Johns Hopkins 2023

[primitiveskills]

They waited too late to get Narewski in the game.
Didn't like the officiating one bit.
When you're a defenseman with the ball and you're in big trouble throw the ball up the field and let your attack fight for the ball.

Too often the Blue Jays didn’t help their teammate in trouble. How can there be three Penn State players surrounding Szuluk and no Hopkins player nearby to help?

The coaches blew the game in the 2nd quarter. Either Narewski can play or he can’t. PM’s response to the question of what they’re going to do about FOs in the second half … “We’re going to try Matt, Matt Narewski” … almost made me want to throw my phone at the screen.

Ya think, coach?

Blue Jays never quit … have to credit the players for that. But holding back on a change in FOs when you’re losing the FO battle 11-2??? That is truly bad game management. If something isn’t working, make some adjustments.

DocBarrister

I mean, I know it sucks to lose that one, but “bad game management”? Our wings were getting trounced; its not like Dunn and Callahan were getting beat clean (Especially Dunn). Narewski lost like, what, his first 5? When PSU’s wore down, we started winning them. We lost because we got complacent after going up early and ticked away what few possessions we did get in the second and third quarters. And despite that (and quite a few mental errors), we win that game if Fracyon doesn’t get hot at the end. On to OSU.

They should have brought in Narewski earlier. Doesn’t mean they had to keep trotting him out there … just break the FO losing streak and change things up. Dunn was losing too many FOs cleanly.

Anyway, it’s not on one guy … coaches need to fix FOs if they want to go anywhere this season.

DocBarrister

I’m not sure there’s anything to be fixed. Our FO game is based on depth and great wing play. Its one of the reasons we’ve been dominating late game situations. We don’t have one dominant guy at the dot. Difference today was PSU’s wing play. Stuff happens.

[RumorMill]

They waited too late to get Narewski in the game.
Didn't like the officiating one bit.
When you're a defenseman with the ball and you're in big trouble throw the ball up the field and let your attack fight for the ball.

Nah. Every defenseman is taught to roll-back and look back to the keeper or cross-field in that situation. His mistake was not seeing an open stick before throwing it.

yeah, but on replay it looked like he threw it before he looked backwards.

Yup, bad decision. Need to know where you’re “passing” too… eat it, run it out, anything but that, ugh. But Hop16s comment should have been, whole team gets to walk home. 2OT game is on the offense and coaches, especially when they had possession in regulation, first ot and 2nd ot. Your golden boy 18 got smoked for 2 goals early. Not a dig on him, fantastic player, especially with the ball in his stick… Big 10, Ivy League, ACC, all of them shaping up to be fun!

[HopFan16]

They should have brought in Narewski earlier. Doesn’t mean they had to keep trotting him out there … just break the FO losing streak and change things up. Dunn was losing too many FOs cleanly.

Game this scenario out. If they sent Narewski out there earlier and he was faring better, but then they took him out, you would lose your mind and be screaming about why they didn't keep him in.

Should have just marched him out once or twice earlier in the game before the FO battle became a rout.

Ok, when? We were up 5-0, remember? The instant Dunn lost a faceoff which led to Penn State's first goal halfway through the second quarter, they turned to Callahan. They only gave him two draws before they went back to Dunn, then they went to Narewski toward the end of the first half with the game tied (much earlier than we typically see him) and he lost his first one. He also lost his next three to start the second half. So he started 0-4. The entire unit was playing poorly. Who is to say he wouldn't have been 0-4 if they inserted him a bit earlier? And then what if they had to go back to Dunn in the 4th because Narewski's knees, which at this point are made of jellow, are acting up and he's already taken 15 draws when crunch time rolls around?

[primitiveskills]

A few positives:

- something seemed to have clicked for Grimes. Much more assertive than we’ve seen him. I loved the fact he was demanding the ball at the end (and making plays). He also looks much better operating from GLE and behind than up top.

- Carson Brown is quietly turning into one of our best defenders. He completely shut down M. Traynor after they made the switch. And the few times he ended up on Malone (hell of a player, BTW), he neutralized him. His length and footwork really causes problems, and his approach work is outstanding. Excited to see him for 3.5 more years.

-is there anyone who competes as hard as Tim Marcille? Would love to see him run it back for one more year.

Edited to add: Jackson Raposo. I’ll admit to raising an eyebrow when he switched to SSDM (scarred by the tired “small SSDM” narrative as I am), but he’s played very well on the defensive end and is as reliable a clearing option as we’ve had in awhile.

[flalax22]

The coaches blew the game in the 2nd quarter. Either Narewski can play or he can’t. PM’s response to the question of what they’re going to do about FOs in the second half … “We’re going to try Matt, Matt Narewski” … almost made me want to throw my phone at the screen.

