Up Close: Fri 10/14 Sacred Heart at Taft School, Watertown

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Convenient from north/east Fairfield, New Haven, and Hartford counties

 

[FDNY99]

This game could be a trap game for UCONN. I went to the SHU/UCONN game in Milfrod last season which UCONN won in OT. Sared Heart played a good physical game that night...and I expect nothing less Friday. This will be a good gauge of how grounded this team is and how consistent they can play.

 

[huskymedic]

I just posted this info in the Sunday Gravy thread...

>>UConn’s next in-state game is also expected to sell out, though the crowd will be considerably smaller. The Huskies agreed to play Sacred Heart on Friday night at 7 at the Taft School in Watertown. Rink capacity: 950. The game will benefit the family of Jason Pagni, a longtime area hockey advocate and coach killed in a January car accident. Pagni, a close friend of Sacred Heart coach C.J. Marottolo, left a wife and two young children.

A silent auction includes autographed game sweaters of local NHL players Kevin Shattenkirk (St. Louis) and Cam Atkinson (Columbus). Tickets are general admission and cost $10. Eric Opin, one of the game’s organizers, said roughly 100 remain and are expected to sell fast. To purchase tickets, contact Opin at 203-878-5881 or email attorneyopin@sbcglobal.net. All proceeds will be donated to the Pagni family.<<

 

[huskymedic]

UConnMHOC10:01am via Twitter Web Client
Limited number of tickets remain for Fri.'s match-up with Sacred Heart at The Taft School in Watertown. Call 203-878-5881 to reserve yours.

 

[huskymedic]

@ChipMalafronte: No tickets remaining for UConn hockey game with Sacred Heart Friday at the Taft School.

 

[huskymedic]

Celebrating Pagni's Legacy: A Special Night For State Hockey
http://www.ctnow.com/sports/hc-jacobs-column-1114-20141113,0,1077079.column

 

[huskymedic]

ManthonyCourant6:41pm via Twitter for iPhone
@UConnMHOC lines vs @SHUHockey (D's Huson/Segalla out with concussions).pic.twitter.com/olTgMv0UMe

 

[huskymedic]

UConnMHOC9:07pm via Twitter Web Client
Final Score from Taft School, SHU 2 UConn 0 (empty netter w/ 41 seconds left).

Disappointing...

 

[ASweet3781]

I know hockey can be a crap shoot but the whole beat BC, tie BU, lose to Sacred Heart is gonna get old fast. Did the same thing last year, beat Providence than lost to an Atlantic Hockey team the next game.

 

[Jimdish255]

I know hockey can be a crap shoot but the whole beat BC, tie BU, lose to Sacred Heart is gonna get old fast. Did the same thing last year, beat Providence than lost to an Atlantic Hockey team the next game.

We have a ton of young players and depend on our goaltending and defense to win close games. Offense is streaky and our time of posession tends to be in the red. If you saw the SHU game last year they've got some dangerous players and have probably had this game in the back of their minds since the close loss. I'm sure the coaches expectations are for more consistency but we may not get there for awhile. This year I'll take the good with the bad.

 

[dbmill]

I know hockey can be a crap shoot but the whole beat BC, tie BU, lose to Sacred Heart is gonna get old fast. Did the same thing last year, beat Providence than lost to an Atlantic Hockey team the next game.

We have a ton of young players and depend on our goaltending and defense to win close games. Offense is streaky and our time of posession tends to be in the red. If you saw the SHU game last year they've got some dangerous players and have probably had this game in the back of their minds since the close loss. I'm sure the coaches expectations are for more consistency but we may not get there for awhile. This year I'll take the good with the bad.

This year given the first year of Hockey East, the first year of lot's of scholarships, and with so many young players it was a given that you were going to have some bad results and uneven play. The bonus this year is that we have already seen some unexpected good play and unexpected wins. Believe me, the unexpected wins are a great bonus for a team new to the world of Hockey East, and makes me optimistic for the future.

