ISL

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Laxxal22
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Re: ISL

Post by Laxxal22 »

Floyd wrote: Tue May 17, 2022 12:34 pm I thought I'd heard BH was hosting semis regardless of who makes it, but that may not be the case. Apparently there's a clause in the playoff rules stating any school hosting an alumni weekend event on that day is entitled to a home game, should they be playing. As it turns out the school whose team is coached by the architect of the playoffs scheduled their alumni day for 5/20. Subplots abound!
Some next level deviousness there.

Does anyone know if these are locked brackets? For instance, is the winner of Belmont Hill-Govs definitely playing the winner of Seb's-LA? Or is it like NFL where highest remaining seed plays lowest remaining, so Belmont Hill could end up playing Thayer in the semis if they both win tomorrow?
Floyd
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Re: ISL

Post by Floyd »

Pretty sure any school hosting a game on alumni day plays lowest available seed. ;)
eumanne
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Re: ISL

Post by eumanne »

Subplots aside. Looks to be a good field with good initial matchups. Let’s go. Maybe an opportunity for revenge for some of these teams.
TBA70
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Re: ISL

Post by TBA70 »

Floyd wrote: Tue May 17, 2022 4:19 pm Pretty sure any school hosting a game on alumni day plays lowest available seed. ;)

What team has an alumni game?
Laxxal22
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Re: ISL

Post by Laxxal22 »

TBA70 wrote: Tue May 17, 2022 5:44 pm
Floyd wrote: Tue May 17, 2022 4:19 pm Pretty sure any school hosting a game on alumni day plays lowest available seed. ;)
What team has an alumni game?
Seb's has reunion on Saturday and Coach White was the architect of the playoffs, so I'm guessing that's where the teasing is coming from.

As for the games...

Govs @ BH: Govs didn't have the season I expected. I didn't realize how young they are and they've had some injuries. BH has great balance and athleticism. With their goalie looking likely to emerge as All ISL from a very talented pack of keepers, and the freshman face-off specialist proving more than adequate, BH are the strong favorite to win it all. On the other hand Govs probably didn't think they were in this half of the tournament 24 hours ago. Sometimes an injection of house money like this can infuse a team with energy that makes them tough to beat.

Thayer @ Tabor: Thayer is a very young team that has juggled the line up a lot due to injuries. That may build depth and character for a potential title run next year but it's a tough combo to overcome this season. Tabor's starting attack is averaging about 14.5 points per game in ISL play, and they have one of the top goalies in the league. I'd love to see how a full strength Thayer could do here, but since that doesn't look to be in the cards then I think it's got to be Tabor.

St. George's @ Nobles: This got played a week ago with St. G's staying close for awhile but ultimately losing by seven. It's a tough match up for the Dragons as the strengths of the two teams are really similar, but Nobles looks to have the edge at pretty much every position imo. The talent gap is close enough that hot day by the goalie and another player or two could swing it for St. G's, but I'm going with the Bulldogs.

Lawrence @ Seb's: It seems like no team has tinkered with the line up quite as much as Seb's, yet I'm still not sure we have (or will) seen them play their best. Their young attack struggled early against strong non league and league opponents, and then got going in the back half of the schedule against weaker opponents. With about 12 weeks of jelling and improving from tryouts until now, will they be able to produce when they start going up against strong defenses again? Lawrence's face-off specialist can make things interesting, and the 1-2 punch they deploy at attack is devastating. But they simply haven't had the depth of athletes in the midfield to keep up with top ISL teams and I don't think they do here either.

I'm going chalk across the board. If I had to pick an upset I'd say Thayer over Tabor just because I like the ceiling talent of some of their younger players and I said before the season that Foley was capable of stealing a game for the Tigers in net.
Laxxal22
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Re: ISL

Post by Laxxal22 »

Anybody willing to call any upsets?

Belmont Hill and St. Seb's will be streaming their games. I'll keep an eye out for Tabor and Nobles.

https://www.belmonthill.org/athletics/livestream

https://www.stsebs.org/athletics/lax-live-stream
Laxboy78
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Re: ISL

Post by Laxboy78 »

I will go with Govs!
Laxxal22
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Re: ISL

Post by Laxxal22 »

Laxxal22 wrote: Tue May 17, 2022 7:10 pm ...BH are the strong favorite to win it all. On the other hand Govs probably didn't think they were in this half of the tournament 24 hours ago. Sometimes an injection of house money like this can infuse a team with energy that makes them tough to beat.
and
Laxxal22 wrote: Tue May 17, 2022 7:10 pm If I had to pick an upset I'd say Thayer over Tabor just because I like the ceiling talent of some of their younger players and I said before the season that Foley was capable of stealing a game for the Tigers in net.
I didn't call the upsets, but I had feelings. Certainly did not expect two upsets today. Feels like any of the remaining four teams could take it.
Laxxal22
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Re: ISL

Post by Laxxal22 »

I watched a replay of Belmont Hill-Govs. I’m still stunned BH lost as it was the kind of game I’ve seen them win a dozen times in the past 6-7 years. Full of adrenaline, the other team races out to lead. But they make their break to early/don’t build enough of a gap, and around halfway through the second quarter BH starts chipping away. They tie it up around the end of the third quarter and then nurse a 1-2 goal lead through the fourth for the victory.

