Union College: 2017-2018

[Pokey]

Re: Union College: 2017-2018

Interesting:
Yale Blocked 32 of our shots
Holy Cross Blocked 27 shots
Both of these looked like the highest season totals for these two teams.

Very accurate at hitting the defenseman 2 steps in front of the shooter (I'd say close to 60%) ..

[Dutchman]

Re: Union College: 2017-2018

Very accurate at hitting the defenseman 2 steps in front of the shooter (I'd say close to 60%) ..

Would be great to fake the shot to get the defensemen to commit and then try to try and find a seam. Brody was really good at that.

[UFan]

Re: Union College: 2017-2018

Some sparks of goodness... we seem to still have difficulty keeping our foot on the gas for a whole game. 9 shots in the first 10 minutes of the game, only 7 in the second period... 2 PP goals against... grrrr...
Hoping for a good break and motivated players (you could see the frustration of some players at the end of the game) for our come-back game against Omaha!

[Pokey]

Re: Union College: 2017-2018

Would be great to fake the shot to get the defensemen to commit and then try to try and find a seam. Brody was really good at that.

You see that from Brassard quite a bit - the youngsters will get there - still just young pups..
(in playing time years)

[Pokey]

Re: Union College: 2017-2018

Some sparks of goodness... we seem to still have difficulty keeping our foot on the gas for a whole game. 9 shots in the first 10 minutes of the game, only 7 in the second period... 2 PP goals against... grrrr...
Hoping for a good break and motivated players (you could see the frustration of some players at the end of the game) for our come-back game against Omaha!

agreed but 2nd period was a mess and one of those PP goals was a real fluke (defensemen kicks the puck away and it goes right on the stick for a gimme)
Sooner or later those "special bounces" will happen on our PP..
changing 4 and 5 guys in and out of the lineup doesn't help and losing Viddy really shook things up and
kills cohesiveness on more than one line - especially when you move a guy from the 3rd line to the first and then move one from the fourth line to the third
so instead of just 2 lines changing - 3 changed. And then he changed his mind (twice).. Fix THE problem - don't create more problems..
They should be fine for Omaha all back in tact and hopefully psyched to kick some butt...

[Pokey]

Re: Union College: 2017-2018

Some sparks of goodness... we seem to still have difficulty keeping our foot on the gas for a whole game. 9 shots in the first 10 minutes of the game, only 7 in the second period... 2 PP goals against... grrrr...
Hoping for a good break and motivated players (you could see the frustration of some players at the end of the game) for our come-back game against Omaha!

Tough weekend on some the players - stitches and a lost tooth on one, arm cut and dozens of stitches on another
the long break couldn't come at a more opportune time...

[Miami Ice]

Re: Union College: 2017-2018

The shadow of Sisyphus hangs over the Dutchmen. After an ignominious beginning of the season, an impressive run until Yale, and yesterday's unfortunate outing, one hopes that RB can align the stars for a strong second half. With the parity in college hockey, it's a tall order.

[Wicked Slappaahs]

Re: Union College: 2017-2018

Enjoyable game to watch - albeit with having no skin in the game. Both keepers played well, with UMass stopper throwing the blanket on in the 3rd . A few ill advised U penalties including a boarding and an elbow.

On a side note, I don't know what's going on with the ice surfacing ?? The older worn Olympia machine was only doing a dry scrape (no water) of most but not all of the rink, with the Zamboni laying down too much water leading to wet ice leading to delays in the start of the 2nd and 3rd period. There was also frozen slush areas on the playing surface and noticeable alternating linear grooves in the ice.

Has this been going on all year?? I can only surmise that the Olympia machine is no longer capable of laying down water ??

[Dutchman]

Re: Union College: 2017-2018

There was always a story that when the rink was laid down the pipes were laid too far below the concrete floor and made for maintaining the ice difficult. When it was warm inside of Achilles the surface became slushie. I thought that they had fixed that last year or perhaps the year before. The soft ice had a tendencay to negate our speed advantage, if we had one. If it still exists, it didn't slow down Yale.

[ecachawkeyfan]

Re: Union College: 2017-2018

I noticed the ice looked unusually wet at points during the women's game on Friday. It's the first time I noticed that this year, though.

[ADK11]

Re: Union College: 2017-2018

The pipes under the ice have never been replaced and are the same from 1975. The renovations in 2003 upgraded the refrigeration system, but they chose to upgrade the lockers rather than the pipes/floor. This improved things a little, but is still pretty bad and likely getting worse as the pipes age (they are now over 40 years old). Last weekend wasn't unusually warm and wasn't a huge crowd, so is not a good sign. The new renovations (if or when they happen) are supposed to take care of this. Hopefully this happens in my lifetime..

[ecachawkeyfan]

Re: Union College: 2017-2018

Union posted an 11 minute video on Vimeo about the program and the possible expansion of Messa Rink.

It's extremely well done and features comments from Frank Messa, Meigher, Menhall, Bennett, Ainlay, players, Unger, etc.

Well worth a watch: https://vimeo.com/246853500?ref=tw-share

[Wicked Slappaahs]

The pipes under the ice have never been replaced and are the same from 1975. The renovations in 2003 upgraded the refrigeration system, but they chose to upgrade the lockers rather than the pipes/floor. This improved things a little, but is still pretty bad and likely getting worse as the pipes age (they are now over 40 years old). Last weekend wasn't unusually warm and wasn't a huge crowd, so is not a good sign. The new renovations (if or when they happen) are supposed to take care of this. Hopefully this happens in my lifetime..

Certainly sounds like it. I hate to see what it will be like for a late season home series with a sellout. This still doesn't address the ghetto😜 Olympia machine that doesn't lay down any water. If they're having chiller issues, it's all the more reason to have two properly operating machines to get the ice made quicker so it will set up.

[Pokey]

Re: Union College: 2017-2018

Certainly sounds like it. I hate to see what it will be like for a late season home series with a sellout. This still doesn't address the ghetto😜 Olympia machine that doesn't lay down any water. If they're having chiller issues, it's all the more reason to have two properly operating machines to get the ice made quicker so it will set up.

a new Zamboni runs about $98K and because they run on propane emit toxic gases into an enclosed arena.. (no wonder hockey fans are crazy by the 3rd period)
The Finns have an ice-cat that runs on electric to fix that problem but they go about $160K

So are you suggesting a "bake sale" or "fund raiser" to acquire a new Zamboni or two? I think it's a great idea but will probably take more than
a single season of hard fund raising to get one let alone two..

Maybe that new Casino would buy one - all decked out in an ad for them..

[Wicked Slappaahs]

a new Zamboni runs about $98K and because they run on propane emit toxic gases into an enclosed arena.. (no wonder hockey fans are crazy by the 3rd period)
The Finns have an ice-cat that runs on electric to fix that problem but they go about $160K

So are you suggesting a "bake sale" or "fund raiser" to acquire a new Zamboni or two? I think it's a great idea but will probably take more than
a single season of hard fund raising to get one let alone two..

Maybe that new Casino would buy one - all decked out in an ad for them..

I wasnt "suggesting" anything. There are standards for the playing surface that sure as heck weren't being met for the UMass game. The issue seems to be 50% refrigeration and 50% machinery. The excellent players in the program deserve better. It's the admin's job to address facility and equipment issues.

By the way , Zamboni makes several electric models, right here in North America. Get your apron out and start baking!