He's on a pitch count. He can't take every draw.

This. It’s not as simple as Narewski go take the draw. They have to be strategic and load manage

[DocBarrister]

They should have brought in Narewski earlier. Doesn’t mean they had to keep trotting him out there … just break the FO losing streak and change things up. Dunn was losing too many FOs cleanly.

Game this scenario out. If they sent Narewski out there earlier and he was faring better, but then they took him out, you would lose your mind and be screaming about why they didn't keep him in.

Should have just marched him out once or twice earlier in the game before the FO battle became a rout.

Ok, when? We were up 5-0, remember? The instant Dunn lost a faceoff which led to Penn State's first goal halfway through the second quarter, they turned to Callahan. They only gave him two draws before they went back to Dunn, then they went to Narewski toward the end of the first half with the game tied (much earlier than we typically see him) and he lost his first one. He also lost his next three to start the second half. So he started 0-4. The entire unit was playing poorly. Who is to say he wouldn't have been 0-4 if they inserted him a bit earlier? And then what if they had to go back to Dunn in the 4th because Narewski's knees, which at this point are made of jellow, are acting up and he's already taken 15 draws when crunch time rolls around?

Narewski took 15 draws. Wouldn’t have hurt to have thrown him in earlier when Penn State went on a big run.

Blue Jays have gone on some impressive scoring runs this season. The flip side is that the Blue Jays have also been on the wrong side of some serious scoring runs this season. It’s a very noticeable characteristic of the team. I think part of that is too much delay on adjustments by the coaches.

Right now, Hopkins is too streaky a team. Sure, that may be the nature of the game, but problems on FOs have been a major contributor to that.

DocBarrister

[10stone5]

Angelus,
unfortunately, the only game he’s been shut out.

[DocBarrister]

The coaches blew the game in the 2nd quarter. Either Narewski can play or he can’t. PM’s response to the question of what they’re going to do about FOs in the second half … “We’re going to try Matt, Matt Narewski” … almost made me want to throw my phone at the screen.

He's on a pitch count. He can't take every draw.

This. It’s not as simple as Narewski go take the draw. They have to be strategic and load manage

AGAIN, you don’t have to exceed Narewski’s “pitch” limit … just put him in for a few draws to break Penn State’s FO run. It’s TIMING, not a matter of exceeding the pitch count.

Coaches were just off tonight … PM’s failed timeout was worthless anyway … the shot clock had gone down to about 2 seconds. If he wanted a timeout, call it earlier.

DocBarrister

[DocBarrister]

Angelus,
unfortunately, the only game he’s been shut out.

Well, I think Penn State’s D deserves some credit for that.

DocBarrister

[HopFan16]

Narewski took 15 draws. Wouldn’t have hurt to have thrown him in earlier when Penn State went on a big run.

It wouldn't have hurt? How do you know that? Did you skip over the part where he started 0-4? There is a real possibility that if you use him earlier then he's not available late in the game when we really needed him. He did his part in the 4th quarter and the first OT to win us possession and give the offense multiple chances to win. We couldn't cash in. Their goalie made a couple of excellent saves including one on McDermott curling from X that I thought was going to be the game winner.

The coaches blew the game in the 2nd quarter. Either Narewski can play or he can’t. PM’s response to the question of what they’re going to do about FOs in the second half … “We’re going to try Matt, Matt Narewski” … almost made me want to throw my phone at the screen.

He's on a pitch count. He can't take every draw.

This. It’s not as simple as Narewski go take the draw. They have to be strategic and load manage

AGAIN, you don’t have to exceed Narewski’s “pitch” limit … just put him in for a few draws to break Penn State’s FO run. It’s TIMING, not a matter of exceeding the pitch count.

How do you not realize that they actually nailed the timing? We were winning with two minutes left in regulation! They successfully managed the faceoff deficit to put the team in position to win the game. They had the chances.

[DocBarrister]

Narewski took 15 draws. Wouldn’t have hurt to have thrown him in earlier when Penn State went on a big run.

It wouldn't have hurt? How do you know that? Did you skip over the part where he started 0-4? There is a real possibility that if you use him earlier then he's not available late in the game when we really needed him. He did his part in the 4th quarter and the first OT to win us possession and give the offense multiple chances to win. We couldn't cash in. Their goalie made a couple of excellent saves including one on McDermott curling from X that I thought was going to be the game winner.

The coaches blew the game in the 2nd quarter. Either Narewski can play or he can’t. PM’s response to the question of what they’re going to do about FOs in the second half … “We’re going to try Matt, Matt Narewski” … almost made me want to throw my phone at the screen.

