Mike Machnik wrote:
> A recurring theme is "Vermont has two of the best offensive players in
> the country, but their defense hurt them."  Then I look at the
> standings from last year, and despite finishing 5th in the ECAC,
> Vermont's GAA was the lowest in the league.  Sure, Thomas is good, but
> no team finishes with the lowest GAA without their D having at least a
> decent season.
>
 
> The interesting thing is that in many of the key games Vermont didn't
> win, they had trouble scoring goals: only 1 in their two q-final
> losses to Colgate, for instance.  Down the stretch - last 15 games -
> Vermont allowed more than 3 goals only 3 times.
 
Vermont's defense in the second quarterfinal game vs. Colgate was
the best I have seen in a college game.  It was almost as if
the Catamounts were playing for a 0-0 tie (which, under the
ECAC's wacky format, would have won the series).  Every single
player on that team concentrated on preventing shots on Thomas,
stifling nearly every Colgate rush.
 
However, Vermont made NO attempts to create scoring chances. Perrin and
St. Louis are both capable defensive players, but they are much more
valuable as purely offensive threats.  As the 0-0 tie wore on into
the third period, the Colgate defense realized that offensive support
was necessary, especially since goalie Dan Brenzavitch could clearly
control the Catamounts' weak attack with minimal support.  Two quick
goals were scored by Colgate, and they only had to contain Vermont's
continued yet tired rushs for about 10 minutes to pick up the
shutout victory.
 
So, when they chose to, Vermont can play extremely defensive hockey;
you definitely don't want to give them a 2-goal lead in the first period.
However, when they have to score goals their defense suffers a great
deal, becoming a few bodies in front of Thomas.  Thus, I think their
success this year depends a great deal on Thomas--if he's anything
like what we saw last year, Vermont will do *very* well.  If he has
an off year, or if he starts slowly, the better-rounded teams of the
ECAC (esp. those with strong team defense) will have success against
the Catamounts.
 
Just 5 more weeks...ahhhhhh! :-)
 
----------
James Clippinger, Colgate '96
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