AKA The Keith Aldridge weekend.
 
LAKE SUPERIOR 5 Michigan 4 OT (Friday)
Michigan looked good for 20 minutes.  Lake Superior was the
better team for most of the last 40.  A tie would have been fitting,
but it wasn't to be.  Michigan held a 4-3 lead into the final minute,
but couldn't clear the puck from their own zone for s**t once LSSU
pulled their netminder.  The Lakers forced overtime, then got the
win.  The OT winner was only mildly controversial in that 80% of
those in the building didn't see it go in (including me and the
goal judge), but referee Steve Piotrowski did.  Michigan protested
very little.  I was told by a faithful UM fan that was sitting on the
goal line that it went in...back top-shelf.  That's all I needed to
hear to believe it.  I looked for Hockey-L's Jon Barkan following
the game, to roll him for some of that $900+ 50-50 pot that he
nabbed, but he hid at a different bar. :-)
 
SOO INDIANS 1 Compuware 1 OT (Saturday NAJHL)
This was the best game I saw all weekend.  Compuware's
defense was unbelievable.  The Soo's goaltender was also
solid, as Compuware controlled most of the game.  The
visitors got their goal in the second period, a nice blast just
under the crossbar, and the home club tied it in the final
minute with the goaltender pulled.
 
LAKE SUPERIOR 7 Michigan 3 (Saturday)
Michigan flat stunk.  Marty Turco didn't get any help as UM's
team defense (both forwards and defensemen) collapsed.
After Turco yielded four goals he gave way to Gregg Malicke
who also received no support in allowing three, but Malicke
made several outstanding saves to spare the Laker fans the
embarrassment of having to take off their shoes for the goal
count.  LSSU continued their ever-annoying tradition of always
playing better on Saturday when I've been in the Soo.  Keith
Aldridge was BIGGER THAN THIS.  My buddy and I heckled him
continuously on Friday night, and he responded by being the
game's first star.  We didn't say boo to Keith on Saturday and
he was still the best player on the ice.  What can you do?  The
entire weekend series was summed up rather poignantly on
the Laker's final goal.  A Laker forward (Brian Felsner?) streaked
up left wing with only UM defenseman Steven Halko back.
Halko backed up further and further as Felsner carried the puck
into the Wolverine zone and Malicke hugged the post to his right.
Felsner then zipped a centering pass to Aldridge, who buried
it in what was basically an empty net.  Michigan's John Arnold
was skating stride for stride with Aldridge but didn't touch him.
It was as if Arnold was personally escorting Aldridge to the Michigan
net.  After depositing the puck behind Malicke, Aldridge turned
and cracked Arnold upside the head.  A classic chump move.
What did Arnold do?  He took it and went to the Wolverine bench.
Puh-lease!  You're getting waxed in the biggest game of the year
to date, then you're being publicly humiliated after the goal.
Arnold should have knocked Aldridge on his butt and recovered
some pride in showing that despite the score, Michigan wasn't
going to take Aldridge's kind of crap.  But, he didn't and that was
pretty much a weekend synopsis.  I'm not sure that the Wolverines
would have gotten by Compuware.  It would have made for an
interesting game.  Where's Ted Kramer when you need him?
(Pardon me, but for lack of a better term, Michigan could certainly
use a couple of pricks to give the team a little more character.)
 
THE FANS
No specifics on-line, but any Laker fan that has ever complained
about the treatment at Yost should put on a Michigan shirt and sit
in the band endzone at LSSU.  Hostile has been taken to another
level.  And, since the choreographed profanity it led by the band
(at Yost, it's led and carried out by the students), I assume that the
administration is OK with it.  The standing ovations whenever a
Michigan player was injured were particularly classy. :-(
 
THE SOO
Jeez, did this place change in a year or what?!  Drop a casino in
and it becomes a pseudo-resort.  My favorite restaurant is gone,
but Arby's, Burger King, KFC, McDonald's, Subway, Wendy's, etc
have been added.  Boo.  The Mom-n-Pop motels will probably
be next to fall given the new presence of Holiday Inn and the like.
Boo.  The new look Taffy Abel Arena is nice, but skyboxes are not
for hockey.  Boo.  On a positive note (if you're a classic Soo fan),
I think it snowed more there on Friday night/Saturday morning than
it has in Ann Arbor all winter.  And, the Norris Center parking lot
still has better ice than the Palace ever will.
 
THE CCHA RACE
I'm obviously disappointed in the 1995-96 Michigan club, and it's
highly probably that I expected too much from them back in
October, but this year is far from over.  Despite the 0-for weekend,
Michigan (along with LSSU, MSU and WMU) can still finish anywhere
from first to fourth in the CCHA.  Fourth is more likely, even with a
sweep of MSU and BGSU this coming weekend, but this Wolverine
team is still very dangerous.  Maybe the tonic for a great CCHA and
NCAA run is decreased expectations.  I'm certainly looking forward
to the rest of the season, win or lose.  And, I'm convinced that Brendan
Morrison would score 100 points if he were healthy throughout a 40
game season.  Unfortunately for this year's club, he doesn't look
to be 100% from here on out and it's something that Michigan will have
to deal with and adjust for.
 
 
John H ([log in to unmask]) GO BLUE!
 
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