Bentley University Hockey 2016-2017: The (Max) French Revolution

[Snively65]

Big, much needed win tonight. Will post a weekend recap in the next couple days.

After the two ties at AIC the previous week, another sweep by a visitor at the JAR would have been devastating.

Per a couple of your previous posts, what I watched on Friday night was more of the same, dump and chase, rarely getting and/or keeping possession of the puck for more than a couple of seconds, and taking that extra second to tee up shots, which led to most Bentley shots getting blocked. And, most of the shots that did get through the D were high and/or wide. I sure would like to see more skating the puck and less passing through the neutral zone. Then shots toward the net as soon as Bentley gets into the offensive zone, rather than dumping into the corners. Make the opposing goalies do some work, and maybe pick up some shots on rebounds. By and large the strategy that I have watched so far this season is simply not working.

[acohen527]

Re: Bentley University Hockey 2016-2017: The (Max) French Revolution

After the two ties at AIC the previous week, another sweep by a visitor at the JAR would have been devastating.

Per a couple of your previous posts, what I watched on Friday night was more of the same, dump and chase, rarely getting and/or keeping possession of the puck for more than a couple of seconds, and taking that extra second to tee up shots, which led to most Bentley shots getting blocked. And, most of the shots that did get through the D were high and/or wide. I sure would like to see more skating the puck and less passing through the neutral zone. Then shots toward the net as soon as Bentley gets into the offensive zone, rather than dumping into the corners. Make the opposing goalies do some work, and maybe pick up some shots on rebounds. By and large the strategy that I have watched so far this season is simply not working.

I wasn't able to watch much of Friday's game, but was there on Saturday night. I think, at least on Saturday, we did a much better job of maintaining possession coming into the offensive zone. We played a really complete game on Saturday and there is not much to complain about. Then again, there isn't a lot to brag about either. We didn't make too many mistakes, but we also had a ton of opportunities that we simply did not capitalize on. Way too many shots that were just clear as day to the Mercyhurst goaltender when there were other options available. I know through some of the player interviews that one of the keys Soder set early on in the year was tallying up shots on net, but that doesn't mean firing at will when you have basically zero chance of putting it past the goalie. I'd really love to see this team be a little more patient with the puck, and maybe even trying to slow down the pace of play at times. Another troubling issue is special teams. It is unbelievable how poor we are on the PP, coming into Saturday ranked second to last in the country in PP percentage. I'd like to contribute some of the struggle to Alexey Solovyev being out, but it is still inexcusable to only convert on 5% of man-advantages. That said, I think I'd like to see freshman d-man Brett Orr running the PP with Tanner Jago. Orr reminds me of Steve Weinstein in a lot of ways, who was the main reason we had one of the best power plays in the country from 2012-2014. Orr and Jago were also teammates up in Portage when they won the RBC Cup in 2014 which should give them some good chemistry out on the ice.
On a brighter note, Argue has been OUTSTANDING these last 5 games or so, allowing less than 2 goals in every appearance and posting over a .950 sv. percentage. If this offense, which has a crazy amount of potential, can start to get hot with Argue backing them up, the Bentley Falcons will be dangerous.

I will also be attending the Harvard game on Saturday night with a few other Bentley students. Hopefully we can put up a good showing like we usually do, but it is especially tough with it being during Thanksgiving break.

[schiegs]

Re: Bentley University Hockey 2016-2017: The (Max) French Revolution

Just in time for their final 12 months, online ticket sales for the JAR now available.

[Snively65]

Re: Bentley University Hockey 2016-2017: The (Max) French Revolution

I wasn't able to watch much of Friday's game, but was there on Saturday night. I think, at least on Saturday, we did a much better job of maintaining possession coming into the offensive zone. We played a really complete game on Saturday and there is not much to complain about. Then again, there isn't a lot to brag about either. We didn't make too many mistakes, but we also had a ton of opportunities that we simply did not capitalize on. Way too many shots that were just clear as day to the Mercyhurst goaltender when there were other options available. I know through some of the player interviews that one of the keys Soder set early on in the year was tallying up shots on net, but that doesn't mean firing at will when you have basically zero chance of putting it past the goalie. I'd really love to see this team be a little more patient with the puck, and maybe even trying to slow down the pace of play at times. Another troubling issue is special teams. It is unbelievable how poor we are on the PP, coming into Saturday ranked second to last in the country in PP percentage. I'd like to contribute some of the struggle to Alexey Solovyev being out, but it is still inexcusable to only convert on 5% of man-advantages. That said, I think I'd like to see freshman d-man Brett Orr running the PP with Tanner Jago. Orr reminds me of Steve Weinstein in a lot of ways, who was the main reason we had one of the best power plays in the country from 2012-2014. Orr and Jago were also teammates up in Portage when they won the RBC Cup in 2014 which should give them some good chemistry out on the ice.
On a brighter note, Argue has been OUTSTANDING these last 5 games or so, allowing less than 2 goals in every appearance and posting over a .950 sv. percentage. If this offense, which has a crazy amount of potential, can start to get hot with Argue backing them up, the Bentley Falcons will be dangerous.