He's on a pitch count. He can't take every draw.

This. It’s not as simple as Narewski go take the draw. They have to be strategic and load manage

AGAIN, you don’t have to exceed Narewski’s “pitch” limit … just put him in for a few draws to break Penn State’s FO run. It’s TIMING, not a matter of exceeding the pitch count.

How do you not realize that they actually nailed the timing? We were winning with two minutes left in regulation! They successfully managed the faceoff deficit to put the team in position to win the game. They had the chances.

It’s like Dixon said … even when Narewski was losing a FO, he turned it into a gb battle.

And leading by one late after you started 5-0 and completely blew that lead doesn’t really look like nailing the timing.

Bottom line … PM brought Narewski in late, and still probably blew his pitch ceiling anyway.

DocBarrister

[Basement Bias]

Game management has to improve from PM. Up a man towards the end of regulation and it expires before the shot clock and end up with a violation. You have to convert that man up. Even if you don't, you can't have a shot clock violation. TO he didn't get but tried was going to be too late. Have to call that TO quicker imo. Hindsight is 20/20. Tough loss to swallow. Hopefully this doesn't lead to another. I despise Ohio State in all sports. Get back on track and kick their hind ends!

[DocBarrister]

They waited too late to get Narewski in the game.
Didn't like the officiating one bit.
When you're a defenseman with the ball and you're in big trouble throw the ball up the field and let your attack fight for the ball.

Too often the Blue Jays didn’t help their teammate in trouble. How can there be three Penn State players surrounding Szuluk and no Hopkins player nearby to help?

The coaches blew the game in the 2nd quarter. Either Narewski can play or he can’t. PM’s response to the question of what they’re going to do about FOs in the second half … “We’re going to try Matt, Matt Narewski” … almost made me want to throw my phone at the screen.

Ya think, coach?

Blue Jays never quit … have to credit the players for that. But holding back on a change in FOs when you’re losing the FO battle 11-2??? That is truly bad game management. If something isn’t working, make some adjustments.

DocBarrister

I mean, I know it sucks to lose that one, but “bad game management”? Our wings were getting trounced; its not like Dunn and Callahan were getting beat clean (Especially Dunn). Narewski lost like, what, his first 5? When PSU’s wore down, we started winning them. We lost because we got complacent after going up early and ticked away what few possessions we did get in the second and third quarters. And despite that (and quite a few mental errors), we win that game if Fracyon doesn’t get hot at the end. On to OSU.

They should have brought in Narewski earlier. Doesn’t mean they had to keep trotting him out there … just break the FO losing streak and change things up. Dunn was losing too many FOs cleanly.

Anyway, it’s not on one guy … coaches need to fix FOs if they want to go anywhere this season.

DocBarrister

I’m not sure there’s anything to be fixed. Our FO game is based on depth and great wing play. Its one of the reasons we’ve been dominating late game situations. We don’t have one dominant guy at the dot. Difference today was PSU’s wing play. Stuff happens.

If your team’s season FO percentage is 0.467, then you have a problem that needs fixing.

Blue Jays have compensated with CTs, saves, and good defense. But the problem remains.

DocBarrister

[nrthcrosslax]

I agree that with the thought of throwing Narewski out earlier to try and change momentum on the FO. Even if you go back to Dunn, it gets the other guy thinking and possibly throw off his rhythm.
However JHU overcomes the FO discrepancy if their best close defense and SSDM don't have their worst games of the season. I count 6 goals where either they looked like traffic cones or made terrible angles in contesting the ball or one stupid penalty. More fundamental play and maybe PSU doesn't score so easily.
I guarantee those players got an earful from coach Koesterer, moreso than the FO guys. They clearly got the message and played better in the second half.
I also don't agree with benching Collison at the end. Even if he isn't having his best day, he is a point of attention for the defense. Maybe that alone helps open up someone else. They didn't bench Martin or Smith and they had a chance to redeem themselves. Maybe Collison does the same?

[primitiveskills]

I agree that with the thought of throwing Narewski out earlier to try and change momentum on the FO. Even if you go back to Dunn, it gets the other guy thinking and possibly throw off his rhythm.
However JHU overcomes the FO discrepancy if their best close defense and SSDM don't have their worst games of the season. I count 6 goals where either they looked like traffic cones or made terrible angles in contesting the ball or one stupid penalty. More fundamental play and maybe PSU doesn't score so easily.
I guarantee those players got an earful from coach Koesterer, moreso than the FO guys. They clearly got the message and played better in the second half.
I also don't agree with benching Collison at the end. Even if he isn't having his best day, he is a point of attention for the defense. Maybe that alone helps open up someone else. They didn't bench Martin or Smith and they had a chance to redeem themselves. Maybe Collison does the same?