All of those things happened yesterday, but when BH built a two-goal lead, Govs stung three in a row. BH tied it with 40 seconds left, and inevitability really started to set in. But no, Govs scored off of a rebound with seven seconds left. Even when you know it's going to happen it's still kind of surreal.

Goguen and Figler were great for BH as they were all season. I doubt either gets it, but their names should be mentioned in the discussion for the leagues three All America spots.

For Govs, Umansky was dominant. Olenik and Baroni were everywhere with their longsticks. McDonald scored five goals from the midfield and brought a “we’re not afraid of you” attitude.

Govs at Seb’s tomorrow at 5. Idk if Thayer-Nobles is moving to Friday as well or staying Saturday.
Laxboy78
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Re: ISL

Post by Laxboy78 »

When is the final? Brutally hot Saturday and Sunday.

How did Thayer manage to hold that lights out Tabor attack to 6?
Laxxal22
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Re: ISL

Post by Laxxal22 »

Finals for both brackets are Sunday afternoon. The semi-final games were moved from Saturday afternoon to Friday evening. I'm guessing those are efforts to beat the heat.
Laxxal22
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Re: ISL

Post by Laxxal22 »

The first final four is here. Games moved up from tomorrow so that people don’t melt.

Govs @ Seb’s: A rematch from a very close game earlier in the year where Seb’s hit the game-winner with four seconds left. They’re pretty similar structurally imo; very strong at faceoff, a couple of pretty dominant defenders, young at attack, leading scorer is a big and physical middie. They’re also pretty similar narratively, both struggling more than expected early before finding their stride in the second half of the season. Umansky nullifies the faceoff advantage that Rideout gives Seb’s in most games, and I wonder how well Govs channels the surge of energy just 48 hours after that big upset of Belmont Hill. Will they be full on team of destiny mode or are they already spent?

Thayer @ Nobles: These two did not face each other in the regular season. I was high on Thayer preseason based on the coach and talent in the junior class and below. But they lost some key guys to injury for most of the season, so it’s pretty impressive to see them get in and get a win. Nobles was always going to have a strong offense, now that they’ve developed a stingy defense almost seems unfair. Henehan will have to be dominant at the faceoff x, and Foley will have to have another 20+ save performance for Thayer to have a shot. Even if they do, Nobles top four scorers might be too potent.
Laxboy78
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Re: ISL

Post by Laxboy78 »

Who you picking for tomorrow ?
Laxxal22
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Re: ISL

Post by Laxxal22 »

Laxboy78 wrote: Sat May 21, 2022 8:40 pm Who you picking for tomorrow ?
It's tough to say as there are competing "team of destiny" narratives going on. Govs as the team that was mathematically eliminated but now has surged to the final due to another's team's mishap and some great play. Nobles as the team with their best player dealing with cancer treatments throughout the fall and winter and now playing well and galvanizing his team to a great spring.

I'd say it's going to be tough for Nobles to win when Umansky will controls 90% or more of the face-offs, but that was the case earlier in the season and Nobles won by four goals. I believe Govs has gone with a late season goalie switch and he's been fantastic in the playoffs. I made it to the Seb's-Govs game (fantastically entertaining) and he had several insane stops. I don't feel confident picking winner, but it should be a great game.

I haven't seen any indication that the game will be streamed.
Can Opener
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Re: ISL

Post by Can Opener »

Laxxal22 wrote: Mon May 23, 2022 1:52 pm
Laxboy78 wrote: Sat May 21, 2022 8:40 pm Who you picking for tomorrow ?
It's tough to say as there are competing "team of destiny" narratives going on. Govs as the team that was mathematically eliminated but now has surged to the final due to another's team's mishap and some great play. Nobles as the team with their best player dealing with cancer treatments throughout the fall and winter and now playing well and galvanizing his team to a great spring.

I'd say it's going to be tough for Nobles to win when Umansky will controls 90% or more of the face-offs, but that was the case earlier in the season and Nobles won by four goals. I believe Govs has gone with a late season goalie switch and he's been fantastic in the playoffs. I made it to the Seb's-Govs game (fantastically entertaining) and he had several insane stops. I don't feel confident picking winner, but it should be a great game.

