From the ashes: St. Lawrence Skating Saints 2019-20

[sshablak]

This weekend it shows SLU @ Clarkson fri and sat ? Is this right, and both are nonconference games ? Why not one in Canton ?

[apple2k]

Not enough room at the Roos House for the expected multitudes. Alas, I'll have to watch the stream--can't make it to Cheel.

[wildcatcard]

This weekend it shows SLU @ Clarkson fri and sat ? Is this right, and both are nonconference games ? Why not one in Canton ?

Because or inept Athletic Director can't manage the building project. Meaning, he can't hire the correct people to make it happen. D3 skills running a D1 program.

[rpi82]

Because or inept Athletic Director can't manage the building project. Meaning, he can't hire the correct people to make it happen. D3 skills running a D1 program.

Just checking in before our game next week. I think you are being unfair to your AD. He doesn't manage an athletic facility renovation project any more than the chemistry department chair manages the renovation of a lab building. He can help establish project requirements but it's up to the facilities team to manage it using either internal or contract resources.

[wildcatcard]

Just checking in before our game next week. I think you are being unfair to your AD. He doesn't manage an athletic facility renovation project any more than the chemistry department chair manages the renovation of a lab building. He can help establish project requirements but it's up to the facilities team to manage it using either internal or contract resources.

Respectfully disagree. As the AD he should have a team in place to make sure time tables are correct. If the Chem chair, re-did the lab saying it would be open for school, but then its not done until second term, you think the Chem students would be happy? As the CEO of athletic Dept, the buck stops with him--he forms the team, if he can't form a team that performs then change is needed.

That being said, I will say this He hired (albeit it took a loooooonnng time) the correct Head Coach. Anyone that hasn't seen the post game from Cap and the words that are said by CU players ...unreal sportsmanship. Plus if you notice the respect for him by said players going thru the line... respect!!! The way he has saints playing, the respect former players have for him is remarkable. IF he can bring players in now all three legs of the stool will be in place.

[SluStatsMan]

The way he has saints playing, the respect former players have for him is remarkable. IF he can bring players in now all three legs of the stool will be in place.

I certainly agree that it remains to be seen whether he can bring in high-caliber players on a regular basis, and that there's a lot of room for improvement in recruiting. But at the same time, I think the quick and dramatic improvement we've seen so far this year -- almost entirely without last year's point leader (Gicewicz), by the way -- indicates not only his coaching ability but also that we already had some fairly talented players who just needed to be molded into a cohesive team (and I think it also indicates just how completely Morris failed at doing that). In short, I think there was already some decent potential that just needed to be unlocked, and that he's in the process of unlocking it.

But yeah, that third leg does still need some building.

[SluStatsMan]

An exciting weekend, and a very impressive one, battling a top 20 team into OT both nights. That suggests that we'll be able to beat some lesser teams -- maybe starting next weekend in the Capital District.

I've updated my stats graphs with these two games. Here are the things that stand out to me after 8 games:
- While our offense still isn't tearing up the joint, it's much improved over last year. In last fall's first 8 games, we scored multiple goals in only two games. This year, we've done that in six games -- including both games against the team that's now #13 in the Pairwise Rankings.
- Our defense continues to be pretty strong. In the same time span last year, we gave up at least 3 goals in every game. This year, that's happened in only half of our games. Our defense is currently smack in the middle of the pack -- #30 in the country -- which is a huge improvement.
- Put those two things together, and look at our scoring margin. Last year at the same time, our opponents were averaging almost 2.4 goals per game more than we were. This year, that deficit is less than 0.9 goals per game.
- A similarly huge contrast in our shot margin. In last year's first 8 games, our opponents outshot us by more than 18 shots on goal per game. This year, 5.5.
- Penalties are still a problem.
SLU Stats 2019-2020

[apple2k]

Watched both games on ESPN+ and . . . wow! I think it was clear that CU is the better team (that top line is dynamite), but our guys gave them almost more than they could handle. What especially impressed me was:
--passing, particularly on breakouts, and
--the total lack of quit, especially on those one on one board battles.
I can't wait for every next game.

