AlbanyFan2018

You are right if a defender or goalie never got beat then no one would ever score. The problem with the defense is that it isn't getting better and the same mistakes are happening over and over again. Our announcers do a nice job, and as the home team guys they are on the gentle side when it comes to critiquing players, but when they are saying the same thing week after week, and it isn't getting addressed then it makes you wonder what is going on. Lots of guys, which I like, are getting in the mix on offense. I know you what continuity on defense, and I don't know if it is the scheme or the personnel, but it isn't getting it done on defense.

As far as McComber goes I really don't know. I think it was the Cornell game and he took one ill advised shot, was pulled and never to be seen from again. There seem to be some players who have no leash and others who have very, very long leashes.

Spot on. Just saw the game is on demand now and am watching it. I'll just bite my tongue and agree with just about everything you have said, especially regarding the coaching and inability to make in-game adjustments.

I'll need to watch the replay later, but my gut reaction with the exception of maybe one or at most two goals, Nate got hung out to dry by the defense and stood on his head a the end of the game to cover up other defensive blunders.

Looking at it now. Field is clear, but with that cold, hard as heck sheen to it.

There is more parity than ever, and while an elite FOGO and goalie can tilt the field; coaching, scheme, and conditioning/player effort is so important.

That was a mistake - Drexel was not ranked. Their only game was against High Point which looked like an OK loss, but High Point got throttled by Cornell worse than we did.

The reason I would say it was a bit of a gift is that despite competing against a solid FOGO we still got killed on ground balls, especially one's around our goal. If you go back and watch the replay, there were 4-5 transition opportunities late in the game where the defense failed to hustle back into the hole where Drexel had very high percentage scoring opportunities and didn't cash in on any of them.

I thought it was a pretty well played game live, but after I watched the replay today I definitely felt we got away with one. Down the stretch Drexel had 4-5 opportunities where the defense was not hustling to get back and they had very makable transition opportunities. On one of them Kozar made a nice play and got his stick in the way and disrupted one, Siekerisi while he didn't have a great day stole one, and the other they just flat threw the ball away. I was very happy to see the influx of defensive middies. That will pay dividends in the future. I was happy to see the coaches realize that Yunker needs to be starting. I think the defense will improve as the bigger defensive middies get their feet wet and mesh with the four long poles. The overall hustle on defense needs to improve and someone needs to start owning the crease. Too much happy stick checks and not enough body. I like working in some of the freshmen. That will be valuable down the road, but a little too much of that when their are experience guys who can play and deserve the benefit of the doubt.

I believe it was Fingar who had the rough day. I want to say he got beat at least three times, and Schwab was probably once. The defense got a lot of gifts. The goals against don't reflect the quality of the team defense. Siekerski didn't have a great game, but he stole a few when we had total breakdowns. Drexel at least 4-5 transition opportunities. Very happy for the boys to get the win, but Drexel handed that one to us with a bow on it.

Rarely disagree with your takes, but have to on this one. IMO Kozar is probably our most solid man on defender. Both of the freshmen had so so days at best, and once again one of the other starters refuses to ever body up. I have high hopes both Pepe and Piseno, but after what I have seen with real bullets flying, both are getting way, way too much time on the field. Filipowski and Barrow have earned the advantage over both of them \.

Our seats are right behind our bench and when it looked like Yunker was gong to lose the ball Marr ran out and called a timeout about a second or two before he was able to get the shot off.

It was a pretty decent day weather wise. Late in the game the sun did seem to cause a few turnovers, especially when Drexel had a couple of clean breaks and I think one of our late turnover was due to the sun.

Adam is a guy who probably never got the recognition he should have gotten and was just a solid player. In the rain when UNC was about to complete the comeback he basically said I am going to score and stemmed the tide near the end of the game.

