2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

[jcarter7669]

Re: 2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

Jcarter writes... I have always been a Sneddon defender, but this is just getting ugly. Frankly I'm getting tired of the whole "we played well, real proud of the guys, coming together...blah blah blah." The team is terrible, plain and simple, and the kissy huggy cheerleader bull**** isn't getting anyone to play better or harder. These are kids who want to play professional hockey and you do not get an A for trying. Clear the freaking puck, block shots, get bodies out from in front of the net. That UMA goal in OT was just a pathetic display of why UVM has the record they do and when Sneddon stands there talking about what a great experience it was makes me sick. There is plenty of talent on this years team to be decent, but there appears to be a lack of leadership on this team both from the captains and the coach. Sneddon needs to stop the pats on the back and the atta boys and get tough on this team.

What should he say to the media? Crap all over the team to the media? I am sure that will get results! These kids do not need to be kicked right now. They could easily roll over and die but they have not.. the they are givin it what they got. It is extreamly frustrating but we are not getting blown out.

He doesn't need to crap on the players, Sneddon is far more tactful then that, but one of his best qualities has been honesty and placing both accolades and responsibilities where they lie. I am not seeing that this year. I expect him to come out and say " we aren't playing real well here, we are getting out worked, we aren't blocking shots, we aren't clearing the puck, etc and as the coach of this team I am going to take the steps to make sure that we stop the bad habits and get back to where we need to be."

I disagree that these kids do not need to be kicked right now, IMO they need a good kick in the hind end. It's unfortunate with all the injuries that the option of sitting players isn't an option. These are not kids, they are young men with a dream of playing at an elite level. They are at a level where they need to get it up and play hard on their own and start getting ready for that next level.

Sneddon needs to sit them down and review some tape from the Dean Strong years.

[HOCKEYGUY23]

Re: 2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

He doesn't need to crap on the players, Sneddon is far more tactful then that, but one of his best qualities has been honesty and placing both accolades and responsibilities where they lie. I am not seeing that this year. I expect him to come out and say " we aren't playing real well here, we are getting out worked, we aren't blocking shots, we aren't clearing the puck, etc and as the coach of this team I am going to take the steps to make sure that we stop the bad habits and get back to where we need to be."

I disagree that these kids do not need to be kicked right now, IMO they need a good kick in the hind end. It's unfortunate with all the injuries that the option of sitting players isn't an option. These are not kids, they are young men with a dream of playing at an elite level. They are at a level where they need to get it up and play hard on their own and start getting ready for that next level.

Sneddon needs to sit them down and review some tape from the Dean Strong years.

While at times I have been critical of Sneddon, it is clear that he right now is dealing with a team that simply is less talented. He played the last few games without four of his top nine forwards(23,3,17,19), and one of your top six d-men (25). You could argue that he is without two of his top three forwards in McCarthy and Brickley. If you took four of the top offensive players off the Patriots, Sox or any other team the results are not going to be pretty. Did anyone watch the Maine game. You talk about Dean Strong, I never saw so many players diving in front of bullets, finishing checks playing as hard as possible. They simply don't have the bullets in the chamber. Are you going to go off on your kid if he is a C math student and busts it to get a C? No. Unfortunately when you lose what we lost in bodies, you are a C student. However if you are a C student your work will never resemble an A student.

Now lets look a little further. When the year started Sneddon did in fact call people out after the first MN game. He specifically called out the top players and said they need to be better. They were. Remember also we started the season with 3 freshmen at the blue line, half of them, you had basically four freshman forwards(21, 7,6,9), four sophomore forwards(11,14,19,23), a transfer student (13). That is alot of new parts. Then they had the injury bug, but instead of bug its an epidemic. So lets keep it in perspective.

I also know, they had three conditioning coaches in three years. Do NOT underestimate what the loss of Goodman was to this program. I know from several guys, that they are really ****ed with what the new guy did before this season. Guys lost weight (muscle) and in fact were worse off when the season started. That's not Sneddon, the AD hired him and hired the two failed projects before him.

Guys are developing. Stalberg and Brickley are better each year. Reynolds is improving, Nick Bruneteau is improving. The biggest regression has been in goal.

Lastly, look at next years class. Recruiting isn't suffering, Girgesons (sp.?), Fallon (another top USHL point producer), a 6'3" goalie and McCarthy returning. So if Girgeson's leaves is it because of Sneddon? No! Coyle left BU, is it because Parker sucks? No.

Sneddon has done wonders that these guys haven't quit. Did anyone watch the Tampa Bay Buc's in football, imagine that at the Gutt. Last year when things went bad, it got real ugly, losing by 4, 5, 6 goals. This year the compete level is up, but the cupboard is bare. If they are not remarkably better next year, then there is an issue, but honestly, this team works and competes. If their talent wasn't watching from the stands this team would have been better sooner.

[UVM Cat in Texas]

Re: 2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

While at times I have been critical of Sneddon, it is clear that he right now is dealing with a team that simply is less talented. He played the last few games without four of his top nine forwards(23,3,17,19), and one of your top six d-men (25). You could argue that he is without two of his top three forwards in McCarthy and Brickley. If you took four of the top offensive players off the Patriots, Sox or any other team the results are not going to be pretty. Did anyone watch the Maine game. You talk about Dean Strong, I never saw so many players diving in front of bullets, finishing checks playing as hard as possible. They simply don't have the bullets in the chamber. Are you going to go off on your kid if he is a C math student and busts it to get a C? No. Unfortunately when you lose what we lost in bodies, you are a C student. However if you are a C student your work will never resemble an A student.

