>> Regardless, it *was* embarrassing. On paper, this series should have been a
pair of blow out wins for UNO.  <<
 
Why, because UNO is D-I and RIT is D-III?  I'm not so sure what kind of paper
that should have been written on, but its been a long time since RIT has been
a push over for all but the best of Division I teams. Maybe the expectation in
Omaha was D-III opponent=win, but its dangerous to take the kind of attitude
against any opponent.  Whether we Division I "elitists" like to admit it or
not (and there are some that refer to us Division I fans as that when we thumb
our noses at D-III), there are teams that can compete quite well with D-I
teams. There isn't quite the dichotomy between the two divisions in hockey
that there is in other sports.   It appears that RIT proved that this weekend.
 
My personal feeling is that  RIT is ripe for a move up to Division I.  Chris
Lerch and I have debated this point before (remember Chris?).  RIT really has
done everything it can at the D-III level, including winning national
championships.  I didn't see either of the UNO games, but I did see RIT last
week against Buffalo State.  Buff State is hardly a D-III power house, but it
was obvious that they didn't belong on the same ice.  The Tigers controlled
the play in that game from the opening face-off through the final buzzer, and
fired 70 shots on goal to Buff State's 12.  From what I gather, Thursday's
game was not an isolated case.  Already this season RIT has scored ten or more
goals four times, and a quick look at their season results show they've
dominated nearly all of their opponents.  RIT has speed, size and skill that
some D-I teams I've seen wish they had.  They're also one of the more physical
teams I've seen in a while. (As an "elitist" D-I fan, can you tell I was
impressed?)
 
As for Garver, Chris is right.  Garver *was* the big fish in the big pond at
RPI, though the Engineers didn't have quite the season they expected last
year.  Garver had 18 goals and 22 points in 35 games last year, better than a
point a game.  His decision to transfer for his senior year raised quite a few
eyebrows, but I'm sure the Tigers were happy to welcome him.  Garver is a key
ingredient for RIT, along with Staerker and Morris, and if last season's
statistics and what I've seen in one game so far this season are any
indication, the Tigers DO have more than one line.  They had ten players with
20 or more points last year, and most of them returned for 98/99.  That has to
say SOMEthing.
 
That said, I'd bet UNO learned quite a lot from this weekend.
 
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