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johnson"},{"term":"do not adjust your set"},{"term":"funding"},{"term":"host berths"},{"term":"international basketball"},{"term":"interviews"},{"term":"journalism"},{"term":"mud fights"},{"term":"schedules"},{"term":"technical difficulties"},{"term":"ted goveia"},{"term":"tiering"},{"term":"tragedy"},{"term":"trinity western"},{"term":"trivia"},{"term":"university sport"},{"term":"Étienne Légaré"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"The CIS Blog"},"subtitle":{"type":"html","$t":"News and notes on U SPORTS - even if we refuse to change our name"},"link":[{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/posts\/default"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/-\/Paladins?alt=json-in-script"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/search\/label\/Paladins"},{"rel":"hub","href":"http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/"},{"rel":"next","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/-\/Paladins\/-\/Paladins?alt=json-in-script\u0026start-index=26\u0026max-results=25"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Scott Hastie"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/08081415078301065374"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"generator":{"version":"7.00","uri":"http://www.blogger.com","$t":"Blogger"},"openSearch$totalResults":{"$t":"47"},"openSearch$startIndex":{"$t":"1"},"openSearch$itemsPerPage":{"$t":"25"},"entry":[{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-973604360477132347"},"published":{"$t":"2016-07-08T15:40:00.001-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2016-08-02T17:12:04.691-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Bleeding Tricolour"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"CIS football"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Gaels"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Paladins"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Tigers"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Bleeding Tricolour: Doug Hargreaves provided a guide toward loving CIS football"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ci\u003E(First and foremost, read Claude Scilley's \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.sportkingston.ca\/index.php\/articles\/view\/3657.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Eobituary piece on Doug Hargreaves\u003C\/a\u003E. \u003C\/i\u003E\u003Ci\u003EIt was a mic drop; it's almost foolish to think there is a need for another piece.)\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWell before terms such as team culture got buzz-phrased to death, Doug Hargreaves was nurturing it at Queen's every day, being the mindful keeper of that gold, blue and red flame that burns on fall Saturdays in Kingston and in the hearts of Gaels the world over.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFlowery, \u003Ci\u003EI know.\u003C\/i\u003E It seems to be about the only way to lead off a personal post regarding the iconic Queen's football coach, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.thewhig.com\/2016\/07\/06\/legendary-gaels-coach-hargreaves-dies-at-84\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ewho died at age 84 on Tuesday\u003C\/a\u003E. It seems slightly more novel to talk about the lasting influence of Hargreaves and \u0026nbsp;his best Queen's teams. The people who truly knew him have the anecdotes and aphorisms, and Google can fill you in on his accomplishments.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThere was nothing idealistic or intellectual about latching on to the Gaels during my adolescent\/early teenage life phase, which is when people begin locking in their influences and tastes. I needed to identify with something positive and successful. In those years, 1988 through '92, Hargreaves' second Vanier Cup-winning season, the Gaels were winning a lot, competing in the Dunsmore Cup game every season.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca name='more'\u003E\u003C\/a\u003EIn a boy's eyes, he was exactly whom you would expect Queen's to have on the sidelines. Demanding but compassionate, competitive but not cutthroat, and mindful of the big picture. Someone who was book-smart but who also had common sense. Admittedly, all of those are labels, and Doug defied easy summation.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI also realize that \"expect Queen's to have\" phrasing seems backwards. Part of Hargreaves' life work was creating the taste that Queen's football is savoured by.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EWhile other elite universities in the U.S. and Canada that were football powers in the early and mid 20th century have moved on entirely or pulled back from the big time -- look the Ivies, the University of Chicago, McGill, Toronto -- Queen's expects to be competitive in OUA and CIS. That stems from the direction that Doug Hargreaves and his coaches provided from the mid-1970s through the mid-'90s, before the torch was handed off to \u003Cb\u003EBob Howes \u003C\/b\u003Eand then to\u003Cb\u003E Pat Sheahan\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHargreaves understood what football means at a university in a small city such as Kingston: a game, a lark, some glorious escapism for 3½ hours on a Saturday when the leaves are charging and winter is looming. They also understood that, to a fault, there are boundaries on how big university football is allowed to get in Canada. It can be part of the fabric of the campus culture, but\u003Ci\u003E hey, let's not lose perspective like they do in the NCAA, guys. The tail can't wag the dog.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003EThere is little argument with\u003Cb\u003E Stephen Brunt\u003C\/b\u003E's \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.sportsnet.ca\/magazine\/brunt-where-the-game-matters-most\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Econtention that Quebec City is the only place in Canada where football matters is much as it does in Saskatchewan\u003C\/a\u003E. Laval, which was just forming their team when Hargreaves was nearing retirement, has taken university football up to 11.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOn a small scale, in almost randomized pockets, it might matter more to a real-life sub-Reddit of Queen's and\/or Kingston people. Going back many generations, Kingston, relative to most Canadian cities its size, is a place that puts a premium on making your own.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHistorically, it was an outpost that was kind of far from the major cities, but in a way that allowed it to be a nexus of English Canada's tendency to be being a borrower culture. That ketchup answer also covers why Kingston produces a disproportionate number of successful musicians and authors.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EQueen's Football is a mash-up. It offers a scale model of the American experience of a university having a football team that represents not just the university, There's a bit of transfer of the British Commonwealth rugby experience, that of a barbarian's game played be gentlemen. There is also a Scottish characteristic of needing to be in, but dissociating when it's convenient. Way back when, it meant a lot to Queen's, and it certainly helped build the brand, that the Gaels were the small school of working-class engineering majors playing in the Old Four with McGill, U of T and Western.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThat is how you get people indulging in a staple of American life while watching Canadian football accompanied by bagpipes.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003E(Brief vignette, since\u0026nbsp;\u003Cb\u003ETom Denison\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026nbsp;kind of provided the prod for this post. It's Sept. 28, 2002 and Queen's, with Denison at quarterback, is pouring it on against U of T at a packing Homecoming game. Two years removed from that 1-7 nadir of 2000, it's cathartic.\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.queensu.ca\/skhs\/faculty-and-staff\/emeritus-faculty\/geoffrey-sutton-smith\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EThe noted professor\u0026nbsp;\u003Cb\u003EGeoff Smith\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, standing on the sidelines, stage-whispers to the CFRC 101.9 FM sideline reporter: \"Let's see how a school with a de-emphasized football program fares here.\")\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Ci\u003E(Very next play, or at least that is how it is remembered. Denison is forced to scramble right and is almost at the boundary when he decides to ignore the coaching point about how a QB never throws late over the middle. His across-his-body throw, naturally, is caught for a touchdown by\u003Cb\u003E Nick Corneil\u003C\/b\u003E.)\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe undercurrents that made Queen's Football 'a thing,' as we lazily say on social media, have been diffused through globalization and progress, and we are better for that. What it embodied, though, is always within reach.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDoug Hargreaves' teams conveyed a need to be serious and tough in the face of a tough job. In his era, he lived his core values. He also\u0026nbsp;understood that tradition does not mean staying the same or fading out. There has to be a regeneration, like the one that has finally taken place with Richardson Stadium.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EQueen's had their tradition with the head-to-toe gold uniforms, and the Bands, and the Oil Thigh after touchdowns. Doug and his coaches, which during the period I'm referring to included the likes of\u003Cb\u003E Bob Mullen\u003C\/b\u003E, Howes\u0026nbsp;the late \u003Cb\u003EBill Miklas\u003C\/b\u003E and \u003Cb\u003EHart Cantelon\u003C\/b\u003E, were tinkerers. The way they ran it provides examples of innovating and maximizing resources.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOne could quote chapter and verse on that, based on what has been related to \u0026nbsp;me about that 1992 team. Mullen, whom last fall helped coach St. Francis Xavier to their first AUS title since the last century, was forever dialling up exotic blitzes; as he himself has put it, he couldn't count to Cover Four. Howes had an offence that was forever shape-shifting, depending on the material he had to work with. Coach Mik would take beefed-up high school fullbacks, defensive linemen and linebackers and teach them the technique of blocking.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECantelon was a \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.intellectbooks.co.uk\/books\/view-Author,a=C\/view-Contact-Page,id=16095\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Eprofessor who had spent time in Moscow studying Soviet ice hockey in the 1970\u003C\/a\u003Es, and happened to be a receivers coach on that '92 team. One of his pet projects was making\u003Cb\u003E Brian Alford\u003C\/b\u003E, a track guy, into a wide receiver. Alford did not score a touchdown in the regular season, but provided the moment when the SkyDome went up for grabs in that Vanier Cup by housing a 78-yard pass-and-run touchdown from\u003Cb\u003E Tim Pendergast\u003C\/b\u003E early in the second quarter.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe point of this is not to traipse down memory lane. Hopefully, what is coming across is that Doug Hargreaves was the conduit not only for something to root for, but a way to to \u003Ci\u003Estay rooted\u003C\/i\u003E. The modern world demands adaptability, but one does need to mix and match some principles to her\/his interests.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAs Doug put it:\u003Ci\u003E \"Be flexible, and have a sense of humour.\"\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn other words, the course in Football 101 that was on offer in 1990s Kingston was a master class, if you knew where to look and in order to learn a game that you did not play. Ironically with a sport that is so communal, with its need for large rosters and emphasis on pageantry and public spectacle, my absorption in the game was almost completely solitary.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBecoming a football geek was a bit of a refuge, after experiencing rejection in hockey and softball, the sports that were accessible for a shy kid living out in Bath. No one in my family played and my parents did not care for it. At that time, the high school I would be headed to did not offer a team and there was no OVFL in Kingston. So I had to learn by watching it on TV, reading anything about it I could get my hands on, and thinking about it. That was what one had to do before the Internet.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI realize now how fortunate I am that my orbit included people such as Doug Hargreaves, who set the bar and a tone for Queen's. That helped so, so much with trying to understand what really matters in football, and in sports. It was also a tremendous benefit that a great sportswriter such as\u003Cb\u003E Claude Scilley \u003C\/b\u003Ewas there to not only transcribe Hargreaves' wisdom and wit, but to cast it properly. Growing up reading Claude imparted that sports journalism is not just an account of events, but what those events\u003Ci\u003E felt like.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003EThat was not all Doug, of course, but he was the right man during a crucial transition for Canadian university football. Some cultural conservatives think there is a war on football now, but really, those truly in the game should be onside with understanding why they must constantly self-advocate. It is, after all, a collision sport where it is very expensive to equip, train and provide proper care for a single athlete. It also requires a large quantity of people, and it is almost all-cisgender male.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHargreaves' style and approach was illustrative to that reality in Canadian university football. A lot of people chafe at some of the limitations in CIS, but one should be grateful for the people who showed the way to work within that framework with dignity and integrity.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFootball at Queen's has that out-of-time quality. The country has had 13 prime ministers since 1948. The Gaels have had four head coaches.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOne cannot know for sure how that football at Queen's would have evolved if another coach had come aboard in the mid-'70s. What is clear is that Doug kept that Tricolour fire stoked, and kept the chains moving.\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/973604360477132347\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2016\/07\/bleeding-tricolour-doug-hargreaves.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/973604360477132347"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/973604360477132347"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2016\/07\/bleeding-tricolour-doug-hargreaves.html","title":"Bleeding Tricolour: Doug Hargreaves provided a guide toward loving CIS football"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"sager"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/08757652892056684490"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-HoppI3_eGQc\/VrWGl9xFY2I\/AAAAAAAADEA\/ucwvqUnIa7M\/s220\/Neate1379-4x4M.JPG"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-5481209187470810350"},"published":{"$t":"2013-10-01T17:51:00.000-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2013-11-06T19:17:10.720-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"AHL"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Aigles Bleus"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"AUS men's hockey update"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Axemen"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Hockey"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Paladins"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Panthers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ravens"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"SMU Huskies"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Thunderwolves"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Tigers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Tommies"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Varsity Reds"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"X-Men"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Men's Hockey: AUS Weekly Update - Preseason Week 2"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"The second week of exhibition play has come and gone for AUS men's hockey, and now most of the teams are preparing for their annual American road trip weekends. Sure, off to the States where government workers (customs agents?) are sure to be a happy and co-operative bunch while wondering when they're going to get paid again.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EUNB played mid-week in a mid-afternoon game against the AHL's Portland Pirates at their practice facility in Saco, Maine. This has become sort of an annual event, with the idea that the V-Reds would play the Pirates and then travel onto play whatever NCAA teams in New England they had lined up. The schedule didn't co-operate this year, so after losing 4-0 they had to bus back to Fredericton to host the Carleton Ravens on Friday. Of interest in the Portland game was that former UNB forward\/d-man \u003Cb\u003EDaine Todd\u003C\/b\u003E was playing defence for the Pirates while former X-Men defenceman \u003Cb\u003EMark Louis\u003C\/b\u003E plays forward (they apparently were short size when they signed him last year, so they converted the speedy 6'4\" Louis to forward). The first scorer for Portland was \u003Cb\u003EPhillipe Halley\u003C\/b\u003E, who was announced at one point this summer as a recruit for UNB (and obviously has decided to turn pro instead).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECarleton came out with a lot of jump and truculence Friday night against UNB, and after scoring the first goal the V-Reds took five straight selfish reactionary penalties and gifted the Ravens two 5-on-3 power play goals. UNB eventually hauled their heads out of their posteriors and took advantage of a Carleton penalty string in the second period to tie the game, and a beauty play by their big line in the third period to re-take the lead and then out-skate the flagging Ravens for the 3-2 win.\u0026nbsp; V-Reds head coach \u003Cb\u003EGardiner MacDougall\u003C\/b\u003E made no bones to the fact that in the first period \"Carleton was hungry on every puck and we had a sort of entitlement to us and we've got to be better than that.\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESaturday night went better for the Ottawa visitors a few blocks away at the Grant-Harvey Centre, the St. Thomas rink. CU's \u003Cb\u003EFrancis Dupuis\u003C\/b\u003E made 26 saves in the 3-0 shutout win while STU's \u003Cb\u003EJon Groenheyde\u003C\/b\u003E was much busier (as he has become accustomed to) dealing with 44 shots. The Tommies didn't have the luxury of waiting at home for the Ravens; Friday night they were in New Glasgow, NS to play StFX and lost 4-1.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe other OUA team taking a swing through the Maritimes was the Brock Badgers. On Friday they were in Halifax to play Saint Mary's. After being down 4-0 at one point in the game, Brock used a bit of a Hail Mary style trick-play in the last minute to score just after their penalty ended, drawing within a goal. Eight seconds later they scored again to tie the game and effectively force overtime. The Badgers then went on to win the game 6-5 in OT*. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Badgers were back in overtime on Saturday, this time against the Dalhousie Tigers in a game played in East Hants, NS. This time the visitors came up short, with Dal winning 2-1. The previous night Dal was over on the Island to play UPEI and were thumped 5-1.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe only other game saw Moncton play Acadia in Berwick, NS, and the Axemen squeezed out the 5-4 win.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELooking ahead, the Varsity Reds leave Wednesday for their first-ever trip to Colorado where they'll play an extended weekend of three games in three nights against NCAA opponents: Colorado College on Saturday, Denver University on Sunday and the Air Force Academy on Monday.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Saint Mary's Huskies will be making their first trip in a while to the States; they play RPI on Saturday and Quinnipiac on Sunday. StFX spends the weekend in Boston and have BU on Saturday and BC on Sunday (arguably the toughest match-ups). Acadia is playing State schools: New Hampshire on Saturday and Vermont on Sunday. Dal has dance dates with Northeastern on Saturday and Maine on Sunday after first playing Carleton in Ottawa Friday night.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENot everyone in the AUS is heading to the States for the weekend. Thursday night Moncton hosts StFX (en route to the US) in Shediac, NB. UPEI makes the long trip to Thunder Bay for two games against Lakehead on Friday and Saturday. STU stays home and host RMC on Saturday night, which is sure to attract a bit of a crowd from down the road at CFB Gagetown. \u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/5481209187470810350\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2013\/10\/mens-hockey-aus-weekly-update-preseason.html#comment-form","title":"2 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/5481209187470810350"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/5481209187470810350"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2013\/10\/mens-hockey-aus-weekly-update-preseason.html","title":"Men's Hockey: AUS Weekly Update - Preseason Week 2"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"David Kilfoil"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/16821812362923440575"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"22","height":"32","src":"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_ZSfv79uXrWQ\/SmbzQBQU15I\/AAAAAAAAAAM\/-NRmEHNVB7o\/S220\/David.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"2"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-6697690194223304424"},"published":{"$t":"2012-11-30T12:28:00.002-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2012-12-03T12:53:19.593-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Axemen"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Hockey"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Paladins"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Panthers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Patriotes"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Redmen"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Tommies"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Varsity Reds"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Men's Hockey: Suggestions for games to watch this weekend"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"There's not a ton of games being webcast to choose from this weekend, the last weekend of CIS men's hockey before the Christmas exam break.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EFriday\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003EAUS\u003C\/i\u003E: A couple of good choices. \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/live.streamit.ca\/?player=57\u0026amp;eventid=121\"\u003EUPEI will have their hands full in Wolfville with #4 ranked Acadia\u003C\/a\u003E, while short-staffed \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/w3.stu.ca\/stu\/athletics\/broadcast\/default.aspx\"\u003ESt. Thomas are the proverbial underdog versus visiting 8th ranked Saint Mary's\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Acadia game became VERY edgy after star Axemen defenceman Chris Owens was laid out by UPEI's Mason Wilgosh in the 2nd period. Owens went to the hospital on a stretcher while Wilgosh earned a match penalty. Acadia won 3-1. In Fredericton STU twice had the lead, but the Huskies tied it up and won it 3-2 after an overtime shootout.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003EOUA\u003C\/i\u003E: Not a marquee match-up, but 5th ranked \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.ustream.tv\/channel\/rmc-paladins#\"\u003EUQTR is playing gritty RMC\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThis one also went to an overtime shootout, with UQTR winning 4-3. Not a bad pick, huh? \u0026nbsp;:-)\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003ECanada West\u003C\/i\u003E: No webcasts, which is a shame, because Alberta @ Manitoba looks promising.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESaturday\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003EAUS\u003C\/i\u003E: It was the biggest match-up in the CIS a few weeks ago, and they're back at for their third meeting of the first team. Each has won 4-2 at home.\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/live.streamit.ca\/?player=57\u0026amp;eventid=121\"\u003E #2 UNB at #4 Acadia\u003C\/a\u003E in a probable battle for 1st place in the AUS (depending on what happens Friday night).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003EUNB may have out-shot and out-chanced Acadia, but the Axemen got strong goaltending and took better advantage of their opportunities for the big 3-2 win on home ice.\u0026nbsp; \u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003EOUA\u003C\/i\u003E: Again, not a lot of choice in the OUA but I would lean towards the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.ustream.tv\/channel\/rmc-paladins#\"\u003ERMC-McGill\u003C\/a\u003E match, as the Paladins can play the Redmen tough (the reigning CIS champs who only got one 10th place vote this week ...).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003ENo Cinderella story Saturday. McGill was ahead 5-0 midway through second period and finished with 7-2 win.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003ECanada West\u003C\/i\u003E: Nothing to see here. \u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/6697690194223304424\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2012\/11\/mens-hockey-suggestions-for-games-to_30.