East Regional: #1 Denver v. #4 RIT; #2 Cornell v. #3 New Hampshire

[Aerman]

Re: East Regional: #1 Denver v. #4 RIT; #2 Cornell v. #3 New Hampshire

Yes, and the not unexpected loss of key seniors and JVR, leading to incredibly gloomy prospects for this season, which the Cats clearly overcame during the regular season before running into a desperate UVM team and sensational 7-period goal-tending performance in the HE quarters.

Too bad Madore couldn't have remembered who he was just a bit sooner

[Snively65]

Re: East Regional: #1 Denver v. #4 RIT; #2 Cornell v. #3 New Hampshire

You mean Stasny? Switzer also had something to do with it. IIRC, he was a freshman that year. And the Bemidji student body had recently been the victims of a campus tragedy. The team played their hearts out.

Speaking of which, my condolences to the Cornell community with their own on-campus tragedies this past week.

But, I am really hoping for a Cornell-UNH game similar to the Worcester regionals in 2002 and Frozen Four in 2003, and not the debacle at Lake Whitt this past January.

I believe that it was the 2002 East Regionals game in Worcester where sharp-eyed Cornell fans spied three Cats fans in the upper deck with their placards in the wrong order, thereby spelling UHN. As funny as that was, given that it took several minutes for the Cats fans to figure out their blunder, UHN got the last laugh at 17:21 in the third on Jim Abbott's second goal, which stood up for the 4-3 win. Stephen Baby and Sam Paolini (PPG) scored after Jim Abbott's opening goal, followed by two PP goals from Colin Hemingway late in the first. Then, no more scoring until late in the third when Shane Palihicky tied things up a few minutes before Abbott's GWG. Only 15 saves by Matt Carney and 20 by Matt Underhill in the game, so good team defense on both sides.

The semi's game in the FF the following April was similarly close, with Tim Horst opening the scoring in the first, followed by two Steve Saviano goals in second, answered by Ryan Vesce and Chris Abbott goals midway through the 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Again, only 19 saves by Mike Ayers and 18 saves by David LeNeveu, so again great team defense on both sides.

As a Cats fan, I could not be happier with the Albany bracket. If we somehow get past the Red on Friday night, UNH has that 4-2 loss to DU at the Amherst regionals in 2005 for motivation (whoops, assuming that DU prevails over RIT).

[Kepler]

Re: East Regional: #1 Denver v. #4 RIT; #2 Cornell v. #3 New Hampshire

To be honest, kep, I'd be surprised, or shocked if UNH has 1/3 the amount of fans Cornell has on Friday...

Huh. Well, I remember a sea of UNH fans at every Eastern regional they've been at, but my memory is also failing...

[UNHhockey29]

Re: East Regional: #1 Denver v. #4 RIT; #2 Cornell v. #3 New Hampshire

Huh. Well, I remember a sea of UNH fans at every Eastern regional they've been at, but my memory is also failing...

UNH fans haven't traveled as well as they usually do this year. There were a few games with just a few UNH fans this year (RPI and Maine to name a few). It also doesn't help that it's the Friday/Saturday match up. I know a few people who can't make it up because of work. If it were in Worcester I would expect a big UNH crowd. I'm not to sure what to expect for UNH fans this weekend but I don't see us having as many fans as Cornell up there.

[RITProf]

Re: East Regional: #1 Denver v. #4 RIT; #2 Cornell v. #3 New Hampshire

It's not a split: Syracuse Thursday, Albany (145 miles away) Friday. They're even in the correct order from Ithaca. Saturday is a potential huge problem that we will hopefully have.

UNH has traveled very well in the past, I expect the building will be 40%/40% Cornell-UNH with another 10% or so uncommitted and the rest mostly RIT.

Kepler,

I might not be following your math, but you seem to be saying that RIT will only have most of the remaining 10%. (40% CU, 40% UNH, 10% Uncom., & the rest mostly RIT) Do you really think RIT will bring so few? That's probably less than even selling out our own sections. Apparently there was even serious discussion of canceling classes at RIT on Friday so everyone could attend if desired. (It turns out that's not legal, but faculty were encouraged to be very flexible with students wanting to be absent Friday.) While CU will definitely have a crowd and I expect UNH to be not too far behind (given what I've seen in the past), I wouldn't be at all surprised to see RIT numbers similar to UNH. That's probably more like 35% CU, 25% UNH, 20-25% RIT, 15% or so DU and random. Maybe I'm too optimistic on the RIT side, but I think you underestimated a bit. Anyway, we'll see on Friday.

