Detroit 5, Manhattan 6

This one hurts. Detroit has three one-goal losses in MAAC play, but the first two were to really good squads. This one was not, and it could cost the Titans a postseason berth.

Tempo Free

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

The possession margin was only slightly tipped in Manhattan’s favor. Detroit made strides on faceoffs, but was simply brutal in the clearing game.

Both teams turned in pretty bad offensive efficiency marks, and though the Titans’ number looks quite a bit worse, the low-scoring nature of the game means that one possession (and one goal) could have made that look radically different. “Not quite as bad as it seems” is, like, the worst consolation prize ever, though.

Notes

How did the offense get that way? The same way it has been all year. The Titans are extremely sloppy with the ball. They had 18 turnovers in a very slow (by their standards) game – 58% of the time. That’s terrible. With five of those turnovers coming in clearing postures, the offense didn’t even have a chance.

Of course, when the offense did get the ball, they were far from blameless. Alex Maini had SIX turnovers (that’s nearly 20% of Detroit’s total possessions), and Mike Birney launched eight shots, only three of them on goal, none of them beating the keeper. Detroit simply has to value the ball more on offense. Sure, missed shots can be backed up, but from seeing the Titans play several times this year, not enough of them are getting backed up with shooters spraying the ball all over the field.

Maini was one of the few offensive players with a multi-point day, contributing two assists. When that is accompanied by six turnovers, you haven’t undone enough of the damage. Scott Drummond, Brandon Beauregard, and Tom Masterson each had a goal and an assist. All five UDM goals were assisted.

The defense was the bright spot in this loss. The efficiency number speaks for itself, and it should come as no surprise that freshman Jason Weber was a big part of that. He saved 12 shots while allowing six goals. He was responsible for a turnover in the clearing game, but that happens from time to time.

Defensively, attackman Tom Masterson was your leader in caused turnovers with three (a very impressive mark for an offensive player). Defenseman Chris Shevins notched two while picking up three ground balls.

The faceoff game was actually something of a strength for Detroit. Having a healthy Tyler Corcoran certainly helped, if only to give more options if one wasn’t working out on draws. Damien Hicks did get a couple draws and lost them both, but overall a 60% win rate is not bad in the least.

Manhattan was led offensively by Patrick Hodapp (2G, 1A) and Andrew Hurst (2G), and defensively by goalie Rich Akapnitis, who allowed five goals and saved 10 shots.

Elsewhere

Boxscore. Game photos. Detroit recap. Manhattan recap.

Up Next

I guess calling Manhattan almost a sure thing in the preview last weekend came back to bite me, but man, Monmouth definitely has to be a sure thing. The Hawks are 0-12 and have only come close to a win a couple times this season (although their pythagorean win expectation isn’t so far behind Manhattan’s, even after the Jaspers’ upset Saturday).

Detroit, on the other hand, absolutely must have this victory for a shot at making the MAAC Tournament (after they were very close to a chance at earning the one seed just a week ago). The scenarios are very complicated – look for a post on it later this week – and UDM does not control its own destiny at this point.

Getting a big win against an overmatched first-year program and building momentum toward a possible conference tournament run are musts. If the game is even close, Detroit will show it doesn’t deserve the MAAC bid anyway.