Union College: 2017-2018

[Dutchman]

Re: Union College: 2017-2018

As of 6:00 pm ECAC is 0-3 (Scoring thus far 4-13) Could be a long night.

[ecachawkeyfan]

Re: Union College: 2017-2018

No Vidmar or Supinski tonight. Wonder what's up. Word was Vidmar suffered a "cut" in the Dec. 10 game vs UMass.... must be a lot more serious than that if it's keeping him out 19 days later.

Supinski's absence is a bigger surprise. Hopefully it's not a long one.

[Dutchman]

Re: Union College: 2017-2018

No Vidmar or Supinski tonight. Wonder what's up. Word was Vidmar suffered a "cut" in the Dec. 10 game vs UMass.... must be a lot more serious than that if it's keeping him out 19 days later.

Supinski's absence is a bigger surprise. Hopefully it's not a long one.

Five freshmen forwards. Hanson is really going to have to step up for us to have a chance. Woops, Omaha just scored.

[ecachawkeyfan]

Re: Union College: 2017-2018

Five freshmen forwards. Hanson is really going to have to step up for us to have a chance. Woops, Omaha just scored.

And they just scored again. 2-0.

[Dutchman]

Re: Union College: 2017-2018

Omaha is a much better team than their records show, probably because they are in the NCHC. Hats off to them. We came out flat-footed and they were beating us to puck all night long. I only saw the first two periods but that looked to be the worse loss this year. We were just hanging on for dear life. The Maier line (Scarfo, Adams) looked like they were skating with lead boots. Three of Omaha's goals were scored against that line. Way too much Christmas Cheer (again). Any word on Supinski and Vidmar?

It looked like Omaha was cycling 4 lines very quickly in the first two periods. They were putting the body on us more than we were putting the body on them.

We have Dartmouth and Harvard on the road next week.

32 in the pairwise ..... I had us finishing 25th and 6th in the ECAC.

[UFan]

Re: Union College: 2017-2018

Well, that was a spanking... not sure what else to say. We should have had a chance, but play was slow and dull. Let's hope for a better showing tonight, or at least a better preparation for the coming league games!
Go Union!

[Pokey]

Re: Union College: 2017-2018

Well, that was a spanking... not sure what else to say. We should have had a chance, but play was slow and dull. Let's hope for a better showing tonight, or at least a better preparation for the coming league games!
Go Union!

Can't come out that flat on the road and expect to be in the game ...
A few more games to go short-handed - the youngsters need to relax and just play - they are all pressing way to much..
Brassard got popped last night - hope he's ok...

[Pokey]

Re: Union College: 2017-2018

No Vidmar or Supinski tonight. Wonder what's up. Word was Vidmar suffered a "cut" in the Dec. 10 game vs UMass.... must be a lot more serious than that if it's keeping him out 19 days later.

Supinski's absence is a bigger surprise. Hopefully it's not a long one.

Those two are a large part of the leadership - somebody needs to step up big time..
It's already too long..

[ecachawkeyfan]

Re: Union College: 2017-2018

Well, that sucked last night. It's hard to take away any positives from an effort like that. You could say Union played like a team who didn't have a game for 19 days, but Omaha went a day longer without playing and was clearly ready. Nowhere but up tonight?

[Pokey]

Re: Union College: 2017-2018

Well, that sucked last night. It's hard to take away any positives from an effort like that. You could say Union played like a team who didn't have a game for 19 days, but Omaha went a day longer without playing and was clearly ready. Nowhere but up tonight?

I agree the length of time shut down is not the issue.. They all skated and they practiced..
Last night we got to see what happens with a young team when the S___ hits the Fan..
They practiced to play without Vidmar before leaving - They knew that was happening - So I'm sure at least 2 lines changed for that
Then they lose Supinski - - So now how many guys moved around ? and how do you get any cohesiveness in a skate thru?
Not sure there is enough beef on a Rinaldi, Foo, walker line
and maybe too much on a Scarfo Maier, Adams line
They just need to skate, play hockey - they know how -- pressing just makes the game so much more difficult..

[Dutchman]

Re: Union College: 2017-2018

Dufour is getting a chance to play. I have not seen the big forward all year. Playing on the fourth line. Light is out on defense.

Take a look at tonight's lineups in game two vs the Mavericks. pic.twitter.com/9oXITHtUHK

— Union Hockey (@Unionmhockey) December 31, 2017

[Dutchman]

Re: Union College: 2017-2018

Congrats to Harvard, Yale, Saints, Big Green, Big Red and Princeton. Only RPI and Union lost today. I think that we were better than our first five loses and not as good as our winning streak. I think we have a good team and we are in the middle. Next year will be our year. I can't count the number of times we made beautiful passes to Omaha players.

