>>> RIT Tigers 2018/2019 - Time For The Tigers to Roar <<<

[Downstate_RIT_Fan]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2018/2019 - Time For The Tigers to Roar <<<

Air Force and Coach Serratore were a perfect 4-0 at the GPC in 2018 going back to last season, AF must love playing in Henrietta, maybe had a bite to eat at Sticky Lips, filling up with ribs and sweet tea in celebration of the sweep before a fun sleepy red eye flight back to Colorado. Got to give them credit, they came to our campus ready to play.

So the season continues....

[blazer777]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2018/2019 - Time For The Tigers to Roar <<<

Well...

Air Force is coming into this weekend off of what was I believe their worst performance weekend in their history of D1 Hockey. I say RIT splits but would love to see a sweep! Go TIGERS!

Well, there was a sweep!

[Schmitty]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2018/2019 - Time For The Tigers to Roar <<<

I was just thinking to myself the other day that it was surprising I needed two hands to count our first-half wins. Maybe the team was just going to be good all year.

Or we could go out and get swept by a team that is having a relatively bad year.

[TigerFan86-87]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2018/2019 - Time For The Tigers to Roar <<<

Or we could go out and get swept by a team that is having a relatively bad year.

What??
If 8-4 (conference) and first place is a bad year, then sign me up for that program.
They had one bad weekend getting swept by AIC. AIC just happens to be tied for second place at 7-4-1, and AFA was without their starting goaltender that week.

RIT was beaten by a very good team that pretty much ALWAYS plays well here at Ritter, GPC, and BCA. For whatever reason, AFA goaltenders seem to get red hot in Rochester. Coach Serratore must have some magic way to get his guys motivated to play here. Not that they're all that shabby anywhere else, but with a few exceptions they seem to have RIT's number. That's probably why over their combined history in this conference, AFA is without a doubt the best team in AHC / AHA, with RIT pulling in a very distant second. I know there have been years where AFA was was having a down year and RIT got some big wins here against them (2010 and 2015 come to mind), but even then it was never easy.

All that being said, it still is frustrating to see the way this team repeatedly comes to play on Friday nights. I know the coach said that they played hard, but it is very difficult to see from the stands. When the team consistently loses faceoffs, one-on-one battles, and races for the puck it just doesn't look good. 16 SOG??? yuck. Granted, even if they had played much better, Christopolos (sp?) could have made it a moot point as he did on Saturday. The Tigers appeared to be a completely different team on Saturday that just ran into a hot goaltender. It would have been nice not to shoot wide or high on numerous point-blank opportunities, but he still stoned them pretty spectacularly sometimes when they did get it on net.

Note... I too was shocked that Drackett got away with what appeared to be throwing the net at the official. It looked like a heat-of-the-moment type tantrum thing that could have gotten him in deep trouble. I hope I misunderstood what I saw. If not, that is not a good sign.

[Schmitty]

Coach Serratore must have some magic way to get his guys motivated to play here.

I wish we knew his secret! Lackluster performance seems to be just a feature of the new arena, sadly. Now, I’ll agree that AF is a different case since they’ve pretty much made us — and the league in general — their whipping boys regardless of location, but overall given that our recruiting downturn came around the same point in time, I have increasingly questioned the timing of the new arena. At least with Ritter we showed up in sufficient numbers to create an atmosphere.

Note... I too was shocked that Drackett got away with what appeared to be throwing the net at the official. It looked like a heat-of-the-moment type tantrum thing that could have gotten him in deep trouble. I hope I misunderstood what I saw. If not, that is not a good sign.

I didn’t have a chance to stream the games this weekend, but hopefully it never gets too out of hand. AHC refs obviously have abysmal vision coverage, so their medical is likely terrible as well.

[Tom Naeger]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2018/2019 - Time For The Tigers to Roar <<<

It seems to be simple fact week for this Buffalo boy, and when it comes down to RIT. Air Force has now won 9 of the last 10 meetings, Air Force has won the last two AHA Tournaments. Boys you got slapped down at home. There is no nice way to put that and yes it should give everyone a moment to pause.

On Drackett's reaction I only got to see one or two replays on the big board but it really didn't seem to me at all that he had that puck so I was a little surprise at the reaction. You know, I've never been a big defender of AHA refs, but I have to say I am sick and tired of hearing complaints. Teams like Robert Morris and Air Force have consistently won the last couple of years despite the officiating. It's past time to man up as they say...

[Rochester]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2018/2019 - Time For The Tigers to Roar <<<

Dear Santa,

All I want for Christmas is an RIT Hockey Scholarship program like Clarkson University has.

[Hockeyplayer82]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2018/2019 - Time For The Tigers to Roar <<<

Dear Santa,

All I want for Christmas is an RIT Hockey Scholarship program like Clarkson University has.

Compare:

RIT Nice Rink, Strong Education, D1 Hockey, Recruiting pool is world wide, No Scholarship, heavy student loans, Pro career is possible

Air Force:

Ok Rink, Strong Education, D1 Hockey, Free Education ( Not really free-5 Year Service Commitment and potential tour or tours in an active war), Recuiting pool is American players only And their commitment typically means a pro career is void


Which program has more obstacles to overcome while recruiting? Or is it coaching? Or is it Both? (when I say coaching is AF just better)


Agree, regarding the Atlantic referees but every team has these referees. Play better then bad refs. RIT Friday woes continue, hope for splits and be around middle of the pack. Host first round and ..............

