Trying to get back in the groove here. Recapping this weekend’s games before (hopefully) running through the backlog… and previews will be effective again when the NCAA site stops breaking TFL.
Tempo Free
From the official box score, a look at the tempo-free stats:
| Marist 2015 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit | Marist | ||
| Faceoff Wins | 9 | Faceoff Wins | 10 |
| Clearing | 14-17 | Clearing | 13-16 |
| Possessions | 29 | Possessions | 29 |
| Goals | 7 | Goals | 8 |
| Offensive Efficiency | .241 | Offensive Efficiency | .276 |
As tends to be the case, a one-goal game was a close one down the margins. The Titans were able to stay dead-even in possession, but fell one goal short of Marist’s output. That means they’re less efficient, but the efficiency margin was really as slim as it could get in a low-scoring game.
Notes
It’s unfair to say the final score is misleading, since Detroit scored to draw within a goal with nearly half the fourth quarter left, but it is fair to say that Marist dominated the run of play for most of the first half. The Titans took their only lead with 8:32 in the first quarter, then the Red Foxes took control, built a lead slowly while only letting UDM chip at it, until the Titans mounted a comeback starting in the late third. Of course, with such a low-scoring game, the comeback hardly needed to be the furious variety.
Despite taking the loss, Jason Weber had a very nice game. He struggled a bit in the first (four goals, two saves), but was his usual self in quarters 2-4, giving his team a chance to get the win. He faced a ton of rubber before the break, but his defense locked down in front of him to help out after halftime.
In a slow game, you see that Marist committed 14 turnovers and think “that’s pretty good,” until you scroll down a little further and see that a) UDM caused only six of them – still not bad, but b) the Titans committed 20 turnovers of their own. That’s one area I was looking for them to improve this season, and they haven’t been as loose with the ball all year, but that’s one of the stories of the game right there.
Another story – and another that’s been consistent with the Titans – is the shots on goal disparity. Marist put 21 of 30 on the cage, with Weber saving 13 of them. UDM had more shots (33) but put fewer (18) on the net. That’s obviously not a death knell, with backup rules meaning you can maintain possession on a missed shot, but the Titans have long struggled to make the keeper work for certain attempts, and this is one time where putting just one more of them on the net could have changed the game’s outcome.
Offensive standouts for the Titans were Scott Drummond (three goals on seven shots, five on goal), along with Shayne Adams and Brandon Beauregard (a goal and an assist each, though Beauregard did commit three turnovers as well). UDM’s offense seems to be more shared this year – no relying on just Adams to make plays (or Maini at times in the past) – but only three assists on their seven goals probably helped Marist keeper Dave Scarcello. On the other end, the Red Foxes assisted on seven of their eight tallies, making life a little tougher on Weber.
The faceoff game was about even, perhaps a pleasant surprise against a pretty good specialist in Domi Montemurro for Marist. Ride/clear was even as well. The difference came in efficiency in the settled offense. Even extra-man opportunity was in favor of the Titans (2/4, Marist was 2/3), but UDM needed a bit more.
So, about the tale of two halves: At the break, Marist led 7-3, with a 17-14 possession advantage. They had 24 shots in those 17 possessions, 17 of them on goal. Detroit had just 10 shots, seven of them on goal. Detroit shot a lot more after halftime in a comeback effort, so the shooting accuracy taking a dip isn’t a surprise, and is probably even fine. The bigger frustration is probably the lack of assists (two of the three came before halftime, with one on the man-up and the second-half assist man-up as well). The Titans probably needed to work the offense patiently a bit more in the second half to be more effective.
Elsewhere
Detroit recap. Boxscore. Marist recap.
Up Next
Detroit hosts Monmouth Saturday morning at 11 am. The Hawks are a surprise in their second season, putting together a 2-1 conference record so far, and also picking up a win against Rutgers. It’s a must-win for the Titans to keep pace for making the MAAC Tournament. They currently sit in fifth place in the league, and need a top-4 finish.