NESCAC

[nescac commit]

Have to talk about the game of the day: Amherst @ Middlebury. The Mammoths enter this matchup as a true underdog. Woodsy, the owl, is built for moments like this. Look for him to be chewing everything put in front of him. The refs never stood a chance. Neither did the grizzly he keeps in his back pocket.

To win, Amherst needs to control the pace of the game, limit turnovers, and handle the Panthers’ ride. The defense is the backbone of this team returning all but 2 starters from last season. Big number 19 is the vocal leader of this group, and he sure has a strong slap check.

Number 8 and 46 are primed to explode this year. With a full season of play under their belt, I wouldn’t put 100 points for both of them as an unreachable goal.

The Mammoth midfield is where things get interesting. After graduating their starters last year, look towards this group as being the key to the offense. Personally, I will be watching the crafty Canadian, number 17, as the party starter. Hard to know who will see the field after that but signs point to number 26 as being a major contributor. Looking for big things out of Amherst this year. Time will tell… 16-15 (OT) Amherst

[shorelax12]

Do you have anything real to offer?

Does anyone here?

My Preseason NESCAC Rankings:
1)
2)
3)
*Very Small drop off*
4)
5)
(Could easily see one of these teams beating a top 3 team)
*Small Drop off*
6)
7)
8)
9)
(Of the 6-9, gonna be a battle to see who’s last one out, wouldn’t rule out upset potential action from this group to the 1-5)
*Slightly bigger drop off*
10)
*Drop off*
11)
(Both teams making strides, I could potentially see some upsets happening in the 6-9 group, but not with the top two tiers)

Joke fanboy thread.

Yet you keep coming back. Kind of sad, actually.

[ChopMan23]

Do you have anything real to offer?

Does anyone here?

My Preseason NESCAC Rankings:
1)
2)
3)
*Very Small drop off*
4)
5)
(Could easily see one of these teams beating a top 3 team)
*Small Drop off*
6)
7)
8)
9)
(Of the 6-9, gonna be a battle to see who’s last one out, wouldn’t rule out upset potential action from this group to the 1-5)
*Slightly bigger drop off*
10)
*Drop off*
11)
(Both teams making strides, I could potentially see some upsets happening in the 6-9 group, but not with the top two tiers)

Joke fanboy thread.

And its your most active topic

[HereForIt]

Williams/Babson: 7-2 Ephs. Caputo with 5 goals in the first quarter.

[bonesnjnts]

Bowdoin 4 Trinity 4, 7 to go in the 2nd

[pcowlax]

Ephs now down 13-12. Tufts pounding Conn as expected.

[bonesnjnts]

Bowdoin up 7-4, minute to go in the half

[Mickey Mantle]

Midd 9, Amherst 3 at the half. Amherst winning almost every FO

[Laxdad457]

Colby tied with Wesleyan 7-7 at half Wes runs away with it in the second. Colby played Wes a lot tighter than final score suggests, but credit to Wesleyan they impressed today. I predict a bounce back year for both teams.

[Chipzhoo]

Babson College 13
Williams 14

Trinity 6
Bowdoin 13

Wesleyan 20
Colby 11

Bates 8
Hamilton 21

Conn. College 9
Tufts 19

Amherst 11
Middlebury 17

[TucoBPJMRamirez]

Nice win for Midd - they are a deep team that jumped on Amherst early and didn't seem to notice the severe disadvantage at the faceoff x and in EMO opportunities. Shocked that the Amherst DC didn't even try the tactic that RIT used to completely stifle the Panther offense in the NCAAs.

Surprisingly lopsided win by Hamilton over a Bates team with 2 games under its belt. Colonials may sneak up on some teams this year.

Jumbos never fail to impress with their ability to reload!

[Unknown Participant]

Nice win for Midd - they are a deep team that jumped on Amherst early and didn't seem to notice the severe disadvantage at the faceoff x and in EMO opportunities. Shocked that the Amherst DC didn't even try the tactic that RIT used to completely stifle the Panther offense in the NCAAs.

Surprisingly lopsided win by Hamilton over a Bates team with 2 games under its belt. Colonials may sneak up on some teams this year.

Jumbos never fail to impress with their ability to reload!

Hey Tuco, pls explain that tactic.

[ah23]

Shocked that the Amherst DC didn't even try the tactic that RIT used to completely stifle the Panther offense in the NCAAs.

Hey Tuco, pls explain that tactic.

Think it's this. Remember it being brought up last season, was a great point.

RIT is smothering Middlebury through 2 quarters. Noticed that RIT put a shorty on a Middlebury starting attack for the entire first half. Union did the same thing last week to the same player. Not a lock-off, just a shorty. Lets RIT pole Middlebury's two best middie dodgers every possession.

