UNH defeated NU last nite in a close checking, hard hitting, penalty filled
game, 5-2.  The game featured two first period shorthanded goals, one by
Derek Bekar, the other by Tom Nolan, and a third period hat trick by Jason
Krog.
 
Ithought going into this game that it would be a tough won.  NU is the
upstart team which, I'm sure, wanted to give a good account of itself and
Crowder is an excellent coach and was sure to devise some strategy to try
to throw UNH off its game.  And beyond all that, Matthews Arena has always
been a tough place to play for UNH.
 
I thought the game provided an opportunity for the team to show a different
side of their game.  The game was played at the same type of pace as the
two games in the Denver Cup (vs. CC & Miami), although NU has no where near
the firepower of those two teams.
 
UNH certainly appeared to be prepared to grind it out. The game was
definitely played at NU's pace until the third period. If it wasn't for
UNH's outstanding penalty kill, the game would have been a scoreless tie
going into the third period.  UNH showed that the could play the "ugly"
style game, in a smaller rink,on the road against a tenacious opponent.
This is the type of game that you will see more and more of, especially on
the road, as the season winds down.Last nights result bodes well for UNH as
they stil have tough road games left with NU, Providence and Lowell.
 
One final word . . . Jason Krog truly is a great player.  His vision on the
ice is unbelievable.  Every game I watch, he does something with the puck
which causes you to say "how did he see that guy? He must have eyes in the
back of his head."  And to top it off, he has become a tenacious checker as
well.  When he was interviewed on Sportschannel the other night, he
mentioned that Umile had wanted him to pick up his defensive game this
year.  He certainly has done that, and is still the leading scorer in the
nation as well.
 
Greg Ambrose
GO BLUE!!!
 
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