"shoot the puck!"

Is anyone else annoyed bythe symphony of, "Shoot the puck, shoot the puck!" during Cornell power plays? While I'd like to see them shoot as much as anyone, I feel like the fans aren't exactly in as good a position to judge as the actual player . Yes, shots do lead to goals, but I don't think the players need any extra encouragement to score. The team needs total support during the games, not stupid attempts at advice.

No... this is really good advice. They seriously do need to, "shoot the puck!". Sometimes they actually listen. WE NEED TO SHOOT. Bottom line.

HOTELCALIFORNIA wrote:

No... this is really good advice. They seriously do need to, "shoot the puck!". Sometimes they actually listen. WE NEED TO SHOOT. Bottom line.

And to that, canucksfan could reply:

I rest my case!

Do you really think that the fans are more able than the players to determine when a shot is appropriate? People near me tonight were screaming for shots when there were guys right on our point men.

Was 47 times enough for you?

We need to score goals, not shoot the puck.

Cheers!

I have an axe to grind with those who are trying to be the "remote control power play guys" as well as the morons who shook em keys. It's just crazy how just a few uneducated fans or non fans can stand out so badly in a game. How HC is a regular poster and constantly makes such strange comments too is beyond me..

rsafploc 03 wrote:

How HC is a regular poster and constantly makes such strange comments too is beyond me..

One does not need a great knowledge of how hockey is played in order to post to the eLF or to attend games and play armchair quarterback (or whatever the hockey equivalent to that would be). This isn't to say necessarily that HC doesn't know much about hockey, just that hockey fandom and hockey knowledge do not go in hand in hand. Also, a good discussion is made better by having dissenting opinions represented.

If you play an umbrella power play and you take a shot from the point while covered, you take a risk of having a shot blocked leading to a shorthanded break the other direction. Personally, I'm just as happy with that NOT happening when it can be helped.

We were dominating on power play this last game. Mercyhurst had very little ability to challenge our offense when they were man down. Why was this? Because we were controlling our shots. Passing it around, and exhausting their defense is how you win games and how you score. When they are too tired to skate and change lines because the puck has been in front of their goalie for 30 or 40 seconds, then you can put the puck in the net with more ease.

Randomly shooting is slightly likely to score. Controlled shots at perfect moments put more points on the board and allow the puck to be in our possession for more of the powerplay.

Do we not respect the judgment of the guys on the ice? They are in training a lot more then we are, they've been to more final fours and ECAC finals then we have. I think they should decide when to shoot, not random shouting fans. Respect their experience, their maturity, their skills, judgment and decisions.

When a team takes 47 shots in a game, shooting is not the problem. Shot selection might be (don't know, didn't see the game) and likewise maybe being in position to capitalize on rebounds (still don't know) but not taking shots.

The only time the chorus of "SHOOT!" has seemed really appropriate at Lynah was the final game of the '95 season when Christain Felli (103 Games, 0 goals) was put on the ice for the last five minutes or so in a 8-2 romp against Union. Every time he'd touch the puck - even behind our own net - the crowd would yell "SHOOT!".

The best time to yell "SHOOT" is when an opposing defenseman is going back to collect the puck and momentarily facing his own net.

I actually thought that shot selection for this game was pretty good. As far as position for rebounds, Mercyhurst did a pretty good job tying our guys up in front, although Bitz and others managed to get free at times.

By the way, I saw shades of Bâby in Bitz's play last night. He was intelligent, cycled well with Moulson and Vesce, made great passes, and ended up with a goal. He is by no means the finished article, but before the season I felt sorry for him because I thought he would be compared to Bâby, which is really unfair for a freshman. However, he looked really, really good against Mercyhurst and on other occasions. Not there yet, surely, but definitely on his way to creating his own legacy, never mind filling Bâby's shoes.

I guess that was a bit hypocritical...I don't want to put weight on the guy's shoulders, I just wanted to point out that Bitz has been one of the top performers on the team this year.

canucksfan wrote:

I guess that was a bit hypocritical...I don't want to put weight on the guy's shoulders, I just wanted to point out that Bitz has been one of the top performers on the team this year.

I don't know if he feels the weight of the Bâby comparisons, but I would venture to say that Bitz right now as a freshman is better than Bâby was as a freshman. Bitz already has more goals than Bâby's freshman year, and barring any injuries (*knocks on wood*), I'm more than certain he'll get five or more points in the coming months to match/beat Bâby's freshman point total. And besides, it just seems to me that Bitz's current level of play is better than what I recall Bâby's being his freshman year.

Yes, certainly. Bitz is definitely a better skater than Bâby was at the beginning of his career. More strength will come later, just as it did with Bâby, but most importantly, it looks like Bitz has good hands and hockey sense, just like ol' #21.

But Bitz also has to be the All-Everything player that Bâby was. As I posted last year, I couldn't think of a time during a game that I would not have wanted a healthy Bâby on the ice. PP, PK, even, he was the total package.

Wouldn't mind a big ole Murray to slam some heads together either....

Bitz is an excellent offensive player. Defensively, he couldn't carry Bâby's skates -- yet.

"Shoot!" is one of those things you always hear beginner fans yell -- they're frustrated and they don't understand how plays are set up. But having said this... *everybody* starts out as a beginner fan, so don't be too hard on HC, who has the further extremely embarassing circumstance of receiving her hockey education on a public forum rather than by a few months of observation.

But here's something I *was* yelling at my computer screen last night: HIT !!! The checking game was non-existent. Even the usually dependable grinders weren't doing their jobs. There were several situations down the stretch in the late third and into the o.t. in which the puck was free either against the boards or in the corner -- situations that an insanely great and aggressive team like Cornell '03 would win 80% of but which a decent team could still win at least half the time. Except, Cornell '04 didn't win *any* of these situations, because they backed off and gave the puck to Mercyhurst uncontested.

After one particularly horrible example (not to single him out, but by Bitz), the camera passed Schafer and I thought he was going into toxic shock -- he wasn't so much angry as utterly appalled.

They may be afraid to take themselves out of the play because of the weaker D. They may tentative because of the closeness of the games. They may be tired because this years' puck bunnies are particularly ebullient. I don't know (Especially about the bunnies. Dammit.), but it's a problem.



Post Edited (11-30-03 21:08)

Greg Berge '85 wrote:
Bitz is an excellent offensive player. Defensively, he couldn't carry Bâby's skates -- yet.

But then, neither could freshman-year Bâby.