[UnionHockey]

Re: Union College: 2017-2018

Congrats to Harvard, Yale, Saints, Big Green, Big Red and Princeton. Only RPI and Union lost today. I think that we were better than our first five loses and not as good as our winning streak. I think we have a good team and we are in the middle. Next year will be our year. I can't count the number of times we made beautiful passes to Omaha players.

As a season ticket holder for 25+ and lurker here for over a decade, I have really enjoyed the posts and analysis by everyone here over the years. I agree with nearly all of your post Dutchman. With the losses to Vermont, UMass x2, Omaha x2, and the general play of the ECAC out-of-conference it seems that, for practical purposes, Union is not going to make it as an at-large team (barring something like a 13-1 finish). Thus, we have to focus our attention on improving for March. While still early, it appears that Clarkson, Cornell, Colgate, Union and Harvard are the teams most in contention for a top 4 spot (although I still think QPac/Princeton are dangerous). As it would be much preferred to be a #4 home team or better, rather than a #5 away team in the second round, our 2 games vs Harvard and Colgate, in particular, will be crucial.

Our losses to BU, Minny, and Mich Tech were nearly expected with such a young team. I agree that our performance vs Vermont and UMass were disappointing. Our hot streak was then a pleasant surprise and fantastic to watch. But, after watching the past few weeks and in hindsight, it does appear, however, that we knocked off some poor teams and some teams that haven’t quite yet played to their potential (QPac/Princeton). We had a great weekend out in North Dakota and it was one we can hang our hat on. Strong performance in which we finished our opportunities- as any good team must. But it also appeared NoDak controlled periods of play and on different weekends they likely would have been victorious. That seemed to come to light even more this weekend vs Omaha- another very good team.

It seems to me that to be a true contender we lack one additional player who can create their own shot and score consistently. Supinski seems to be the best at that and Rinaldi has vastly improved in that category. I was hoping Luc Brown would become that, and while he has the potential, he has not done so quite yet. Scarfo, Maier, Vidmar are all terrific players who have put the puck in the net. They are a crucial part of our team. But they do not always strike me as players who can create their own scoring opportunities and finish when necessary, at least not the way a Foo or Vecchione did (I know, tough shoes to fill). I also think one additional puck handling defenseman would also be an asset. Obviously, Foo and DeSimone both somewhat unexpectedly left and would fill those two criteria.

That is not to say I haven’t been impressed by our team so far. I thought we had a terrific freshman class with some great Soph/Jrs. I expected this to be a semi-rebuilding year. But this team has performed equal to or exceeded my expectations for this year. And we are still very young with players improving everyday. With the return of Vidmar and (hopefully?) Supinski, and a great deal of room for improvement for our younger players- who have already performed solidly- we have the potential to cause havoc come March if we continue to improve. Perhaps by then one more of our young players will step up to be consistent scoring threat. I am now optimistic for March and think we could have the ability to play with anyone in the ECAC.

Just a couple of random thoughts I have had over time……. We seem to be much better when we have puck moving, shifty defenders (Gostisbehere, Taylor, Bodie, DeSimone). In that respect I have high hopes for Kolias and Campolieto. And even to some extent Estes considering he is a freshman…….. we seem to consistently struggle on the PP vs teams that attack our point men aggressively compared to those opponents who sit back……. Leaman (one of the best coaches in college) built a terrific program. I was somewhat concerned that Bennett was riding his coattail in recruiting and player development the Nat’l Champ year. That is not to say it doesn’t take a good coach to win a Nat’l Champ, I just wanted to see a couple of years to see what he could sustain. Since then he has been very impressive in his coaching and recruiting. I hope he never leaves. The Union athletic administration should be applauded for hiring and keeping fantastic coaches. And also a shout-out to Tapp for the terrific job he has done with the goaltenders over the years.

[Pokey]

Re: Union College: 2017-2018

Congrats to Harvard, Yale, Saints, Big Green, Big Red and Princeton. Only RPI and Union lost today. I think that we were better than our first five loses and not as good as our winning streak. I think we have a good team and we are in the middle. Next year will be our year. I can't count the number of times we made beautiful passes to Omaha players.