The second quarter was just a perfect storm of badness. We can talk about FO all we want, but the bigger problem (IMHO) was us throwing the ball away or not backing up shots for multiple possessions. That led to the defense play nearly 10 minutes straight, which led to us being gassed, which leads to an otherwise excellent 6-on-6 defense to give up goals (especially when Traynor and Malone made spme excellent individual plays). Would a FO win mixed in have helped? Sure, but we weren't valuaing possessions at all, so we likely end up in the same boat.

[primitiveskills]

OK, enough FO talk. Pet peeve time! Wrong-handed catches and finishes when open on the crease. I know, I know. Canadians, box skills, blah blah blah. I get it. Hey, I love a good twister shot as much as the next guy! But sometimes, as a D1 player, the right thing to do is to put the stick in your off-hand and simply put the ball in the net. My HS JV guys can do it. So can you!

[Hoponboard]

This was a winnable game that was gifted away in the 2nd OT.

Why in the world do the Jays stand around for 30 seconds when you’re a man up with one minute to go in regulation? Fear of a turnover? You’re a man up. Make the defense move! Maybe they’ll commit another penalty out of desperation. Instead, Hop made it easy on the defense. They just had to defend one man for 10 seconds.

What happened to the motion offense? Why not cut to the cage?
Hopkins looked paralyzed as if they had never practiced a last minute, one man up drill with the game tied. That’s on the coaches.

Penn State did their best to squander their big advantage at the X by committing 8 more turnovers than Hopkins. They tried to give the game to Hopkins on their failed clear in OT that Degnon gathered up at the midline. One pass to a WIDE open Angelus who could have ended it, but Degnon hesitated until a defender was in the picture.

Collison is definitely in a shooting slump, but the good news is defenses may pay him less attention. He needs a few slam dunks on cuts to the cage to get his confidence back. Collison, Brown and English are the stars of this freshman class. Live with their growth pains and keep them on the field for the long term health of the program.

Oh, start scouting possible grad transfers at the X with Narewski gone next season.

[primitiveskills]

They waited too late to get Narewski in the game.
Didn't like the officiating one bit.
When you're a defenseman with the ball and you're in big trouble throw the ball up the field and let your attack fight for the ball.

Nah. Every defenseman is taught to roll-back and look back to the keeper or cross-field in that situation. His mistake was not seeing an open stick before throwing it.

yeah, but on replay it looked like he threw it before he looked backwards.

On rewatch, actually none of the above happened (he did not roll back... my bad.. nor did he pass without looking). It actually wasn't as egregious as it looked. The Penn St guy who picked off the pass was actually on the ground when Szuluk looked back, but was able to get to to his feet when the ball was in the air. In the heat of the mnoment, its entirely possible he didn't see him even when he looked over his shoulder. Oh, well.

[primitiveskills]

This was a winnable game that was gifted away in the 2nd OT.

Why in the world do the Jays stand around for 30 seconds when you’re a man up with one minute to go in regulation? Fear of a turnover? You’re a man up. Make the defense move! Maybe they’ll commit another penalty out of desperation. Instead, Hop made it easy on the defense. They just had to defend one man for 10 seconds.

What happened to the motion offense? Why not cut to the cage?
Hopkins looked paralyzed as if they had never practiced a last one minute, one man up drill. That’s on the coaches.

Penn State did their best to squander their big advantage at the X by committing 8 more turnovers than Hopkins. They tried to give the game to Hopkins on their failed clear in OT that Degnon gathered up at the midline. One pass to a WIDE open Angelus who could have ended it, but Degnon hesitated until a defender was in the picture.

Collison is definitely in a shooting slump, but the good news is defenses may pay him less attention. He needs a few slam dunks on cuts to the cage to get his confidence back. Collison, Brown and English are the stars of this freshman class. Live with their growth pains and keep them on the field for the long term health of the program.

Oh, start scouting possible grad transfers at the X with Narewski gone next season.

The last EMO wasn't the best but wasn't terrible. Degnon passed up 2 open looks from 12 yards, the first is understandable, but the last one was with less than 10 seconds left on the shot clock. He needs to take that, even if it's not the perfect EMO look. Overall, it looked like they thought there was more time on the shot clock than the game clock. In fact, it was the opposite.

I'm with you on the play in OT off the successful ride. That's a goal if Degnon connects with Angelus. Yes, it was about 30 yards and not a gimme, but in that situation I'm pulling the trigger. Maybe taking the "make the simple play" mantra too seriously?

[nrthcrosslax]

In defense of Szuluk, I think he saw Smith but just didn’t execute the pass