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/6697690194223304424"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/6697690194223304424"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2012\/11\/mens-hockey-suggestions-for-games-to_30.html","title":"Men's Hockey: Suggestions for games to watch this weekend"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"David Kilfoil"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/16821812362923440575"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"22","height":"32","src":"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_ZSfv79uXrWQ\/SmbzQBQU15I\/AAAAAAAAAAM\/-NRmEHNVB7o\/S220\/David.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-4928161709372766440"},"published":{"$t":"2012-11-16T12:12:00.000-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2012-11-19T13:21:08.568-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Aigles Bleus"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Axemen"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Bisons"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Dinos"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Hawks"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Hockey"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Paladins"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Patriotes"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Redmen"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"SMU Huskies"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Thunderwolves"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"U of S Huskies"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"UBC Thunderbirds"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Varsity Blues"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Varsity Reds"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Men's Hockey: Suggestions for games to watch this weekend"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"I'm not sure if it is because of the CIS football playoffs this weekend, or maybe because the court sports are in full swing, but there's a paucity of hockey webcasts in the OUA and Canada West this weekend. Here's some suggestions for games to watch on your computer, since there's no NHL on TV.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EFriday\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAUS: A couple of nationally ranked teams get at 'er as \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/playerv2.streamit.ca\/PlayerV2.aspx?eventid=307\"\u003E#6 Moncton visits #10 Saint Mary's\u003C\/a\u003E in Halifax. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe game was close thanks to Moncton goaltender \u003Cb\u003EAdrien Lemay\u003C\/b\u003E's 49 saves. In overtime UdeM's\u0026nbsp;\u003Cb\u003EMathieu Bolduc\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026nbsp;scored the winner, shorthanded, for 3-2 road win.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOUA: The reigning national champ McGill Redmen are in in Trois-Rivières \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/oraprdnt.uqtr.uquebec.ca\/pls\/public\/gscw031?owa_no_site=1610\u0026amp;owa_no_fiche=110\u0026amp;\"\u003Eto play #5 ranked UQTR\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003ELes Patriotes cruised to a 3-1 win.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECanadaWest: No games online, but Saskatchewan at Calgary looks interesting.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Huskies were missing 2\/3 of their top line, and the rest of the team must have had bus legs as the Dinos pumped them 8-0.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESaturday\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAUS: Battle for first place between #2 ranked Acadia and #4 ranked UNB in Fredericton. \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/playerv2.streamit.ca\/PlayerV2.aspx?eventid=64\"\u003ETHE game of the week\u003C\/a\u003E in CIS men's hockey.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThis game delivered in very much a playoff feel on the ice. Acadia tied it up in the third, but Tyler Carroll scored the game winner and insurance goal for 4-2 win for the Varsity Reds. \u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOUA: Only game online has \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.ssncanada.ca\/game\/4322\/\"\u003ERMC at Toronto\u003C\/a\u003E, while Lakehead at Laurier is probably a better tilt.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Varsity Blues had an easy time with the Paladins, outshooting them 49-25 in 7-0 win. The Lancers upset the No. 8 ranked Thunderwolves 4-2 despite being outshot 44-28.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECanadaWest: Still no games online, and Manitoba at UBC would have made for fun late night viewing.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003ETurns out the Lethbridge at Mount Royal game was webcast, but there was no play-by-play audio. Jesse Tresierra scored in double-overtime to win it 3-2 for the Cougars. The Bison and the Thunderbirds also went to 2OT, with Scott Wasden getting the 2-1 winner for UBC.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/4928161709372766440\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2012\/11\/mens-hockey-suggestions-for-games-to.html#comment-form","title":"1 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/4928161709372766440"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/4928161709372766440"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2012\/11\/mens-hockey-suggestions-for-games-to.html","title":"Men's Hockey: Suggestions for games to watch this weekend"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"David Kilfoil"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/16821812362923440575"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"22","height":"32","src":"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_ZSfv79uXrWQ\/SmbzQBQU15I\/AAAAAAAAAAM\/-NRmEHNVB7o\/S220\/David.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"1"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-5649205790148792542"},"published":{"$t":"2012-07-05T20:26:00.001-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2012-07-05T20:26:14.664-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Paladins"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"statistics"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Basketball: How does losing RMC affect team rankings?"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"(Spoiler: not much.)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWith RMC's \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2012\/06\/basketball-rmc-drops-out-of-oua.html\"\u003Eannouncement to move its basketball programs out of CIS\u003C\/a\u003E, one can wonder what it will mean to not have them around anymore. Say, if we removed all of those games from the rankings. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMost of those games last year turned out the same \u0026mdash; the Paladins lost poorly \u0026mdash; so we'd probably guess that the team overall had no effect. Is that actually true, though? \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWell, yes. Yes it is. But read on anyway.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003ERemoving RMC's games does the following to the men's rankings:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EThe nature of SRS means those points that they were below average need to be accounted for somewhere. So if we take away their -34.4, for example, from the totals, then all the other teams need to lose 34.4 to make it all balance out in the end. And most teams did lose a small amount off their SRS measure. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn fact, a very small amount. Acadia, Ryerson, Dalhousie, and York were the only ones to lose more than two points per game, but two points in CIS basketball is equivalent to less than 3% of a win per game. These teams played 29 non-RMC games on average, so that's 0.8 of a win over the entire season. Basically, not getting to beat up on RMC made these teams lose not only the wins in those games, but also nearly an extra win on top of that because their point differential wasn't as high as it was before. (RMC lost every non-Queen's game by at least 38 points, and on average by 56.) There's not much of a trend to who loses SRS points: Acadia won by 88, the highest of any RMC game, and Queen's won by 31 and 16, the two lowest.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EWith RPI it's the same idea, even with ignoring the score, but it affects different teams. York, Western, Waterloo, and Queen's lose the most off their RPI (12 points on average) but it's not like they were all that high to begin with. Those four teams were, respectively, 39th, 36th, 38th, and 42nd out of 43 teams \u003Ci\u003Ebefore\u003C\/i\u003E removing RMC.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EThe highest team in RPI whose ranking is affected by the RMC removal is Laurier (12 down to 13) and the highest in SRS is Acadia (9 to 11) as noted above. In WLU's case, though, the change isn't significant.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd on the women's side:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EIt's Waterloo who would suffer the most, but still not by much: 13 points of RPI and 1.2 points of SRS, in both cases either moving them from 41st or 42nd to last place. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ENone of the top 12 in SRS, or top 13 in RPI, change positions in the rankings without RMC.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOverall, hardly anyone is affected significantly, and the teams at the top don't even notice a difference. It would seem that RMC did not matter at all to CIS basketball last year. (There are few other ways to interpret such a season, honestly.) So their departure is, for everyone else, pretty much a non-event.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/5649205790148792542\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2012\/07\/basketball-how-does-losing-rmc-affect.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/5649205790148792542"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/5649205790148792542"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2012\/07\/basketball-how-does-losing-rmc-affect.html","title":"Basketball: How does losing RMC affect team rankings?"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Rob Pettapiece"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-1445595647414497787"},"published":{"$t":"2012-06-28T17:59:00.000-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2012-06-28T18:08:06.113-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"CIS Issues"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Paladins"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Basketball: RMC drops out of OUA"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"The Royal Military College of Canada \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/oua.ca\/news\/2012\/6\/27\/XC_0627125704.aspx\"\u003Ehas announced\u003C\/a\u003E that its men's and women's basketball programs will no longer compete in OUA play:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Ci\u003ERMCC has created a new competitive club program, and will shift the taekwondo and running teams from the varsity program to this new umbrella. Like varsity teams, competitive clubs will represent RMCC and compete at a high performance level outside of the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) leagues. In addition to taekwondo and running, there will be five other competitive clubs: rowing, sailing, swimming, military skills and women’s rugby.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMoving forward, both the men’s and women’s basketball will no longer be played at the varsity level. Men’s and women’s basketball will solely be played at the intramural level.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E“The Royal Military College of Canada is a founding member of Canadian Interuniversity Sport and will continue to be an active member in the league,” said Darren Cates, RMCC Athletic Director. “We are confident the changes being made will strike the right balance for the College and will allow us to better allocate our resources to the benefit of all officer and naval cadets.”\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E-- RMC Athletics release\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003EIt's not the first school to realign programs and won't be the last, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/02\/calculated-reactions-short-history-of.html\"\u003Ebut as we've seen over the years\u003C\/a\u003E, basketball has been one of the least successful sports at RMC and across the country. At the time of that post last year, RMC's two basketball programs had exactly ten times as many losses as wins (32-320), and their combined record was even worse when you remove the \u003Cb\u003EKevin Dulude\u003C\/b\u003E years: 2-240, or a microscopic .008 winning percentage. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThose win-loss totals don't include the two most recent years, but they don't help RMC's case. Our rankings say \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/spreadsheets.google.com\/ccc?key=0Ar0xEkmR7QNKdFBTeExuYjhxQmI2Q1lrV0c2ZUVNWWc\u0026hl=en\"\u003Ethe men's basketball team\u003C\/a\u003E was twice as bad as the second-worst CIS team last year (-34.4 SRS; second-worst was -17.1), and three times as bad in 2010-11 (-32.4 vs -10.6). They haven't won a game since November 2006. \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheet\/ccc?key=0Ar0xEkmR7QNKdC10dWZGcWFwcWNFZDBjU251ZXphN2c\"\u003EThe women are also far below the CIS average\u003C\/a\u003E, if not quite the worst by the numbers, at -24.3 and -27.8 the last two years.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI think we'd all agree that RMC faces unique challenges with its athletic programs, but the majority simply aren't competitive. Decisions like this one, while unpleasant for those who lose a spot on an OUA team (the intramural level, of course, does not compare), are likely inevitable in a league where wins and losses do matter. If you're going to realign some of your programs out of the OUA, it makes perfect sense for the ones with streaks of multiple winless seasons to be first on the list. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd who knows, maybe this allows them to provide more resources to \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2012\/03\/volleyball-rmcs-rapid-rise.html\"\u003Ea more successful team\u003C\/a\u003E, then reconsider their basketball situation down the road. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnyway, this is probably better for the other basketball programs in the OUA, overall, since there wasn't much to be gained from playing RMC in recent years. It looks like the 2012-13 schedule will go ahead with one fewer team: a 20-game schedule for the OUA East and 21 for the OUA West. (It would be interesting to see how RMC's absence would affect rankings such as the RPI, especially between teams in different conferences, and a future post will look at exactly that.)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/1445595647414497787\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2012\/06\/basketball-rmc-drops-out-of-oua.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/1445595647414497787"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/1445595647414497787"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2012\/06\/basketball-rmc-drops-out-of-oua.html","title":"Basketball: RMC drops out of OUA"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Rob Pettapiece"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-7501494054795111845"},"published":{"$t":"2012-03-27T12:00:00.000-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2012-03-27T12:00:04.854-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Paladins"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Volleyball"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Volleyball: RMC's rapid rise"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"When \u003Cb\u003EMelissa McCoy\u003C\/b\u003E found out her RMC volleyball team had qualified for this year’s OUA Final Four championship tournament, she was on a chairlift in Quebec — and she was stunned.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHer team’s season had ended just days earlier, or so she thought, when they lost the quarterfinals in straight sets to the York Lions. What she was about to find out on that chairlift was that \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/oua.ca\/news\/2012\/2\/22\/WVB_0222120943.aspx?path=wvball\"\u003Ethe Lions had used an ineligible player in that match\u003C\/a\u003E and, as a result, were forced to forfeit. York was out. RMC was in. For the first time in team history, the Paladins had advanced to the Final Four.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe instructions on McCoy’s phone were simple: Get back to Kingston. She didn’t waste a minute. Her spring break had come to an abrupt end, but it didn’t matter. A Final Four appearance in her senior year was a dream scenario, especially since three years earlier, in her rookie season, her team had posted an 0-19 record. For the fifth straight year.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003EThe story of the RMC volleyball team’s relatively rapid rise, from 0-19 to 9-9 in four years, is one that has a lot to do with recruiting — a process made infinitely more difficult for their coaching staff by the general nature of the military college and its rigorous application process. (Women's volleyball is certainly \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/02\/calculated-reactions-short-history-of.html\"\u003Enot the only RMC team that has found it hard to compete in OUA play\u003C\/a\u003E.)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHead coach \u003Cb\u003ECarolyn Welden\u003C\/b\u003E began to understand the challenge inherent in recruiting players to RMC when she took over as head coach in 2003. She realized it wasn’t as easy as going to games, assessing players and recruiting top talent. She had to find quality players that were also likely to be drawn to RMC’s regimented culture and the perks that went with it — free schooling, an hourly wage and a guaranteed job upon graduation. She had to find athletic, ambitious women that were equally excited about playing volleyball as they were about partaking in military life, and could pass the battery of tests the school’s admissions team administered.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGiven the familial nature of the military and, consequently, the school, she opted to go to communities that had higher volumes of Canadian Forces.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E“Four or five years ago it finally started making sense to me,” she said. “How to attract these people. How to explain what a great opportunity this is to represent your country.”\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAfter that string of 0-19 seasons, one of the athletes she was able to attract was Melissa McCoy, a Kingston native who had excelled as a middle blocker with the Kingston Pegasus and National Capitals club teams.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAlthough McCoy didn’t commit to RMC’s regular officer training program, she did commit to the school as a reservist, paying her own tuition with no mandatory service after graduation. Her first season with the team, the 2008-09 year, proved tough. She was used to winning. RMC didn’t win a single game.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E“There were definitely days where I questioned why I was there,” she says. “After one of the games I broke down and cried and said I didn’t know if I could do this anymore but Carolyn assured me next year would be better. I had faith in her ability to recruit people.”\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHer coach didn’t disappoint.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-RVBk2n1HTX0\/T3HHX43u_oI\/AAAAAAAABGk\/EOFNXsL9U-U\/s1600\/rmcwvb2010.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" height=\"335\" src=\"http:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-RVBk2n1HTX0\/T3HHX43u_oI\/AAAAAAAABGk\/EOFNXsL9U-U\/s400\/rmcwvb2010.jpg\" width=\"400\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003EMelissa McCoy (4) and her teammates celebrate following\u003Cbr \/\u003ERMC's first OUA win on Feb. 7, 2010. (RMC Athletics)\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003EThe following year, five top players committed to the team and their impact was immediate. \u003Cb\u003ENorah Collins \u003C\/b\u003Ewas named to the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/oua.ca\/documents\/2011\/12\/20\/WVball0910AllStars.pdf?id=479\"\u003EOUA's all-rookie team\u003C\/a\u003E and the Paladins \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/sports\/wvball\/2009-10\/schedule?team=RMC\"\u003Ewon their first ever OUA game\u003C\/a\u003E, beating the Windsor Lancers 3-2 and bumping their record to 1-18. While that achievement may have been laughable to some, since they still lost most of their other games in straight sets, it was a milestone for McCoy.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E“It was the most relieving feeling when we scored that last point,” she says. “There was a picture taken after that last point and I’m jumping in the air. It’s my favourite picture of our four years.”\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe upward slope continued from there: a gentle rise, but a meaningful one.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn 2010-11, Welden added more highly-regarded recruits, including the 6’2 \u003Cb\u003ELitjens\u003C\/b\u003E twins, \u003Cb\u003EMallory\u003C\/b\u003E and \u003Cb\u003EChelsey\u003C\/b\u003E. Stars with the Ottawa Mavericks, they were drawn to the school because of their father’s stories of RMC student life — a life, he explained, that could only be understood by attending. They were also drawn by the career prospects. Like their father, both girls wanted to pursue military careers as French-speaking engineers.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe twins helped the team to a 7-12 record, six more wins than they had the year before. In December, when they were 2-5, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2010\/12\/calculated-reactions-some-new-years.html\"\u003Ethe Paladins were identified here as a potential playoff team\u003C\/a\u003E. They indeed made the playoffs, though \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/championships\/wvball\/2010-11\/boxscores\/20110219_ve5a.xml\"\u003Ethey lost 3-0 to York\u003C\/a\u003E in the first round.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn 2011-12, the team’s goals changed drastically. It was no longer just okay to participate. It was time to compete. Despite having a roster of only 11, the team vowed to make the Final Four.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E“Losing a game this year was a big deal,” Chelsea Litjens explains. “This year we went into games expecting to win them, not hoping to win. There was a big shift in mentality.”\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThey won half their regular season games, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/sports\/wvball\/2011-12\/teams\/rmc?sort=sp\u0026amp;view=lineup\u0026amp;pos=\u0026amp;r=0\"\u003Erelying heavily on just seven of those 11 players\u003C\/a\u003E. Early on, they started a three-game winning streak with a 3-0 victory over Waterloo on November 11th, just hours after marching in a Remembrance Day parade with a Waterloo-based unit to honour both their fallen soldiers and their military obligations.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThat need to constantly balance military and sport is what makes this team unique. The players are driven to persevere by a passion for the work they are doing, regardless of whether their ties to the military are years old or newly-forged. While the Litjens twins are the only two players currently on the roster that have direct family ties to the Canadian Forces, the team as a whole takes pride in their connection to the military.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E“Being able to serve my country makes me feel like I am truly doing something important with my life,” Mallory Litjens says. “Our coach says it best: ‘We aren’t a normal team. You’re university students during the day, but after that you’re in the military, you serve your country.’”\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAs for the Final Four, the team finished fourth, losing in straight sets to both \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/championships\/wvball\/2011-12\/boxscores_post\/20120225_rx5d.xml\"\u003Ethe Ottawa Gee-Gees\u003C\/a\u003E and the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/championships\/wvball\/2011-12\/boxscores_post\/20120226_7y46.xml\"\u003EToronto Varsity Blues\u003C\/a\u003E, but their presence was a victory in itself.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAlthough they did not win their way into the tournament, not one person quoted in this article considered their Final Four appearance to have an asterisk.\u0026nbsp;It simply didn't matter to them how they got there, an understandable sentiment considering where they came from.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThey've realized their goal and have set the bar even higher for next season.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/7501494054795111845\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2012\/03\/volleyball-rmcs-rapid-rise.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/7501494054795111845"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/7501494054795111845"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2012\/03\/volleyball-rmcs-rapid-rise.html","title":"Volleyball: RMC's rapid rise"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Kate McKenna"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"24","height":"32","src":"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/_gNO7QvWoTv4\/S-yyesW-LnI\/AAAAAAAAAFs\/kYuvYcSLvZI\/S220\/P6010125.JPG"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-RVBk2n1HTX0\/T3HHX43u_oI\/AAAAAAAABGk\/EOFNXsL9U-U\/s72-c\/rmcwvb2010.