 

[Carl Spackler]

From what I've been told, and I know nothing about hockey beyond Slapshot, the rink they played on was similar in size to an Olympic hockey rink, rather than the NHL style rink, and that made it easy for Sacred Heart to clog up the offensive zone and prevent scoring chances we'd usually get on a smaller rink, and they got lucky on their goals. Not my analysis, j just what I was told by trusted source. We at UConn, apparently have very bright future in hockey according to same source.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

From what I've been told, and I know nothing about hockey beyond Slapshot, the rink they played on was similar in size to an Olympic hockey rink, rather than the NHL style rink, and that made it easy for Sacred Heart to clog up the offensive zone and prevent scoring chances we'd usually get on a smaller rink, and they got lucky on their goals. Not my analysis, j just what I was told by trusted source.

NHL and Olympic rink dimensions are the same length-wise (200 ft), but Olympic rinks are wider (about 100 ft) versus NHL rinks (about 85 ft), have more room behind the nets, and the blue lines are closer to the goal (about 57 ft) than in NHL rinks (about 64 ft). So, wider space in international rink sizes yet less space out to the blue lines. Neither Sacred Heart nor UCONN would have much advantage, because neither team typically plays on Olympic-sized rinks. I don't buy the opinion your friend shared. UCONN just didn't score as many goals. End of game.

 

[Carl Spackler]

NHL and Olympic rink dimensions are the same length-wise (200 ft), but Olympic rinks are wider (about 100 ft) versus NHL rinks (about 85 ft), have more room behind the nets, and the blue lines are closer to the goal (about 57 ft) than in NHL rinks (about 64 ft). So, wider space in international rink sizes yet less space out to the blue lines. Neither Sacred Heart nor UCONN would have much advantage, because neither team typically plays on Olympic-sized rinks. I don't buy the opinion your friend shared. UCONN just didn't score as many goals. End of game.

I was hoping that I would get to see a rematch of SHU and UCONN this weekend but it didn't happen. FWIW: I was at the game Sat night v. UNION with my friend that I referenced before. I'm not a hockey expert by any means, I just like watching the sport. I can never figure out what's legal and what's not, when it comes to checking, but the sounds of the boards crashing on checks - well that appeals to me. Anyhow - FWIW, my guy just happens to have been a captain on an NCAA division 1 national championship winner, and a lifelong hockey coach. I'll go with his analysis on why Sacred Heart was able to beat UCONN on a larger than normal rink.

 

[TheDoggPound]

I can never figure out what's legal and what's not, when it comes to checking, but the sounds of the boards crashing on checks - well that appeals to me.

Summed up: No hitting from behind (if you can see someone's #'s on their jersey and hit it's a penalty, think block in the back in football), no targeting head, no elbowing, no leaving your skates, no knee-on-knee, no late hits, no boarding (which can be a result of hitting from behind but also pushing a player who's not near the boards into the boards maliciously) and no charging (which means taking 3 or more strides without gliding).

The last 2 have the most room for interpretation but here's a couple examples of boarding:








https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni0aYmQJJqg

 

[TheDoggPound]

Example of charging:

 

[Carl Spackler]

Hey - thanks! Makes sense watching clips, but in real time it seems there is a lot of 'wiggle' room in what's legal and not. Skating, gliding, and the fact that you're holding what could be used as a weapon! The clear thing is the hitting in the back. That happened Saturday night. A Union player crunched one of our UCONN players into the boards behind the goal from the back. He got thrown out of the game. You can hurt somebody pretty bad that way. What I've always liked about hockey is that it is (although not as much anymore) a sport where retaliation for dirty play and actual fighting is at times accepted and expected.

 

[zls44]

I'll go with his analysis on why Sacred Heart was able to beat UCONN on a larger than normal rink.

UNH plays on a huge rink. Both UNH and Sacred Heart are also bad at hockey.