Zamboni_Driver wrote:Can anyone compare UMD and Sonoma State technical and athletic abilities? If anyone has seen both these teams play, who would you say is better? and why? (please arguments that don't include who beat who)
I saw BYU/SSU live, and BYU/UMD on TV, so take my view with a grain of salt...
Comparing SSU and UMD:
SSU was more athletic, and their long poles looked better. They also looked better on rides/clears than UMD.
UMD looked a little better in terms of stick skills, especially in tight. UMD might have a slight edge at the faceoff X.
Both teams worked very hard on ground balls, so no edge to either one there.
Both teams are also very well coached. I've seen Doug's teams play a number of times, but have never seen Rob's team play. I was impressed with a couple of things UMD did, particularly on man-up.
Both teams definitely deserve to be in the top 10, IMO. Based on results since the last poll, UMD should probably be between 7 and 9, and Noma should probably stay at 5 or 6.
The funny thing is that we would not be having this conversation if UMD beat Utah. They would have stayed right where they are in the polls because everyone would have seen the 1 goal losses to teams ranked above them, and kept them at #5 or 6.
DG