[Greg Ambrose]

Re: East Regional: #1 Denver v. #4 RIT; #2 Cornell v. #3 New Hampshire

I believe that it was the 2002 East Regionals game in Worcester where sharp-eyed Cornell fans spied three Cats fans in the upper deck with their placards in the wrong order, thereby spelling UHN. As funny as that was, given that it took several minutes for the Cats fans to figure out their blunder, UHN got the last laugh at 17:21 in the third on Jim Abbott's second goal, which stood up for the 4-3 win. Stephen Baby and Sam Paolini (PPG) scored after Jim Abbott's opening goal, followed by two PP goals from Colin Hemingway late in the first. Then, no more scoring until late in the third when Shane Palihicky tied things up a few minutes before Abbott's GWG. Only 15 saves by Matt Carney and 20 by Matt Underhill in the game, so good team defense from on both sides.

The semi's game in the FF the following April was similarly close, with Tim Horst opening the scoring in the first, followed by two Steve Saviano goals in second, answered by Ryan Vesce and Chris Abbott goals midway through the 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Again, only 19 saves by Mike Ayers and 18 saves by David LeNeveu, so again great team defense from both sides.

As a Cats fan, I could not be happier with the Albany bracket. If we somehow get past the Red on Friday night, UNH has that 4-2 loss to DU at the Amherst regionals in 2005 for motivation (whoops, assuming the DU prevails over RIT).

Good review of the games, but I have to tell you that the UHN thing, which has taken on a life of its own, started at UMaine that same year. If you all remember, that was the weekend when Ayers had his hand sliced on Friday, then came back on Saturday and heroically earned UNH a tie vs. Maine. On Friday I was walking up the stairs from my seat in the dungeon (to the uninitiated, this is the area underneath the student section where you can't see anything and they spill beer or other liquids on the visiting fans below), when I spotted this guy with a UNH S***S sign. As I walked by, I turned around and saw on the other side of the placard "UHN S***S, with the UHN crossed out. I could only imagine the conversation this twit was having with his buddies as he made up the sign, like "hey, how do you spell UNH?" That's the origin, despite what the Maine and BC bozos want to believe. I was there, I saw it, and given the intellectual capacity of some Maine fans, it's not hard to believe.

[WildShawn]

Re: East Regional: #1 Denver v. #4 RIT; #2 Cornell v. #3 New Hampshire

But, I am really hoping for a Cornell-UNH game similar to the Worcester regionals in 2002 and Frozen Four in 2003, and not the debacle at Lake Whitt this past January.

The two regular season games Cornell has played UNH in recent memory were both 5-2 wins for the Big Red and both UNH's first games after long breaks (one in the Sunshine State, one on the Lake)... So hopefully UNH's game(s) in Ithaca next year will not be after a long layoff!

The last two times UNH made the NCAA's after losing in the quarterfinals of the league tourney were 98 and last season and they did pretty well in the regionals...

[soxrok3]

Re: East Regional: #1 Denver v. #4 RIT; #2 Cornell v. #3 New Hampshire

Judging by where available seats are right now, ticket sales appear to be very strong for this regional. It definitely seems to be stronger than for last weekend's ECAC Championship and every past regional in the TUC. Hopefully the addition of a third East Coast team as well as Cornell, whose fans are very familiar with coming to Albany, there will be a top notch atmosphere.

Usually an article is published mid-week in the Albany Times Union with quotes from Times Union Center GM Bob Belber regarding how many tickets have sold, so I'd keep my eye out for another one this week. (There was one last week and I've seen his quotes on attendance numbers in years past).

