LaxPower Back-Up Stick

The real shakedown week. No one wants to be 0-2; April 2022 Brown is not easily replicable.
In a move of stunning courage I'm picking: the home teams! Well, D>H is kinda courageous. There may be other, less positive descriptors.
Point spreads? Not goin' there...

Princeton needs to find their 2022 mojo. This will be a tough game-Yale is going to come in hot from last week’s spanking. And so far this year, Yale has much better wins than Princeton. As much as it pains me, I’ll take the Eli in this one.

I'm out of the Ivy prediction game given my season-long ineptitude at prognosticating.

For Princeton and Yale, I'll be curious to see if (a) Princeton throws some zone looks at Yale, which has really struggled with them (in contrast with a highly efficient offense against man defensive schemes); (b) how Yale does at the face-off X against Princeton -- last season in the two games the teams played each team's FOGO had one game with a 60% face-off win rate; (c) if Yale can get any kind of transition game going (they could not against Cornell); and (d) how Yale does in man-up and man-down situations, both of which have been challenging for the Elis this year. Obviously how Yale's defense fares is always a big question from week to week; last week Yale's goalie played like a mortal (fine but not amazing) and it really showed. I would think Princeton's two-goalie look, when it goes well (which it generally has), could be challenging for shooters.

Dartmouth has lined up inviting weather for our friends from Cambridge's visit to Hanover.

Rain and snow likely before 4pm, then sleet, possibly mixed with rain and snow. High near 35. Southeast wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

As a courtesy, we've asked the weather gods to taper off the precipitation for the 4pm game time. Low temps and wind will not be mitigated. Our hospitality only goes so far.

Looking forward to an afternoon of great lacrosse (including the UVA/ND matchup at noon, happy that Yale-Princeton is at 1 pm) -- good luck to all. And YIKES on the weather in Hanover -- hope it cooperates.

Princeton proving me very wrong so far. Dominating performance on the offensive end and stifling the few chances Yale has had. Mackesy is ridiculous today.

ctbagataway wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2023 7:42 am Princeton needs to find their 2022 mojo.

I think they found it.

Coming into this season, there were a lot of questions about Yale's defense, and some mostly solid efforts early on seemed to allay those fears. Well, it looks like those questions are back in full force. Yikes!

bearlaxfan wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2023 6:01 am The real shakedown week. No one wants to be 0-2; April 2022 Brown is not easily replicable.
In a move of stunning courage I'm picking: the home teams! Well, D>H is kinda courageous. There may be other, less positive descriptors.
Point spreads? Not goin' there...

Heh. 2 for 3. C'mon Big Red, if you do it you can spend Spring Break on the private island I'll buy with the winnings!

Congrats to Dartmouth!!!!! Off the snide.

Some strong individual performances in the Ivy League:

Offense:

Coulter Mackesy: 10 points (8,2) for Princeton vs Yale
CJ Kirst: 7 points (7,0) for Cornell vs Penn
Colin McGill: 5 points (4,1) for Dartmouth vs Harvard
Billy Coyle: 5 points (2,3) for Cornell vs Penn
Alexander Vardaro: 5 points (1,4) for Princeton vs Yale
Angelo Petrakis: 12/16 (75%) for Cornell vs Penn
Jack Cascadden: 12/16 (75%) for Cornell vs Penn (Rookie performance)
Defense:

Michael Gianforcaro: 14 saves/ 64% for Princeton vs Yale

Other strong performances:

Teddy Malone: 5 points (4,1) for Harvard vs Dartmouth, and (3,0) for Harvard vs BU (Rookie performance)
Sam Handley: 4 points (3,1) for Penn vs Cornell
Matt Barraco: 13/22 (59%) face-offs for Harvard vs Dartmouth
Connor Theriault: 16 saves/62% for Brown vs UMASS

Looks like Princeton gave up on their two-goalie system ...

CU77 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2023 8:37 pm Looks like Princeton gave up on their two-goalie system ...

Last week I believe.

After yesterday's action, here's the race to earn one of those coveted Ivy League MLAX tournament slots.