You nailed it with the FOGO roulette. You would think after the fall and spring that they would be willing to stick with at least one guy for a bit., Then they don't use the only long pole who actually won face off's last year. There was a whole lot of head shaking going on after the game, and this one rests right on the shoulders of the coaching staff. None of us are at practice, but the lack of development at FOGO and in the midfield is particularly upsetting.

I am going to cut Tehoka a little bit of slack. In the past he tried to do too much and today he probably should have pressed it more. It all started by letting Patterson play after little to no practice since last season. That disrupts just about all of the chemistry and all of a sudden puts guys in different roles. The offense could have scored 3-4 in the first few minutes but it was a mix of very poor shot placement and some good saves by Irelan. It was like a football game when the team squanders a few early scoring opportunities, and you know it is going to bite you in the butt. Hogg, will cut him some slack, took a lot of poor shots early, and in time he will be a very good player. The face-off wings and FOGO's were terrible except for the play when Barrow caused the turnover and scored. You can't necessarily blame the guys because every FOGO, unless he is winning it clean, does something a little different. The team defense was putrid with middies getting beat and one defender in particular who was just waving his stick at people and refused to use his body. This will probably be my last post, because there is so much more I want to say, but it isn't appropriate to do so. There is still a ton of talent, and I assumed there would be some early bumps in the road, and if they hold it together then come AE time, the team could be in a good place. I am just fed up with the coaching, accountability, and player development.

Hard to type with frozen fingers, but I am making an early call that will anger many, but it is time for a wholesale coaching change. So much I wish I could say, but have to bite my tongue. Regardless of the outcome, this program will never reach its potential.

I think the offense will be fine today, but got a whiff of the overall depth chart and some odd if not interesting decisions if they are correct. We'll see if Patterson is really good to go and how he meshes not having played in either of the scrimmages. I'm more concerned with the defense and will be interesting to see how patient they are.

I think just wishful thinking at this point. No idea what the policy is or if there is one, but Sunday looks quite a bit better.

That's a great call, and with it just being a short bus ride I'm with you on a possible delay to Sunday.

No real prognostication from me, but based upon how the team competed against West Point in the fall, and their start this season, I think the Danes have a ton of upside. I'm confident we will be able to score on Saturday, but again my key is going to be off ball defense with the guys not on Teat keeping their heads on a swivel , and not letting Teat carve the defense up on the inside.

I'm not sure who you put on Teat, but whoever it is they stay in his gloves and make him play with a hand off of his stick. They could try to shut him off with someone like Bradley or Schwab which was a common tactic against him last year. He is such a deadly passer, that the pole on the backside better not be cheating to help or the back pipe will be open all day.

That's a great question, and if I am a betting man while he will be listed as attack, I bet Jakob plays more up top. I think the main reason you put him at attack is that he is always on the field, and if he plays that 4th attack spot coming on the field he could get caught up in transition and might have to wind up playing some defense on who knows how good of a knee.

For the first time in a number of years the team starts the season at home against an opponent who doesn't have a game under their belt. Hard to extrapolate too much from the scrimmages, but the offense appears to be much more in sync. We'll see how quickly Patterson assimilates into the offense, and who winds up being the primary ball carrier. Either way will be tough to cover the 3-4 guys who see the bulk of the playing time at attack. Cornell was weak at face off last year so we should be in that 50/50 range. Team defense will be the key in my opinion. I think it is going to be a very high scoring game, and wouldn't be surprised if the combined score is in the mid thirties if the cold weather doesn't impact things too much.

I wish I had that kind of pull with the coaches! When you are winning the little issues can get swept under the rug, and it has been good to hear that while it still fun, things have tightened up a bit. The most obvious change has been Tehoka. Not that he was a problem but he just seems like a different guy, and has a chip on his shoulder. I think in the past guys who were doing it really right were not necessarily rewarded, and certain players were not held accountable and that showed last year. If doesn’t hurt to have a very solid freshmen class and more in the pipeline to keep guys on their toes. I think not having the third scrimmage was also a good thing. It is allowing them to heal up and really work on fundamentals. I understand the practices have been very demanding.