Now lets look a little further. When the year started Sneddon did in fact call people out after the first MN game. He specifically called out the top players and said they need to be better. They were. Remember also we started the season with 3 freshmen at the blew line, half of them, you had basically four freshman forwards(21, 7,6,9), four sophomore forwards(11,14,19,23), a transfer student (23). That is alot of new parts. Then they had the injury bug, but instead of bug its an epidemic. So lets keep it in perspective.

I also know, they had three conditioning coaches in three years. Do NOT underestimate what the lose of Goodman was to this program. I know from several guys, that they are really ****ed with what the new guy did before this season. Guys lost weight (muscle) and in fact were worse off when the season started. That's not Sneddon, the AD hired him and hired the two failed projects before him.

Guys are developing. Stalberg and Brickley are better each year. Reynolds is improving, Nick Bruneteau is improving. The biggest regression has been in goal.

Lastly, look at next years class. Recruiting isn't suffering, Girgesons (sp.?), Fallon (another top USHL point producer), a 6'3" goalie and McCarthy returning. So if Girgeson's leaves is it because of Sneddon? No! Coyle left BU, is it because Parker sucks? No.

Sneddon has done wonders that these guys haven't quit. Did anyone watch the Tampa Bay Buc's in football, imagine that at the Gutt. Last year when things went bad, it got real ugly, losing by 4, 5, 6 goals. This year the compete level is up, but the cupboard is bare. If they are not remarkably better next year, then there is an issue, but honestly, this team works and competes. If their talent wasn't watching from the stands this team would have been better sooner.

This is a really good post! You obviously put some time and thought into it and what you say makes sense. You certainly have me reevaluating my own stance on the team, which admittedly has been pretty negative recently.

[HOCKEYGUY23]

Re: 2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

This is a really good post! You obviously put some time and thought into it and what you say makes sense. You certainly have me reevaluating my own stance on the team, which admittedly has been pretty negative recently.

Remember last year when the Bruins were going to fire Claude if the lost game 7 in round 1 of the playoffs? We all tend to react a certain way, myself included. That's why we are fans, AKA FANATICs. We want it all, we want it now and when we don't get it we want retribution. Coach, players someone. Here I really think there is alot of other crap that is affecting the program. In talking with some of the guys,they know its not on the coach. They respect the hell out of him and that made me really look at the WHY in this situation.

GO CATS!

[Cat lover]

Re: 2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

Big Congrats to Viktor Stalberg on his first career Hat Trick!!!!!

[GreenCat]

This is a really good post! You obviously put some time and thought into it and what you say makes sense. You certainly have me reevaluating my own stance on the team, which admittedly has been pretty negative recently.

+1
Definitely adds some perspective.

[TimU]

Re: 2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

I'm not a UVM fan, but my brother has season tickets and I go to a couple of games in Burlington every year. I always have a general idea of how the team is doing, although I don't follow them nearly as closely as any of you guys. I have to say as someone who doesn't root for the team, my impression of Sneddon has always been that he is too critical of individual players in his public statements, not too supportive or unduly forgiving. It's very common to see him on the news after a loss calling out individuals for poor play and specific mistakes. Different coaches have different styles, but I think when you look at college coaches in general, Sneddon falls toward the more critical end of the spectrum. A lot of coaches wouldn't think of coming down so hard on their players on TV or in the newspaper - they always credit the other team and/or talk in generalities about areas that the coaches need to work on. I'm an SLU fan, and I know Joe Marsh would never say some of the things I've heard Sneddon say over the years. I don't think Gilligan did, either. Kind of like how Jack Parker seems to always blame the officials for a loss, Sneddon seems (to me at least) to blame players. I've often said that I wondered how devoted kids would be to this guy if things started to go south for the team.

It could be that the way he runs the team is the best thing for the program. He has certainly had some great players spend four years with him. Maybe they'd all run through a wall for him, I don't know. But from where I sit, I wouldn't blame UVM's struggles on Sneddon being too soft on his players. I think he's shown over the years that if he thinks somebody deserves criticism, he'll dish out plenty for everybody in the world to hear.

[Martin St. Louis Fan]

Re: 2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

I agree this was the case early on in the season. He called out the goal tending, and a couple seniors. Once he realized the team was not meeting expectations, he did a complete turnaround, and became the coach I have always I have known him to be. He became ultra positive in the media. This has not garnered many results, but he seems committed to making the best of things, and building a strong foundation for the future.

[UMLFan]

Re: 2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

Some bad news for you guys according to this:
Just saw this on Twitter:

@ChrisVillani44: Connor Brickley is out "indefinitely" according to a statement from @uvmmhockey.

[Martin St. Louis Fan]

Re: 2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

I will wait til Ted Ryan reports it before I believe it. Could very well be true, but Twitter is not exactly rumor proof.

[UVM Cat in Texas]

Re: 2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

Some bad news for you guys according to this:
Just saw this on Twitter:

Bummer, that is bad news. His injury didn't sound all that serious, so hopefully "indefinitely" is only another week or two.

[GreenCat]

Re: 2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

Vote: Which Hockey East Arena Has the Best Atmosphere?
http://www.nesn.com/2012/01/vote-whi...tmosphere.html

[UMLFan]

Re: 2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

I will wait til Ted Ryan reports it before I believe it. Could very well be true, but Twitter is not exactly rumor proof.

Fully understood.

[UVM Cat in Texas]

Re: 2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

FWIW, the rumor about Brickley is true. We should see something confirming it as official shortly.

[Cat lover]

Re: 2011-12 Vermont Season Thread (Vezina & Conn Smyth trophy edition)

Just another reason to hate having players in the World Juniors