Since none of the games from Dayton were on TV, I though I might share a few
observations that might supplement box scores posted elsewhere. I will go Team
by team, starting with Michigan.
The Wolverines have a very talented team, but they came out very complacent
on Friday. They expected to roll Northeastern, and found that they were unable
to turn it on after the Huskies came back in the 2nd. They were obviously
not happy with their performance, and BU paid the price on Saturday. They came
out flying and it was over quick, although they did start to get a bit lazy
and sloppy later in the game. The goaltending is solid with Montoya, and it is
easy to see why this team is highly regarded. They will do well, but I expect
them to lose a couple head-scratchers to low level teams during the year
unless Red can get them to work hard for 60 minutes.
BU could be in for a long year. Parker's team is very young, and the
goaltending is not good. Defensive miscues and porous goaltending is a bad
combination, and BU showed lots of both. Unless this team starts playing team defense,
they are going to give up goals in bunches. The fact that Parker started a
freshman line, and played them on the powerplay and penalty kill tells me that
he does not think much of his upperclassmen, or he thinks the new guys have
great potential. Two that did stand out were Pete MacAthur (2G Saturday) and
Chris Bourque. They both were aggressive and tried to push the play, but that
just exposed the blueliners, who are big, but not swift of foot. On the whole,
this team is going to struggle early, and probably will not see a plus .500
winning percentage all year.
Northeastern was without a doubt the more impressive of the HE teams. They
played well as a team, and kept playing hard, even when Miami got them down big
on Saturday. They had wonderful goaltending both nights, and capitalized on
the breaks to beat Michigan. One concern is their powerplay, which showed
that this was an early season game. If they could have scored on one or two of
their advantages Saturday (including a 5-on-3 for 1:50 where the puck only left
the zone once), they could have swept the weekend. Talent wise, this team is
not in the top levels, but they seem to understand the system, and they have
good leadership from the upperclassmen. On the whole I would say this team
will make the HE playoffs although probably not with a winning record. The
Huskies will pull off a couple more surprises during the year if teams do not give
them their due.
The Redhawks of Miami are a very good team. They seemed to be the best
prepared, best conditioned and most mentally ready to play hockey. The goaltending
is very good, and the defense is solid. They were giving up a great deal of
shots, but most were from outside, which were easily handled. Miami is a
counter punching team. They scored a few goals on odd man breaks and end-to-end
passes. Due to their slightly smaller size, they had a little problem mucking
in the corners and generating sustained pressure, but they more than
compensated by cashing in on other opportunities. This team will be a force in the
CCHA and should be in the Pairwise top 15 come March, unless their strength of
schedule gets them in trouble. Robert Morris(2), SLU(2), NE, BU, Mn State and
only getting Michigan and Mi State twice in league is not the strongest slate.
Overall, they should contend for the NCAAs.
Overall it was a fun weekend of hockey, and I learned that little kids
sitting near the glass seem to attract pucks (David was given 4 this weekend by
players and mascots, two of which he gave to other kids). Glad the season has
started.
William Sangrey
Cornell '87&'94
Let's Go RED!!!
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