[RITShockSquad]

Re: East Regional: #1 Denver v. #4 RIT; #2 Cornell v. #3 New Hampshire

Kepler,

I might not be following your math, but you seem to be saying that RIT will only have most of the remaining 10%. (40% CU, 40% UNH, 10% Uncom., & the rest mostly RIT) Do you really think RIT will bring so few? That's probably less than even selling out our own sections. Apparently there was even serious discussion of canceling classes at RIT on Friday so everyone could attend if desired. (It turns out that's not legal, but faculty were encouraged to be very flexible with students wanting to be absent Friday.) While CU will definitely have a crowd and I expect UNH to be not too far behind (given what I've seen in the past), I wouldn't be at all surprised to see RIT numbers similar to UNH. That's probably more like 35% CU, 25% UNH, 20-25% RIT, 15% or so DU and random. Maybe I'm too optimistic on the RIT side, but I think you underestimated a bit. Anyway, we'll see on Friday.

The issue with RIT's attendance is that the buses are supposedly headed back to campus after the first game win or loss. I'm sure others will head back as well if RIT loses. By the time the second game rolls around, I wouldn't expect to see much orange in the crowd, especially after a loss. Of course, I could be wrong.

[Snively65]

Re: East Regional: #1 Denver v. #4 RIT; #2 Cornell v. #3 New Hampshire

Good review of the games, but I have to tell you that the UHN thing, which has taken on a life of its own, started at UMaine that same year. If you all remember, that was the weekend when Ayers had his hand sliced on Friday, then came back on Saturday and heroically earned UNH a tie vs. Maine. On Friday I was walking up the stairs from my seat in the dungeon (to the uninitiated, this is the area underneath the student section where you can't see anything and they spill beer or other liquids on the visiting fans below), when I spotted this guy with a UNH S***S sign. As I walked by, I turned around and saw on the other side of the placard "UHN S***S, with the UHN crossed out. I could only imagine the conversation this twit was having with his buddies as he made up the sign, like "hey, how do you spell UNH?" That's the origin, despite what the Maine and BC bozos want to believe. I was there, I saw it, and given the intellectual capacity of some Maine fans, it's not hard to believe.

Great story; I had not heard that part about the Orono weekend of 2002. But, I doubt if the Cornell fans in Worcester were aware of this pre-emption. Perhaps the three fans in the balcony at Worcester were UMaine plants?

[thecomicbookguy]

Re: East Regional: #1 Denver v. #4 RIT; #2 Cornell v. #3 New Hampshire

Perhaps the three fans in the balcony at Worcester were UMaine plants?

More than likely, it was UNH fans who thought they'd make fun of Maine, but didn't think ahead enough to realize that NO ONE (other than Mr. Ambrose ) would get the joke as intended. All in all, a pretty boneheaded move by them. If you're going to do that, you have to do it in such a way that everyone knows you're doing it on purpose to make fun of someone else. Otherwise, you just look like a fool.

[UNHhockey29]

Re: East Regional: #1 Denver v. #4 RIT; #2 Cornell v. #3 New Hampshire

More than likely, it was UNH fans who thought they'd make fun of Maine, but didn't think ahead enough to realize that NO ONE (other than Mr. Ambrose ) would get the joke as intended. All in all, a pretty boneheaded move by them. If you're going to do that, you have to do it in such a way that everyone knows you're doing it on purpose to make fun of someone else. Otherwise, you just look like a fool.

Like us and all of our inside jokes put on the whiteboard.

[thecomicbookguy]

Re: East Regional: #1 Denver v. #4 RIT; #2 Cornell v. #3 New Hampshire

Like us and all of our inside jokes put on the whiteboard.

They're all spelled correctly, though.

[UNHhockey29]

Re: East Regional: #1 Denver v. #4 RIT; #2 Cornell v. #3 New Hampshire

They're all spelled correctly, though.

Darn right! (thank goodness you guys spell check my signs)

[SPCSMAN]

Re: East Regional: #1 Denver v. #4 RIT; #2 Cornell v. #3 New Hampshire

Judging by where available seats are right now, ticket sales appear to be very strong for this regional. It definitely seems to be stronger than for last weekend's ECAC Championship and every past regional in the TUC.

If you are going off ticketmaster or the local box office they are not showing the blocks available through the participating schools. While I agree this may be better than average attended regional I doubt that it will be close to a full house.

It's a shame because there should be some great hockey.