>
> Ohio State 3 at Michigan 9 (Saturday)
>
> Notes:
>
>   - OSU center David Smith (not hockey-L's David Smith), without argument
> the dirtiest player in the CCHA, began the festivities Saturday evening by
> blasting a puck into the unsuspecting Michigan crowd during the pre-game
> skate.  This is among the standard blatant punk tactics employed by OSU.
> Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident and the puck found its way
> to the garbage chute.
 
I have never noticed that Dave Smith is a particularly dirty player or that OSU
employs punk tactics.  I have seen them get frustrated at times and seem to
care more about making a hard check on an opposing player than about playing
hockey, but most of the time, the checks are clean even if they are ill-advised
from a strategy standpoint.  It's easy to get frustrated and a little chippy
when you give up 6 to 8 goals a game most of the time.  Sigh.
 
OSU is a physical team, but they are usually relatively clean about it.
Perhaps there is something special about being in Yost that makes them go a
little crazy;  I've not seen them play there.  According to some people around
the Cornell-Michigan contests in NCAA's last year, the Wolverines had a
tendency to talk trash a bit when ahead.  I'm sure most teams do this to some
degree or another, but in OSU's case, it's like kicking a puppy when it's down.
In any case, almost any time OSU loses, they get blown out, and I'm sure that
gets old on the ego.
 
I don't know that I would call the OSU program an embarassment to the CCHA any
more than I would call any other program that has been down in the last few
years an embarassment to their respective leagues.  It is true that the
facilities and the state of the team are an embarassment to the Ohio State
University, but that is their own problem.  Regardless of what or who the OSU
program is, they are 3-0-0 outside the conference this year including that
much-publicized win over Clarkson in the SIT.  In that regard, they have
represented the CCHA quite well.
 
I do stand by my original premise though that unless Jerry Welsh is fired and a
coach brought in who is committed to agitating the university to develop the
program, this team will be guided into club status and out of existence.
 
 
--
Dave [log in to unmask]