The attack with the shorty never dodges and just hangs around the crease. Backup attack came in for a few minutes and immediately got a pole, which freed up middies ... but Middlebury went right back to the starter. Total head-scratcher. I've heard NESCAC schools have problems with parent interference, so maybe that's happening here. Really strange to watch.

[Unknown Participant]

Shocked that the Amherst DC didn't even try the tactic that RIT used to completely stifle the Panther offense in the NCAAs.

Hey Tuco, pls explain that tactic.

Think it's this. Remember it being brought up last season, was a great point.

RIT is smothering Middlebury through 2 quarters. Noticed that RIT put a shorty on a Middlebury starting attack for the entire first half. Union did the same thing last week to the same player. Not a lock-off, just a shorty. Lets RIT pole Middlebury's two best middie dodgers every possession.

The attack with the shorty never dodges and just hangs around the crease. Backup attack came in for a few minutes and immediately got a pole, which freed up middies ... but Middlebury went right back to the starter. Total head-scratcher. I've heard NESCAC schools have problems with parent interference, so maybe that's happening here. Really strange to watch.

Ok thx. Now I remember seeing that at the NCAAs at Bello. Thought it was weird then (but my memory is not getting any better).

[ah23]

Ok thx. Now I remember seeing that at the NCAAs at Bello. Thought it was weird then (but my memory is not getting any better).

Your memory is correct! It worked perfectly against Middlebury, but it blew up in RIT's face when they tried the same thing against Tufts the next day in the semis. They put an undersized SSDM on Tommy Swank and took forever to adjust/move away from it. Swank ended with five goals (and ~3-4 misses that hit a pipe).

[hooray]

Amherst has Springfield and Hamilton up next, but to me the bigger game for them in the near future is Swarthmore in about 10 days. This one should be a super good game / test for both teams in my mind

[Unknown Participant]

Ok thx. Now I remember seeing that at the NCAAs at Bello. Thought it was weird then (but my memory is not getting any better).

Your memory is correct! It worked perfectly against Middlebury, but it blew up in RIT's face when they tried the same thing against Tufts the next day in the semis. They put an undersized SSDM on Tommy Swank and took forever to adjust/move away from it. Swank ended with five goals (and ~3-4 misses that hit a pipe).

I miss Swank.

[Unknown Participant]

Amherst has Springfield and Hamilton up next, but to me the bigger game for them in the near future is Swarthmore in about 10 days. This one should be a super good game / test for both teams in my mind

Why? IMO, if Amherst is even a shell of itself from 2020 to 2023, mammoths handle Swarthmore easily. What am I missing? Sprinfield eh, but Hammy could be a test. You never know with that non-New England Nescac team.

[SaltCounty]

Amherst has Springfield and Hamilton up next, but to me the bigger game for them in the near future is Swarthmore in about 10 days. This one should be a super good game / test for both teams in my mind

Hamilton just scored 20+ goals for the 1st time since they joined the NESCAC.
Amherst can't afford to overlook them at 0-1

Viewed every game yesterday, watching some more than others.
My best attempt at rankings:

1) Middlebury
2) Bowdoin
3) Tufts
4) Amherst
5) Wesleyan
6) Williams
7) Conn
8) Hamilton
9) Trinity
10) Colby
11) Bates

Middlebury had the best win & Bowdoin's box score is a result of a Trinity Goalie who stood on their head.
If both survive their midweek tests - winner has a case for #1

Tufts reloads & still plays dangerously fast - but they may not have the marquee player they've had in past seasons.
Their defense/starter looked solid through 3Q and 32 shots, only giving up 4

I'd say for 4-9... we won't really know, till we know.

[shorelax12]

Amherst has Springfield and Hamilton up next, but to me the bigger game for them in the near future is Swarthmore in about 10 days. This one should be a super good game / test for both teams in my mind

Hamilton just scored 20+ goals for the 1st time since they joined the NESCAC.
Amherst can't afford to overlook them at 0-1

Viewed every game yesterday, watching some more than others.
My best attempt at rankings:

1) Middlebury
2) Bowdoin
3) Tufts
4) Amherst
5) Wesleyan
6) Williams
7) Conn
8) Hamilton
9) Trinity
10) Colby
11) Bates

Middlebury had the best win & Bowdoin's box score is a result of a Trinity Goalie who stood on their head.
If both survive their midweek tests - winner has a case for #1

Tufts reloads & still plays dangerously fast - but they may not have the marquee player they've had in past seasons.
Their defense/starter looked solid through 3Q and 32 shots, only giving up 4

I'd say for 4-9... we won't really know, till we know.

Not sure that you can say that Tufts "reloaded" based upon yesterday's game. Putting the final score aside, seemed like a good battle between two very good goalies, Tufts definitely has a good one between the pipes. This week will be the real test for Tufts. Did not see any of the Bowdoin game, but did catch a bit of Middlebury, they looked pretty solid.