First full weekend 2019

[Dr. Tact]

Games I will be following:

VT/Colorado
Lehigh/PSU
Hop/Loyola
Cuse/BC

Think all four of those games will show the state of some ranked teams..

[DMac]

Cuse 7-5 at the half, Dr, so far they're looking like a contender.

Cuse is hanging, down 11-8 with 13 to go but BC looks every bit as good as advertised.
As good as Appuzzo (sp) is, Daly (sp) is the difference in this one...gal is on a crazy roll, made several terrific saves.
11-9...BC ball.
Cuse gets another one by the wall...after another incredible save by her...11-10.
Wow, 14th goal pretty much puts the final nail in the coffin.
Draws and incredible GK play by BC plays big in this on for BC but it seems to me as if is there's still much to like for Cuse faithful. Some freshman got some mighty good experience today.
14-12, final.

[Francophile]

Cuse still is horrible on draw controls. The problem isn't so much the player taking the draws, but the wings look like they are running in concrete shoes. Gait - get your 2 fastest players and put them out there on the wings!

[Badlands]

Thoughts on Cuse/BC:

1. Both goalies were excellent, with the slight advantage to Daly. Goldstock let in more than she would probably like but most of them were from point blank range. Really like how Cuse uses her in the clearing game.

2. Apuzzo owned the draw circle, and her teammates on the circle are also really good. Looks like Cuse might continue to struggle in that area.

3. Don't bother faceguarding Kent. She's way too quick and her stick is way too good. She can get open whenever she wants and BC knew that because they didn't ignore her like some teams do when their player is faceguarded. They knew she could get open whenever she wanted and they made a point of getting her the ball.

4. Kent was much more of a distributor in this game than a scorer (only two assists in the book but let's give her a few hockey assists because that's her game too). Her vision and passing are off the charts. BC's top scorers have a knack for slipping int space in front of the goal and putting away quick stick shots. That was most of their offense today. Cuse just couldn't stop it so BC stayed with it. Obviously Cuse's D will have to do better, but I expect BC will victimize plenty of teams in the same fashion.

5. I agree with one of the TV analysts that Cuse looked best on offensive when they were trying to play quickly. When they slowed down into settled offense, they stagnated. Still early, but they have lots of work to do on the offensive end.

[Badlands]

VT's defensive was dreadful. Lots of individual errors, but also collective team confusion and breakdowns. Tons of work to do on that end.

[Dr. Tact]

Games I will be following:

VT/Colorado
Lehigh/PSU
Hop/Loyola
Cuse/BC

Think all four of those games will show the state of some ranked teams..

Well, I didn't see Loyola losing to Hop....2 years in a row....I still think the Hounds will make some noise...we will see after the FLA game.

Also, didnt think the Hokies would get plastered by Colorado...

Cuse made everyone else pucker up a little with that quality loss.

[shootingspace]

Navy was down 4 with 5 minutes left and pulled off the crazy come from behind over St. Joes. They got every draw in the sequence and stole one today.

[AllRob]

Northwestern downs Duke 21-20 with a goal at 0:25 of the second period. Lasota did not play. Wildcats have scored 21 goals in their first 3 games to go 3-0.

[seacoaster]

NU gave up 20 goals? Wow.

[Badlands]

Defense sold separately.

[wlaxnut]

On this 3rd Sunday of the young 2019 season we have some compelling matchups--none bigger than UNC at Maryland. I think Maryland will avenge last years OT loss and take the win by at least 2-3 goals. It should be a fight, however. These two titans of the sport have excellent coaching and winning systems to go along with their talented rosters. I wouldn't be surprised to see either of them hoisting the trophy at the end of May, even though BC is thought by some to be the favorite. This one is televised if you have BTN Network.

Northwestern at Syracuse is another interesting matchup. I always enjoy watching Syracuse games at the dome because the broadcasts are so well done. The camerawork, especially. Would that other teams would enlist/hire better trained people to man the camera's. I don't know if Lasota will still be missing due to a lower body injury but this should be a good game either way. This is on the ACC Network streaming on Watch ESPN, which is great because one can watch the replay.

Stony Brook at Denver might be interesting if the Pioneers can give the Seawolves a battle or even (gasp) pull the upset. If SB plays anywhere near the fearless aggressive way they played the Buffs on Friday--this one will be well in hand halfway through the 1st half. Streaming on the Pioneers All Access website.

Finally, I'm interested to see what happens when a hot, starting-to-believe Michigan team (6 straight wins dating to last season) visits the Buffaloes in Colorado. The Buffs are tending to their wounds after being dominated by Stony Brook. I wouldn't be surprised to see them take out their humiliation on the Wolverines, but it will serve notice that Michigan is serious about sticking around for the postseason(s) if they pull off the upset. Streaming on Pac-12 Plus

[Dr. Tact]

Defense sold separately.

Priceless

[Dr. Tact]

-none bigger than UNC at Maryland.

Northwestern at Syracuse is another interesting matchup. .

Stony Brook at Denver .

Finally, I'm interested to see what happens when a hot, starting-to-believe Michigan team (6 straight wins dating to last season) visits the Buffaloes in Colorado.

I'll take a guess at these...

I like UNC by 1
Rooting for NW, but think it will be SU at home
SBU dominates Denver....DU ranking is inflated IMO
Michigan has 4 wins, but only one is quality....Love the coaching staff....they are a positive....However, I think Colorado bounces back with the win.

[youthathletics]

UNC climbing back from being down. Tied now at 11’s...15 minutes remaining.

[Dr. Tact]

-none bigger than UNC at Maryland.

Northwestern at Syracuse is another interesting matchup. .

Stony Brook at Denver .

Finally, I'm interested to see what happens when a hot, starting-to-believe Michigan team (6 straight wins dating to last season) visits the Buffaloes in Colorado.

I'll take a guess at these...

I like UNC by 1
Rooting for NW, but think it will be SU at home
SBU dominates Denver....DU ranking is inflated IMO
Michigan has 4 wins, but only one is quality....Love the coaching staff....they are a positive....However, I think Colorado bounces back with the win.

Boy I suck on picking...Got SU right. Thought I had UNC as well. But who would have called DU beating SBU? I think I was wrong with my overrated comment. Sorry Denver, Go Pioneers!!!!

PS. Caroline Steele OMG....grit and determination....Hope the knee is good

PPS. And I turn on the Colorado UM game and Michigan is beating Colorado 7-3 in the first half ...I really suck at picking....

[seacoaster]

Great game at the Dome. Gutsy comeback by NU; great win by Cuse. Some really good goaltending on both sides.

What happened to Maryland in the second half?

[Dr. Tact]

Great game at the Dome. Gutsy comeback by NU; great win by Cuse. Some really good goaltending on both sides.

What happened to Maryland in the second half?

I think it was a bit of cruise control (coming of the gas pedal) and lack of draw wins....Well played game....I would have not taken the overtime FPS with a 3 man advantage, but, it all worked out for MD in the end.

[Francophile]

Draw controls will be the death of this Syracuse team. NW 21 SU 10. Wing players are just too slow to play at an elite level.

[seacoaster]

Yes, it is a concern for Syracuse. They held their own the first half today. These last two games (BC and NU) were against tough and elite draw units. So we'll see. My concern was with the defense, which has done a creditable job so far.