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-5838068604606810303"},"published":{"$t":"2012-01-08T15:08:00.004-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2012-01-09T21:45:47.046-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gee-Gees"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Gaels"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lions"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"OUA East Men's basketball recap"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Paladins"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ravens"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ryerson Rams"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Varsity Blues"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Voyageurs"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Basketball: OUA East Men: Rams, Blues go 2–0; Lions not so lucky"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Good teams taking advantage of the weak teams in their schedule should be the least of a team’s expectations, even if they do not admit it. For two of the three Toronto-based hoops squads, who have been feeling the burn of a sub-.500 season, those expectations were in play as they went 2–0 this weekend. \u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Toronto Varsity Blues and Ryerson Rams (both 5–5) are keeping pace with each other, each defeating the RMC Paladins and Queen’s Gaels (both 0–10) to keep pace with each other.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Blues really needed this, after letting the OUA West toss them around like rag dolls in November, who had a relatively slow 3–5 start this fall, put the RMC Paladins and Queen’s Gaels away 92–36 and 69–56 respectively. The games weren’t close, as the Blues kept the Paladins at bay with five players scoring double digit points—and three double digit players against the Gaels. Blues G \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EJustin Holmes\u003C\/span\u003E made the most of his playing time this weekend, with 10 and 21 points in each game. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhile beating the Paladins and Gaels were a given, the Blues very much needed to keep pace with their downtown Toronto rivals. The Rams, tied with Toronto for third in a loose OUA East, put Queen’s and RMC in their place. Their 78–50 win over Queen’s was a tremendous defensive effort. The Rams allowed 16 points in the second and third quarters, forcing 26 turnovers from the Queen’s squad. Their 92–19 win over RMC is almost comical, really, but on the surface of it, the Rams seem to have it together. I could actually see them defeating Toronto down the road, shutting down a Blues squad trying to figure out its identity as an offense and defense. They will have a chance Jan. 18 to show their mettle.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBy the way, the York Lions, that third Toronto squad, are having a nightmarish season, and this weekend was only a small sample of their woes. The Lions hit the Ottawa-Carleton iceberg this weekend, losing to the Ravens and Gee-Gees 90–54 and 92–71 respectively. It is this very iceberg that Toronto and Ryerson will have to navigate next weekend. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/5838068604606810303\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2012\/01\/basketball-oua-men-rams-blues-go-20.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/5838068604606810303"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/5838068604606810303"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2012\/01\/basketball-oua-men-rams-blues-go-20.html","title":"Basketball: OUA East Men: Rams, Blues go 2–0; Lions not so lucky"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Perry King"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/09888613455383972574"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"31","height":"21","src":"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-Ry955DxoWa8\/Tjx9SYC4TfI\/AAAAAAAABcM\/5cKxXRn7n1A\/s220\/DSC_0001.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-3750319939584395450"},"published":{"$t":"2011-12-19T07:00:00.000-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2012-01-10T16:30:50.130-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Axemen"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Calculated Reactions"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Cascades"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gryphons"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Heat"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Hockey"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lakers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lancers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Marauders"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Paladins"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"U of S Huskies"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Varsity Blues"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Volleyball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Wesmen"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"X-Women"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Calculated Reactions: New Year's Evolutions, 2012 edition"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2010\/12\/calculated-reactions-some-new-years.html\"\u003EThis time last year\u003C\/a\u003E, we took a look at six teams who we figured were going to improve in the second half, at least in terms of win-loss record. We'll do the same thing this year.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003EBefore we get started with this year's teams, let's take a quick look at last year. Did those teams end up improving after all?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EUFV, men's basketball\u003C\/b\u003E: Expected to go from 4-8 (10th) to 10-14 or 11-13 (8th). Actual final record: 10-14 (7th).\u003Cbr \/\u003ENot bad.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EAcadia, men's basketball\u003C\/b\u003E: Expected to go from 6 points (tied for 4th) to 27 (4th alone). Actual final record: 22 points (4th). \u003Cbr \/\u003EThey did worse we expected in the regular season, but ironically made the Final 8 anyway.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMcMaster, men's basketball\u003C\/b\u003E: Expected to go from 3-5 (t-7th) to 10-12 (6th). Actual final record: 11-11 (4th). \u003Cbr \/\u003EAlso not bad. The OUA West after the top three teams was a little screwy last year with everyone at 11-11 or 9-13. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGuelph, men's hockey\u003C\/b\u003E: Expected to go from 18 points (t-6th) to 31 (5th). Actual final record: 33 points (4th). \u003Cbr \/\u003EAn up-and-down 2011, but the Gryphs nonetheless finished about where we expected.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ENipissing, men's hockey\u003C\/b\u003E: Expected to go from 19 points (t-5th) to 31 (4th). Actual final record: 37 points (4th).\u003Cbr \/\u003EThey certainly improved, even if I didn't have them winning every second-half game but two.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ERMC, women's volleyball\u003C\/b\u003E: Expected to go from 2-5 (t-5th) to 7-12 or 8-11 (4th). Actual final record: 7-12 (4th). \u003Cbr \/\u003EThis one made me look smart.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESo that's six teams, four of which finished within a game of their predicted records. I'll take that. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E**\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd now, this year's teams, in men's and women's basketball and men's hockey and volleyball, who might surprise in the second half. (That is, they would surprise you if you didn't read this first...)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMEN'S VOLLEYBALL\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EUBC Okanagan\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003ENow: 3-7, 9th place in Canada West\u003Cbr \/\u003EExpected: 8-12, 7th place\u003Cbr \/\u003ESwing games: Jan. 13\/14 at Brandon, Feb. 3\/4 at Saskatchewan, Feb. 10\/11 vs. Thompson Rivers (last games of season)\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESeventh isn't high, but it's high enough to make the playoffs in Canada West (7 of 11 qualify, with the No. 1 seed receiving a bye to the Final Four) and the Heat might just get there. They've played the toughest schedule in all of CIS so far, and while they haven't had the success of an Alberta (2nd-toughest schedule, 13-7 overall) or Manitoba (third-toughest, 17-3), their 7-15 record is somewhat deceptive. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENow, of course, the problem is that they've won merely one of their last 22 sets. But, again, those games were against the top seeds \u0026mdash; Manitoba, TWU, Calgary, UBC, and so on. And while Alberta and Brandon remain on their schedule, so do 4-8 Regina, 2-10 TRU, and 1-9 Saskatchewan. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThey have ten games left, and at least four are very winnable.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMEN'S HOCKEY\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EToronto\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003ENow: 8-5-3 (19 points), 7th in OUA East\u003Cbr \/\u003EExpected: 13-7-8 (34 points), 4th or 5th\u003Cbr \/\u003ESwing games: Jan. 8 at Ottawa, Feb. 4 at Nipissing, any game vs. Ryerson\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Blues are this year's team who'll benefit from a second-half schedule loaded with RMC. (Last year it was Nipissing.) \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThey're just a point behind each of Carleton and Concordia, with two games in hand over the Stingers, so moving up to fifth isn't a problem. Overtaking Ottawa might be more difficult, but maybe it won't be: the Blues have a cupcake schedule (10 games against RMC, Queen's, and Ryerson) whereas the Gee-Gees do not (zero games against those teams).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EUltimately, it won't matter much, since both U of T and Ottawa will make the playoffs anyway, and they might even play each other. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMEN'S BASKETBALL\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EWinnipeg\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003ENow: 2-6, tied for 8th\u003Cbr \/\u003EExpected: 7-13, 5th\u003Cbr \/\u003ESwing games: Jan. 12 at Brandon, Jan. 27\/28 at Regina, Feb. 10\/11 at Calgary\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis isn't the first time we've been \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2009\/10\/opening-tip-09-10-no-18-winnipeg-wesmen.html\"\u003Esomewhat high on the Wesmen\u003C\/a\u003E ... hopefully this time we're more accurate in our optimism.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EDavid Larkins\u003C\/b\u003E (of \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blogs.canoe.ca\/thefeed\"\u003EThe Feed\u003C\/a\u003E and the \u003Ci\u003EWinnipeg Sun\u003C\/i\u003E) \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blogs.canoe.ca\/thefeed\/uncategorized\/the-most-massive-canada-west-preview-youll-read\/\"\u003Ewas not high on this team in his season preview\u003C\/a\u003E and we've asked him via e-mail for his thoughts on whether they can make a run at a playoff spot.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\"Winnipeg's depth is better this year but I would have figured they'd struggle to get to .500 coming into this season.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\"To me the biggest thing needed in a turnaround is a better defensive presence, more physicality on that end and in rebounding, and a PG to help get easier shots. I don't personally see that happening, but that's the ideal situation.\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EAndrew Cunningham\u003C\/b\u003E, out of Toronto's Eastern Commerce by way of Oklahoma's \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.redlandscc.edu\/index.php?q=athletics\"\u003ERedlands Community College\u003C\/a\u003E and sidelined so far with a broken foot, was supposed to help out with \"depth and scoring ability\", per Larkins, but the injury made that impossible in the first half. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\"Cunningham's return is critical because the Wesmen are completely exposed at the PG,\" he continued. \"\u003Cb\u003ECraig Sharpe\u003C\/b\u003E is a battler and a good kid, but he's not a weapon on either end. Teams lay off him when he's on the perimeter, he's turnover-prone and he's defensively suspect.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\"The Wesmen knew they'd have to have a strong defensive team this season and I just don't think it's happened. They struggle to score (again Cunningham will assist this greatly), and that's put an even greater pressure on their defence.\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEven if it's unlikely that the Wesmen qualify for the playoffs, it's worth pointing out that UBC's not in a great position: they're two losses behind UVic and are ahead of UFV only on percentage points. They play the same teams as UVic, plus two against TRU, so they can certainly make up that deficit. But UFV doesn't have a game left against a team currently above .500.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EWindsor\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003ENow: 5-3, tied for 5th\u003Cbr \/\u003EExpected: 13-9, 4th\u003Cbr \/\u003ESwing games: Jan. 4 vs. McMaster, Jan. 27\/28 vs. Lakehead, Feb. 4 at Guelph\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EA 5-2 record against the non-Carleton OUA East teams is not perfect, obviously, but it's not the end of the season either. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/12\/oua-west-mens-basketball-first-half.html\"\u003EIn his OUA West first-half review\u003C\/a\u003E, our \u003Cb\u003EGreg Colgan\u003C\/b\u003E mentioned that he might have been too generous calling a third-place finish for the Lancers, but maybe it's not so optimistic. He still expects them to improve, riding \u003Cb\u003EEnrico Di Loreto\u003C\/b\u003E, \u003Cb\u003EJosh Collins\u003C\/b\u003E, and \u003Cb\u003ELien Phillip\u003C\/b\u003E \"as far as they can take them.\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIncluding Windsor here also gives us an excuse to run another edition of \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/#!\/Chris__Oliver\/status\/148387270506979328\"\u003EThis Week In \u003Cb\u003EChris Oliver\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E: \"A big step in life is when you realize other people can help you do a better job than you would do alone.\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EWOMEN'S BASKETBALL\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESt. F-X\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003ENow: 2-3, 4 points, 6th place\u003Cbr \/\u003EExpected: 28 or 30 points, 4th place\u003Cbr \/\u003ESwing games: Jan. 11 at CBU, Jan. 21 vs. CBU, Jan. 29 at Dalhousie, Feb. 15 at CBU, Feb. 18\/19 at Memorial, Feb. 25 vs. Saint Mary's (last game of season)\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Capers are themselves another team who could improve, and obviously with three games left against each other, they and the X-Women will be battling more than these natural rivals usually do. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFor X, though, it's one of those things that seems like it could go either way. They're 2-3 in AUS play and 6-5 overall against a slightly weak schedule, so 28 points* could be a little too optimistic. We'll see. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003E* I suppose I could tell you what 28 points translates to in wins and losses, but given the points system in the AUS, that would pretty much require me to run the extended Euclidean algorithm, something I told myself I would never do again.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESaskatchewan\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003ENow: 4-3, 4th place\u003Cbr \/\u003EExpected: 14-6, 2nd place\u003Cbr \/\u003ESwing game: Jan. 7 at UBC\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E10-3 is quite the second-half record. But \"4-3\" is misleading, as this Huskies team is 10-4 overall. So 10-3 is certainly doable.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EManitoba and Brandon will likely help them with four of those wins, not to mention TRU and UBC-O and Winnipeg. But they're favoured in so many games, by at least a 70:30 margin, that there's really only one swing game we will mention here \u0026mdash; their second game back, in Vancouver. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFinishing second rather than fourth means a home playoff series, but their opponent in either case will likely be from the UFV\/UVic\/UBC set, each of which is top 15 in RPI nationwide. Of course, those B.C. teams will probably have to play someone in the top 6 (Regina\/Saskatchewan\/Alberta), so either way you look at it, it's a tough order. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/3750319939584395450\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/12\/calculated-reactions-new-years.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/3750319939584395450"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/3750319939584395450"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/12\/calculated-reactions-new-years.html","title":"Calculated Reactions: New Year's Evolutions, 2012 edition"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Rob Pettapiece"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-8568742313934847016"},"published":{"$t":"2011-12-15T23:20:00.001-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2011-12-17T12:49:36.903-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gee-Gees"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Gaels"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lions"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"OUA East Men's basketball recap"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Paladins"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ravens"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ryerson Rams"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Varsity Blues"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Voyageurs"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Men's basketball: OUA East 2011-12 - Ballers, freshly graded (Holiday edition)"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cspan style=\"font-style:italic;\"\u003EWith exams coming to a close and the winter break upon us, it won't be long before many CIS teams are playing in mid-season tournaments and preparing for the stretch drive of the second semester season. But before we start looking ahead to the holiday tournaments and second half games, it's time to make like professors and TAs and start dishing out the first-half grades. How have the teams done in their pursuit of athletic excellence? We'll start with the OUA West and East today, with Canada West and the AUS to follow tomorrow. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EPerry King\u003C\/span\u003E moves us eastward with his look at the haves (perhaps have) and have nots of the OUA East.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe OUA East has become strange territory in the last month or so. The division may be identifiable by the Carleton Ravens at the top, and the abysmal York Lion, RMC Paladins and Queen’s Gaels at the bottom, but the mighty middle has looked mildly mediocre at times in the last month. We have unscientifically graded their performance, and placed expectations adequately.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003ECARLETON RAVENS (CIS no.1)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003ERecord:\u003C\/span\u003E 8-0, 16 points; 1st place \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EWhat’s going on:\u003C\/span\u003E The Ravens are great at going about their business and winning when it counts. When the Lakehead Thunderwolves pulled out a victory on them to win the OUA last season, the Ravens shrugged it off to the tune of a national title. Without a hitch, this squad has already sprinted to a four-game lead on the next team. Undefeated, first in many team stats, and winning the games they’re supposed to—including a tight one against the Wolves. Stats and wins are a small indication of what we have come to understand about the Raven’s success, but we do understand that this squad is good in every aspect of the game.. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EThings to look for next semester: \u003C\/span\u003EI am, like many, already looking to how the Ravens will fare in the playoffs next spring. I can say this: the OUA West playoff teams will give the Ravens a problem, but not before they beat up on each other.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EGrade:\u003C\/span\u003E A+\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EOTTAWA GEE-GEES\u003C\/span\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003ERecord:\u003C\/span\u003E 4-4, 8 points; 2nd place\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EWhat’s going on:\u003C\/span\u003E It looks like the Gee-gees are doing much better than last season, by comparison with a similar roster. Coach James Derouin’s squad started the 2010-11 season 2–6 before rallying to an 11–11 finish. While the expectation for Carleton’s neighbour is equal win-loss perfection, a relatively young coaching staff has slowly found its legs, with a 4–4 start. While we can’t assume their start will improve next season, this season they’re competitive but I’m still not sold on them. They should have beaten Laurier last week and the Windsor Lancers on Nov. 18—those games were heartbreakers—and their 0–2 start was a bit disenchanting.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EThings to look for next semester:\u003C\/span\u003E The Gee-gees are not faring well with rebounds, they’re 26th in the nation in boards. They need to hustle out there, but expect the numbers to improve against the likes of the Blues, Lions, and Paladins.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EGrade:\u003C\/span\u003E B\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EU OF T VARSITY BLUES\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003ERecord\u003C\/span\u003E: 3-5, 6 points; 3rd place\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EWhat’s going on:\u003C\/span\u003E This is not how the Blues go about business. When they have won, they have won close. When they have lost, they have been blown out, though with exceptions to losses against very good teams in Lakehead and Laurier the opening weekend. The common thread has been offensive woes. Squads have figured out that if you take away the Blues bombers behind the arc, they become worse at ball handling and they simply are not well-organized. To UofT's credit, they are defensively better than they have been in the past few years, but they need to keep the point totals down. Coach \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EMike Katz\u003C\/span\u003E is a man with an impressive resume, and if this squad can win 10 of their last 14 games, that is at least at par with some of Katz’s past squads. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EThings to look for next semester\u003C\/span\u003E: This squad needs their second team to produce. Filling the holes left by vets like \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EArun Kumar\u003C\/span\u003E, \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EJustin Holmes\u003C\/span\u003E, and\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003E Drazen Glisic\u003C\/span\u003E can ensure this squad can stay in games more often.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EGrade:\u003C\/span\u003E B-\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003ERYERSON RAMS\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ERecord: 3-5, 6 points; 3rd\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EWhat’s going on:\u003C\/span\u003E The Rams are perhaps performing exactly as was predicted. The epitome of the middle of this division, they have played well enough to win against Guelph and Brock—the same Badgers who beat the Blues this season. They have been handed their asses on a few occasions, though.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EThings to look for next semester:\u003C\/span\u003E This squad wants to beat the Blues, they want claim to who rules downtown Toronto. Expect this Jan. 18 contest to be very close.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EGrade:\u003C\/span\u003E C\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003ELAURENTIAN VOYAGEURS \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003ERecord:\u003C\/span\u003E 2-6, 4 points; 5th\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EWhat’s going on:\u003C\/span\u003E Despite their record, I’m very impressed with this squad. The Voys have the two top scorers in the East this season—Alex Ratte (17.9 ppg) and Isiah Pasquale (16.9 ppg). They have been competitive in all their games, and have been blown out only a couple times so far. They have exceeded my expectations so far.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EThings to look for next semester:\u003C\/span\u003E Watch out for the Voys when they face the third-place squads next semester. I feel like this squad can beat Toronto and Ryerson outright without it being a long shot. They do need to deal with defensive gaffes, but so do the Blues and Rams.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EGrade:\u003C\/span\u003E B-\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EQUEEN’S GOLDEN GAELS\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ERecord: 0-8, 0 points; 6th\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EWhat’s going on:\u003C\/span\u003E Not so golden so far, unfortunately. What’s the most ridiculous stat of their futility so far? They are forty-first in the nation in points per game (60.2)—which include losses by 32 against Lakehead, 26 against Laurier, and 21 against Western. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EThings to look for next semester\u003C\/span\u003E: Hilarity, but if you’re a fan of the squad, defend them. They need the motivation, especially if they want to beat the likes of Toronto, Laurentian, and Queen’s.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EGrade:\u003C\/span\u003E F\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003ERMC PALADINS\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003ERecord:\u003C\/span\u003E 0-8, 0 points; sixth\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EWhat’s going on:\u003C\/span\u003E While we have come to expect this winless performance each season, it still doesn’t excuse the Paladins to be beaten by an average margin of 49.9 points. This upside of ridiculous stat is that their margins of loss have shrunk over the length of the season—including losses by 38 and 41 last weekend. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EThings to look for next semester: \u003C\/span\u003EExpect much of the same, although they do face Queen’s Feb. 3. Can we say first victory since the 2006-2007 season?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EGrade:\u003C\/span\u003E F\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EYORK LIONS\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003ERecord:\u003C\/span\u003E 0-8, 0 points; sixth\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EWhat’s going on:\u003C\/span\u003E Simply put, this team is ridiculously lacking in overall experience. They have three fourth-year players—F Justin Bell, G Ken Buchanan and G Dave Tyndale—on a team that was really young last year, too. It’s quite a risk to do this, and a 10–12 finish last season was surprising, so the Lions’ good luck may have run out\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EThings to look for next semester:\u003C\/span\u003E This squad will win some games, hope is not lost. Expect the offense to improve a tiny bit—they are 34th in field goals made, 40th in three-pointers made, and 40th in freethrow percentage.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EGrade:\u003C\/span\u003E D \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/8568742313934847016\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/12\/basketball-oua-east-2011-12-ballers.html#comment-form","title":"1 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/8568742313934847016"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/8568742313934847016"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/12\/basketball-oua-east-2011-12-ballers.html","title":"Men's basketball: OUA East 2011-12 - Ballers, freshly graded (Holiday edition)"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Perry King"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/09888613455383972574"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"31","height":"21","src":"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-Ry955DxoWa8\/Tjx9SYC4TfI\/AAAAAAAABcM\/5cKxXRn7n1A\/s220\/DSC_0001.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"1"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-5774404079007409639"},"published":{"$t":"2011-12-05T12:00:00.000-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2011-12-05T12:00:06.886-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gee-Gees"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Gaels"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lions"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"OUA East Men's basketball recap"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Paladins"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ryerson Rams"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Varsity Blues"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Voyageurs"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Basketball: OUA East, Week 4 - Voyageurs, Blues lose tough, Gee-Gees claim second"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"The Toronto Varsity Blues couldn’t have needed the holiday break any more. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWith a chance to claim second in the East for their own, they in fact \u003Ci\u003Egot\u003C\/i\u003E owned\u0026mdash;with losses to the McMaster Marauders and Brock Badgers. The 78–60 loss to Mac Dec. 2 was fairly competitive out of the gates, but 30 turnovers, a mere four 3-pointers, and 20 points by \u003Cb\u003EAndrew Wasik\u003C\/b\u003E, \u003Cb\u003EAlex Hill\u003C\/b\u003E and \u003Cb\u003EDrazen Glisic\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026mdash;the veteran leadership on this team\u0026mdash;are clear indicators of an offensive shutdown. The pattern seemed almost similar in the 95–55 spanking by Brock, a squad that has the Blues’ number in the last few seasons. A 19–13 first quarter by Toronto was followed up by a 82-point performance by the tricky Badgers. While Wasik had 16 points to follow on a 4-point performance the night before, this is not like the Blues at all. Somehow, they need to get the ball control and offensive personnel sparked up before their next OUA match in January.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003EThe Laurentian Voyageurs also need some kind of spark. This team has a lot going against them, but a lot of heart and can squeak out games if they bring their best stuff. Their luck was absent this weekend, losing by a basket, 79–76, against the Guelph Gryphons, and 99–95 in OT against the powerful Lakehead Thunderwolves in Thunder Bay. A 27–19 third quarter was the difference against Guelph, and while they kept their turnovers down and made 46 per cent of their shots, they could not keep up with the Gryphon starters, who played a cache of minutes. The next night, the home court advantage for the Thunderwolves was a catalyst in the Wolves’ four-point victory. Six Thunderwolves, lead by G \u003Cb\u003EJoseph Jones\u003C\/b\u003E, had double digit points. An 0–2 weekend is a bitter pill to swallow, but the Voys have glimpses of good things coming. G \u003Cb\u003EAlex Ratte\u003C\/b\u003E is quietly becoming a leader on the floor for Laurentian\u0026mdash;if his 28 points against the Wolves were any indication. This team may need to work on defensive issues, especially with rebounds and such, but they could upset an Ottawa or Toronto. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe rest of the OUA East had a so-so weekend. While a 0–4 showing by RMC and Queen’s and a 2–0 weekend by Carleton are pretty much destined to occur, the Gee-Gees have landed second in the division. Their 77–76 victory was a sweet one, as the squad was trailing after three quarters. G \u003Cb\u003EKale Harrison\u003C\/b\u003E left it out on the court, putting up 31 points for the game. That game became the wake up call the Gee-Gees have been waiting for, as they buried the Waterloo Warriors 119–76 the next night. Five Gee-Gee players had double-digit scoring, and two\u0026mdash;\u003Cb\u003EWarren Ward\u003C\/b\u003E and \u003Cb\u003EVikas Gill\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026mdash;had at least 20 points. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/5774404079007409639\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/12\/basketball-oua-east-week-4-voyageurs.html#comment-form","title":"1 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/5774404079007409639"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/5774404079007409639"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/12\/basketball-oua-east-week-4-voyageurs.html","title":"Basketball: OUA East, Week 4 - Voyageurs, Blues lose tough, Gee-Gees claim second"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Perry King"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/09888613455383972574"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"31","height":"21","src":"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-Ry955DxoWa8\/Tjx9SYC4TfI\/AAAAAAAABcM\/5cKxXRn7n1A\/s220\/DSC_0001.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"1"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-7740662852430682271"},"published":{"$t":"2011-11-30T20:30:00.003-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2011-11-30T20:53:58.857-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gee-Gees"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Gaels"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gryphons"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lions"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"OUA East Men's basketball recap"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Paladins"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ravens"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ryerson Rams"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Thunderwolves"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Varsity Blues"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Voyageurs"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Basketball: OUA East - Week 3: Blues, Ravens go 2–0, Gee-Gees break road losing streak"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Quietly observing the OUA East in the last couple weeks has been a quiet frustration, on my part. With most of these squads bringing back experienced rosters from last season, I was expecting a few teams—besides the Carleton Ravens—to march onward in the division very quickly. The reality is that the cobwebs are still hanging around. The Ravens are the only undefeated squad in the division, with the Toronto Varsity Blues and Ottawa Gee-Gees (both 3–3) both three full games behind them.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003EThe Blues and Gee-Gees should be wary, the Ravens are beyond parity or any of these losing slumps at this point, but I think both squads are slowly getting their court feet back. The OUA East faced the West in interdivisional play this weekend, and the Blues and GeeGees went 3–1. The rest of the division went 2–8 in their contests combined.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhile the Ravens shrugged off the Guelph Gryphons and Lakehead Thunderwolves (98–55 and 88–85 respectively), the Blues kept pace with tough road wins against the Western Mustangs and Windsor Lancers. Their 83–79 win against Western was a doozy, 58–55 after three quarters. The Blues’ ball control (winning the rebound game 42–27) proved to help control the flow of an evenly matched fourth quarter. Veteran C \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EAndrew Wasik\u003C\/span\u003E had 20 points in the win. The Blues took advantage of the roadtrip momentum, and had five double digit scorers in their 86–81 win over Windsor. Kudos goes to F \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EAlex Hill\u003C\/span\u003E’s three 3-pointers in the clutch. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEven though Gee-Gees went 1–1 this weekend—interpretively a shaky start for a team with high expectations—the squad has played four road games. They nipped a potential albatross in the bud by winning their first road game against the Gryphons 83–77. Ottawa had control from the get-go in this one, shooting 46 per cent from the floor. Guard play was much better, with G \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EWarren Ward\u003C\/span\u003E scoring 28 points, and G \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EMike L’Africain\u003C\/span\u003E scoring 16 off the bench. This team has the personnel to go out there and get it done. When this squad scores often, their defence has a better shot down the stretch. Even though they lost to Lakehead 78–72, being outrebounded and turning it over 23 times, they somehow kept it close with their baskets. They will have much to mull over this week.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWith six games completed by each East squad, there are plenty of questions to be explored. We will not truly know what kind of parity exists until the divisional matchups go into full throttle in the new year. But, we do know that the West continues to look incredibly dominant over the East so far. In the first three weekends, the West is 32–16 (.667) over the East, up from last year's record (39-25, .610), with only one team (Western) below .500. Against everyone but Carleton, the OUA West teams are 32-10. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/7740662852430682271\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/11\/basketball-oua-east-week-3-oua-east.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/7740662852430682271"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/7740662852430682271"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/11\/basketball-oua-east-week-3-oua-east.html","title":"Basketball: OUA East - Week 3: Blues, Ravens go 2–0, Gee-Gees break road losing streak"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Perry King"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/09888613455383972574"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"31","height":"21","src":"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-Ry955DxoWa8\/Tjx9SYC4TfI\/AAAAAAAABcM\/5cKxXRn7n1A\/s220\/DSC_0001.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-7323222181015186345"},"published":{"$t":"2011-10-14T13:58:00.018-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2012-02-01T22:21:08.280-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gee-Gees"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Gaels"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Hockey"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lakers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"OUA East men's hockey recap"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Paladins"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Patriotes"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ravens"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Redmen"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ryerson Rams"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Stingers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Varsity Blues"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Hockey: 2011-12 OUA East season preview"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"For years, the OUA East has been a two-team conference.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEither the McGill Redmen, or UQTR Patriotes have represented the OUA East at nationals 13 of the last 14 years. Competitiveness has not been the conference’s strong point.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHowever, the OUA East’s lopsidedness might be slowly changing. Carleton emerged as a legitimate national top-10 team last season, while Nipissing has built a strong program in just two years. With young teams like Ottawa looking to make the leap, the Redmen and Patriotes might have competition atop the conference this season.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003EOur CIS men's hockey season preview continues with a look at the OUA East. Games started last week, so each team's record this season is noted beside their name.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECARLETON RAVENS (0-2-0)\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E2010-11 regular season record:\u003C\/b\u003E 18-8-2 (3rd)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayoff result:\u003C\/b\u003E Lost in OUA East semi-final to UQTR, after defeating U of T in the first round\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPowerplay:\u003C\/b\u003E 21.1% (6th in OUA)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPenalty kill:\u003C\/b\u003E 86.7% (T-2nd in OUA)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ELast season in 50 words:\u003C\/b\u003E A breakthrough season for the Ravens, in which they handed the Redmen their only two losses and then almost upset UQTR in the playoffs.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey departures:\u003C\/b\u003E D Brad Good\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey arrivals:\u003C\/b\u003E D Michael Folkes, LW Andrew Glass (a Boston University transfer who’s not eligible until mid-season), D Matt Stanisz, LW Mike Lomas \u003Cbr \/\u003E(Matt Tanski, the Ravens’ best recruit, recently signed with the Connecticut Whale of the AHL, where he’ll be a teammate of Sean Avery.) \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey player:\u003C\/b\u003E Forward \u003Cb\u003EJoe Pleckaitis\u003C\/b\u003E notched 29 points in his rookie season despite missing six games. He’s a serious candidate to lead the league in scoring this year.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E2011-12 outlook:\u003C\/b\u003E Coach \u003Cb\u003EMarty Johnston\u003C\/b\u003E has assembled a dark horse contender for nationals in the nation’s capital. The defence is unheralded, but gave up only 67 goals last season, second best in the OUA. However, the loss of captain \u003Cb\u003EBrad Good\u003C\/b\u003E does leave a significant hole on the blueline.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECarleton’s offence has an elite array of top-six talent, as Pleckaitis, \u003Cb\u003EBrandon MacLean\u003C\/b\u003E, \u003Cb\u003EJoey Manley\u003C\/b\u003E, \u003Cb\u003ERyan Berard\u003C\/b\u003E, and \u003Cb\u003EJeff Hayes\u003C\/b\u003E all averaged more than a point-per-game last season. When \u003Cb\u003EAndrew Glass\u003C\/b\u003E joins the mix in January, Carleton will have three extremely dangerous scoring lines.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Ravens might be a better team this year than last, but they’ll finish a spot lower than Nipissing due to a more challenging schedule.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPredicted conference finish:\u003C\/b\u003E 4th\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECONCORDIA STINGERS (0-2-1)\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E2010-11 regular season record:\u003C\/b\u003E 12-14-2 (7th)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayoff result:\u003C\/b\u003E First-round loss to UQTR\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPowerplay:\u003C\/b\u003E 21.4% (T-4th in OUA)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPenalty kill:\u003C\/b\u003E 77.2% (16th in OUA)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ELast season in 50 words:\u003C\/b\u003E Concordia could score with the best of them, averaging 3.82 goals per game last year, but allowed more goals against per game (4.54) than any other CIS playoff team.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey departures:\u003C\/b\u003E D Jesse Goodsell, G Maxime Joyal, RW Marc-André Element \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey arrivals:\u003C\/b\u003E LW Samuel Morneau, D Etienne St. Germain, G Nicholas Champion, G Peter Karvouniaris \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey players: Nicholas Champion\u003C\/b\u003E and \u003Cb\u003EPeter Karvouniaris\u003C\/b\u003E comprise the strongest goaltending tandem recruited in recent memory. Champion is \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/thelinknewspaper.ca\/article\/1712\"\u003Ethe star\u003C\/a\u003E, having spent two weeks at the Canadiens’ main camp this summer, but Karvouniaris had a great season last year in the CJHL and should be a competent backup.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E2011-12 outlook:\u003C\/b\u003E A slow, ineffective defence limited the Stingers last year, and the team did little to address their biggest flaw in the offseason. With the departure of \u003Cb\u003EJesse Goodsell\u003C\/b\u003E, their best blueliner, Concordia is poised for a slide back down the conference standings.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Stingers offence is still dangerous, however. \u003Cb\u003ECharles-Antoine Messier\u003C\/b\u003E, \u003Cb\u003EGeorge Lovatsis\u003C\/b\u003E, \u003Cb\u003EAlex Monahan\u003C\/b\u003E, and \u003Cb\u003EMike Stinziani\u003C\/b\u003E all put up more than a point-per-game last season. If they can maintain their production, and Concordia can stop taking unnecessary penalties (they led the conference in PIM last season), then the Stingers should still make the playoffs.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPredicted conference finish:\u003C\/b\u003E 8th\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMCGILL REDMEN (2-0-0)\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E2010-11 regular season record:\u003C\/b\u003E 24-2-2 (1st)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayoff result:\u003C\/b\u003E OUA champion; 2nd place at nationals (4-0 loss in the tournament final to UNB Varsity Reds)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPowerplay:\u003C\/b\u003E 22% (T-2nd in OUA)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPenalty kill:\u003C\/b\u003E 86.7% (T-2nd in OUA)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ELast season in 50 words:\u003C\/b\u003E After a dominant regular season, a Queen’s Cup, and impressive wins against StFX and Alberta at nationals, the Redmen ran into a bigger, deeper UNB in the CIS Championship game.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey departures:\u003C\/b\u003E LW Guillaume Doucet, C Simon Marcotte-Légaré\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey arrivals:\u003C\/b\u003E C Marc-Olivier Vachon, G Mark Segal, D Hugo Laporte, D Nicolas Therrien, C Guillaume Langelier-Parent\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey player:\u003C\/b\u003E LW \u003Cb\u003EFrancis Verreault-Paul\u003C\/b\u003E has led the nation in goals in two consecutive seasons. While he may not be the best player on the Redmen — one can make a strong case for defenceman \u003Cb\u003EMarc-André Dorion\u003C\/b\u003E or last year’s CIS Player of the Year \u003Cb\u003EAlex Picard-Hooper\u003C\/b\u003E — Verreault-Paul must improve upon his poor showing at nationals (3 points in 7 career games) if the Redmen hope to capture the University Cup.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E2011-12 outlook:\u003C\/b\u003E It’s national championship or bust for the Redmen. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe dynamic offense that led the CIS in goals last season returns almost entirely intact, as do two of the best two-way forwards in the CIS: \u003Cb\u003EEvan Vossen\u003C\/b\u003E and \u003Cb\u003EMax Langelier-Parent\u003C\/b\u003E. The defence is deeper than last season, with the addition of promising rookies Laporte and Therrien, and the return of the best offensive defenceman in the nation, Marc-André Dorion. First-year goaltender \u003Cb\u003EMark Segal\u003C\/b\u003E, formerly of the Vancouver Giants, will push incumbent starter \u003Cb\u003EHubert Morin\u003C\/b\u003E, who was shaky during the playoffs last season.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Redmen could be pushed around on the inside and kept to the periphery by bigger teams last season. It remains to be seen if they will be able to stand up to teams like UNB, but that won’t be a concern in the OUA East. Anything other than a first-place finish would be shocking.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPredicted conference finish:\u003C\/b\u003E 1st.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ENIPISSING LAKERS (2-1-0)\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E2010-11 regular season record:\u003C\/b\u003E 17-8-3 (4th)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayoff result:\u003C\/b\u003E Lost to McGill in OUA East semi-final, after defeating Queen’s in the first round\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPowerplay:\u003C\/b\u003E 22% (T-2nd in OUA)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPenalty kill:\u003C\/b\u003E 81.2% (13th in OUA)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ELast season in 50 words:\u003C\/b\u003E The Lakers rode the third-easiest schedule in the CIS to a fourth-place finish and their first-ever playoff series win.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey departures:\u003C\/b\u003E C Ryan Maunu, G Matt Hache\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey arrivals:\u003C\/b\u003E RW Marcus Watson, C Scott Restoule, RW Grant Toulmin\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey player:\u003C\/b\u003E Goaltender \u003Cb\u003EDaniel Spence\u003C\/b\u003E played in 201 CHL games and earned a training camp invitation from the Calgary Flames. Nipissing doesn’t have the firepower to run-and-gun with McGill or UQTR, so they’ll need solid goaltending if they hope to advance past the second round of the playoffs.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E2011-12 outlook:\u003C\/b\u003E The success of the Nipissing Lakers has been one of the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/02\/oua-east-hockey-drawing-map-to-second.html\"\u003Ebest stories\u003C\/a\u003E in the CIS. In just their third season of existence, Coach \u003Cb\u003EMike McParland\u003C\/b\u003E has built a strong squad that should hover around the Top-10 rankings all season.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Lakers had only one player (\u003Cb\u003EAndrew Marcoux\u003C\/b\u003E) in the top-40 in OUA scoring last season, but they have the luxury of four solid lines that match up favorably with the rest of the conference. They’re no weaker on defence either, as \u003Cb\u003EBrodie Beard\u003C\/b\u003E, \u003Cb\u003EJason Gray\u003C\/b\u003E, and \u003Cb\u003EPaul Cianfrini\u003C\/b\u003E headline a capable group of blueliners.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAfter Christmas, Nipissing plays Queen’s (4x), Ryerson (3x), RMC (2x), Toronto (1x), and Carleton (1x). That’s an extremely easy stretch that should propel the Lakers into a top-three finish.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPredicted conference finish:\u003C\/b\u003E 3rd \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EOTTAWA GEE-GEES (2-1-0)\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E2010-11 regular season record:\u003C\/b\u003E 11-14-3 (8th)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayoff result:\u003C\/b\u003E First-round loss to McGill\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPowerplay:\u003C\/b\u003E 19.6% (8th in OUA)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPenalty kill:\u003C\/b\u003E 77.1% (17th in OUA)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ELast season in 50 words:\u003C\/b\u003E Had three of the conference’s top five scorers, but couldn’t overcome defensive issues and a lack of depth at forward.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey departures:\u003C\/b\u003E No significant departures\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey arrivals:\u003C\/b\u003E C Alexandre Touchette, G Russell Abbott, LW Maxime Chamberland\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey player: Dominic Jalbert\u003C\/b\u003E. The smooth-skating sophomore defenceman is already in contention for the title of best offensive defenceman in the OUA East, alongside McGill’s Dorion and UQTR’s Lessard.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E2011-12 outlook\u003C\/b\u003E: Longtime QMJHL coach \u003Cb\u003ERéal Paiement\u003C\/b\u003E replaced Dave Leger in the offseason, and inherited a young, talented Gee-Gees team.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe biggest problem for Ottawa last year was a lack of depth at forward. The Gee-Gees top-line of \u003Cb\u003EKyle Ireland\u003C\/b\u003E, \u003Cb\u003EMathieu Methot\u003C\/b\u003E, and \u003Cb\u003ELuc Blain\u003C\/b\u003E combined for 136 points, whereas the remaining 16 players to dress at forward for Ottawa totaled only 53 points.