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Heh, I suppose I haven't paid much attention to the Top Division grouping/playoff calculations or I would have known that. At least you're paying attention.

I didn't really pay attention either until the U18 team promoted.
Today, the United States beat the Netherlands 7-0. I thought the United States should win, but this win went beyond my expectations. The game was very even in all other aspects; the United States just converted a lot of its shots while Rutherford stonewalled the Netherlands. The Netherlands played an even 25-25-25-25 while the United States played its better players more.
Levar Jones and James Zehnder each added a tally, but it was the first line, star player Ty Shorter in particular, that carried the offense. Vito Corey and Richard Milton each contributed a goal and two assists while Ty Shorter stepped up with a hat trick. Rutherford also had a big game with a shutout, continuing his strong performance from earlier in the tournament.
The United States won by enough goals today that it would have passed Slovakia if the Czech Republic had won, so the United States would have advanced unless Slovakia and the Czech Republic went into overtime. Luckily, Slovakia beat the Czech Republic 1-0, which was the best possible result for the United States. It is really surprising that the United States made the finals; the upset against Slovakia made the difference.
The United States will play Finland tomorrow. It will be a tough match since Finland is probably one of the favorites to win the tournament, but it is probably winnable with a little luck.
Ty Shorter goes into the playoffs tied for 4th in goals (4) and 11th in points (6). First line players Barker, Milton, and Shorter (who rested against the Czech Republic) are up there in +/-. Brownlee and the Craven have gotten into a bit of penalty trouble. Rutherford is second among goaltenders with more than 2 games in SV% with a great .9346 SV%. He also has a pretty good 2.14 GAA. I'm not sure what sort of future Rutherford will have on the senior team, but he has been a star for the U18 team this season.
Good luck to the U20 United States National Hockey Team as it plays Romania for promotion to the top division tomorrow!
Levar Jones and James Zehnder each added a tally, but it was the first line, star player Ty Shorter in particular, that carried the offense. Vito Corey and Richard Milton each contributed a goal and two assists while Ty Shorter stepped up with a hat trick. Rutherford also had a big game with a shutout, continuing his strong performance from earlier in the tournament.
The United States won by enough goals today that it would have passed Slovakia if the Czech Republic had won, so the United States would have advanced unless Slovakia and the Czech Republic went into overtime. Luckily, Slovakia beat the Czech Republic 1-0, which was the best possible result for the United States. It is really surprising that the United States made the finals; the upset against Slovakia made the difference.
The United States will play Finland tomorrow. It will be a tough match since Finland is probably one of the favorites to win the tournament, but it is probably winnable with a little luck.
Ty Shorter goes into the playoffs tied for 4th in goals (4) and 11th in points (6). First line players Barker, Milton, and Shorter (who rested against the Czech Republic) are up there in +/-. Brownlee and the Craven have gotten into a bit of penalty trouble. Rutherford is second among goaltenders with more than 2 games in SV% with a great .9346 SV%. He also has a pretty good 2.14 GAA. I'm not sure what sort of future Rutherford will have on the senior team, but he has been a star for the U18 team this season.
Good luck to the U20 United States National Hockey Team as it plays Romania for promotion to the top division tomorrow!
Thanks! Finland is definitely one of the favorites to win the tournament, but I think that if the United States can beat Slovakia 4-1 and go into the playoffs with a 7-0 win, then a win against Finland is definitely not impossible.
For tactics, I really would like to use defense against them. Obviously normal is a bit risky for them. Also, considering their strength on defense, I think that the key will be to win in a low scoring game. If Rutherford can pull another great performance, augmented by a defensive mindset, then a goal or two by someone like Shorter might be able to give the United States the upset.
For tactics, I really would like to use defense against them. Obviously normal is a bit risky for them. Also, considering their strength on defense, I think that the key will be to win in a low scoring game. If Rutherford can pull another great performance, augmented by a defensive mindset, then a goal or two by someone like Shorter might be able to give the United States the upset.
The United States lost to Finland 5-1 today. Finland outshot the United States 44-29. Faceoffs were even, and the United States took 3 of the 8 penalties in the game, though the only goal on a power play was the shorthanded goal by Finland.
It wasn't really an unexpected result. Finland is one of the few teams that entered the tournament as a favorite to win the entire tournament. Finland also had the luxury of resting its team in the last game. The United States on the other hand was exhausted at this point.
