Prior to their loss in the MAAC Championship game, the Titans earned their way there with a 9-8 semifinal victory over Marist. As the Red Foxes had just beaten UDM only 6 days earlier, it was a momentous victory indeed for Detroit.
Without further ado, let’s get into the…
Tempo-Free
From the official box score, your tempo-free breakdown:
| Marist (MAAC Tourney) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit | Marist | ||
| Faceoff Wins | 11 | Faceoff Wins | 9 |
| Clearing | 17-23 | Clearing | 16-23 |
| Possessions | 41 | Possessions | 38 |
| Goals | 9 | Goals | 8 |
| Offensive Efficiency | .220 | Offensive Efficiency | .211 |
A week after playing more efficiently than Marist but getting crushed on faceoffs, leading to a possession disparity, Detroit turned the tables by coming out ahead on faceoffs. Brandon Davenport took every draw, winning 55% of them.
The Titans also cleared slightly better than Marist, with one more successful clear on the same number of attempts. In a 1-goal game, every clear matters. Who knows whether the Red Foxes would have put in one more goal if they had gotten that 17th successful clear?
Detroit, for the second time in 7 days, was also more efficient than Marist. That’s bound to happen in such a close game – both in terms of scoring and possessions. When the sample size is so limited, the margin of error is small. The Titans made it count on this day.
Notes
A big part of Marist’s troubles? Getting past AJ Levell. He made 13 saves while allowing just 8 goals, for a .619 save percentage on the day. If the Titans don’t have him in net, there’s a good chance they lose.
While the first game against Marist featured lots of infractions by the Titans, they were much more disciplined when it mattered most, committing just 3 penalties. Marist still managed to capitalize on the man-up, going 1-3, but it’s far less damaging when they don’t get 3 goals on 8 opportunities.
Can’t say enough about Jamie Hebden. 5 caused turnovers. No penalties committed. Great improvement from his 2 CT, 1 penalty performance last time out.
Offensively, the production was well-spread throughout the lineup. Scott Harris was the only Titan with at least 3 points (1 goal and 2 assists), but Shayne Adams, Alex Maini, and Jordan Houtby all had multi-point outings as well. Adams’s lower-than-typical production may have been a product of an in-game injury, which we’ll learn more about (unfortunately) when recapping the Siena game.
Elsewhere
Official site recap has no mention of an Adams injury. I posted a couple of the videos and photos the other day.
Up Next
The Titans faced Siena for a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament. It didn’t end well. Recap coming later today or tomorrow.