Detroit 7, VMI 8

For the second time in two weeks, the Titans played in a game that included a furious comeback late in the game. This time, however, they were the team playing from behind, and this time, the comeback wasn’t completed.

Tempo Free

From the official box score, a look at the tempo-free stats:

I’m ready to name Detroit a mediocre faceoff team, rather than a bad one. Against one of the country’s best (the best, in fact, if you don’t adjust for strength of competition), they held their own, primarily through a strong performance out of Tyler Corcoran. Brandon Davenport didn’t play at all – injured? – and the Titan faceoff unit had a pretty good showing anyway.

The Titans didn’t perform so well on clears, but having a lot of opportunities (thanks in part to VMI launching a ton of shots) allowed them to stay about even in the possession game. The defense was pretty good – great even.

That leaves one area to lose Detroit this game – the offense. It’s no secret that they’re not nearly as good without Joel Matthews (duh, he was a Tewaaraton watchlist member for a reason), and on this day, they didn’t have Tim Lehto, either. Playing without two of your best offensive players is going to make it tough to score goals.

In-depth tempo-free stuff from TempoFreeLax:

Notes

As stated above, the offense was bad. Duh. Detroit’s offense is not particularly good in general (ringing in No. 52 in the country prior to the weekend ,and down to No. 55 after it), but having one of your worst performances of the year against one of the worst defenses faced – only Mercer was worse – is no bueno. I’ll have a post in the next couple days looking at the UDM offense with and without Matthews. How much does his presence (or lack thereof) impact their offense.

Without Matthews available, attackmen Shayne Adams and Alex Maini carried most of the scoring load, with a pair of goals apiece. Each had weak parts of their day, however. Adams’s two goals came on six shots (five on goal), so not a super-efficient day. Maini committed three turnovers and a penalty. Other offensive leaders included Scott Harris and Brad Janer, each with a goal and an assist. The goal was Janer’s first of the year.

Inefficiency shooting was a team theme for UDM. Matt Lindemann saved .708 of shots faced – 17 of 24 shots on goal. Without seeing the game live – instead I faithfully refreshed stat tracker – it’s fruitless to speculate on the reasons for this. Lack of ball movement (something that would have been aided by the presence of either Lehto or Matthews), and simply running into a hot keeper are possibilities. Speaking of not being able to solve the keeper, Troy Dennis took six shots, all on goal, and didn’t manage to score. Ouch.

Defensively, the standout was… Jon Bemben? The senior caused two turnovers (without committing any of his own) and picked up three ground balls. He was the only Titan to cause more than one turnover. Jamie Hebden and Jordan Houtby were reported to be very limited in the game, so that’s some explanation. Regardless, defense wasn’t the problem for Detroit on this day.

A.J. Levell led the team in ground balls,, and also saved 10 of 18 shots faced. That’s not a bad performance, but given that five of the eight goals came in the first quarter, he has to be wishing he could have come out a little hotter to start the game. That could have changed the complexion of the game in a big way, and probably the outcome.

One more time to give props to Tyler Corcoran. Stephen Robarge is a heck of a FOGO, and holding him under .600 on draws (including two conceded by Jordan Houtby and one by Jason McDonald) is an outstanding job.

Elsewhere

Boxscore. UDM Recap. VMI Recap.

Up Next

The MAAC Tournament is UDM’s chance to salvage a bit of the latter half of the season. Disappointing losses to Manhattan, Bellarmine, and VMI put a sour taste at the end of the regular season, but a tournament victory over Canisius could ease some of the pain, and then a date with Siena could REALLY make them feel better. Winning the MAAC Tournament – unlikely though it seems at this point – would provide Detroit with the program’s first berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Canisius’s upset over Marist on Saturday made the tournament road a bit easier for the Titans. They no longer have to face the host in round one, while Siena – the overwhelming favorite – has a better chance of being weakened by Marist.