Typical Lax Dad wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2023 8:40 pm https://www.instagram.com/p/CqOtOJoLYuT ... MyMTA2M2Y=

I’m getting old because I cried a tad watching this, and I have no affiliation with either team. Man, is that video great. Really happy for the young men.

Typical Lax Dad wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2023 8:40 pm https://www.instagram.com/p/CqOtOJoLYuT ... MyMTA2M2Y=

Wonderful to see that joy!

faircornell wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2023 7:58 pm Some strong individual performances in the Ivy League:

Offense:

Coulter Mackesy: 10 points (8,2) for Princeton vs Yale
CJ Kirst: 7 points (7,0) for Cornell vs Penn
Colin McGill: 5 points (4,1) for Dartmouth vs Harvard
Billy Coyle: 5 points (2,3) for Cornell vs Penn
Alexander Vardaro: 5 points (1,4) for Princeton vs Yale
Angelo Petrakis: 12/16 (75%) for Cornell vs Penn
Jack Cascadden: 12/16 (75%) for Cornell vs Penn (Rookie performance)
Defense:

Michael Gianforcaro: 14 saves/ 64% for Princeton vs Yale

Other strong performances:

Teddy Malone: 5 points (4,1) for Harvard vs Dartmouth, and (3,0) for Harvard vs BU (Rookie performance)
Sam Handley: 4 points (3,1) for Penn vs Cornell
Matt Barraco: 13/22 (59%) face-offs for Harvard vs Dartmouth
Connor Theriault: 16 saves/62% for Brown vs UMASS

Updated for Cornell/Penn.

Gotta be a Dartmouth guy this week. McGill was huge especially at the end, and Rogan came up big out of the gate. But I’d go with Johnston or Rizzotti not only for their stout defense but also for their leadership. That win was truly gutsy as others have written!

Here is a WAY too early swag at how the Ivy schedule could play out from Brown’s perspective. The Bears are fortunate that they only had to play one league game without their “loud leaders.” Although they missed a win by only 18 seconds, there is still a relatively clear path to the ILT with only a 2-4 record. In this scenario, it all comes down to beating a Yale squad that is struggling to find its defensive footing. That game is at Yale, but if Bruno can show up in reasonably good health, I like their chances.

Looking at Brown’s competition for the fourth ILT spot, Yale has a tough road ahead with road games at Princeton and at Harvard, a team that may be playing for pride in The Game. It’s hard to get a handle on the identity of this Harvard team that returned most of its key pieces from 2022, but is struggling to regain its mojo. Dartmouth has the most difficult remaining schedule of anyone in the league. I hope I am wrong that they will only have one Ivy win this season. With their FO strength, they have a chance to be competitive against teams with deeper overall talent.

Given the history of big surprises in Ivy League play, there is zero chance it plays out this way, but I thought I’d throw this against the wall. Games in bold have already been played.

Cornell 6-0 W: @Yale, Penn, Dartmouth, @Harvard, @Brown Princeton
Penn 5-1 W: Princeton, Yale, @Brown, @Harvard, Dartmouth L: @Cornell
Princeton 4-2 W: Yale, Brown, @Dartmouth, Harvard L: @Penn, @Cornell
Brown 2-4 W: @Dartmouth, @Yale L: Harvard, @Princeton, Penn, Cornell
—---------------------
Yale 2-4 W: Dartmouth, @Harvard L: Cornell, @Princeton, @Penn, Brown
Harvard 1-5 W: @Brown, L: @Dartmouth, Cornell, Penn, @Princeton, Yale
Dartmouth 1-5 W: Harvard L: @Cornell, @Yale, Princeton, @Penn, Brown

ILT represents quite a contrast from last year, when a team that didn’t make it made the FF. This year it could easily determine whether the league gets one or two bids. Is it too early to tell, or is Cornell going to go undefeated in conference play? I think Cornell is a notch above the rest but expect the toughness of conference rivalry to produce an upset. That said, to the eyes of this ACC guy, Cornell looks like an ACC team while the other three strong Ivy teams appear to have star players at the top of the roster but lack the depth of Maryland and three or four of the ACC teams.