I’ve previously previewed the Panthers from a Michigan perspective, and also have a recap of the Michigan/Pitt game. Check those out for a more in-depth look at the opponent.
Pittsburgh
Saturday, 7PM, Oosterbaan Fieldhouse
Record: 6-2 (2-1 CCLA East)
Rankings: NR, 44 (Computer).
Common Opponents: Michigan (L 1-20),
Schedule
The Panthers have played plenty of non-MCLA D-1 teams this season, and only have 8 actual regular-season games. They beat first-year MCLA squad Toledo and squeaked out a 12-11 victory over Ohio to earn their berth in the CCLA Tournament (along with their 1-20 lost to Michigan).
In the non-conference, they played mostly SELC squads, with a 9-22 loss to Central Florida, but wins over South Florida, Alabama, Wake Forest, and Backyard Brawl rival West Virginia. They also boast a 13-12 win over PCLL Northeastern.
Personnel
Offensively, Pitt is led by sophomore attack Tyler Novotny – mostly a finisher with 36 goals and 10 assists – and junior midfielder Patrick Bursch, whose production is evenly split between goals and assists. Only two other Panthers, attackmen Alex Powell and Chris Roy, are at or above 2.0 goals per game.
A pair of junior defensive midfielders are near the top of the ground ball charts for Pitt, though in the case of Nick Ruff, that’s partially because he’s also a faceoff specialist – more on that in a bit. The starters at close defense are led by freshman Max Carlson and junior Jordan Kepner.
in goal, freshman Drew Miller and junior Chris Gorham have both gotten plenty of run. Miller has a slightly better save percentage and a much better GAA. He’s also played in more games, and I would guess he’s the starter.
Three different players have taken at least 50 faceoffs, with Nick Ruff just one attempt short of 100 on the year. He’s winning an impressive .636 of them, and junior Patrick Bursch has 56 attempts, winning .714 of them. Pitt appears to be a very successful faceoff team.
Predictions
The Panthers have some impressive players statistically, but when they play good competition (pretty much only Michigan and Central Florida so far this season), they haven’t had much success. Michigan State is probably the second-best team they’ll face all year, so I would guess a beating on order of that which Michigan gave them is likely.
However, like their in-state counterparts, the Spart will probably play deep into their depth chart to keep important players fresh for the contest against Michigan the following day.