I will also be attending the Harvard game on Saturday night with a few other Bentley students. Hopefully we can put up a good showing like we usually do, but it is especially tough with it being during Thanksgiving break.

Thanks for the detailed report; sounds like we played better on Saturday night and sorry that I could not be there. Will try to get back in time for the game at Bright on Saturday night; always a good place to visit, even if over the break. Harvard is really good this year, but hoping that we can use the experience for our next two AHC opponents in December.

[acohen527]

Re: Bentley University Hockey 2016-2017: The (Max) French Revolution

Just picked up a new recruit: Luke Santerno of the BCHL Trail Smoke Eaters

Here is his bio: http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=269649

Looks like a very solid replacement for Max French as he is a center with a right handed shot. Yet another recruit out of the BCHL, making it 3 for 2017/2018. (Nick Rutigliano, Brett Mennear)
6'3" is an added bonus for a very small team, hopefully he can bring a lot to the table next year.

[blazer777]

Re: Bentley University Hockey 2016-2017: The (Max) French Revolution

Just in time for their final 12 months, online ticket sales for the JAR now available.

New ceiling, heaters that work and now this, looks like Watertown is giving Bentley the middle finger for leaving the friendly confines of the JAR! Next thing you know, they'll have an executive chef in the concession stand!

[Snively65]

New ceiling, heaters that work and now this, looks like Watertown is giving Bentley the middle finger for leaving the friendly confines of the JAR! Next thing you know, they'll have an executive chef in the concession stand!

Watertown should be forever indebted to Bentley for getting a lot of those improvements made to the JAR.

[acohen527]

Re: Bentley University Hockey 2016-2017: The (Max) French Revolution

Pretty big weekend coming up. Home series against one of the hottest teams in Atlantic Hockey, Robert Morris. These are the last 2 games before the break, and they don't play again til Dec. 30th at UVM, who have been very good this season. I think this weekend is incredibly important for this struggling team, and a sweep would be an unbelievable confidence boost for the boys heading into the second half of the season. We'll do our best to pack the JAR, so hopefully we can encourage the boys to have a strong showing. Last time we played Robert Morris was with a very injured team in the second round of the playoffs last year, which we managed to win the first game of a best of 3 series before eventually falling in the final 2 games.

Coming into this weekend, the hottest guys on the team are the new top line of freshman Ryner Gorowsky, French and Schmidt, who accounted for 5 of the 6 goals we put up last weekend against Canisius. Gorowksy also picked up Atlantic Hockey's Rookie of the Week along the way, with 4 points on the weekend. Special teams continues to be lacking for the Falcons, as they rank 3rd to last in the nation in PP% at 8.77%. Also 45th in the country in PK%, at 80%. To be more successful, we must be better on the power play and the penalty kill, and we need to maintain control better in the offensive zone. When we manage to come into the zone with possession and with good passing, we take much better shots on goal and score a lot more often. We're also getting our shots blocked an insane amount of the time, with Canisius blocking 45 shots this past weekend. Gotta be sure to make a better effort of putting the puck on net with a clear lane, which should lead to more goals and rebound chances.

We have the talent to beat RMU, the boys just have to show up. Should be interesting to see the lines this weekend, after a bunch of mix ups from Soder against Canisius. Also good to have Alexey Solovyev back in the lineup, coming back from injury.

[eXcSports]

Re: Bentley University Hockey 2016-2017: The (Max) French Revolution

Watertown should be forever indebted to Bentley for getting a lot of those improvements made to the JAR.

For what it's worth, I had a chance to talk to Dan Brothers, the rink manager of the JAR, about a number of different things he's had to do through the years.

Per the Watertown town website, the fiscal year 2016 generated 405K in revenue for 1900 hours rented versus expenses of just over 378K. They had a capital budget improvement plan for this year to upgrade the fire alarms, install a new scoreboard, and replace fire doors.