Only thing better than the beautiful passes to Maverick players was the return of the dreaded "pass to nobody in particular"..
or the slap shot from the right point that misses everything with nobody on the left point to keep it in..
or the absolute most "homer" announcers on the planet,
But the best of the night was a 5 minute major and game misconduct for having a guy try to run you down, trips over you and ends up hurt..

[Pokey]

Re: Union College: 2017-2018

As a season ticket holder for 25+ and lurker here for over a decade, I have really enjoyed the posts and analysis by everyone here over the years. I agree with nearly all of your post Dutchman. With the losses to Vermont, UMass x2, Omaha x2, and the general play of the ECAC out-of-conference it seems that, for practical purposes, Union is not going to make it as an at-large team (barring something like a 13-1 finish). Thus, we have to focus our attention on improving for March. While still early, it appears that Clarkson, Cornell, Colgate, Union and Harvard are the teams most in contention for a top 4 spot (although I still think QPac/Princeton are dangerous). As it would be much preferred to be a #4 home team or better, rather than a #5 away team in the second round, our 2 games vs Harvard and Colgate, in particular, will be crucial.

Our losses to BU, Minny, and Mich Tech were nearly expected with such a young team. I agree that our performance vs Vermont and UMass were disappointing. Our hot streak was then a pleasant surprise and fantastic to watch. But, after watching the past few weeks and in hindsight, it does appear, however, that we knocked off some poor teams and some teams that haven’t quite yet played to their potential (QPac/Princeton). We had a great weekend out in North Dakota and it was one we can hang our hat on. Strong performance in which we finished our opportunities- as any good team must. But it also appeared NoDak controlled periods of play and on different weekends they likely would have been victorious. That seemed to come to light even more this weekend vs Omaha- another very good team.

It seems to me that to be a true contender we lack one additional player who can create their own shot and score consistently. Supinski seems to be the best at that and Rinaldi has vastly improved in that category. I was hoping Luc Brown would become that, and while he has the potential, he has not done so quite yet. Scarfo, Maier, Vidmar are all terrific players who have put the puck in the net. They are a crucial part of our team. But they do not always strike me as players who can create their own scoring opportunities and finish when necessary, at least not the way a Foo or Vecchione did (I know, tough shoes to fill). I also think one additional puck handling defenseman would also be an asset. Obviously, Foo and DeSimone both somewhat unexpectedly left and would fill those two criteria.

That is not to say I haven’t been impressed by our team so far. I thought we had a terrific freshman class with some great Soph/Jrs. I expected this to be a semi-rebuilding year. But this team has performed equal to or exceeded my expectations for this year. And we are still very young with players improving everyday. With the return of Vidmar and (hopefully?) Supinski, and a great deal of room for improvement for our younger players- who have already performed solidly- we have the potential to cause havoc come March if we continue to improve. Perhaps by then one more of our young players will step up to be consistent scoring threat. I am now optimistic for March and think we could have the ability to play with anyone in the ECAC.

Just a couple of random thoughts I have had over time……. We seem to be much better when we have puck moving, shifty defenders (Gostisbehere, Taylor, Bodie, DeSimone). In that respect I have high hopes for Kolias and Campolieto. And even to some extent Estes considering he is a freshman…….. we seem to consistently struggle on the PP vs teams that attack our point men aggressively compared to those opponents who sit back……. Leaman (one of the best coaches in college) built a terrific program. I was somewhat concerned that Bennett was riding his coattail in recruiting and player development the Nat’l Champ year. That is not to say it doesn’t take a good coach to win a Nat’l Champ, I just wanted to see a couple of years to see what he could sustain. Since then he has been very impressive in his coaching and recruiting. I hope he never leaves. The Union athletic administration should be applauded for hiring and keeping fantastic coaches. And also a shout-out to Tapp for the terrific job he has done with the goaltenders over the years.

Nice .. Agree with most of what you say but would counter on one point and that would be that a cohesive line will have more opportunities and score more than a single player trying to make
their own scoring opportunities - although during the course of the game there is most certainly room for both..

One thing this team is severely challenged at is accurate passes - most nights a tape to tape pass is on the endangered species list.
If you can't look at a guy and put the pass in front of him what are your odds of actually hitting one of the little holes goalies leave you to shoot at?? ZERO...

And although I fully agree with Bennett's stance to shoot the puck - I'm not sure he means from anywhere in the zone - A wrist pass with no screen from the blue line or boards
is a turnover - plain and simple..

Watching Omaha set up in the zone and making our defense run around is something we never force a team to do - many times not even on the power play..

I'm not convinced many of our guys see the ice - outside whats right in front of them.. You need to know where your guys are before you decide what you are going to do -