UHN Pregame Thread (RIT and Denver too)

[KenP]

Still lots of talk about roll calls, tickets, and squeakball.  Is there anything substantial to talk about for this weekend?  We played well against UNH earlier this year.  They won the Hockey East RS title but lost in 3 to Vermont.  Which also means they've had an extra week to fume, heal and prepare.

On the other half of our Albany bracket, we have a very similar story with Denver: WCHA RS title, lost to NoDaK in the semifinal and Wisconsin in the consolation game.  RIT has won their last 10 games, but come in with a perfect  0-5-0 non-conference record.  Do they have a chance against Denver?  If #1 and #2 win on Friday, how do we match up to the Pioneers?

(edit: missspelled per convention)

[ugarte]

Who the hell talks about hockey?

[munchkin]

Who the hell talks about hockey?

Really, can't you tell by the Juggernaut shirt thread that we're secret fashion mavens and that liking hockey is all just a facade.

[Rob NH]

Expectations are not high in Wildcat country, the team coming to Albany this year bears no resemblance to the teams you've met in the past. There was a ton of parity in Hockey East this year (#3-#9 separated by 4 points) and UNH overachieved to beat out a much better Boston College squad for the Regular Season Title. UNH's last real good showing was 1/23 @ BU, from there it was a tight draw and win against Merrimack, getting swept by blowing a 2 goal lead two nights in a row in Orono, a tight series against NU & UVM, and a tie and loss to BC to close out the RS 1 point above the Eagles. In the playoffs we were down 4-2 the first night before Madore choked 4 straight (plus an EN). The next two nights we were completely shut down by the trap, UNH is mostly a transition team and had absolutely no idea how to adjust. The Wildcats were out shot 25-17 in game 2 and 51-34 in game 3 (OT). Defensively this team is weak; they're not overly physical, take dumb penalties, and forget to clear out the front of the net. Foster started off the season so-so but pulled it together mid way through the year and has been standing on his head as of late to make up for our poor defense. Our power play is awful; poor puck handling, multiple unforced errors, and continuous shots in to screens.

I missed UNH-Cornell at the Whitt earlier in the season due to work and only saw a period and a half of the ECAC semi, but if Cornell is a defensively sound team (as they often are) who can also cause havoc on the other end of the ice (as they did at the Whitt earlier in the season) then they ought to clean up quite easily.

Prediction: 4-1 Cornell

[Jordan 04]

All I know is yet another tournament elimination at the hands of UHN would be tough to take.

[Rob NH]

p.s. feel free to come over and say hi, we had a great time with jtw & company in Florida a few years back, including members from each school's cheering section pulling double duty for the other on the 2nd day. We'll probably be up with our pep band in sec 205.

[AnneDVM]

Denver may be trying to figure how they'll get to Albany.  The Denver airport was mostly shut down today due to snow, so hopefully they'll be able to get out here on time!

On the subject of actual hockey, I think this is the first year that I haven't seen Denver play on TV at least once during the season, so I will be very interested to see their style during the first-round matchup.

[billhoward]

Still lots of talk about roll calls, tickets, and squeakball.  Is there anything substantial to talk about for this weekend?  We played well against UNH earlier this year.  They won the Hockey East RS title but lost in 3 to Vermont.  Which also means they've had an extra week to fume, heal and prepare.

On the other half of our Albany bracket, we have a very similar story with Denver: WCHA RS title, lost to NoDaK in the semifinal and Wisconsin in the consolation game.  RIT has won their last 10 games, but come in with a perfect  0-5-0 non-conference record.  Do they have a chance against Denver?  If #1 and #2 win on Friday, how do we match up to the Pioneers?

We looked freaking awesome at UNH. We're peaking now. We're the higher seed. I hope the seeding is right.

I'm a hockey fan first but spent more time on hoops the last couple days but hoops is one of those lunar-earth-asteroid-Jupiter lining up events that's not frequent ... whereas Kentucky will just hire a replacement crop of freshmen.

[KeithK]

Denver may be trying to figure how they'll get to Albany.  The Denver airport was mostly shut down today due to snow, so hopefully they'll be able to get out here on time!

On the subject of actual hockey, I think this is the first year that I haven't seen Denver play on TV at least once during the season, so I will be very interested to see their style during the first-round matchup.

A buddy of mine who lives in boulder says they had a foot of snow Saturday, then two days in the sixties that eliminated all traces of it and then storm expected to drop 18 inches starting last night. Nice yo-yo there.

It's supposed to be clear through tomorrow so worst case tey'd probably fly out a day late and lose their practice day. (Which won't bring any complaints from me!)

[Trotsky]

It's supposed to be clear through tomorrow so worst case tey'd probably fly out a day late and lose their practice day. (Which won't bring any complaints from me!)

Dumb question but... wouldn't they just practice at home?

[Trotsky]

IIRC, the reaction of many UNH fans at the time of the January game was sincere props to us but that they had just played their worst game in about five seasons.  Now, it's possible we made them look that bad, but...

[lhayes]

It seemed to me last weekend that the boards in Albany were very rough and unpredictable -- the puck was often not where the guys expected it.  The ice also seemed soft or something, contributing to passes being less crisp than they should have been.  More practice with these conditions might help.

[judy]

It seemed to me last weekend that the boards in Albany were very rough and unpredictable -- the puck was often not where the guys expected it.  The ice also seemed soft or something, contributing to passes being less crisp than they should have been.  More practice with these conditions might help.

It was also quite warm in Albany last weekend. In the rink was colder than outside but it was still pretty warm in the rink.

[ugarte]

It's supposed to be clear through tomorrow so worst case tey'd probably fly out a day late and lose their practice day. (Which won't bring any complaints from me!)

Dumb question but... wouldn't they just practice at home?

Not if they're twiddling their thumbs in the airport, hoping for the all-clear.

[KeithK]

It seemed to me last weekend that the boards in Albany were very rough and unpredictable -- the puck was often not where the guys expected it.  The ice also seemed soft or something, contributing to passes being less crisp than they should have been.  More practice with these conditions might help.

Sure the Pioneers could practice at home.  But I'm sure they'd want to see how the ice surface plays since it's an unfamiliar building and has a reputation for funny bounces.  On top of that, travelling late means you don't have time to shake off the strain of travelling (e.g. sitting in a plane seat for hours on end).

I doubt any of this will make much difference in the outcome this weekend. If Denver loses it will be because RIT or Cornell/UNH outplayed them (or got lucky), not because of today's snowstorm.