At 11:58 AM -0500 11/9/96, Mark Lewin wrote:
>  You all must be shocked after losing to RPI Friday night. As a veteran
> of RPI glory days (1984-85), allow me to offer some perspective. No-one
> outside the ECAC had much respect for UVM last year.
 
That is not true at all.  I don't know about folks from the West, but
people around Hockey East absolutely knew what Vermont was capable of and
considered them one of the better teams in the country.
 
> UVM will have
> no problem against the lower, skills challenged (ain't political
> correctness great?) teams because they're so good.
 
If this is true (and I don't think it is), where does that leave them after
games this past weekend with RPI and Union?  Neither RPI nor Union is among
the most skilled or talented teams in the ECAC, yet they both apparently
gave Vermont a lot of trouble.  That will happen sometimes when a hustling,
hard-working, determined team meets up with an opponent that is better on
paper (and maybe even in actuality).
 
> Its the middle teams UVM needs to look out for. As RPI found in 84-85,
> the middle teams are close enough in the skills department to upset
> anyone whose not at their best.
 
If I were a Vermont fan, I would wince at even the slightest comparison to
1985 RPI...they have a ways to go to prove that.  Vermont is good, but I
expect they will lose a handful of games to teams they aren't expected to
lose to, as BU has done the last few years.  But in 1985, RPI didn't lose
those games - even their two losses, both early in the season, were against
very good North Dakota and St Lawrence teams.  Vermont could do it, but as
Maine in 1993 could also tell you, it is very hard to do.
 
>Now the players will stop reading the polls and start playing hockey which
>they do so well.
 
These things happen...just because Vermont was upset by RPI, or Michigan
State was upset by Northeastern, doesn't mean their players were sitting
around reading the polls.  I doubt Vermont was doing that when they were
ranked #2 and beating UNH, BU, Miami, and LSSU - a very impressive start
indeed.  They don't need to start playing hockey; they started playing
hockey back on Oct. 19th. :-)  One loss or even two tough games against
decent opponents doesn't take away from what they have done so far.  I'd
say the outcome of those games says more about RPI and Union than it does
about Vermont.
 
---                                                                   ---
Mike Machnik                [log in to unmask]               *HMM* 11/13/93
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