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Gee-Gees also struggled defensively, giving up the third most goals in the OUA last year. A greater commitment to defense under Paiement, as well as a new starting goaltender in \u003Cb\u003ERussell Abbott\u003C\/b\u003E, should boost Ottawa up the standings and set them up as a serious threat in future years.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPredicted conference finish:\u003C\/b\u003E 6th\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EQUEEN’S GOLDEN GAELS (1-1-0)\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E2010-11 regular season record:\u003C\/b\u003E 14-11-3 (5th)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayoff result:\u003C\/b\u003E First-round loss to Nipissing\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPowerplay:\u003C\/b\u003E 20.2% (7th in OUA)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPenalty kill:\u003C\/b\u003E 73.3% (Worst in OUA)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ELast season in 50 words:\u003C\/b\u003E A disappointing year, if we go by the preseason standard set by Coach \u003Cb\u003EBrett Gibson\u003C\/b\u003E who told the Kingston Whig-Standard that “anything less than a top-four finish in the OUA East and at least one playoff series victory would be disappointing.”\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey departures:\u003C\/b\u003E No significant departures\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey arrivals:\u003C\/b\u003E F Corey Bureau, F Tyler Moore, G Riley Whitlock, D Steven Tresierra\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey player:Payton Liske\u003C\/b\u003E missed significant time last season to injury, but the 6’5” forward can be dominant when healthy. He’s notched 57 points in 44 career games.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E2011-12 outlook:\u003C\/b\u003E Queen’s would be ranked higher if they were healthy. Injuries to the team’s leading scorer \u003Cb\u003EJordan Mirwaldt\u003C\/b\u003E (leg), utility forward \u003Cb\u003EBrock Ouellet\u003C\/b\u003E (hamstring), and solid defence man \u003Cb\u003ERobert Stellick\u003C\/b\u003E (hip), will keep all three players out \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.thewhig.com\/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3324175\"\u003Euntil after Christmas\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn their absence the pressure will be on junior forward \u003Cb\u003EPayton Liske\u003C\/b\u003E to replicate his 40-point rookie season. Around him is a promising group of sophomore and rookie talent, headlined by \u003Cb\u003EKelly Jackson\u003C\/b\u003E, who has 7 points in two games so far this season.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe arrival of goaltender \u003Cb\u003ERiley Whitlock\u003C\/b\u003E, who had a .910 save percentage in three seasons with the Gee-Gees, should help stabilize things in the crease for the Gaels, but their defence is still questionable. If D \u003Cb\u003EStephane Chabot\u003C\/b\u003E can recover from his sophomore slump of a season ago and the team can fix its atrocious penalty kill, the Gaels could easily best the predicted finish.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPredicted conference finish:\u003C\/b\u003E 7th\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ERMC PALADINS (0-2-0)\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E2010-11 regular season record:\u003C\/b\u003E 5-22-1 (10th)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayoff result:\u003C\/b\u003E Did not qualify\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPowerplay:\u003C\/b\u003E 16% (16th in OUA)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPenalty kill:\u003C\/b\u003E 78.2% (15th in OUA)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ELast season in 50 words:\u003C\/b\u003E RMC iced a 16-man roster (including two goalies) for most of the season due to injuries and eligibility issues. They won three of their last five games to finish the year on a positive note.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey departures:\u003C\/b\u003E F Richard Lim, F Shawn Cox\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey arrivals:\u003C\/b\u003E D Alex Pym, F Colin MacLean, F Scott Domenico\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey player:\u003C\/b\u003E RW \u003Cb\u003ELandon Lavictoire\u003C\/b\u003E was the only RMC player to post at least a point-per-game, finishing 17th in the OUA with 30 points. He was also one of only three Paladins to average less than 0.5 PIM per game (only five teams in the CIS took more penalties than RMC last year). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E2011-12 outlook:\u003C\/b\u003E Since 1999-00 the Paladins have a regular season record of 72-200-12 (.275) and they haven’t won a playoff game since 2001. And as Rob Pettapiece detailed in a \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/02\/calculated-reactions-short-history-of.html\"\u003Eseverely depressing post\u003C\/a\u003E last year, men’s hockey is the most successful of RMC’s varsity programs. (Obviously recruiting limitations place the Paladins at a huge disadvantage.)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ERMC has been outshot 90-39 in two games so far this year, but have remained competitive thanks to excellent performances from goaltenders \u003Cb\u003EMatthew Beirnes\u003C\/b\u003E and \u003Cb\u003EAndrew Flemming\u003C\/b\u003E. Such lopsided shot totals will inevitably lead to blowout losses if not corrected soon.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEight out of ten teams make the playoffs in the OUA East, so you never like to write a team off, but it would take a drastic turnaround for the Paladins to get back to the postseason for the first time in 6 years.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPredicted conference finish:\u003C\/b\u003E 10th.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ERYERSON RAMS (1-0-0)\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E2010-11 regular season record:\u003C\/b\u003E 8-18-2 (9th)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayoff result:\u003C\/b\u003E Did not qualify\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPowerplay:\u003C\/b\u003E 11.2% (18th in OUA)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPenalty kill:\u003C\/b\u003E 81.5% (12th in OUA)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ELast season in 50 words:\u003C\/b\u003E A reminder not to overvalue early season results: the Rams won four of their first five games and were rewarded with the program’s first-ever top-10 ranking (placing 8th). They promptly lost ten straight games and finished eight points out of the playoffs.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey departures:\u003C\/b\u003E RW Cory Konecny, LW Matt Schmermund, LW Marcus Booth\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey arrivals:\u003C\/b\u003E G Troy Passingham, RW Jason Cassidy, D Brian Birkhoff, LW Kelly Geoffrey, C Jason Kelly\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey player:\u003C\/b\u003E New recruit \u003Cb\u003ETroy Passingham\u003C\/b\u003E is going to be busy in between the pipes, as the Rams gave up an average of 35 shots per game last season. Passingham started 101 games in the OHL over the last two years and won a Memorial Cup with Windsor in 2009-10 (albeit as the backup during the playoff run).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E2011-12 outlook:\u003C\/b\u003E The Rams dressed 10 rookies for their first game of the season (a 4-3 victory against RMC, in which Ryerson almost blew a four-goal lead). While there’s some major junior experience among the new recruits, they’ll struggle to compete against the top-half of the conference.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESimply put, the Rams need to score more in order to qualify for the playoffs. Their 77 goals last season were barely half of McGill’s league-leading total, and almost a goal-per-game worse than the conference average. Their putrid powerplay (11.2%) must be better.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWith some luck, the Rams on-ice rebuilding project will be finished by the time the university’s \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.ryerson.ca\/ryersonbuilds\/sportandrec.html?DB_LANG=C\u0026DB_OEM_ID=22300\"\u003Eother rebuilding project\u003C\/a\u003E is complete.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPredicted conference finish:\u003C\/b\u003E 9th\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ETORONTO VARSITY BLUES (2-0-0)\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E2010-11 regular season record:\u003C\/b\u003E 10-11-7 (6th)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayoff result:\u003C\/b\u003E First-round loss to Carleton\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPowerplay:\u003C\/b\u003E 18.5% (10th in OUA)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPenalty kill:\u003C\/b\u003E 82.5% (9th in OUA)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ELast season in 50 words:\u003C\/b\u003E A maddeningly inconsistent season that saw the Varsity Blues beat Western, Laurier, Nipissing, and Carleton (all strong teams), yet lose twice to RMC.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey departures:\u003C\/b\u003E D Sean Kliewer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey arrivals:\u003C\/b\u003E G Brett Willows, RW Tyler Von Englebrechten, D Tim Halloran\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey player:\u003C\/b\u003E LW \u003Cb\u003EByron Elliott\u003C\/b\u003E, the OUA East’s unheralded superstar, has quietly put up 108 points in the past three seasons.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E2011-12 outlook:\u003C\/b\u003E The OUA East was formerly split into two divisions: the OUA Far East and Mid East. While those divisions no longer exist in name, they do in practical terms, and the Mid East is the much weaker grouping (Nipissing, Toronto, Queen’s, Ryerson, RMC). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EToronto will take advantage of the quasi-divisional scheduling to finish in the top half of the conference. None of this is intended to slight the Varsity Blues, they’re a team that does everything fairly well, but doesn’t excel at anything. They have decent depth at forward and on the blueline, and with the addition of \u003Cb\u003EBrett Willows\u003C\/b\u003E, working in tandem with \u003Cb\u003EGarrett Sheehan\u003C\/b\u003E, their goaltending should be better than last year.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPredicted conference finish:\u003C\/b\u003E 5th\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EUQTR PATRIOTES (2-1-0)\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E2010-11 regular season record:\u003C\/b\u003E 19-8-1 (2nd)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayoff result:\u003C\/b\u003E OUA East runner-up; defeated Concordia and Carleton, lost to McGill in OUA East Final\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPowerplay:\u003C\/b\u003E 17.6% (12th in OUA)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPenalty kill:\u003C\/b\u003E 77% (18th in OUA)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ELast season in 50 words:\u003C\/b\u003E An uncharacteristically inconsistent season for the perennial powerhouse, largely due to poor special teams.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey departures:\u003C\/b\u003E G Jean-Christophe Blanchard, RW Francis Charland, LW Etienne Bellavance-Martin, D Guillaume Chicoine\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey arrivals:\u003C\/b\u003E C Felix Lefrancois, G Guillaume Nadeau, D Gabriel Lemieux, D Jonathan Parisien, C Charles Bety, LW Maxime Gravel, LW Tommy Tremblay, C Olivier Ouellet\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey player:\u003C\/b\u003E Defenceman \u003Cb\u003EPierre-Luc Lessard\u003C\/b\u003E is already an elite offensive defenceman, posting 40 points in 40 career games, but he needs to improve defensively if the Patriotes hope to make it back to nationals.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E2011-12 outlook:\u003C\/b\u003E The Patriotes underwent a massive makeover in the offseason, bringing in 13 new recruits, at least eight of which (listed in the “key arrivals”) should play significant roles. Normally the arrival of so many first-year players would bode ill for a team’s chances, but almost all of the recruits have significant QMJHL experience.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAs usual, UQTR is stacked at forward. \u003Cb\u003EOlivier Donovan\u003C\/b\u003E and \u003Cb\u003EPierre-Alexandre Joncas\u003C\/b\u003E are the standouts, but the Patriotes could wind up with eight or nine players averaging a point-per-game by the end of the season.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWith a return to form of their special teams (mediocre last year), and goaltending (.897 save percentage last season), the Patriotes should finish in one of the top two spots in the conference.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPredicted conference finish:\u003C\/b\u003E 2nd \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/7323222181015186345\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/10\/hockey-2011-12-oua-east-season-preview.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/7323222181015186345"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/7323222181015186345"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/10\/hockey-2011-12-oua-east-season-preview.html","title":"Hockey: 2011-12 OUA East season preview"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Matt Chesser"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-TFtYUJVM4JA\/WNgFDaBFEcI\/AAAAAAAAB8I\/vaL1wJW-CsMzm3LuEdc6r1Mfo-mQRpejACK4B\/s1600\/120c46f.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-2204586403360654958"},"published":{"$t":"2011-02-21T21:17:00.000-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2011-09-28T12:24:46.620-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Bobcats"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Calculated Reactions"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Dinos"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Bears"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Marauders"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Paladins"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Rouge et Or"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Spartans"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"statistics"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Tigers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Volleyball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"WolfPack"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Calculated Reactions: de Grandpre and Ratsep finish top-10 in Bucholtz rankings again"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"If you were around these parts in July, you'll remember \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2010\/07\/volleyball-bucholtz-rankings-2009-2010.html\"\u003Ethe 2009-10 version of these rankings\u003C\/a\u003E. Now that the 2010-11 season is over, we can once again rank the men's players in the same way.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003EThe methodology is the same as last year's rankings, so to save you the long explanation I'll just refer you to the linked post above. In brief: we rank the best players* by looking at kills, errors, service aces, and blocks vs. the conference and position averages for that player. We also adjust for quality of competition.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003E* It would be more accurate if we called these rankings \"the best all-around hitters\" (digs and assists are, after all, ignored completely). Setters and liberos will not rate highly, because their contributions are largely overlooked under our framework.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe rankings have shortcomings and could be improved; however, it's worth noting that of last year's seven all-Canadians, five made our top 10. So there is certainly some agreement on who constitutes the country's best players.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ERemember that the idea here is to apply a win value of sorts to each player, so we are estimating that an average (10-10) team, after replacing an average player with \u003Cb\u003EPaul Sanderson\u003C\/b\u003E (+2.7), will go something like 13-7. In a perfect world, the win values for each player on a given team would add up to the overall record for that team, though the numbers aren't always that agreeable. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHere are our top 10:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Col\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPaul Sanderson\u003C\/b\u003E, Brandon (+2.7 wins). This is not a surprise. The best Australian-born volleyballer at a Manitoba university, Sanderson was last year's CIS player of the year, and finished 13th in our rankings. Interestingly, Sanderson's numbers are brought down by his blocks (-4.0 points vs. average) but his serves (+28.6) help counter that. His \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.gobobcats.ca\/teams\/mens-vb\/roster\/paul-sanderson\/\"\u003Efavourite food is chicken parmesan\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKarl de Grandpré\u003C\/b\u003E, Laval (+2.7). If you've read this far you know who he is already. #1 in last year's rankings.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESean Vanthournout\u003C\/b\u003E, RMC (+2.5). A Paladin in the top 10 of anything is generally rare, but before you write off this entire methodology completely, note that he a) was 37th last year and b) could have been the only real threat on RMC, as our \u003Cb\u003EFraser Caldwell\u003C\/b\u003E remarked upon seeing these rankings for the first time. (Though he wouldn't rise in the rankings just by having more touches; he would have to consistently be better than average.) According to Fraser, Vanthournout is \"big and athletic, but not a world-beater or a particularly good tactician.\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ETyler Santoni\u003C\/b\u003E, McMaster (+2.3). Santoni's the highest-rated middle in the rankings, and he had \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/sports\/mvball\/2010-11\/players?sort=hpt\u0026view=\u0026pos=\u0026r=0\"\u003Ethe highest hitting percentage\u003C\/a\u003E in CIS this year. 19th last year in these rankings.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGraham Vigrass\u003C\/b\u003E, Calgary (+2.4). His .397 was second to Santoni's .422, and Vigrass is otherwise all over the leaderboards. 41st last year.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EJay Olmstead\u003C\/b\u003E, Alberta (+2.4). A perfect example of how position affects ranking in this system: Olmstead was listed \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/sports\/mvball\/2010-11\/teams\/alberta?view=lineup\"\u003Eas a middle\u003C\/a\u003E this year, but his rank makes plenty more sense when he is treated as an outside hitter--as we do here, thanks to a correction from a CIS coach. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ERudy Verhoeff\u003C\/b\u003E, TWU (+2.3). And with that, we already have one player from all four Canada West qualifying teams. Verhoeff (26th last year) and the rest of the Spartans will of course also be playing the CIS championships this year, which start in 11 days in Langley. If only we had someone on this site who a) is a volleyball nut, b) went to last year's national championships in Kamloops, and c) lives in the Langley area. Oh well.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKevin Tillie\u003C\/b\u003E, TRU (+2.1). The 2010-11 WolfPack season ended \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.bclocalnews.com\/sports\/116627678.html\"\u003Eagainst the aforementioned Spartans\u003C\/a\u003E this weekend. As for Tillie, he was last year's Rookie of the Year, finishing 14th in our rankings. Not to be confused with Nathan Tilley (or Nathan Fillion). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ELucas Van Berkel\u003C\/b\u003E, TWU (+2.1). Another second-year Canada West player in the top 10. No wonder they dominate this game. Van Berkel is the third middle in the top 10, and is a block machine. Lucas Van BLOCKel, am I right? \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESander Ratsep\u003C\/b\u003E, Dalhousie (+2.0). You were probably wondering why it took so long for Ratsep to show up. 6th last year. Unfortunately for Ratsep his season -- and if I'm not mistaken, his career -- is over \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/02\/mens-volleyball-first-round-playoff.html\"\u003Eafter the Tigers' loss to UNB this weekend\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ol\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESome players jumped quite a bit from year-to-year, leading me to believe that outside factors (your chosen role on the team, your teammates, your opponents' style of attack and defence, etc.) influence this ranking more than I expected. Still, we have a list of 10 pretty good names up there, and soon we'll see how the All-Canadian selections line up against the Bucholtz rankings.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe entire rankings (including last year, men and women) are \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/spreadsheets.google.com\/ccc?key=0Ar0xEkmR7QNKdDVnYVhHZ3VVbmpSUHBSeXFESlNpN3c\u0026hl=en\"\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E. Corrections are welcomed. Volleyball is not my first language and it seems there are about as many different ways to name the positions as there are players in CIS.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/2204586403360654958\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/02\/calculated-reactions-de-grandpre-and.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/2204586403360654958"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/2204586403360654958"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/02\/calculated-reactions-de-grandpre-and.html","title":"Calculated Reactions: de Grandpre and Ratsep finish top-10 in Bucholtz rankings again"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Rob Pettapiece"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-75608478171120126"},"published":{"$t":"2011-02-04T11:23:00.002-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2011-02-07T14:32:22.589-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gee-Gees"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Gaels"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Hockey"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lakers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"OUA East men's hockey recap"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Paladins"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Patriotes"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ravens"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Redmen"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ryerson Rams"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Stingers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Varsity Blues"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Hockey: A Guide to the OUA East"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ci\u003EMatt Chesser, previously the sports editor and editor-in-chief of the McGill Tribune, now provides play-by-play for Redmen hockey and football games on SSN. He'll be writing about hockey for us, and today he has a review of the men's OUA East season so far.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFor years, the OUA East has been a two-team conference.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEither the McGill Redmen or UQTR Patriotes have represented the OUA East at Nationals in 12 out of the last 13 years. Competitiveness has not been the conference’s strong point.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHowever, the OUA East’s lopsidedness might finally be starting to change.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003EWhile the Redmen have cruised to a 22-1-2 record this season, there are encouraging signs of life elsewhere in the top half of the conference. The upstart Nipissing Lakers have earned a top-ten ranking in just their second year of existence. The Carleton Ravens are the best unranked team in the country. Concordia and Ottawa have young teams that could develop into serious threats as early as next year. And UQTR has gone 16-8-1 despite playing poorly for much of the season.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECompetitiveness is necessary if the OUA East is to thrive. Parity creates better hockey teams (just look at the AUS). Meanwhile, an OUA East team has not competed in a National Championship final in seven years — despite having a champion consistently ranked among the best teams in the nation. While a high degree of competitiveness has not truly emerged this season, one can hope that it’s finally on its way.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003EWhat follows is a year-to-date look at each of the ten teams in the OUA East.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMcGILL REDMEN\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ERegular Season Record:\u003C\/b\u003E 22-1-2\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGames Remaining:\u003C\/b\u003E @ Carleton, vs. Ottawa, @ Concordia\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey Players:\u003C\/b\u003E C Alex Picard-Hooper (10G, 41A), LW Francis Verreault-Paul (28G, 14A), D Marc-Andre Dorion (7G, 28A)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESeason in brief:\u003C\/b\u003E The only OUA East team with a shot at a National Championship.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EComments:\u003C\/b\u003E It’s National Championship or bust for the Redmen this season. McGill has never won a University Cup, despite qualifying for Nationals in four out of the last five seasons. However, a pair of exhibition losses to AUS teams over the Christmas break (a 7-1 shellacking by UNB and a 6-5 OT loss to St. F-X) hurts their assertion that this year will be different than the last.