[saintsdad]

Respectfully disagree. As the AD he should have a team in place to make sure time tables are correct. If the Chem chair, re-did the lab saying it would be open for school, but then its not done until second term, you think the Chem students would be happy? As the CEO of athletic Dept, the buck stops with him--he forms the team, if he can't form a team that performs then change is needed.

You missed rpi82's point. He said neither the Chem chair nor the AD is responsible for facilities reconstruction. At SLU, the Facilities Operations Department holds that responsibility. Their web page states Facilities Operations is “responsible for the planning, design, construction and support services associated with infrastructure upgrades, new construction, renovations and preservation of existing campus assets….The Facilities team coordinates architectural services, project bidding, project administration and closeout."

Those statements contradict your claims that the AD is “in charge of hiring, oversight of the upgrade;” that it is his responsibility “to hire the most qualified people to run it,” “manage the building project,” “hire the correct people to make it happen,” or “have a team in place to make sure time tables are correct.”

I’m certain he was an essential part of the design team and is still an essential member of the oversight team. But, being a member of that team did not and does not make him responsible for the construction project. Any timelines he provided were (are) based upon information provided to him by the contractor or Director of Facilities Operations.

I don’t understand how not being able to manage a construction project makes an AD “inept,” especially when it’s not his job to do so. He is not a civil engineer or construction project manager; he is an AD. As such, he is not responsible for the project, and it’s unfair (at best) of you to claim he is

You are right; these delays are not a reason to fire him, because they are not his responsibility. But, contrary to your demands that he be fired, they also cannot be added to the list of issues that you think creates cause to fire him. Again, they (the delays) are not his responsibility. And you are wrong when you claim they are.

[saintsdad]

This is a wonderful team to watch and is going to surprise some people. They also will attract some talent who sees how quickly Coach Brekke turned the team around, reinstilled morale in it, and brought some excitement to the game they play. They'll also see the new Appleton and want to be part of that legacy.
The future is bright-bring on the former Coach who moved to Mass. We've got game again!
Go S-L-U

[wildcatcard]

You missed rpi82's point. He said neither the Chem chair nor the AD is responsible for facilities reconstruction. At SLU, the Facilities Operations Department holds that responsibility. Their web page states Facilities Operations is “responsible for the planning, design, construction and support services associated with infrastructure upgrades, new construction, renovations and preservation of existing campus assets….The Facilities team coordinates architectural services, project bidding, project administration and closeout."

Those statements contradict your claims that the AD is “in charge of hiring, oversight of the upgrade;” that it “his duty to hire the most qualified people to run it”, “manage the building project”, “hire the correct people to make it happen,” or “have a team in place to make sure time tables are correct.”

I’m certain he was an essential part of the design team and is still an essential member of the oversight team. But, being a member of that team did not and does not make him responsible for the construction project. Any timelines he provided were (are) based upon information provided to him by the contractor.

I don’t understand how not being able to manage a construction project makes an AD “inept,” especially when it’s not his job to do so. He is not a civil engineer or construction project manager; he is an AD. As such, he is not responsible for the project, and it’s unfair (at best) of you to claim he is

You are right; these delays are not a reason to fire him, because they are not his responsibility. But, contrary to your demands that he be fired, they also cannot be added to the list of issues that you think creates cause to fire him. Again, they (the delays) are not his responsibility. And you are wrong when you claim they are.

Great input! We will agree to disagree.

A great podcast from Union this week, has Coach on it. A few subplots in the interview--- The time table to return to Appleton- NO Direct date when they return; Second-- He threw his resume in Late in the Process. I find both statements by Coach as concerns. GOOOO Saints.