The tactic I tried may or may not have had an effect, but Finland went with active forechecking (matching the tactic that the United States used) as I though they most likely would. I probably should have gone ahead and tried offense, though it would have been risky.
In any case, the United States ends the World Championships in 8th place in the highest division. This is probably one of the best results by a national team since the 2nd place finish at the International Cup in soccer.
Finland has moved on to play the United Kingdom (who surprisingly beat Russia). Croatia upset Serbia to move on to play Slovakia.
All 3 teams from group C that avoided the relegation round made the playoffs (and Spain probably could have been more competitive as well), but of those teams, only Slovakia (who had a poor start to the tournament) has advance to the semifinals from Qualifying group 2.
In any case, that's the end of the season. I hope that I will be back next year. The quality of prospects available to the U18 has been improving over the past few years, so I think that the United States can continue to be competitive (though I wouldn't count on another result like the win against Slovakia). Hopefully this team will build of its experience from this tournament to help the U20 team promote next season.
It wasn't really an unexpected result. Finland is one of the few teams that entered the tournament as a favorite to win the entire tournament. Finland also had the luxury of resting its team in the last game. The United States on the other hand was exhausted at this point.
The tactic I tried may or may not have had an effect, but Finland went with active forechecking (matching the tactic that the United States used) as I though they most likely would. I probably should have gone ahead and tried offense, though it would have been risky.
In any case, the United States ends the World Championships in 8th place in the highest division. This is probably one of the best results by a national team since the 2nd place finish at the International Cup in soccer.
Finland has moved on to play the United Kingdom (who surprisingly beat Russia). Croatia upset Serbia to move on to play Slovakia.
All 3 teams from group C that avoided the relegation round made the playoffs (and Spain probably could have been more competitive as well), but of those teams, only Slovakia (who had a poor start to the tournament) has advance to the semifinals from Qualifying group 2.
In any case, that's the end of the season. I hope that I will be back next year. The quality of prospects available to the U18 has been improving over the past few years, so I think that the United States can continue to be competitive (though I wouldn't count on another result like the win against Slovakia). Hopefully this team will build of its experience from this tournament to help the U20 team promote next season.
I think that Cory Martin has the scouting covered. I will need help scouting the current 15 year olds, though I usually don't start looking through the 15 year olds until they turn 16 (otherwise I would have to look through all the rosters and transfer lists in the United States every week).
For now, if you could start scouting 15 year olds from other teams in division I with 500+ OR and respectable unscouted AVQ, that would help. I will definitely end up scouting those players.
For now, if you could start scouting 15 year olds from other teams in division I with 500+ OR and respectable unscouted AVQ, that would help. I will definitely end up scouting those players.
I'll have the list complete short of Tujague's players in 8 days. Considering he's basically said he'll need at least a season to fix them, seems like we should be good.
Seeing as we're down a database, we need to figure something out there. I may be willing to learn how to code something like that come January, but for right now I'm otherwise occupied. Also, I have no coding experience, so if I were to take something like that on, don't expect miracles right away.
Seeing as we're down a database, we need to figure something out there. I may be willing to learn how to code something like that come January, but for right now I'm otherwise occupied. Also, I have no coding experience, so if I were to take something like that on, don't expect miracles right away.
I used Matlab for a few months, but that probably won't help much.
I pretty much plan to just make an excel spreadsheet with the players I have scouted and have scouted by other managers.
I pretty much plan to just make an excel spreadsheet with the players I have scouted and have scouted by other managers.
That's fine - even scouting a few players would help in the long run. Even at one per day in (I can scout 120% in soccer with 22% efficiency) for two weeks would help, or however it would work out for you, if you don't mind scouting a little.
That's fine short-term. I'm talking about the long-term.
Sure, I can help. Would you tell me which ones....since others are scouting too? Or give me a team?
I actually intend to learn SQL or something similar at some point in the future.
For now, searching through the national team threads in other countries might unearth a hidden database that the United States might be able to use (though the owner of the database would then have access to the information).
For now, searching through the national team threads in other countries might unearth a hidden database that the United States might be able to use (though the owner of the database would then have access to the information).
Could you focus on the 500+ OR 15 year olds from the Psychos, Boilermakers, STL Saints, and Westchester Red Wings (as well as from your team) for now (however much you can get done by the 13th day of season 19)?
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