We are now 6 games into a season that started with a lot of high hopes and so far, the results have been up to par. At 4-2, St. Lawrence finds themselves at 16th in the USCHO poll and comfortably inside the top 16 for pairwise, though its way to early to set any store in those.
Some of the wins have been blowouts, like the opening weekend sweep of RIT and Niagara by a combined score of 10-3. The other four games have been relatively close, and against fairly stiff competition. Miami is a great team, Merrimack is making an early statement, and even UNH is a strong team. A 2-2 record in those games is nothing to turn your nose at.
In the early going, Kyle Hayton is once again showing just how good he is. Just under a 2.0 GAA and a .925 save percentage is about as good as you can ask from any goalie at any level. The remarkable thing about those stats is what you find when you break them down. In close game situations, with SLU either up or down by one goal, Hayton has posted a .929 save percentage, better than his overall. This is a testament to Hayton's ability to keep his team close when trailing or to preserve the lead when its in the hands of SLU. He'll face a stiff test this weekend against a potent Penn State offense.
Brian Ward, the number one center for SLU, is tied for the team lead in points with four. Perhaps more importantly, he is winning almost 70% of the faceoffs he takes. With puck possession being so crucial in any style of hockey, faceoffs are hugely important, and Ward is one of the best.
The one weakness for SLU so far has once again been the power play. With just one goal through six games, the man advantage is operating around the 3% mark. For a team with the talent and offensive distribution of SLU, this is surprising, but they have been getting their opportunities. The issue is they are not getting their shots through to the net consistently. Of 60 shots attempted on net, 36 have been on net. That just over half, which for a situation where they have an extra skater on the ice, is not good. Comparatively, 147 of their 227 even strength attempts have found the net, either as a shot or goal. Thats about 4 percentage points higher. More shots need to find their way through, especially from the point, where the Saints boast tremendous cannons like Gavin Bayreuther, Eric Sweetman and Nolan Gluchowski.
Despite a less than stellar power play, the Saints have still managed to maintain a balanced offensive attack. Unlike last year, where they had a rather unsustainable shooting percentage of 11%, the Saints are around the national average of 9%. What that means, if you put this much store in statistics, is that there is no reason why SLU shouldn't continue to score at the clip they have. Nor has Hayton shown any signs of a regression.
This brings us to the current matchup with Penn State. The Nittany Lions boast an effective offense that has scored 28 goals in five games. However, none of their opponents were particularly dangerous. Canisius has been disappointing, Notre Dame is middle of the road and AIC is just bad. Penn State also shoots around 12%, which is fairly unsustainable, especially against a good defensive team like St. Lawrence.
Penn State is likely to split the goaltending duties between Eamon McAdam and Matthew Skoff. McAdam has the better numbers this year, but Skoff was clearly better last year. No matter who is between the pipes, the key will be the power play for SLU. PSU's penalty kill is their biggest weakness, and if ever there was a chance for SLU to get momentum with the man advantage, this is it.
They have Mike Marnell back now, and he scored two goals Saturday night. The lines will be in the shape Carvel wants them, and SLU has more depth now. Penn State got off to a quick start, but against far weaker competition. SLU needs to play well and solve the power play, but if they do, this weekend shouldn't be a problem.
Some of the wins have been blowouts, like the opening weekend sweep of RIT and Niagara by a combined score of 10-3. The other four games have been relatively close, and against fairly stiff competition. Miami is a great team, Merrimack is making an early statement, and even UNH is a strong team. A 2-2 record in those games is nothing to turn your nose at.
In the early going, Kyle Hayton is once again showing just how good he is. Just under a 2.0 GAA and a .925 save percentage is about as good as you can ask from any goalie at any level. The remarkable thing about those stats is what you find when you break them down. In close game situations, with SLU either up or down by one goal, Hayton has posted a .929 save percentage, better than his overall. This is a testament to Hayton's ability to keep his team close when trailing or to preserve the lead when its in the hands of SLU. He'll face a stiff test this weekend against a potent Penn State offense.
Brian Ward, the number one center for SLU, is tied for the team lead in points with four. Perhaps more importantly, he is winning almost 70% of the faceoffs he takes. With puck possession being so crucial in any style of hockey, faceoffs are hugely important, and Ward is one of the best.
The one weakness for SLU so far has once again been the power play. With just one goal through six games, the man advantage is operating around the 3% mark. For a team with the talent and offensive distribution of SLU, this is surprising, but they have been getting their opportunities. The issue is they are not getting their shots through to the net consistently. Of 60 shots attempted on net, 36 have been on net. That just over half, which for a situation where they have an extra skater on the ice, is not good. Comparatively, 147 of their 227 even strength attempts have found the net, either as a shot or goal. Thats about 4 percentage points higher. More shots need to find their way through, especially from the point, where the Saints boast tremendous cannons like Gavin Bayreuther, Eric Sweetman and Nolan Gluchowski.
Despite a less than stellar power play, the Saints have still managed to maintain a balanced offensive attack. Unlike last year, where they had a rather unsustainable shooting percentage of 11%, the Saints are around the national average of 9%. What that means, if you put this much store in statistics, is that there is no reason why SLU shouldn't continue to score at the clip they have. Nor has Hayton shown any signs of a regression.
This brings us to the current matchup with Penn State. The Nittany Lions boast an effective offense that has scored 28 goals in five games. However, none of their opponents were particularly dangerous. Canisius has been disappointing, Notre Dame is middle of the road and AIC is just bad. Penn State also shoots around 12%, which is fairly unsustainable, especially against a good defensive team like St. Lawrence.
Penn State is likely to split the goaltending duties between Eamon McAdam and Matthew Skoff. McAdam has the better numbers this year, but Skoff was clearly better last year. No matter who is between the pipes, the key will be the power play for SLU. PSU's penalty kill is their biggest weakness, and if ever there was a chance for SLU to get momentum with the man advantage, this is it.
They have Mike Marnell back now, and he scored two goals Saturday night. The lines will be in the shape Carvel wants them, and SLU has more depth now. Penn State got off to a quick start, but against far weaker competition. SLU needs to play well and solve the power play, but if they do, this weekend shouldn't be a problem.
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