[Downstate_RIT_Fan]

Compare:

RIT Nice Rink, Strong Education, D1 Hockey, Recruiting pool is world wide, No Scholarship, heavy student loans, Pro career is possible

Air Force:

Ok Rink, Strong Education, D1 Hockey, Free Education ( Not really free-5 Year Service Commitment and potential tour or tours in an active war), Recuiting pool is American players only And their commitment typically means a pro career is void


Which program has more obstacles to overcome while recruiting? Or is it coaching? Or is it Both? (when I say coaching is AF just better)


Agree, regarding the Atlantic referees but every team has these referees. Play better then bad refs. RIT Friday woes continue, hope for splits and be around middle of the pack. Host first round and ..............

Next five games...two against SHU and three against Niagara, I’d say RIT needs to go at least 4-1 to sniff near the top, anything less and then yeah, middle of the pack, maybe host a first round.

Need to play a complete Friday game as it seems like every visiting team loves to play at the GPC. Congrats to RIT in building a fan and foe friendly barn, but hey, free T-shirts.

[mar7967]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2018/2019 - Time For The Tigers to Roar <<<

I think someone mentioned this already, but a big factor in all of Air Force's successes is their goalie. They have had a very good starting goalie for as long as I can remember. But their go-to guy, Billy Christopoulos, was out the two weeks prior to this past weekend. Zach LaRocque stepped in, and helped AF sweep Bentley, then got swept by AIC. So it's tough to compare the AIC losses to the RIT wins, in my opinion.

[Hockeyplayer82]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2018/2019 - Time For The Tigers to Roar <<<

I think someone mentioned this already, but a big factor in all of Air Force's successes is their goalie. They have had a very good starting goalie for as long as I can remember. But their go-to guy, Billy Christopoulos, was out the two weeks prior to this past weekend. Zach LaRocque stepped in, and helped AF sweep Bentley, then got swept by AIC. So it's tough to compare the AIC losses to the RIT wins, in my opinion.

Agree, but keep going back to prior goalies for Air Force..... Air Force defensemen and defensive effort year in and year out is extremely effective which does not expose a goalie to many quality chances against. Goalies buid confidence and when called upon make a quality save. This can also work against a team if the team defense is ineffective...quality chances against, goals, no confidence, weak goals against, goalie carousel...

Consistent effective coaching by Air Force!

[Downstate_RIT_Fan]

Consistent effective coaching by Air Force!

True, Coach Serratore seems to be the best at re-tooling his teams with the right players and then getting them to play his style of game. He even lost his goalie early a few seasons ago and was able to fill that slot with little trouble. Credit where credit is due.

[TigerFan86-87]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2018/2019 - Time For The Tigers to Roar <<<

I think someone mentioned this already, but a big factor in all of Air Force's successes is their goalie. They have had a very good starting goalie for as long as I can remember. But their go-to guy, Billy Christopoulos, was out the two weeks prior to this past weekend. Zach LaRocque stepped in, and helped AF sweep Bentley, then got swept by AIC. So it's tough to compare the AIC losses to the RIT wins, in my opinion.

Although to be fair to LaRocque against AIC, the team was shut out both games. So even if he stood on his head (which he clearly didn't), the best he could have done was steal two ties.

[TigerFan86-87]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2018/2019 - Time For The Tigers to Roar <<<

...Recuiting pool is American players only...

Not necessarily. Yes, a huge percentage of the student bodies at Air Force, Army and Navy are American, but there are foreign nationals at the service academies. I'm not sure how exactly that works, but they are there.

Which program has more obstacles to overcome while recruiting? Or is it coaching? Or is it Both? (when I say coaching is AF just better)

The obstacles are different, so it's hard to compare. Both have significant hurdles to overcome.
From a consistency standpoint, it is impossible to argue Coach Serratore's success since the Falcons joined AHA. Coach Wilson in about the same time has had darn good success himself. But from a night-in, night-out, year-in, year-out standpoint has not always had his guys ready to play 100% to make up for the natural cyclic nature of the talent level available.

[TigerFan86-87]

Re: >>> RIT Tigers 2018/2019 - Time For The Tigers to Roar <<<

On Drackett's reaction I only got to see one or two replays on the big board but it really didn't seem to me at all that he had that puck so I was a little surprise at the reaction.

I never heard what his complaint was. If he was complaining that he had the puck, that's kind of silly. There's no way he could have held it for very long. It didn't take all that long for that shot to come. I thought maybe he was arguing that the player on the ice batted it in with his hand or something. I didn't see anything wrong with it, so wasn't sure. The reaction was pretty emphatic though. Still shocked he wasn't suspended for that. Maybe the ref was so shocked that it happened he didn't even realize it had.

You know, I've never been a big defender of AHA refs, but I have to say I am sick and tired of hearing complaints. Teams like Robert Morris and Air Force have consistently won the last couple of years despite the officiating. It's past time to man up as they say...

I don't think too many of the complaints are implying that they are biased against RIT (I'm sure some are). That would be kind of ridiculous. The complaints, at least those expressed on the radio are mostly aimed at the total inconsistency and seeming incompetence at times. Although it doesn't intentionally favor any one team over another, it can decide contests. In a conference race as tight as the AHA always has, every little thing can tip the scales the wrong way. It is frustrating, I'm sure, to all 11 AHA teams for that very reason. You just never know what is or isn't going to be called at any given time for or against your team.
Actually, I've been somewhat ok with the penalty calling so far in RIT's home games. What has frustrated me more is the linesmen. I think they've gotten pretty lazy with the icing vs no icing calls. I can't even count the number of times they've not waved off an icing call when it is pretty clear the defense floated back there and could have easily beaten the puck to the goal line... or when the puck could have been played somewhere at center ice, but was not. Over the years that has happened to a point, but it seems like it's been pretty obviously bad the last couple years. Then there's always the 5 or 10 minute wait for the linesman to drop the darn puck. Like we all paid good money to watch him direct traffic and antagonize the centermen until they get so annoyed he ends up kicking one or both out of the faceoff only to drop the puck immediately for two guys who almost never take faceoffs at all.