Just had a few comments to make on other hockey games that have been
televised here in Minnesota over the last couple of weeks, and my
(brief) observations.
 
BGSU 9, OSU 3
 
This game was on last week, so it is old news, I know. But I did have
a few comments to throw out, ones that I thought might be relevant.
 
Bowling green certainly looked good, as you would expect from a 6
point win. I was certainly impressed with Brian Holzinger, who played
a great game. But what really surprised me was the lack of team play.
There certainly seem to be talented individuals on the team (ala
Holzinger), but individual heroics aren't enough for a championship
team. Perhaps it was this one game, but nearly all great plays were
made by individuals, not with guys working together. Perhaps the
problem was solved in the games this weekend with MSU and Mich, but I
didn't get to see those. If BGSU wants to go farther than fishing at
or near the top of the CCHA, they have to play better together.
 
Ohio State looked better than I thought they would, despite the
drubbing BGSU gave them. I also saw them earlier this year against
Denver, and they played alright in both games. I don't have any idea
of the age of the team, but they played very young, which seemed to
be the biggest problem. With a little patience, they could have
seriously shifted the play of this game. When an OSU player got the
puck, I could count on him getting rid of it as soon as possible,
even if it meant icing it, or passing into a mass of opponents. An
instant of looking at the ice would have helped immensely.
 
 
DU-UAA
 
Denver has not impressed me this season whenever I have seen them
play (twice live against Minnesota, plus a number of times on TV).
They continued to not impress me in this game. They outshot UAA, but
goal minder Lee Schill seemed up to the task. He didn't have the 33
save shutout that did against Minnesota, but then again, NO goalie
plays as well as he does against Minnesota. ;-) Denver seemed to get
frustrated, and so UAA had the advantage at the end of the game, when
it counted. The Pioneers still have something to learn, I guess.
 
Alaska-Anchorage has been a surprise since the Christmas break. They
are playing well, and if Lee Schill is (finally) living up to his
pre-season hype as (maybe) the top goalie in the WCHA, they could do
some serious damage in this second half. Don't count them out just
yet. I am sure they won't be satisfied with a tenth place finish this
year after sixth last year.
 
 
BU-BC
 
I am still not sure how BC was in this game at all, other than
pointing the finger at Herlofsky for being a sieve. Admittedly, the
Eagles played well in the third, but by then it shouldn't have
mattered. Herlofsky let in 2 of 4 shots (okay, so they were both
PPG's), which doesn't look so good.
 
But then, I suppose it doesn't really matter HOW well your goalie
plays, if you can pepper the net with 100+ shots each weekend. Yow!
Just when I was convinced that Michigan had the best offense in the
country...
 
 
UMA-PC
 
Last night I had a bit of insomnia, so imagine my surprise when I
found Prime showing this game at 2:00 am!! I was more than happy to
get a look at the Minutemen for the first time, and see them play in
a game that I didn't know the outcome. I was rooting for the
underdog, of course.
 
It looks to me that UMA is the exact opposite of Bowling Green. that
is, they have some fine team play. The players looked comfortable
together, and played well, executing on all the things a team has to
do. But they don't seem to have much in the way of individual talent,
the kind of guys that can make stuff happen.
 
To highlight my point, there were two instances on Providence power
plays: within a minute of each other, two different Mass-Amherst
players managed to get shorthanded breakaways by stealing the puck
from the point man. Both sped in on the goalie (Brown, I believe,
which seems ironic as a goalie for Providence), and neither of them
could put the puck in the net.
 
 
The power play needs to start working for UMA as well. It didn't look
bad (well, not TOO bad, speaking from the perspective of an 0 for 37
team), but failed on the most important part: getting goals.
 
And what happened once Mass-Amherst was behind? They took lots and
lots of penalties, which kept them form building any momentum, and
putting any sustained pressure on Providence.
 
Providence didn't look very good though, and I can easily see why UMA
beat them the previous night: they looked like they gave UMA plenty
of chances. The Minutemen just couldn't take advantage of them in
this game. I must admit, however, that sleep overcame me, and I went
to bed after Providence went up 3-0. The game seemed like it was
over.
 
                                                Lee-nerd
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"Violence is the last resort of the incompetent." --Isaac Asimov