I'm not sure about the fire alarms, but the scoreboard addition/replacement and fire doors are already all up and complete. Dan's done a great job getting all of this together. There will be future improvements with the Zamboni and a reno to the lobby.

For what it's worth, while Bentley has its own locker room and has been there for a number of years, there are only 15 college games compared to the number of high school, JV, youth, men's leagues, and state tournament games in play. The JAR will continue to be a serviceable community rink, as it has been despite our derision towards it.

As I've said many times, I respect what the JAR provided Bentley for nearly 40 years. The rink is finally getting its facelift, but it's taken a long time to get to this point. At the same time, Bentley's simply outlived the JAR and outgrown the rink's usefulness.

Dan and his crew do as good a job as they can, especially given the circumstances of being a municipal rink. I think that's something I've learned more and more as the days have gone by. That place has come a long way, but Bentley simply outgrew it.

[Snively65]

Pretty big weekend coming up. Home series against one of the hottest teams in Atlantic Hockey, Robert Morris. These are the last 2 games before the break, and they don't play again til Dec. 30th at UVM, who have been very good this season. I think this weekend is incredibly important for this struggling team, and a sweep would be an unbelievable confidence boost for the boys heading into the second half of the season. We'll do our best to pack the JAR, so hopefully we can encourage the boys to have a strong showing. Last time we played Robert Morris was with a very injured team in the second round of the playoffs last year, which we managed to win the first game of a best of 3 series before eventually falling in the final 2 games.

Coming into this weekend, the hottest guys on the team are the new top line of freshman Ryner Gorowsky, French and Schmidt, who accounted for 5 of the 6 goals we put up last weekend against Canisius. Gorowksy also picked up Atlantic Hockey's Rookie of the Week along the way, with 4 points on the weekend. Special teams continues to be lacking for the Falcons, as they rank 3rd to last in the nation in PP% at 8.77%. Also 45th in the country in PK%, at 80%. To be more successful, we must be better on the power play and the penalty kill, and we need to maintain control better in the offensive zone. When we manage to come into the zone with possession and with good passing, we take much better shots on goal and score a lot more often. We're also getting our shots blocked an insane amount of the time, with Canisius blocking 45 shots this past weekend. Gotta be sure to make a better effort of putting the puck on net with a clear lane, which should lead to more goals and rebound chances.

We have the talent to beat RMU, the boys just have to show up. Should be interesting to see the lines this weekend, after a bunch of mix ups from Soder against Canisius. Also good to have Alexey Solovyev back in the lineup, coming back from injury.

Great overall analysis. But, I am afraid that it is going to be tough to earn even a point in the next four games, as we did against Canisius. As long as we play well and stay healthy to set up a better second half.

[acohen527]

Re: Bentley University Hockey 2016-2017: The (Max) French Revolution

Also forgot to mention that freshman Aidan Pelino got his first start in net this past Sunday and put on a pretty good performance with 33 saves... Should be interesting to see with Soder goes with back at the JAR. I still think that net belongs to Argue, who has been very good for the majority of this season, but we'll see what Coach has in mind for RMU.

[Snively65]

Re: Bentley University Hockey 2016-2017: The (Max) French Revolution

Also forgot to mention that freshman Aidan Pelino got his first start in net this past Sunday and put on a pretty good performance with 33 saves... Should be interesting to see with Soder goes with back at the JAR. I still think that net belongs to Argue, who has been very good for the majority of this season, but we'll see what Coach has in mind for RMU.

I did not even think to check the box score to see who was in the net this past weekend. In any case, I agree, goaltending has not been the problem. I think the main problems are not putting the puck in the net, especially on the PP, and taking too many penalties, which is not a good idea given how bad our PK is. Will be interesting to see if Bentley plays better than they have since the Mercyhurst visit three weeks ago.

[Snively65]

Re: Bentley University Hockey 2016-2017: The (Max) French Revolution

Really nice 4-3 win by the Falcons tonight, and they even got a PPG. Gorowsky really makes the first line a force.

[acohen527]

Really nice 4-3 win by the Falcons tonight, and they even got a PPG. Gorowsky really makes the first line a force.

Huge win tonight. A lot of fun to watch as well. RMU going to come out strong tomorrow, a sweep will definitely be a tough task.

[Snively65]

Huge win tonight. A lot of fun to watch as well. RMU going to come out strong tomorrow, a sweep will definitely be a tough task.

i

Keys today: score at least another PPG; stay out of P Box, and keep Brady Ferguson off the scoreboard, especially on PK. Almost escaped the PK last night on 6 minors, which are too many.