At 2:05 PM -0400 12/4/96, Craig Lisko wrote:
> Being an ex-goalie, I believe that Defense will win you most hockey games.
 
I tend to agree.  But, it's not a case of deciding whether you are going to
recruit good offensive players or good defensive players...obviously if you
have a chance at the best of both, you're going to go after them.
 
Therefore, one piece of this equation that hasn't been mentioned but should
be considered is, what if you are one of those schools that doesn't have a
realistic shot at the best of the best?  What do you do?  Here, I'd favor
building a team that plays good, solid defense and checks well.  What you
want in any game is to be in a position to win at the end.  If your team
defense is good and your goalie is decent, you should be in that position
much of the time.  Then it's only a matter of needing a big goal here or
there.  Sometimes you'll get it, sometimes you won't.  If you're able to
get a couple of players who can put the puck in the net, then your chances
improve.
 
I'm a strong believer in the idea that offense comes from good defense.
Many goals are scored off odd man rushes that are created by the defense.
If you play well in your own end and in the other two zones without the
puck, you'll wind up with good scoring chances off transitions.  But no
matter how good your offense is, if your team defense is terrible, you're
going to hang your goalie out to dry a lot.
 
Many of the teams that we think of as having had a good offense have
actually had a very strong but unheralded defense that played a key role.
Look at Michigan last year.  I don't think many people gave their defense
much credit until late in the season.
 
Either way, you're going to find very few one dimensional teams that make a
serious run at a championship.  It does take a solid all around performance
to reach that level.
 
---                                                                   ---
Mike Machnik                [log in to unmask]               *HMM* 11/13/93
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