4 Games To Go

[Jim Hyla]

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Copied from the RPI post-game thread
With thanks to Trotsky
Standings, everybody with 4 games to go:

27 SLU  RPI,    Union,  @Quin,  @Prin
25 Clk   Union,  RPI,     @Prin,   @Quin
22 Qpc  @CU,   @gate,  SLU,     Clk
20 Cor  Quin,    Prin,     @Dmth,  @Hvd
19 Drt   @Brwn, @Yale,  CU,     gate
17 Col   Prin,    Quin,     @Hvd,   @Dmth
17 Hvd  @Yale, @Brwn,  gate,   CU
16 Prn   @gate,  @CU,    Clk,     SLU
14 RPI  @SLU,  @Clk,   Brwn,   Yale
13 Brn   Dmth,   Hvd,     @RPI,   @Union
13 UC   @Clk,   @SLU,   Yale,   Brwn
13 Yal   Hvd,     Dmth,    @Union,@RPI

[ebilmes]

Q could really take a hit with this brutal end-of-season schedule.

[Jim Hyla]

[quote ebilmes]Q could really take a hit with this brutal end-of-season schedule.[/quote]Here's hoping.

[Trotsky]

Cornell is "in control of their own destiny," to coin an expression.  They can redeem the entire season by getting a bye.

Nice to see the recent surge in scoring from a certain heralded class:

at RPI:

1-1-2 Romano
2-1-3 Greening
0-3-3 Gallagher
0-1-1 Nash
1-0-1 Milo

at Union:

1-0-1 Gallagher

SLU:

0-1-1 Nash

Clarkson:

2-0-2 Greening
1-0-1 Romano
0-1-1 Gallagher
0-1-1 Milo

4 Games, 14 Goals:

2-1-3 Romano
4-1-5 Greening
1-4-5 Gallagher
0-2-2 Nash
1-1-2 Milo
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8-9-17 Freshmen

[Josh '99]

[quote Jim Hyla](edited)

20 Cor  Quin,    Prin,     @Dmth,  @Hvd
19 Drt   @Brwn, @Yale,  CU,     gate
17 Hvd  @Yale, @Brwn,  gate,   CU
16 Prn   @gate,  @CU,    Clk,     SLU
13 Brn   Dmth,   Hvd,     @RPI,   @Union
13 Yal   Hvd,     Dmth,    @Union,@RPI[/quote]

I find it interesting that Yale, while scraping the bottom of the ECAC barrel, is in the driver's seat for their first Ivy title since 2001 (i.e. Jeff Hamilton's (second) senior year - that guy was good).  Of their 13 ECAC points, 11 are Ivy points.  This looks like a good first-year coaching job by Keith Allain - they may not have the talent to contend for an ECAC title yet, despite a promising freshman class*, but focusing effort on a specific set of games and thereby going all-out for a trophy that is winnable for them seems like a good way to give a young team a taste of success.  I wouldn't be surprised to see them sweep at home against Harvard and Dartmouth this weekend and lock up at least a share (in which case we'd need to win out against Princeton and at Harvard and Dartmouth to split with them).

Ivy standings

* Yale freshmen Sean Backman and Mark Arcobello are #2 and #3(t) in ECAC freshman scoring behind Quinnipiac's Brandon Wong; defenseman Thomas Dignard is tied with Brendon Nash and Union's Mike Schreiber for #2 (behind Harvard's man-beast Alex Biega) in scoring by freshman defensemen.

[Jim Hyla]

[quote Josh '99][quote Jim Hyla](edited)

20 Cor  Quin,    Prin,     @Dmth,  @Hvd
19 Drt   @Brwn, @Yale,  CU,     gate
17 Hvd  @Yale, @Brwn,  gate,   CU
16 Prn   @gate,  @CU,    Clk,     SLU
13 Brn   Dmth,   Hvd,     @RPI,   @Union
13 Yal   Hvd,     Dmth,    @Union,@RPI[/quote]

I find it interesting that Yale, while scraping the bottom of the ECAC barrel, is in the driver's seat for their first Ivy title since 2001 (i.e. Jeff Hamilton's (second) senior year - that guy was good).  Of their 13 ECAC points, 11 are Ivy points.  This looks like a good first-year coaching job by Keith Allain - they may not have the talent to contend for an ECAC title yet, despite a promising freshman class*, but focusing effort on a specific set of games and thereby going all-out for a trophy that is winnable for them seems like a good way to give a young team a taste of success.  I wouldn't be surprised to see them sweep at home against Harvard and Dartmouth this weekend and lock up at least a share (in which case we'd need to win out against Princeton and at Harvard and Dartmouth to split with them).

Ivy standings

* Yale freshmen Sean Backman and Mark Arcobello are #2 and #3(t) in ECAC freshman scoring behind Quinnipiac's Brandon Wong; defenseman Thomas Dignard is tied with Brendon Nash and Union's Mike Schreiber for #2 (behind Harvard's man-beast Alex Biega) in scoring by freshman defensemen.[/quote]Do we know that was their strategy, or did it just happen to work out that they won their Ivy games?

[KeithK]

[quote Jim Hyla]Do we know that was [Yale's] strategy, or did it just happen to work out that they won their Ivy games?[/quote]I'm sure it's just a statistical oddity, made more probable by the close clustering of teams in the ECAC this year.  Now, a good coach could use this odd occurrence to motivate his team down the stretch and going forward but I really doubt it was at all intentional.

[Josh '99]

[quote Jim Hyla]Do we know that was their strategy, or did it just happen to work out that they won their Ivy games?[/quote]No, I was merely speculating that Allain might have gone into this season with a plan along the lines of Schafer's three goals from his first year.  I don't know whether this is the case, of course, but if one were trying to rebuild a program, I'd say setting concrete, achievable goals along the way would be a good way to go about it.  If you're Keith Allain and you tell the team at the beginning of this season that your goal is making the NCAA tournament and winning your first-round game, you're setting yourself up for failure; if you tell them that your goal is to get out of the ECAC cellar (which, granted, they seem unlikely to do, but you never know) and win the Ivy championship, you're setting yourself up for success and more confident players going into next season.


[Granted, if this were the case, the positive of a strong Ivy record could also be viewed in a negative light as an inability to motivate the team for other games (thus the 4-11-2 non-Ivy record).]

[quote KeithK]I'm sure it's just a statistical oddity, made more probable by the close clustering of teams in the ECAC this year.  Now, a good coach could use this odd occurrence to motivate his team down the stretch and going forward but I really doubt it was at all intentional.[/quote]And, of course, that could certainly also be the case.