The season kicked off with a pair of entertaining games at the Nutter center
near Dayton on Friday.  Both games were competitive with Denver beating OSU
5-2 in the opener, and SLU topping Miami 3-1 in the second game.  Rather than
repeat a box score, a few first hand observations on each team will follow.

Denver is a good team.  After a first period of feeling each other out, DU
put a hammer lock on the game in the second with a combination of good forecheck
and tight defense.  It is hard to pick out a standout, as they played well as
a unit.  This team has a good combination of speed, size and skill, although
they are not dominant in any particular area.  Of the four teams, DU also
appeared to be in the best physical shape, as they were able to sustain their play
for 60 minutes.  I do not know how well other teams in the WCHA are, but this
team will contend if Gwozdecky keeps them playing together.

OSU is a team with some talent, but it is not very deep.  Dave Steckel is
their most involved and noticeable player (and not just because he is 6'-5" 220).
 When he was on the ice, he was right in the middle of things, scoring a
goal, taking and giving hits and generally making himself known.  Unfortunately
for OSU, no one else really stood out other than freshman forward Andrew
Schembri.  He is a quick, little (listed at 5-6, 160, but I doubt it) player with
skill.  He is the classic example of a player who will annoy opponents all year,
as long as no big, slow checker in the CCHA catches him, which given his speed
is unlikely.  OSU biggest problem was they kept leaving their goaltender on
an island.  The defense did a poor job clearing the puck from the front of the
net, and a worse job moving the attackers from the same area.  A bad
combination against a team with skill such as Denver.  Betz played well, but without
help, he will see a lot of pucks this year, and OSU will have issues, since I do
not think they have the talent they did last year.

Miami played a sound defensive game, but lacks any offensive punch.  Although
they outshot SLU almost two to one, they did not do much with their
opportunities.  Their powerplay was able to control the puck for long stretches, but
they could not finish.  The major issue for this team will be to figure out how
to put the puck in the net.  They also need to show some discipline.  At least
three times they took silly penalties to negate powerplays including hitting
after the whistle.  Granted Murphy was whistle happy last night, but after a
call or two, you should learn not to do the chippy stuff.  It may have been
frustration with the offense that lead to these issues.

SLU is a decent team with a good goaltender.  Ackley made a number of good to
great saves (forty-one shots gave him lots of work), and his defense was able
to give him a good look at most of the shots.  The only goal he gave up was
due to a great screen set up by his own defenseman.  SLU does not have a great
deal of scoring punch, but the solid team defense will keep them in games,
especially in the lower scoring ECAC.  One obvious factor in the game tonight was
the penalties.  Both teams spent so much time with men in the box that the
top players were gassed by the middle of the second period.  They were not in
midseason form of course, but the extended penalty kills, power plays, shortened
the benches a bit, leading to sloppy, stoppage filled play, with little flow.

Just a few observations from Dayton,
William Sangrey
Cornell '87 & '94
Let's Go RED!!!