[wildcatcard]

This is a wonderful team to watch and is going to surprise some people. They also will attract some talent who sees how quickly Coach Brekke turned the team around, reinstilled morale in it, and brought some excitement to the game they play. They'll also see the new Appleton and want to be part of that legacy.
The future is bright-bring on the former Coach who moved to Mass. We've got game again!
Go S-L-U

Why so nasty towards Coach Carvy? Don't want to see people improve? or are you "INEPT" to see he did it for not just professional reasons but family reasons as well.

[saintsdad]

Absolutely understand why he moved; you can't refuse an offer that offers great professional and family benefits. I would have done it too.
His success, both at SLU and U Mass, has (in my mind at least) created the basis for a good-natured team rivalry. I have great respect for Coach Carvel and appreciate everything he did at SLU, but now it's time to show him how well we've recovered from his departure, and what better way to show him than....

[Wicked Slappaahs]

Great input! We will agree to disagree.

A great podcast from Union this week, has Coach on it. A few subplots in the interview--- The time table to return to Appleton- NO Direct date when they return; Second-- He threw his resume in Late in the Process. I find both statements by Coach as concerns. GOOOO Saints.

Link to podcast from Ken Schott / Daily Gazette (Change https to http) No definitives on Appleton progress ..."at least a month ...." was as close as he'd come.

https://dailygazette.com/article/201...on-st-lawrence

[TimU]

Conference win #1

LGS

[SluStatsMan]

An impressive comeback to earn a win after a mostly less-than-stellar weekend of play. I have a feeling the team might have been hampered by illness this weekend. But whatever was going on, they didn't quit.

I've updated my stats graphs with this weekend's games. With a quarter of the season in the books, here's what stands out to me:
- Throw out the shutout weekend in Canton a few weeks ago, and the offense has been scarily consistent. In those other 8 games, we've scored two goals in half of them and three goals in the other half of them. Never fewer than two, never more than three. At this point last season, we had scored multiple goals in only three games.
- Our shots have settled into the mid 20s per game, which isn't very good, but our shots against are much better than last year. As a result, our shot margin is -6 per game -- in other words, our opponents are outshooting us by 2 shots per period, which ain't much.
- Our shooting percentage (goals per shot) has been pretty respectable since that shutout weekend. In those six games since, we've scored on 10% of our shots, which puts us in the upper half of teams in the country (though not by much).
- Our strength of schedule dropped a fair bit this weekend, not only from playing two low-ranked teams, but also due to slides in the Pairwise Rankings by some of our previous opponents. The average rank of our opponents is currently 38th, down from the low 30s last week. #1 Cornell will improve that a bit next weekend!
SLU Stats 2019-2020

[apple2k]

So Jordan Power just committed to Clarkson. A double whammy.

[SluStatsMan]

On paper, a bit ironic that we played much better in the game we lost 6-1 than in the game we lost 4-1 -- but in reality, not ironic, given that the 6-1 winner is the #1 team in the Pairwise Rankings and the 4-1 winner is #45. Very disappointing that we didn't play better against Colgate, as that's a team that we should have had a shot at beating. But I was happy to see that they turned the quality way up to start the Cornell game and played a dead-even period before, well, Cornell happened.

I've updated my stats graphs with this weekend's games. With a third of the season behind us now, just a couple of comments:
- The second period continues to be an extremely sore thumb. Although we're now being outscored in every period, the second is when we get blown out -- a season total of 17-7.
- Our minuscule shot total of 16 on Saturday night was the first time all season that we've been held to fewer than 22 shots. Not surprising that it would be Cornell who held us that low, as their defense is historically extremely stingy. For comparison, we were held to 16 or fewer shots in four games last season and in four games the season before that. Overall, our shots per game are still way better than last year.
SLU Stats 2019-2020

[wildcatcard]

Say it aint so?? Rumblings that time table to be pushed out again for home games at Appleton

[GoldenBear]

Not playing any games in Appleton until the students come back from Holiday Break in late January.