THe scores of the MTU hockey were already reported by others:
 
(Friday:   MTU 6  St. Cloud 1
 Saturday: MTU 3  St. Cloud 2)
 
I observed both good and bad features in the MTU performance. Friday night,
MTU demonstrated speed and a good 3 period effort. Particularly noteworthy
was the play of Jeff Mikisch, number 10, a Freshman brother to Pat, number 9.
Jeff is an outstanding player and, I think, will be a star on the team later
this year and in future years.  Another brother pair, Freshman Kyle and his
older brother Brent also put together a respectable performance.
 
On the problematic side, puck control was poor. Several opportunities were
missed while players fumbled and fanned the puck. Several shots were almost
accidental as players lost control of the puck in front of the net. Our
shooting efforts were improved over the Minnestoa game a week ago but still
not up to par. We need to drive the net harder and more often. Also our line
changes must be quicker and more timely. One particularly poor
change resulted in the sole St. Cloud goal.
 
Jamie Ram, despite his outstanding effort particularly in the second period,
was caught on his back several times. Had it not been for the body sacrifices
of fellow players (a very good point for the team), St. Cloud probably would
have made the game closer.
 
On Saturday night, it was hard to tell that the team that played the night
before was playing. The team looked slow and over confident of winning.
While officiating was less than adequate (is officiating ever good?) MTU
intentionally took several penalties including one spectacular offending
penalty against the St. Cloud goalie (Cooper) by Lebel. This penalty put
MTU two men down and resulted in a St. Cloud goal.
 
There were bright spots on Saturday night: MTU's penalty killing defense was
excellent. It had to be: MTU played the last half of the game with the
exception of the last two minutes and a few short stretches between penalties
men down. I would rather see the puck taken out of the MTU zone more, however.
 
Walt Olson
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Michigan Tech