game but, based only what I've seen, I'd have to give UNH a definite edge in Hockey East. They played an outstanding game vs. Wisconsin and from what I've heard, did very well at Harvard.