{"id":887,"date":"2010-02-20T13:10:28","date_gmt":"2010-02-20T19:10:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/blogs\/?p=887"},"modified":"2010-02-20T13:10:28","modified_gmt":"2010-02-20T19:10:28","slug":"on-faceoffs-and-playoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2010\/02\/20\/on-faceoffs-and-playoffs\/","title":{"rendered":"On Faceoffs and Playoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"
Last weekend, Union scored three goals in 6:29 to draw within 4-3 of host Harvard. The only problem was that the Dutchmen’s third goal, scored by defenseman and All-American candidate Mike Schreiber, lit the lamp with merely 3.4 seconds remaining.<\/p>\n
Going for broke, Union coach Nate Leaman elected to keep goalie Corey Milan on the pine and set up his six skaters for the desperation draw at center-ice. With a center taking the draw, the five remaining Dutchmen lined up on the red line to the right-wing side.<\/p>\n
The strategy was certainly unusual, if not ultimately successful.<\/p>\n
“I didn’t have a time-out, and we didn’t have enough time to script it,” said Leaman. “That’s stuff you think about during the summer.”<\/p>\n
Leaman preferred to keep us guessing at the design details of his “onside kick” formation, but he made up for his secrecy with a gem of a tactical tale from years past.<\/p>\n
Relating a story from his days as a Harvard assistant, Leaman recalled a game against Yale when new Sacred Heart head coach C.J. Marottolo was still an assistant with the Bulldogs.<\/p>\n
With a draw at the Yale blue line against the Bulldogs’ bench, Marottolo showed his genius as a tactician: the Blue & White won the draw, and the short-side winger promptly hopped the boards onto his bench. A player at the far end of the pine vaulted the dasher behind the oblivious Crimson defense, received a breakout pass and was off to the races on an uncontested breakaway.<\/p>\n
Faceoff plays are often overlooked by the average fan, but sometimes those under-appreciated sets will positively drop your jaw.<\/p>\n