Well, I have been reading a lot about OSU and how good a 40 minute team they
are and even a few compliments for the inept Jerry Welsh.  I am sorry, but I
just can't buy it.  True, OSU has been coompetitive with the big boys this year
anbd have had leads and blown them.  But let us not forget that as of Saturday
morning, this team still only had 2 conference wins.  The team only won 2 games
in 1993 (including the 93 part of the 92-93 season and only one of those was
against an NCAA opponent.  Despite playing LSSU UM and MSU well, they still
lose to the bottom teams on a regular basis and still look bad doing it.  In
the past, the teams have been confused on the ice, played poor defense in a way
that wasn't just lack of talent, but also just plain confusion about their
on-ice responsibilities which is a sign of poor coaching.  They take penalties
too often  and in key situations and most of the time, show a total lack of
discipline...again, a sign of poor coaching.
 
Two years ago, OSU had the same kind of 40-minute troubles against the big
teams, but at least they won 11 games and usually beat the lower teams in the
league...or played them close.  Before we talk about turning the corner here,
let's also not forget that OSU swept LSSU during the second-to-last weekend of
the regular season in 1992, just before LSSU went on to win the national
championship only to return the following year and win 4 or 5 games the whole
season.
 
Before we praise Jerry Welsh for his patientce, let's also remember that this
guy has spent 18 years in a program that is totally ignored...I don't call that
patientce, I call that complacency...a man quietly drawing a paycheck for not
making noise .  The university knows full well they couldn't find someone else
without having dump a lot more money into the program, so they are more than
happy to keep him as long as he remains quiet despite the fact that he has had
only 4 good seasons in 18 years and has not finished above 6th in 8-9 years.  I
am happy that the university may be looking to improve things, of course, the
Fairgrounds is very convenient because they don't actually have to build a
facility, but I won't squabble over that...it would be a dramatic improvement.
However, I hope the university is aware that if they get a larger audience for
OSU hockey, people just might start to expect a winner...which means they just
might have to hire a coach who won't take the abuse Welsh has taken with nearly
as broad a smile for 18 years.
 
I hope that the university does upgrade things and puts a good marketing effort
behind the move to the Fairgrounds if it happens.  The Chill is so popular
here, I am sure tht OSU hockey could be too, and it would be really great to
see quality players start to come here instead of going to the games so I can
see the other team's quality players.  I will wait and see before I get too
hopeful though...after all, this is OSU.
 
 
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        *        Dave [log in to unmask]         *
        *                  Cornell '91 OSU Med '95                     *
        *        The only problem with being on call every other       *
        *             night is that you miss half the cases            *
        *          (my resident was serious when he said this)         *
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