I haven't seen any indication that the game will be streamed.
Typically, Nobles does not offer a livestream. It's unfortunate that the ISL didn't follow the original plan and have the championship game at Belmont Hill. Their livestream is one of the best in New England with a play-by-play guy who takes the time to learn rosters and background stats/commitments.

This is such an intriguing matchup. Nobles is just so stacked with offensive firepower and a top quality goalie. The defense has gelled more than most expected and the team is very well coached. Yes, Gov's will win 80%+ of FOs, but they will also need a few bounces to go their way. The Nobles girls team will be playing an away game at the same time, which will somewhat dilute the home field crowd. If I were forced to bet $10, I would probably say Nobles by two goals, but would not be surprised in the least to see it go the other way. How's that for hedging and waffling?!?!
Laxxal22
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Re: ISL

Post by Laxxal22 »

Laxxal22
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Re: ISL

Post by Laxxal22 »

Congrats to Nobles. That livestream was a nice last second effort by a school that typically doesn't stream games, but it wasn't very watchable. Was anybody there to add some color on the atmosphere?

Year 1 of playoffs didn't exactly go off without any hiccups, but what did everybody think? There was drama (BH going down round 1). Great atmosphere (at least at Govs-Seb's). And a few fantastic games. Obviously they take lessons from this season and adjust, but I hope they give this format a few more years. The season felt very short, but more interesting than when one or two teams pretty much have it clinched with three games to go.
eumanne
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Re: ISL

Post by eumanne »

Laxxal22 wrote: Tue May 24, 2022 10:47 am Congrats to Nobles. That livestream was a nice last second effort by a school that typically doesn't stream games, but it wasn't very watchable. Was anybody there to add some color on the atmosphere?

Year 1 of playoffs didn't exactly go off without any hiccups, but what did everybody think? There was drama (BH going down round 1). Great atmosphere (at least at Govs-Seb's). And a few fantastic games. Obviously they take lessons from this season and adjust, but I hope they give this format a few more years. The season felt very short, but more interesting than when one or two teams pretty much have it clinched with three games to go.
I thought the playoffs were a fantastic add. Great story lines, drama and great atmospheres. I went to the championship game yesterday. A security guard who has worked at Nobles for many years mentioned that he never seen more people at any single athletic event
In recent history. Both Nobles / Govs folks were for the most part well behaved and the atmosphere was energetic and exciting. Even though, the score looked lopsided it was actually close through the middle of the third. Even still, when Nobles started to pull away there was cheering from both sides. The celebration at the end was also fun to watch. Both teams acknowledged each other’s success and Nobles celebration was really classy. Governors appeared to be looking forward to next year. So all in all, I believe this year and format was a great success in my humble opinion. I would like to see more parity in the scheduling, but that will relieve it self (hopefully) after a few years.
Laxxal22
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Re: ISL

Post by Laxxal22 »

I'll definitely be rooting for Union in the DIII final Sunday. I remember thinking over the past few years that they were getting really good players from the ISL. A tiny bit of research leads me to believe that they have most rostered ISL players (nine) of any team in the country (Middlebury, Tufts, Bowdoin all with eight - Colorado College will have nine next season). Here's how they've contributed this season:

Peter Burnes - Attack (Rivers 2018) - 20 games played, 59G, 25A - Liberty League OPOY
Dan Donahue - Goalie (Nobles 2020) - 19 games played, .574 Save% - 2nd team All-League
Peter Kip - Middie (Thayer 2020) - 20 games played, 16G, 4A
Justin Greene - Attack (Milton 2020) - 20 games played, 8G & 7A
Michael Shaw - Attack (Tabor 2020) - 8 games played, 5G
Seamus Foley - Lsm (St. Seb’s 2021) - 9 games played, 4 GBs, 1 CT
Liam Alley - Lsm (Middlesex 2021) - 2 games plates, 2 GBs, 1 CT
Ethan Lung - Lsm (Nobles 2021) - 2 games played
Scott Witkos - Middie (Tabor 2021) - 1 game played
Laxxal22
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Re: ISL

Post by Laxxal22 »

Congrats to Cornell's John Piatelli (Seb's 2017) on tying the Cornell single season record for goals. He has the chance to set the mark in the title game on Monday. Though more common than before it's still a bit rare to see MA born and bred attackmen lighting it up for upper echelon D1. Piatelli doing it for a blue blood in their best season in a decade is impressive.

He definitely has a bit of a throwback style, with a commitment to fundamentals that would bring a smile to the face of the saltiest of old school coaches. It makes sense as he's watched/helped his dad coach hundreds, probably thousands, of clinics and practices. His highlight tape would be a bit boring, but very long.
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