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Message: [QUOTE="JeremyCuse, post: 5693143, member: 43"] Been meaning to get something out but it's been one of those weeks. SU's tough stretch of opponents continues with Hopkins who is a very solid squad and will present a # of issues. I have watched a # of Hopkins games this year (at least parts of them) though I won't claim to be an expert on them, lol. Hobot as Powell noted has missed the last two games and appears unlikely to play on Saturday. If he does give it a go it's hard to believe he will be close to 100% as it appears he has a high ankle sprain. Hopkins offense is unusual in that it's mostly predicated on ball movement. They still have players who can dodge for goals in Iler, Collison, Ayers etc but it's not how they prefer to operate. As Powell noted SU bumped Dwan to cover Collison last year, I wouldn't be shocked if they did it again even with Chuck K fully healthy at LSM. Dwan gave Collison a lot of problems as he only scored 1 goal in the 6 on 6 and that was in the 4th qtr (other goal was a man up look). Chauvette is a hell of a shooter but SU unlike UVA has rarely allowed him time and room looks. He shot 1 of 8 last year and I suspect SU will employ a similar strategy. Chauvette has zero assists on the year and isn't really much of a dodger but much like Hiltz if you let him get his hands free he will rip it. Good example, last week against UVA he got the ball with a UVA guy on him but not pressing out, he made a move just to get his hands free and ripped an upper cage shot for a goal. I assume this will be Beck covering, he has to stay on his hands and should not slide unless absolutely necessary. Iller gave SU a lot of trouble last year as he got the start for the injured attackmen (guy no at OSU name escapes me) and had 3 goals plus an assist. He's quick and can really cause problems dodging from X. Figueiras I think got caught off guard in the match up last year, I suspect he will be more prepared for this matchup. That would leave Chuck K on Ayers. I think this would be a better matchup then Beck as Ayers is listed 5'9 (I don't think he's even that) and is more a shifty guy that Chuck is used to covering at LSM. Rawson and English will definitely present some issues going against shorties. English has been mostly a feeder with 11 assists this year but only 2 goals. I think this is where moving McCarthy could really pay off, he looked good vs Penn and I think would draw English. I'll preface this by saying this could age really badly on Saturday but I think SU defensively matches up pretty well with Hopkins. Despite the struggles since the Maryland game Defensively SU has played pretty well save for maybe the last 7 mins of the Harvard game. Teams that have hurt SU have been able to do it off the dodge unassisted that's not really Hopkins game. Again not saying SU is gonna dominate defensively but on paper at least they do match up fairly well. I think Hopkins is likely to push transition whenever they can (they did a good job of this vs Towson and UVA) and will look to cause havoc in the ride to generate additional chances. Hopkins has some young players on that 2nd line who have shown some flashes and I believe has even run a 3rd line at times but my assumption is they will run the 1st line a lot. Like most years vs Hop SU has to limit the EMO chances for Hopkins which will be a challenge as we have seen the last few weeks. Offensively for SU it's a bit of a mixed bag. Hopkins defense has looked a lot like SU's offense. Very good at times and puzzling at others. Kilrain or Brown will draw Spallina just not sure who. If I had to guess I'd say Kilrain only because he struggles with speed guys and is more built for this type of matchup but I could see Brown to. Both are pretty good defenders so Joey will have his hands full. I doubt Hopkins will try and short Finn Thomson, they have a very good SSDM in DicCicco so they could try but I don't see it because SU will just bump down Leo. SU's secondary guys are going to need to have good games, that means Bear, Hottle, Rhoa etc. Leo will surely draw the pole at middie. I do like the SU strategy of keeping Leo out there at all times and sort of subbing around him. McIntee needs to take advantage of the short stick matchup he will draw the entire game. Hop like most teams has issues at SSDM depth, expect SU to attack there especially when DicCicco is out. Need a good shooting day from Rhoa, he will most likely see a short stick and should get some decent looks. Lost in Leo's game winning goal on Sunday was that it was initiated off a Rhoa dodge from behind cage, something we rarely have seen. As ColdAnger noted SU has to be careful not to take a bunch of OK/bad shots early in the shot clock, will play right into Hopkins hands. I think SU also needs to getting Bear going, he has to be a man cog in this offense. I suspect SU will really try and attack through the midfield especially if Leo plays mid the entire game. This is a tough game to get a read on as both teams have been up and down the last few weeks. Hopkins with a really nice comeback win vs UVA but they were also down a bunch to a less then stellar UVA team who for some reason went to a 10 man up big and sparked the Hopkins comeback. SU's offense has been all over the place the last few games and again has fallen back into the bad habits of the last 2 years, not valuing possessions, horrific unforced turnovers, just overall sloppy play. Cuse has to clean up the undisciplined play. I feel like we say that almost every week but it just continues to haunt this team under Gait. Defense has played well and hopefully will continue to do so on Saturday. Mullen is clearly having issues with timing the whistle. Seemed to figure it out in the 4th qtr last week so hopefully he looks more like himself on Sat. He has to limit the violations with Angelos struggles behind him. Like most Hop/Cuse games I suspect were in for another very close game probably similar to last year where one of the teams pulls away slightly late. Hopkins likely to roll with Gelinas at goalie, gotta get him to early and let the doubt creep in, there's a reason he lost the job to a true freshman. [/QUOTE]

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