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHowever, neither the exhibition losses, nor McGill’s \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/02\/guest-post-redmen-fall-in-regulation.html\"\u003Efirst regulation loss of the season\u003C\/a\u003E on Saturday, should detract from the remarkable year the Redmen have had. The team has already tied the school record for victories in a regular season, and sit second in both the national top-10 rankings and in \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/spreadsheets.google.com\/ccc?key=0Ar0xEkmR7QNKdGJCR2FQUHZGQWRlR2o2UlNocm9fSEE\u0026amp;hl=en#gid=2\"\u003ERPI\u003C\/a\u003E. McGill can also boast the CIS leaders in points, \u003Cb\u003EAlex Picard Hooper\u003C\/b\u003E (51), and goals, \u003Cb\u003EFrancis Verreault-Paul\u003C\/b\u003E (28), as well as the best defenceman in the CIS — \u003Cb\u003EMarc-Andre Dorion\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKeep an eye on:\u003C\/b\u003E The leg injury that has sidelined Verreault-Paul for four games, and will likely cause him to miss Saturday’s rematch with Carleton. McGill’s playoff success hinges on the health of their explosive top-line winger.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ENIPISSING LAKERS\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ERegular Season Record:\u003C\/b\u003E 16-7-3\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGames Remaining:\u003C\/b\u003E vs. Toronto, @ Toronto\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey Players:\u003C\/b\u003E LW Andrew Marcoux (15G, 14A), D Paul Cianfrini (5G, 15A), G Matt Hache (.915 SV%)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESeason in brief:\u003C\/b\u003E Nipissing enjoys one of the easiest schedules in the CIS, but it has nevertheless been an impressive season for the second-year program.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EComments:\u003C\/b\u003E The success of the Nipissing Lakers is the best story of the season in the OUA East. In the program’s second year of existence, Coach \u003Cb\u003EMike McParland\u003C\/b\u003E has guided the Lakers to a guaranteed top-four finish in the OUA East, and \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.nugget.ca\/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2957239\"\u003Ean appearance in the CIS Top 10\u003C\/a\u003E (at #10 this week). (*Correction appended.) Hard to put too much stock in their top 10 ranking, however, when Nipissing hasn’t played a team with a winning record since they were outscored 14-4 in two games against Lakehead back in mid-November.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKeep an eye on:\u003C\/b\u003E The crowded crease. Goaltender \u003Cb\u003EMatt Hache\u003C\/b\u003E has been a great story this year, posting a 12-4 record and a .915 save percentage, despite losing his father to cancer in October. He’s established himself as the clear number-one goaltender, but if he were to falter there are three guys behind him waiting to pick up the slack. Former Calgary Hitmen netminder \u003Cb\u003EDaniel Spence\u003C\/b\u003E was recently added to the roster and stopped 27 of 29 shots to pick up a win against Queen’s on Saturday. Behind him are \u003Cb\u003EBilly Stone\u003C\/b\u003E (.923 SV%) and \u003Cb\u003EKyle Cantlon\u003C\/b\u003E (.905 SV%), who have both looked solid in limited action.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EUQTR PATRIOTES\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ERegular Season Record:\u003C\/b\u003E 16-8-1\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGames Remaining:\u003C\/b\u003E vs. Concordia, @ Carleton, vs. Ottawa\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey Players:\u003C\/b\u003E C Olivier Donovan (12G, 21A), RW Francis Charland (15G, 10A), D Pierre-Luc Lessard (4G, 24A)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESeason in brief:\u003C\/b\u003E An off year for the perennial powerhouse.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EComments:\u003C\/b\u003E After finishing first in the OUA East for four consecutive years, the Patriotes have struggled through an uncharacteristically inconsistent season. Their special teams should take most of the blame for the drop-off from last year, when they had the best powerplay and second-best penalty kill units in the OUA East. This year their powerplay is ranked ninth in the OUA, and their penalty kill is second worst in the 19-team league. Nonetheless, they have an extremely deep group of forwards, led by \u003Cb\u003EOlivier Donovan\u003C\/b\u003E and \u003Cb\u003EFrancis Charland\u003C\/b\u003E, and could still finish in second place.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKeep an eye on:\u003C\/b\u003E The play of goaltender \u003Cb\u003EJean-Christophe Blanchard\u003C\/b\u003E. Last season, Blanchard was an OUA East First Team All-Star with a .924 save perecentage. This year his save percentage has dropped down to .892. He’s been even worse in tough games — against teams with a winning record he has a .867 save percentage. If he continues his run of poor play the Patriotes don’t have a hope of occupying their traditional spot in the conference final.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECARLETON RAVENS\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ERegular Season Record:\u003C\/b\u003E 15-7-2\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGames Remaining:\u003C\/b\u003E @ Ottawa, vs. McGill, vs. UQTR, @ Concordia\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey Players:\u003C\/b\u003E F Brandon MacLean (12G, 22A), F Joey Manley (16G, 17A), G Matthew Dopud (.913 SV%)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESeason in brief:\u003C\/b\u003E The OUA East club with the best chance of spoiling McGill's championship aspirations.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EComments:\u003C\/b\u003E In my opinion, Carleton is the second-best team in the OUA East. \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/02\/guest-post-redmen-fall-in-regulation.html\"\u003ETheir win over McGill last weekend\u003C\/a\u003E — \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.mcgill.ca\/athletics\/newsroom\/spotlight\/item\/?item_id=171319\"\u003Edepleted roster\u003C\/a\u003E or not — was no fluke, as the Ravens have outshot the Redmen in all three games between the teams this season. Carleton has an excellent top-six forward group, good goaltending, and will hit you until you’re black-and-blue. No other team scares McGill as much as the Ravens.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKeep an eye on:\u003C\/b\u003E Their defence. They won’t beat you on the scoreboard — they’ve combined for only 59 points this season (a far cry from the 96 points put up by McGill’s defencemen) — but they’re superb in their own end. Carleton has held opponents to only 59 goals in 24 games, which is tied for best in the OUA with the University of Western Ontario Mustangs.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECONCORDIA STINGERS\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ERegular Season Record:\u003C\/b\u003E 12-11-2\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGames remaining:\u003C\/b\u003E @ UQTR, vs. Carleton, vs. McGill\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey Players:\u003C\/b\u003E C Charles-Antoine Messier (12G, 22A), D Jesse Goodsell (5G, 19A), D Kiefer Orsini (6G, 14A)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESeason in brief:\u003C\/b\u003E Bullying Stingers won’t do much damage this season, but sophomore stars should be good next year.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EComments:\u003C\/b\u003E After posting a dismal 8-16-4 record last season, the Stingers seem to be back on track. Concordia has a promising core of sophomore forwards led by \u003Cb\u003EAlex Monahan\u003C\/b\u003E, \u003Cb\u003EGeorge Lovatsis\u003C\/b\u003E, and \u003Cb\u003ECharles-Antoine Messier\u003C\/b\u003E — a former fifth-round draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks. The mid-season additions of \u003Cb\u003EMike Stinziani\u003C\/b\u003E and \u003Cb\u003EFrancois Lanctot-Marcotte\u003C\/b\u003E have also paid dividends — with the duo combining for 24 points in just 19 games. But the Stingers have focused on intimidation more than skill this year, and lead the OUA with 633 PIM (and also lead the unofficial category “stupid penalties per game”).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKeep an eye on:\u003C\/b\u003E The Stingers’ bruising top-two defencemen. Sophomore \u003Cb\u003EJesse Goodsell\u003C\/b\u003E and freshman \u003Cb\u003EKiefer Orsini\u003C\/b\u003E are going to be a force in the OUA East in future years. They’ve combined for 44 points and 196 PIM in 47 games this season.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EOTTAWA GEE-GEES\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ERegular Season Record:\u003C\/b\u003E 11-11-3\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGames Remaining:\u003C\/b\u003E vs. Carleton, @ McGill, @ UQTR\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey Players:\u003C\/b\u003E F Luc Blain (16G, 33A), F Kyle Ireland (18G, 25A), D Dominic Jalbert (7G, 19A)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESeason in brief:\u003C\/b\u003E The future is bright, as the Gee-Gees boast three of the top candidates for CIS Rookie of the Year.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EComments:\u003C\/b\u003E Coach \u003Cb\u003EDave Leger\u003C\/b\u003E has to be commended for his recruiting work this summer, as the Gee-Gees are loaded with the three best rookies in the OUA. \u003Cb\u003ELuc Blain\u003C\/b\u003E and \u003Cb\u003EKyle Ireland\u003C\/b\u003E sit second and third, respectively, in the CIS scoring race, while \u003Cb\u003EDominic Jalbert\u003C\/b\u003E is third in scoring among OUA defencemen. After finishing last in the league one year ago, Ottawa has some hope for the future. They’ll need some help on defence, and a legitimate starting goaltender, before they can think of getting past the first round though.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKeep an eye on:\u003C\/b\u003E Subway pitchman Dominic Jalbert. The smooth-skating rookie defenceman is already in contention for the title of best offensive defenceman in the OUA East, alongside McGill’s Dorion and UQTR’s Lessard.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ETORONTO VARSITY BLUES\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ERegular Season Record:\u003C\/b\u003E 9-10-6\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGames Remaining:\u003C\/b\u003E @ Nipissing, vs. Nipissing, @ Queen's\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey Players:\u003C\/b\u003E LW Byron Elliott (8G, 18A), G Andrew Martin (.903 SV%)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESeason in brief:\u003C\/b\u003E Maddeningly inconsistent.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EComments:\u003C\/b\u003E The Varsity Blues have wins over Western, Carleton, Laurier, and Nipissing this season. Those are all very good teams. But the Varsity Blues have also lost to RMC twice. RMC has won four games this season — they are not a very good team.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKeep an eye on: Byron Elliott\u003C\/b\u003E. He finished fourth in OUA scoring last year, and is averaging almost 1.5 points per game this year. He’s currently riding an eleven-game point streak.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EQUEEN'S GOLDEN GAELS\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ERegular Season Record:\u003C\/b\u003E 10-11-3\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGames Remaining:\u003C\/b\u003E vs. Ryerson, @ RMC, vs. Ryerson, vs. Toronto\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey Players:\u003C\/b\u003E F Joey Derochie (8G, 14A), D Alexi Pianosi (6G, 10A)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESeason in brief:\u003C\/b\u003E A disappointing year, if we go by the preseason standard set by Coach \u003Cb\u003EBrett Gibson\u003C\/b\u003E when he told the Kingston Whig-Standard that “anything less than a top-four finish in the OUA East and at least one playoff series victory would be disappointing.”\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EComments:\u003C\/b\u003E The Gaels aren’t going to accomplish either of their preseason goals. This is partly due to injury troubles — they’ve played ten games without their best forward \u003Cb\u003EPayton Liske\u003C\/b\u003E — but also due to some painful sophomore slumps. Forward \u003Cb\u003EJordan Mirwaldt\u003C\/b\u003E and defenceman \u003Cb\u003EStephane Chabot\u003C\/b\u003E have both regressed after making the OUA East All-Rookie team last year, while second-year goaltender \u003Cb\u003ESteele De Fazio\u003C\/b\u003E has been middling after a solid freshman campaign. Their penalty kill has also been brutal — at 70 per cent it’s last in the OUA.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKeep an eye on:\u003C\/b\u003E The race to stay out of eighth. While the student body might welcome a “Kill McGill” first round series, the Gaels would love to stay away from the Redmen — who’ve outscored them 13-5 in two meetings the season. With the easiest remaining schedule of any OUA East team, the Gaels could finish as high as fifth.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ERYERSON RAMS\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ERegular Season Record:\u003C\/b\u003E 8-16-1\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGames Remaining:\u003C\/b\u003E @ Queen's, @ RMC, @ Queen's\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey Players:\u003C\/b\u003E LW Matt Schmermund (12G, 11A), RW Cory Konecny (7G, 8A)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESeason in brief:\u003C\/b\u003E Ten losses in a row ended the Rams’ season before American Thanksgiving.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EComments:\u003C\/b\u003E After upsetting Toronto in the first round of last year’s OUA East playoffs, it’s been a rough year for Ryerson. A month-long, ten-game losing streak effectively killed any chance they had a qualifying for the playoffs by mid-November. Injuries to captain \u003Cb\u003EMarcus Booth\u003C\/b\u003E, and top-line forward \u003Cb\u003ECory Konecny\u003C\/b\u003E didn’t help, but the Rams’ have been bad in almost every facet of the game. Their powerplay has been particularly atrocious — it’s operating at just 11.3 per cent efficiency this season.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKeep an eye on:\u003C\/b\u003E The progress of \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.ryerson.ca\/mapleleafgardens\/index.html?SPSID=109726\u0026amp;SPID=13614\u0026amp;DB_LANG=C\u0026amp;DB_OEM_ID=22300\"\u003Ethis\u003C\/a\u003E. I can’t wait.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ERMC PALADINS\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ERegular Season Record:\u003C\/b\u003E 4-21-1\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGames Remaining:\u003C\/b\u003E vs. Queen's, vs. Ryerson\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKey Players:\u003C\/b\u003E F Landon Lavictoire (9G, 18A), F Justin Lim (12G, 8A)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESeason in brief:\u003C\/b\u003E In 14 road games this season RMC has not earned a single point.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EComments:\u003C\/b\u003E Rob \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/02\/calculated-reactions-short-history-of.html\"\u003Esummarized the difficulties\u003C\/a\u003E of putting together a successful team at RMC earlier this week. On top of those challenges, Coach \u003Cb\u003EAdam Shell\u003C\/b\u003E has been playing with nine forwards and four defencemen for most of 2011 due to injuries and eligibility restrictions. That’s impossible to overcome.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EKeep an eye on:\u003C\/b\u003E Western, because (easy joke ahead) if RMC beat them, how good could they be?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003E*Correction: This article originally referred to the ranking of the Nipissing Lakers in the CIS Top 10 as their \"first-ever appearance\" in the national rankings. In fact they were first ranked in the top ten in October, 2009.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/75608478171120126\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/02\/hockey-guide-to-oua-east.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/75608478171120126"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/75608478171120126"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/02\/hockey-guide-to-oua-east.html","title":"Hockey: A Guide to the OUA East"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Matt Chesser"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-TFtYUJVM4JA\/WNgFDaBFEcI\/AAAAAAAAB8I\/vaL1wJW-CsMzm3LuEdc6r1Mfo-mQRpejACK4B\/s1600\/120c46f.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-8217157050164484370"},"published":{"$t":"2011-02-02T08:00:00.002-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2012-03-25T20:25:46.096-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Calculated Reactions"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Hockey"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Paladins"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Soccer"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Volleyball"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Calculated Reactions: A short history of nearly nothing"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Regular readers will remember that I identified the RMC women's volleyball Paladins \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2010\/12\/calculated-reactions-some-new-years.html\"\u003Eas a potential riser\u003C\/a\u003E in the second half of the season. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHow's that going? (And why is this worth talking about?)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003EGood questions, both. To answer the first one: 2-5 at the time of the above article, they've since won four of eight to put them at 6-9 (not 0-15), and they sit in fourth place (not last). The playoffs are a real possibility for this team. I'm not saying they'll go very far once they get there, or that it means anything to be fourth out of seven in the OUA East, but don't discount that accomplishment. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhy shouldn't you? That's the second question: this is incredibly rare for a RMC team, both making the playoffs and simply not rolling over for everyone on the schedule. To see just how rare it is, you have to read on. (At your peril. You've been warned.)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBefore we get into it, I want to make it clear that none of this is meant to mock RMC. While you do have some responsibility to make the matches competitive when you choose to field a team in university athletics, there's only so much you can do in their case. Everyone else in the league could potentially recruit every high school player in the country, but the military college teams are limited to those open to a career in...well, the military. (Not to mention that being a cadet at RMC is a little more intense than being a student in, say, the adventure studies department at TRU.)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EYou must take the Paladins' struggles in the proper context.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd yet. The wins and losses still count. So here I am, adding them up for as many RMC teams as I could handle before despair set in. If there are any small children reading this, get them a juice box and send them off into another room somewhere. It's not going to be pretty ... actually, we're not even fortunate enough for this to achieve \"ugly.\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELet's start the countdown. In descending order of regular-season record (not including any in-progress seasons):\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMEN'S HOCKEY\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EOUA record since 1999-00\u003C\/b\u003E: 71-200-11: (.271)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayoff record\u003C\/b\u003E: 3-12\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ELast playoff appearance\u003C\/b\u003E: February 16, 2006 (6-1 loss vs. UQTR)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ELast playoff win\u003C\/b\u003E: February 23, 2001 (5-0 vs. Queen's)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECommentary\u003C\/b\u003E: Hockey's low-scoring, so it's easier to grind out a 1-0 or 2-1 win now and then. And hockey is kind of popular in Kingston. So this makes sense, hockey being the most successful RMC sport. Besides, if there was any OUA sport that RMC would be halfway competitive in, it's the one with the kooky point-awarding system, and the one with the kooky divisional setup (until recently). Even then, they have just a .271 record and at least ten years between playoff victories (our \u003Cb\u003ENeate Sager\u003C\/b\u003E actually covered that game for the \u003Ci\u003EQueen's Journal\u003C\/i\u003E, is how long ago that was).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EThis year\u003C\/b\u003E: 4-22 with a pair left to go. They just swept a weekend against Ryerson (OT win) and Toronto (winning goal at 54:57). I would not want to be Ryerson or Toronto right now.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E**\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EWOMEN'S SOCCER\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EOUA record since 2004\u003C\/b\u003E: 13-62-11: (.227)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayoff record\u003C\/b\u003E: 1-1\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ELast playoff appearance\u003C\/b\u003E: October 27, 2007 (6-0 at Ottawa)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ELast playoff win\u003C\/b\u003E: October 24, 2007 (2-0 at Queen's)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECommentary\u003C\/b\u003E: Here we have the last time RMC made the playoffs, or won a game in the playoffs.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThankfully for us, though not for her, friend of the blog \u003Cb\u003EKate McKenna\u003C\/b\u003E was on the wrong side of that playoff win and took time out of her \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.vacationerwanted.com\/blog\/\"\u003Esoul-crushing job\u003C\/a\u003E to share what it was like. Though she didn't play in that game (she and the other goalkeeper alternated starts that year), she remembers how \"it was a classic example of not being able to predict success based on statistics and also of just how significant the mental side of the game is. [...] Their early goal combined with a goal relatively early in the second half were more mentally damaging than anything else.\" \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKate then pointed out how RMC's 6-0 loss to Ottawa a few days later reiterated \"the fact that it wasn't at all that they were a solid team skill-wise who just couldn't get it together until playoffs, but rather that they capitalized on timely opportunities and played a smart 90 minutes [against Queen's].\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EThis year\u003C\/b\u003E: They went 3-9-4. At least they scored a goal per game (see next entry).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E**\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMEN'S SOCCER\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EOUA record since 2004\u003C\/b\u003E: 6-55-15: (.178)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayoff record\u003C\/b\u003E: 0-0\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECommentary\u003C\/b\u003E: I have nothing insightful to say.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EThis year\u003C\/b\u003E: 0-14, scoring six (six!) goals all season.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E**\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMEN'S BASKETBALL\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EOUA record since 2000-01\u003C\/b\u003E: 31-189 (.141)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayoff record\u003C\/b\u003E: 0-2\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ELast playoff appearance\u003C\/b\u003E: March 5, 2004 (56-43 loss vs. York at Carleton)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECommentary\u003C\/b\u003E: Thank \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/everitas.rmcclub.ca\/?p=496\"\u003ECapt. \u003Cb\u003EKevin Dulude\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=f9bgOFsBHno\"\u003Echampion for life\u003C\/a\u003E, for men's basketball being .141 and not .041. Or worse: in the years without Dulude, they've gone 1-109. No wonder \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/wasssports.blogspot.com\/2007\/11\/rmc-to-honour-kevin-dulude-this-friday.html\"\u003Ethey retired his number\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThere is talk of changing the basketball schedule, one minor benefit of which would be that RMC's travel partner, Queen's, wouldn't always face a rested team on Saturday, or a team that can afford to go all-out on Friday.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EThis year\u003C\/b\u003E: 0-17, averaging half as many points per game as Carleton (46 vs. 90). No, really.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E**\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMEN'S VOLLEYBALL\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EOUA record since 2004-05\u003C\/b\u003E: 3-117 (.025)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayoff record\u003C\/b\u003E: 0-0\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECommentary\u003C\/b\u003E: Better get used to \"point-zero-something\" winning percentages.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EActually, outside hitter \u003Cb\u003ESean Vanthournout\u003C\/b\u003E was worth 16 points as a blocker last year, and one win overall (\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/spreadsheets.google.com\/ccc?key=0Ar0xEkmR7QNKdDVnYVhHZ3VVbmpSUHBSeXFESlNpN3c\u0026amp;hl=en\"\u003E37th overall in CIS\u003C\/a\u003E); nobody else on the team was above-average. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EThis year\u003C\/b\u003E: 0-16, winning just seven sets. Vanthournout is apparently \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/sports\/mvball\/2010-11\/players\/seanvanthournouthmq9\"\u003Estill a block machine\u003C\/a\u003E, though.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E**\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EWOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EOUA record since 2004-05\u003C\/b\u003E: 1-113 (.009)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayoff record\u003C\/b\u003E: 0-0\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECommentary\u003C\/b\u003E: And here we are. Not quite the worst, mostly because one's losses are generally (and mercifully) bounded by one's number of games played, and women's basketball has played more. But never mind the matches won and lost: in 2007-08, the women's volleyball team didn't even win any \u003Ci\u003Esets\u003C\/i\u003E. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELike with the men, last year RMC actually had a legitimate player: \u003Cb\u003EMelissa McCoy\u003C\/b\u003E came in at 51st overall, also worth about a win above average, also the only above-average hitter on the team.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EThis year\u003C\/b\u003E: And now you see why making the playoffs is a Big Deal. After one win in six years, they have six wins and counting. McCoy's hitting percentage is currently 21st in CIS and 7th in the OUA; it will be interesting to see where she lands in this year's rankings.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E**\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EWOMEN'S BASKETBALL\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EOUA record since 2004-05\u003C\/b\u003E: 1-131 (.008)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayoff record\u003C\/b\u003E: 0-0\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECommentary\u003C\/b\u003E: Until this year they had just one win in six years (why does it seem like I've typed that an awful lot lately?). That win was in February 2009, and \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/sports\/article970567.ece\"\u003Eit was covered\u003C\/a\u003E without anyone expressing any outrage at 34-year-old Paladin \u003Cb\u003ESharlene Harding\u003C\/b\u003E. (That's a slam on the drive-by media's selective memory with respect to older CIS athletes, not on her or her decision to play.) Harding \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/spreadsheets.google.com\/ccc?key=0Ar0xEkmR7QNKdGJicWt0V3V5OWh1YjZ3MGtYQWVvcEE\u0026amp;hl=en\"\u003Ewas ranked 89th in PER that year\u003C\/a\u003E; \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.thewhig.com\/ArticleDisplay.aspx?archive=true\u0026amp;e=960172\"\u003EJennifer Donofrio\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E was ranked 21st the year before. In '09-10, they had nobody higher than \u003Ci\u003E285th\u003C\/i\u003E. I didn't even know I \u003Ci\u003Eranked\u003C\/i\u003E 285 players.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EThis year\u003C\/b\u003E: They've actually won \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/sports\/wbkb\/2010-11\/boxscores\/20101105_xynq.xml\"\u003Ea game\u003C\/a\u003E, at home against still-winless Waterloo. Was it a good game? Wasn't there, so can't say for sure, but it was the first league game for both teams, so there's that, and it was the first CIS game for many first-year players on both sides. The Paladins and Warriors combined to shoot 63% from the line (wait, what?), an effective field-goal percentage of 34% (is that even \u003Ci\u003Epossible\u003C\/i\u003E?), and they played in front of a recorded attendance of zero (which...I actually believe).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E**\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESo what have we learned today? We've learned that RMC has a \u003Ci\u003Elot\u003C\/i\u003E of winless seasons. (I counted 22 out of 51, but I was reaching a point near the end of this where logic and math no longer apply.) We've learned that, Limestone City Miracle aside, they have not enjoyed a playoff win in these sports since February 2001. We've learned not to do this unless you have a cold, refreshing beverage close at hand. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd we've learned that what's happening with the women's volleyball team this year is virtually unprecedented.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/8217157050164484370\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/02\/calculated-reactions-short-history-of.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/8217157050164484370"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/8217157050164484370"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/02\/calculated-reactions-short-history-of.html","title":"Calculated Reactions: A short history of nearly nothing"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Rob Pettapiece"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-7417603465530683233"},"published":{"$t":"2011-01-30T10:15:00.001-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2011-01-30T17:46:35.400-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Five to Ponder"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Hawks"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lancers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Paladins"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"SMU Huskies"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Spartans"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Thunderwolves"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"U of S Huskies"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Varsity Blues"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Volleyball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"X-Men"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Five to Ponder: They beastin' ... their way up the strength-of-schedule rankings"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ci\u003EA couple of big hoops matchups highlight this weekend's ponder-worthy games ... \u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E1. \u003Cb\u003ESaskatchewan 91-101 at Trinity Western 102-93\u003C\/b\u003E (men's basketball)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Huskies haven't played an above-.500 team since \u003Ci\u003EOctober\u003C\/i\u003E, so winning 10 in a row is not as impressive as it sounds. Certainly not after \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/01\/basketball-spartans-shine-but-barrett.html\"\u003Egoing down 59-42 at the half on Friday, and losing by 11\u003C\/a\u003E. This is not altogether unexpected (the U of S has the lowest strength-of-schedule in the country, so they may not be on the Spartans' level) but I'll still go with a split as the most likely outcome here. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd what do you know, that's just what happened. Both games were covered by \u003Cb\u003EHoward Tsumura\u003C\/b\u003E (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.theprovince.com\/sports\/Spartans+upset+Huskies\/4192169\/story.html\"\u003EFriday\u003C\/a\u003E, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.theprovince.com\/sports\/Huskies\/4192173\/story.html\"\u003ESaturday\u003C\/a\u003E). Game 2 saw just as much offence as Game 1, but this time the Huskies came out on top: \u003Cb\u003ERejean Chabot\u003C\/b\u003E scored 35 on 19 shots and \u003Cb\u003EJamelle Barrett\u003C\/b\u003E scored 31 on 22 (10 coming on free throws). Watching those two play it's a shock when they \u003Ci\u003Edon't\u003C\/i\u003E score 30.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E2. \u003Cb\u003EWindsor 65-66 at Lakehead 73-77\u003C\/b\u003E (men's basketball)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe GGOD[T]s \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/tbnewswatch.com\/sports\/Default.aspx?cid=129436\"\u003Ecame away with a win on Friday\u003C\/a\u003E, effectively shutting down \u003Cb\u003EIsaac Kuon\u003C\/b\u003E (6 for 25) and overcoming an eight-point deficit in the fourth. Curiously, Lakehead only went to the line once (\u003Cb\u003EVenzal Russell\u003C\/b\u003E hit both). Saturday was a repeat: another nothing night for Kuon (1-14!), and \u003Cb\u003EMonty Hardware\u003C\/b\u003E was similarly stumped (1-13). Lakehead \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.tbnewswatch.com\/sports\/129584\/Home-sweep-home\"\u003Eovercame a 10-point deficit\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E3. \u003Cb\u003EStFX 2 at SMU 0\u003C\/b\u003E (men's hockey)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETwo top-five teams in the RPI sure don't face off every week. Our \u003Cb\u003EDavid Kilfoil\u003C\/b\u003E put it thusly: \"I think Friday's StFX at SMU is HUGE! The X-Men rode their goaltender [Wednesday] night, and the Huskies goalie was not great (when have we seen that movie before ...), so now when they meet on Friday a win could put X in a multi-team tie for second place.\" \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDave says below, \"SMU lost 2-0, while reportedly outplaying the X-Men. Going 0-for-5 on the PP doesn't help.\" Another bad case of \"five something in a row\" comes in the L column: this is the Huskies' fifth loss in five games, all of which came in regulation. But who's counting?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E4. \u003Cb\u003ELaurier 2 at Brock 3\u003C\/b\u003E (women's hockey)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBrock did win this one as I kind of predicted, even if I forgot that \u003Cb\u003ELiz Knox\u003C\/b\u003E was off in Turkey (at a university sporting event even I can't bring myself to follow). The game-winner came from \u003Cb\u003EMaja Samborski\u003C\/b\u003E on the powerplay with three minutes left in the third. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E5. \u003Cb\u003EToronto 1 at RMC 3\u003C\/b\u003E (women's volleyball) \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEveryone's favourite 5-9 women's volleyball team has won \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2010\/12\/calculated-reactions-some-new-years.html\"\u003Eanother swing game\u003C\/a\u003E, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/sports\/wvball\/2009-10\/boxscores\/20110129_fozi.xml\"\u003Ethis one against U of T\u003C\/a\u003E, whom they now lead by one game, with two in hand, for the last playoff spot in the OUA East. The CIS Blog Research Group will have to determine the last time an RMC team made OUA playoffs.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/7417603465530683233\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/01\/five-to-ponder-they-beastin-their-way.html#comment-form","title":"9 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/7417603465530683233"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/7417603465530683233"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/01\/five-to-ponder-they-beastin-their-way.html","title":"Five to Ponder: They beastin' ... their way up the strength-of-schedule rankings"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Rob Pettapiece"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"9"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-8880659474563382312"},"published":{"$t":"2011-01-24T18:11:00.000-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2011-01-24T18:17:31.385-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Gaels"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gryphons"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lancers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Marauders"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"OUA men's basketball recap"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Paladins"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ravens"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ryerson Rams"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Thunderwolves"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Basketball: OUA men - Lancers, Rams, Thunderwolves riding winning streaks"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"This blog post is officially a no-Raven zone. Okay, that may be a bit much, but if you only heard that \u003Cb\u003EDave Smart’s\u003C\/b\u003E Carleton Ravens (14-0) won both their games this weekend again, would you read on? Okay, don’t answer that.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnyway, despite the disparities, OUA men's basketball is still pretty entertaining to watch. To boot, the Laurier Golden Hawks (10–4), Lakehead Thunderwolves (11–3), and Ryerson Rams (6–8) joined the Ravens as the week’s undefeated teams, going 8–0 combined. \u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIf someone had challenged me to guess that the Rams were one of the three non-Carleton squads to win their games this weekend, I would have failed miserably. Would you blame me? On top of allowing 82 points a game this season, they are in the bottom half of the league in a slew of offensive categories. But, don’t tell the Rams that. In their now four-game win streak, they have posted more than 80 points three times.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis weekend, they shot down the Queen’s Golden Gaels (3–12) 89–50, in a game where they only allowed 14 points in the second half! Not bad. The team also forced 28 turnovers and 37 per cent shooting. Rams guard \u003Cb\u003EJahmal Jones\u003C\/b\u003E lead the way with 25 points. The next night, the squad squashed the hapless RMC Paladins (0–15) 81–43, shooting 44 per cent and forcing 24 turnovers. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMeanwhile, the Hawks and Wolves kept stride in a stacked west division. The Hawks went into Guelph and beat Gryphons (5–9) and Mustangs (6–8) handily, 87–75 and 75–67. Forward \u003Cb\u003EKale Harrison\u003C\/b\u003E went off, scoring 38 and 20 points in each game. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Thunderwolves had less than comfortable games, but squeaked by the McMaster Marauders (7–7) in their two games in Hamilton. The Friday game, a 78–76 heart-stopper, was capped by fourth year guard \u003Cb\u003EJamie Searle’s\u003C\/b\u003E 29 point, five-rebound, four-assist performance. The squad shot 43 per cent for the game, and outscored the Marauders 46–43 in the second half.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe second game, a 81–77 victory, was split practically right down the middle. The Wolves won the first and last quarters, and out-rebounded the Hamilton squad 47–34 on the night.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/8880659474563382312\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/01\/basketball-oua-men-lancers-rams.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/8880659474563382312"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/8880659474563382312"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/01\/basketball-oua-men-lancers-rams.html","title":"Basketball: OUA men - Lancers, Rams, Thunderwolves riding winning streaks"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Perry King"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/09888613455383972574"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"31","height":"21","src":"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-Ry955DxoWa8\/Tjx9SYC4TfI\/AAAAAAAABcM\/5cKxXRn7n1A\/s220\/DSC_0001.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-2300838083501637229"},"published":{"$t":"2011-01-18T04:03:00.001-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2011-01-18T11:17:58.041-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Gaels"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lancers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Marauders"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Mustangs"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"OUA women's basketball recap"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Paladins"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ravens"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Varsity Blues"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Voyageurs"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Warriors"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Basketball: OUA women - Fresh legs, fresh blowout"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"First things first, if you haven’t heard, a match between the McMaster Marauders and Windsor Lancers (scheduled for Jan. 12), has been postponed until Feb. 6. The postponement really benefitted the Lancers (9–2), who are now one and a half games back of the Western Mustangs (11–1). The team was rested, and they took their energy out on the Waterloo Warriors, beating them 82–45 last Saturday.\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAllow me to provide my stat of the game (no trumpets, please). The Warriors (now 0–12 this season) did not score more than 13 points in a quarter for the game. Not impressed? How about this: the Lancers out-rebounded the Warriors 38–25? Or that the Lancers forced 42 turnovers? Forty-two! \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhether this was a matter of futility on the Warriors' part, or just a clinic put on by the Lancers, the game is stat-worthy. By the way, all but one Lancer scored a point in the game. \u003Cb\u003EJessica Clemencon\u003C\/b\u003E, who should be considered for high honours at season’s end, led all Lancers with 19 points and 9 rebounds. Warriors' guard \u003Cb\u003EErin Tilley\u003C\/b\u003E scored 17 points in a losing cause.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMeanwhile, those Mustangs kept pace, going 2–0 over the weekend. They de-clawed the Brock Badgers 76–66 last Wednesday. \u003Cb\u003EMatteke Hutzler\u003C\/b\u003E, another person of note, had 21 points. They also squeaked by the Guelph Gryphons 57–52. Should we read too much into that? I don’t, at least not right now.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAs well, Toronto (9–4) is getting stronger by the week. Victories over the York Lions and Laurentian Voyageurs (87–54 and 94–63) have to be considered statement games for this squad. They are still second in the East behind the Carleton Ravens (10–2), but the Blues will face those birds Feb. 11. Those Ravens, by the way, did go 2–0 this weekend too, but a squeaker against the Gaels (64–62) and an expected blowout against the Paladins (72–42) show me that this division may still be up for grabs. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/2300838083501637229\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/01\/basketball-oua-women-fresh-legs-fresh.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/2300838083501637229"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/2300838083501637229"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/01\/basketball-oua-women-fresh-legs-fresh.html","title":"Basketball: OUA women - Fresh legs, fresh blowout"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Perry King"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/09888613455383972574"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"31","height":"21","src":"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-Ry955DxoWa8\/Tjx9SYC4TfI\/AAAAAAAABcM\/5cKxXRn7n1A\/s220\/DSC_0001.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-6125403084375242855"},"published":{"$t":"2011-01-18T03:53:00.001-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2011-01-18T11:20:38.375-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gee-Gees"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Gaels"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lions"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Marauders"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"OUA men's basketball recap"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Paladins"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ryerson Rams"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Thunderwolves"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Basketball: OUA men - Some love for Lakehead"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"So what if they are not the high profile school in Ottawa without a recent string of success? So what if they’re not CIS-ranked like the Varsity Blues? So what if they don’t even lead their own division?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Lakehead Thunderwolves (9–3) have the OUA’s third-best record, and are a game behind in the OUA West (didn’t ya know?). Despite one senior on the roster (forward \u003Cb\u003EAndrew Hackner\u003C\/b\u003E), they seem to be gelling well in their wins. To boot, they are second in the league in defensive scoring behind the Ravens, third in assists per game (16.8), and fourth in steals (9.1).\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut they have been crushed a few times this season, including a heartbreaker to those Ravens on Nov. 27 (75–49). They were also tested this weekend with a double-home series against the Laurier Golden Hawks. They went 1–1 in those games, so much of my assessment of these young upstarts is still premature, but something tells me they have much more to say once the playoffs roll in next month.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAfter losing 91–82 Friday night, the Thunderwolves responded with a 90–84 grind-it-out win. What was the difference between Friday and Saturday? How about a 35–12 fourth quarter! Put that in your pipe and smoke it, I say. \u003Cb\u003EJamie Searle\u003C\/b\u003E has been their go-to guy this season, leading the Thunderwolves with 23 points and 8 rebounds for the game. The Hawks' \u003Cb\u003EMaxwell Allen\u003C\/b\u003E scored 21 points in a losing cause.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhile my wandering eye followed the Thunderwolves, there were other good contests this weekend as well. Exhibit A: the York Lions (6–7) and Ryerson Rams (4–8) had a heated contest, with said Rams winning 73–72. Four Rams scored in the double digits. Impressive.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EExhibit B: the Gee-Gees went 2–0 for the weekend, winning 105–33 against those lovely RMC Paladins, and 88–79 against the competitive Queen's Golden Gaels. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EC: The Brock Badgers (6–6) lost to … the McMaster Marauders (7–5). I sound pretty enthusiastic, don’t I? In all seriousness, to lose 87–65 to a division opponent at this point in the season can be a bad omen—if not spiritually, then in the playoff seedings come Feb. 23.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/6125403084375242855\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/01\/basketball-oua-men-some-love-for.html#comment-form","title":"1 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/6125403084375242855"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/6125403084375242855"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/01\/basketball-oua-men-some-love-for.html","title":"Basketball: OUA men - Some love for Lakehead"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Perry King"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/09888613455383972574"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"31","height":"21","src":"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-Ry955DxoWa8\/Tjx9SYC4TfI\/AAAAAAAABcM\/5cKxXRn7n1A\/s220\/DSC_0001.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"1"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-378614593517921831"},"published":{"$t":"2011-01-16T12:39:00.001-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2011-02-04T14:58:21.923-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Bisons"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Five to Ponder"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Hawks"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gryphons"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Hockey"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lancers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Mustangs"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Paladins"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Thunderwolves"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"U of S Huskies"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Volleyball"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Five to Ponder: January in the OUA; must be division matchup time"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ci\u003EHere are five matchups to watch. This will also serve as an open discussion thread for the weekend.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E1. \u003Cb\u003EWindsor 2 at Guelph 1, Windsor at Brock (women's hockey)\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESunday at 3:15pm ET\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2010\/12\/calculated-reactions-goalie-rankings.html\"\u003ELast year's top goalie\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/sports\/wice\/2010-11\/teams\/windsor?sort=p\u0026view=lineup\u0026pos=sk\u0026r=0\"\u003Ea bunch of players named Candace\u003C\/a\u003E will travel to try to pick up some ground on these teams in front of them. The Lancers \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/gryphons.ca\/news\/2011\/1\/15\/WHOCKEY_0115113711.aspx\"\u003Ewon the first game\u003C\/a\u003E, 2-1, with all three goals coming in the third (and the eventual winner being a shorthanded goal, ouch). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E2. \u003Cb\u003EManitoba 5-2 at Saskatchewan 3-5 (men's hockey)\u003C\/b\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.southcampussports.com\/2011\/01\/midweek-tidbits-huskies-look-to-take.html\"\u003EOur \u003Cb\u003EEvan Daum\u003C\/b\u003E previewed this series\u003C\/a\u003E, and it turned out to be a split. Friday's game \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.thestarphoenix.com\/sports\/Huskies+collapse+mirrors+Canada+juniors\/4113571\/story.html?cid=megadrop_story\"\u003E\"mirrored\" a recent game that hockey fans might remember\u003C\/a\u003E. U of S head coach \u003Cb\u003EDave Adolph\u003C\/b\u003E mused that a three-goal lead might be the worst lead in hockey--not to nitpick, but isn't a one-goal lead \u003Ci\u003Ealways\u003C\/i\u003E the worst lead?--as his Huskies went up 3-0 but lost 5-3. Saturday, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/huskies.usask.ca\/news\/2011\/January\/2011-01-15-mhoc\/index.php\"\u003Ethe Huskies won 5-2\u003C\/a\u003E (4-2 with an empty-netter) after, this time, not giving up a three-goal lead.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E3. \u003Cb\u003ELaurier 91-84 at Lakehead 82-90 (men's basketball)\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe men's hoops matchup of the week. It's been \"\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/lakeheadbasketball.blogspot.com\/2011\/01\/lakehead-hosts-laurier-fridaysaturday.html\"\u003Ealmost two months\u003C\/a\u003E\" since Lakehead last played at home, and they're probably hoping their second game back goes better than the first. \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=zizSUyiMeA8\"\u003EHere are the highlights\u003C\/a\u003E; you can see a number of defensive breakdowns (54 second-half points), and that's exactly what coach \u003Cb\u003EScott Morrison\u003C\/b\u003E points out \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/lakeheadbasketball.blogspot.com\/2011\/01\/laurier-beats-up-wolves-91-82.html\"\u003Ein the postgame release\u003C\/a\u003E. Big win for Laurier; \u003Cb\u003EMax Allin\u003C\/b\u003E had 21 on 12 shots and added ten assists. They went at it again Saturday, and for a while it looked like more trouble for the Great Group of Dudes, but \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.tbnewswatch.com\/sports\/Default.aspx?cid=127537\"\u003Ea second-half rally overcame the 56 (!) first-half points they surrendered\u003C\/a\u003E. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E4. \u003Cb\u003ELaurier 3 at RMC 0 (women's volleyball)\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhile I haven't \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2010\/12\/calculated-reactions-some-new-years.html\"\u003Eforgot about this Chase For The Fourth Seed\u003C\/a\u003E, it will not be easy for RMC to attain. They lost 25-21, 25-17, and 25-16. Next up for RMC on their yet-to-be-officially-nicknamed quest: Windsor, on the road on Saturday.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E5. \u003Cb\u003ELakehead 1-1 at Western 3-4 (men's hockey)\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENot a living soul, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.thunderwolveshockey.com\/articlePrint.asp?news_id=1505\"\u003Easide from Lakehead themselves\u003C\/a\u003E, appears to have previewed this series, but it should be a good one. Turns out it was good for Western in terms of points (4, or 8 if you want to count that way) but \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.lfpress.com\/sports\/mustangs\/2011\/01\/14\/16898686.html\"\u003Ebad in terms of players injured and out for eight months\u003C\/a\u003E (1). \u003Cb\u003EAaron Snow\u003C\/b\u003E went into the boards and came away with two major ligaments torn in his knee. Apparently Friday's was a chippy game that the officials let get out of hand, not that either coach is saying so on the record. \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/westernmustangs.ca\/news\/2011\/1\/15\/MHOCKEY_0115113529.aspx\"\u003ESaturday's game sounds like an easy win\u003C\/a\u003E, but the 0-for-7 on the powerplay might be a worry in the 4-1 Western win.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHonourable mention: SMU at UNB, otherwise \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/live.haligonia.ca\/halifax-ns\/sports\/104-haligonia-sports\/17813-aus-womens-basketball-preview-colley-vs-colbourne-in-fredericton-the-main-event.html\"\u003Edescribed\u003C\/a\u003E by \u003Cb\u003EBill McLean\u003C\/b\u003E as Colley vs. Colbourne; UPEI at UNB (men's hockey). \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/378614593517921831\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/01\/five-to-ponder-january-in-oua-must-be.html#comment-form","title":"5 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/378614593517921831"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/378614593517921831"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/01\/five-to-ponder-january-in-oua-must-be.html","title":"Five to Ponder: January in the OUA; must be division matchup time"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Rob Pettapiece"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"5"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-7605305709531874776"},"published":{"$t":"2011-01-10T21:02:00.001-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2011-01-11T01:50:01.319-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gee-Gees"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Gaels"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Hawks"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Mustangs"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"OUA women's basketball recap"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Paladins"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ravens"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Varsity Blues"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Warriors"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Basketball: OUA Women – Watch those Mustangs gallop over the competition!"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"They lead the league in field goal percentage (48.2 per cent) and 3-point percentage. They also lead the league in scoring defense (47.9 points per game), and they're second in the OUA in scoring offence. At 9-1, the Western Mustangs are piecing together a great season. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESince losing their only game Nov. 19, the Mustangs have put together a five-game win streak, including a 2-0 showing this past week. Their mid-week contest against the Lancers was a low scoring affair—understandably so, considering they were on holiday—but they persevered. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOn Jan. 8, they adjusted and demoralized the Marauders 89-39. Usual suspects \u003Cb\u003EMatteke Hutzler\u003C\/b\u003E and \u003Cb\u003EJenny Vaughan\u003C\/b\u003E led the way, with 17 and 16 points, respectively. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBelieve it or not, eight of the Mustangs' nine wins this OUA season have had a margin of victory of 20 points or more. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, this team is making a statement.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut, dare I try to tug at Superman`s cape? Yes. Their only loss came against the Ravens, a 67-65 contest. The Ravens (8-2) are not to be messed with, and they have something on the Mustangs thus far. They don`t face-off again this OUA season, but they may lock horns come playoff time. Time will tell.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnyhow, this first weekend of January had a full gamut of games. The Varsity Blues (7-4) were the least lucky of top tier teams this weekend, losing two close heartbreakers in two consecutive days. On Jan. 7, a bad fourth quarter resulted in a 57-56 loss to the Gee-Gees (6-4). Gee-Gees forward \u003Cb\u003EJenna Gilbert\u003C\/b\u003E led all scorers with 18 points, and Blues stalwart \u003Cb\u003ENicki Schutz\u003C\/b\u003E had 15 points and 13 rebounds in a losing cause.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd somehow, by basketball's version of Murphy’s Law, the Blues lost 52-51 to the Ravens the next night. A 19-9 third quarter for the Ravens sealed the Blues’ fate. The Blues were tuckered out, losing the rebound game 30-19, and turning the ball over 19 times.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOther notable winners in the OUA this weekend include Golden Hawks (8-2), who beat the Warriors 70-19, and the Voyageurs (3-8) went 2-0 for the weekend, beating the Gaels and Paladins—74-50 and 84-44 respectively.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/7605305709531874776\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/01\/basketball-oua-women-watch-those.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/7605305709531874776"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/7605305709531874776"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/01\/basketball-oua-women-watch-those.html","title":"Basketball: OUA Women – Watch those Mustangs gallop over the competition!"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Perry King"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/09888613455383972574"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"31","height":"21","src":"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-Ry955DxoWa8\/Tjx9SYC4TfI\/AAAAAAAABcM\/5cKxXRn7n1A\/s220\/DSC_0001.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-7109939783079203515"},"published":{"$t":"2011-01-10T21:01:00.002-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2011-01-11T01:51:27.788-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gee-Gees"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Gaels"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Hawks"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lions"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"OUA men's basketball recap"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Paladins"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ravens"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Varsity Blues"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Basketball: OUA Men - Who had the Blues this weekend?"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"You have every freedom to call me a “Toronto elite” or whatever, but the Varsity Blues are a solid offensive squad. \u003Cb\u003EMike Katz\u003C\/b\u003E’ boys are fourth in offensive scoring in the OUA, second in the OUA in assists, and lead the OUA in field goal percentage (a staggering 47.9 per cent). Regardless of their issues on D, (and \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.oua.ca\/sports\/basketball\/mbasketball\/stats\/#\"\u003Ethey are well-documented\u003C\/a\u003E), the eighth-ranked Blues can compete. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI have to believe that. Unfortunately, their Ottawa swing in their schedule was not the strongest. The Blues (7-3) went 1-1 over the weekend, but they had to work for it. \u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOn Jan. 7, the Blues won a 77-73 contest against the Gee-Gees, in an affair that saw the Blues trail at halftime (40-38). Winning the rebound contest and shooting a high percentage was enough for the Blues, who finished the game 22-16. Lead by \u003Cb\u003EAndrew Wasik’s\u003C\/b\u003E 18 points on 53 per cent shooting, they shot 47 per cent, just under their season average.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThat win was a hard fought one, and they did shoot 42 per cent against the Ravens the next night, but guess what: the Ravens (10-0) shot 52 per cent. In the first of two contests versus U of T this season, the Ravens ran away with this one, a 93-73 thumping. The beast of the night was definitely forward \u003Cb\u003ETyson Hinz\u003C\/b\u003E, who led all scorers with 29 points and 13 rebounds. Nice.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Blues will definitely have something to think about. They are six points behind the Ravens in the East, but these two squads will tangle again during Valentine’s weekend. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOh sure, there were other contests. Actually, they were mostly competitive. Of note, the Lions squeaked by the Golden Gaels 81-78 Jan. 8, led by \u003Cb\u003EDavid Tyndale’s\u003C\/b\u003E 27 points and five three-pointers. The Golden Hawks were the only squad to score 100 points in a game this weekend, beating the Warriors 114-82, and the Voyageurs looked doggone impressive, beating the Gaels and Paladins, 75-54 and 99-58 respectively.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/7109939783079203515\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/01\/basketball-oua-men-who-had-blues-this.html#comment-form","title":"2 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/7109939783079203515"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/7109939783079203515"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/01\/basketball-oua-men-who-had-blues-this.html","title":"Basketball: OUA Men - Who had the Blues this weekend?"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Perry King"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/09888613455383972574"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"31","height":"21","src":"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-Ry955DxoWa8\/Tjx9SYC4TfI\/AAAAAAAABcM\/5cKxXRn7n1A\/s220\/DSC_0001.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"2"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-7256451034381066340"},"published":{"$t":"2010-12-13T16:22:00.004-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2011-12-10T12:36:35.853-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Axemen"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Calculated Reactions"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Cascades"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gee-Gees"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gryphons"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Hockey"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lakers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Marauders"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Paladins"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Volleyball"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Calculated Reactions: Some New Year's evolutions"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"This time in \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/search\/label\/Calculated%20Reactions\"\u003ECalculated Reactions\u003C\/a\u003E, Canada's most-widely-read collegiate sports statistics column, we're going to look at the teams who might improve in the new year. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003EI included those teams whose final expected records turn out noticeably better than their current records (in other words, the ones who are likely to turn it on in the second half). To find the expected record, I figured out the odds of each team winning each of its remaining games, based on RPI so far this year, and added up the probabilities for each team over all its games. So for example, January 8, St. Thomas at SMU in men's hockey, the Huskies have about a 67% chance of getting the two points, so that means about 1.4 points on average. Then we just add up all the expected points for all games for all teams and we have expected final standings. (Games between the more evenly-matched hockey teams are assumed to go to OT, so there is a third point in play for those games.) \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFor some reason, OUA teams are everywhere in this article. Perhaps this is due to cross-over schedules: OUA East and OUA West men's hockey and basketball teams play different schedules, and if you have a more balanced schedule it's less likely that you'll be much better in the second half than the first. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI didn't include any teams who were so far back in their conference that any improvements were more likely to be regression to the mean than actual improvements, such as St. Thomas women's hockey or UPEI men's basketball. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMEN'S BASKETBALL\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EUFV\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003ENow: 4-8, 10th in Canada West\u003Cbr \/\u003EExpected: 10-14 or 11-13, 8th\u003Cbr \/\u003ESwing games: Jan. 7\/8 at Calgary, Feb. 11\/12 at Lethbridge\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis isn't the sexiest improvement--from 10th to 8th!--but a 6-6 second-half record is, after all, better than 4-8. The Cascades start things off with the Dinos, a team that may not reach the heights they did last year but can still offer a tough road opponent. UFV's season (and playoff chances) may turn on how they perform in their four games in southern Alberta.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EAcadia\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003ENow: 6 points, tied for 4th in AUS\u003Cbr \/\u003EExpected: 27 points, 4th\u003Cbr \/\u003ESwing games: Jan. 9 vs. St. F-X, Jan. 28 vs. UPEI\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI'll never understand why the AUS goes with a two-point\/four-point system (they have a 2-5 team ahead of two 3-3 teams), but it seems to exist only to require me to do more work for prediction articles like these. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Axemen have lost only to CBU and Dalhousie in league play (and to McMaster and Ottawa in preseason play, though by January those games will be two months old), and their games against St. F-X will be good barometers for their chances to grab an AUS berth at the Final 8.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMcMaster\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003ENow: 3-5, tied for 7th in OUA West\u003Cbr \/\u003EExpected: 10-12, 6th\u003Cbr \/\u003ESwing games: Jan. 5 vs. Laurier, Jan. 12 vs. Windsor, Jan. 21\/22 vs. Lakehead\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMac might be a bubble team in the OUA West this year--though everyone from 4th to 8th could potentially be bubbly, if you will, especially if something happens to Lakehead or Laurier or Windsor. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOur \u003Cb\u003EBrian Decker\u003C\/b\u003E has seen this team far more than I have. His thoughts on Mac's second-half chances? \"The absolute biggest factor for them will be the health of \u003Cb\u003EScott Brittain\u003C\/b\u003E, their NCAA transfer. He's easily their best player and every time I talk to the coaches, players or anyone else with the team they rave about him. They've held him out of the lineup because they are being cautious bringing him back from multiple concussions, but I expect him to be playing fully in the winter.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\"Their success will depend largely on how quickly their first year guys (especially \u003Cb\u003ETaylor Black\u003C\/b\u003E, who is likely a future cornerstone player) can develop, because they have to depend on them a lot more than most playoff teams do.\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMEN'S HOCKEY\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGuelph\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003ENow: 18 points, tied for 6th in OUA West\u003Cbr \/\u003EExpected: 31 points, 5th\u003Cbr \/\u003ESwing games: Jan. 8 at Waterloo, Jan. 28\/29 vs. Lakehead, Feb. 12 at Western\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGuelph's actually \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/spreadsheets.google.com\/ccc?key=0Ar0xEkmR7QNKdGJCR2FQUHZGQWRlR2o2UlNocm9fSEE\u0026hl=en\"\u003E8th nationwide in RPI\u003C\/a\u003E. The only problem with that? The other teams in their division are 4th, 7th, 9th, 15th, 17th...you get the point. The OUA West is tough. Can they make a run? The Big Man on Campus, \u003Cb\u003EGreg Layson\u003C\/b\u003E, says it's possible:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\"Biggest question is goaltending. I think \u003Cb\u003ECody St. Jacques\u003C\/b\u003E [who \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.bramptonguardian.com\/sports\/article\/911763--battalion-adds-pair-to-platoon\"\u003Esigned with Brampton in the OHL\u003C\/a\u003E] was the best they had. And, by the looks of it, I'm right. They've lost every game without him — at least since he left.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\"It's going to be interesting to see how Guelph — or anyone — goes about winning it or at least making a run. I think it's Western and Lakehead and everyone else in the West. That said, Guelph's as good as Waterloo and Laurier and Brock. They could finish third.\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd Guelph, of course, has already beaten Brock twice this year, which as Greg points out would give them the tiebreaker should the Gryphs and Badgers finish equal on points and wins.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ENipissing\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003ENow: 19 points, tied for 5th in OUA West\u003Cbr \/\u003EExpected: 31 points, 4th\u003Cbr \/\u003ESwing games: Jan. 19 and Feb. 11 at Toronto, Jan. 8 and Feb. 15 at Ryerson\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFive points out of second with four games left against RMC is not a bad place to be in, and the Gee-Gees and Ravens (in third and fourth place) each have much tougher schedules in the second half. Let's turn this one over to \u003Cb\u003EKen Pagan\u003C\/b\u003E (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/nuggetKenPagan\"\u003E@nuggetKenPagan\u003C\/a\u003E), who covers the Lakers for the \u003Ci\u003ENorth Bay Nugget\u003C\/i\u003E: \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\"Both Ottawa and Carleton would do well to go .500 in the second half. Whereas, Nipissing can be expected to win seven or eight games, perhaps more. If they play to their level, the Lakers could go 7-3-1 in the second half and finish with 34 points. Fourth place is definitely in the cards, and third is a possibility.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\"The wildcard in the second half is goaltending. \u003Cb\u003EMatt Hache\u003C\/b\u003E missed time with a hip injury, \u003Cb\u003EKyle Cantlon\u003C\/b\u003E missed the first 10 games with a shoulder injury and \u003Cb\u003EBilly Stone\u003C\/b\u003E is still eager to show he can win some games after tending the net during first-half losses to Queen's and Concordia.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\"The ceiling, I think, would be third place in the East, earning home ice for a first-round playoff series and perhaps reaching the Eastern semifinals. While they have matched up well against UQTR, winning both games, the playoffs are the playoffs and experience is a big factor. The Lakers have just two players (\u003Cb\u003ERyan Maunu\u003C\/b\u003E and \u003Cb\u003EBrodie Beard\u003C\/b\u003E) beyond their second year in the OUA. In that sense, the Lakers are similar to the Carleton Ravens — in another year or two, the core of the team will be further along and they should be poised for a longer run.\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EWOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ERMC\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003ENow: 2-5, tied for 5th in OUA East\u003Cbr \/\u003EExpected: 7-12 or 8-11, 4th (i.e., a playoff spot)\u003Cbr \/\u003ESwing games: Jan. 8 vs. Lakehead, Jan. 15 vs. Laurier, Jan. 22 at Windsor, Jan. 29 vs. Toronto, Feb. 6 at Ryerson, Feb. 12 vs. Guelph\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ERMC? Playoffs?! Are you kidding me? \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAfter years of losing every game, the Paladins won one last year, and already have two wins this year. And they're ranked ahead of four other OUA teams in my preliminary, not-yet-published rankings. Even so ... how is this going to work? Well, they're actually favourites to win at home over Toronto, so that helps. Among other home games, Lakehead, Laurier, and Waterloo are also winnable.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI'm not saying they'll win all six swing games above, but a couple of those plus a couple of well-timed losses by Toronto would do it.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/7256451034381066340\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2010\/12\/calculated-reactions-some-new-years.html#comment-form","title":"5 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/7256451034381066340"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/7256451034381066340"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2010\/12\/calculated-reactions-some-new-years.html","title":"Calculated Reactions: Some New Year's evolutions"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Rob Pettapiece"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"5"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-6480080528880778638"},"published":{"$t":"2010-12-05T17:53:00.000-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2011-01-11T01:54:17.642-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"B.C. Lions"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Gaels"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"OUA women's basketball recap"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Paladins"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ravens"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Varsity Blues"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Voyageurs"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Basketball: OUA Women - Laurentian deserves a mention"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"The last day of play before the OUA holiday break saw a great opportunity for the Laurentian Voyageurs (1–8) to get out of the OUA East basement and take some positive memories into the break. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut the York Lions (4–5) had other plans. They beat the Voyageurs 62–49 at Ben Avery Gym on Saturday.\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDespite the Voyageurs' valient effort, having the lead scorer (guard \u003Cb\u003EKate Goggins\u003C\/b\u003E, with 20 points) and rebounder (forward \u003Cb\u003ELisa Furchner\u003C\/b\u003E, with 17), scoring was largely imbalanced. Seven Voyageurs scored two or fewer points, and four did not score a point.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Vees had a hard time getting into much of an offensive rhythm. A 36–25 first half and a six-point third frame made their fate for this game. They shot 28 per cent overall and 18 per cent from the three-point line. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Lions, despite being outrebounded 48–33, stole the ball 10 times. Scoring was fairly spread across the Lions’ roster, with \u003Cb\u003EEmily Perras\u003C\/b\u003E leading the way with 19. If the north Toronto squad has anything to learn from this game, they will have to look at their scoring opportunities. They made one free throw for the entire game and scored 12 points in garbage time. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EShould the Lions worry about their bench production? Not yet, because their January schedule is a winnable one. They go to Kingston the weekend of Jan. 7 for the Gaels and Paladins,, and return home to face the Blues and Rams the next weekend.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Lions now sit in fourth in the East, behind the Blues (7–2) and the Ravens (6–2). The Voyageurs, tied for last with the Paladins, get back to action against the Gaels and Paladins the weekend of Jan. 7.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/6480080528880778638\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2010\/12\/basketball-oua-women-laurentian.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/6480080528880778638"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/6480080528880778638"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2010\/12\/basketball-oua-women-laurentian.html","title":"Basketball: OUA Women - Laurentian deserves a mention"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Perry King"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/09888613455383972574"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"31","height":"21","src":"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-Ry955DxoWa8\/Tjx9SYC4TfI\/AAAAAAAABcM\/5cKxXRn7n1A\/s220\/DSC_0001.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}}]}});