I haven't seen anyone post much about this game, so I'll do it. This was Prime's College Hockey Game of The Week, which I saw live on Friday. I was glad to get the chance to see Western Michigan play before they come to Minnesota for the Mariucci Classic. Some comments: Everything people have said about the Lakers being in trouble is true. I have seen five games with Lake State over the last two years, four last year and now this one, and this one by far was the weakest. Lake State does have its good points. Like their penalty killing. It looked fine in Friday night's game, keeping WMU 0 for 5 at some crucial points in the game. And statistically, I understand the shorthanded play is one of their strongest points--it gives them something to build on, I suppose. The power play was not very effective, however, as WMU kept them scoreless on 4 chances (although the first goal came nine seconds after a penalty had expired). Of course, Western Michigan didn't look particularly impressive, either. They dominated the first period (but only slightly), but was not able to score, to leave the teams tied at 0 after one. In the second, the Lakers came out stronger, and outshot Western Michigan, and got the first goal of the night, just past before the halfway point of the game. The third period made it look like it was all over for the Broncos, as they took a couple of dumb penalties, which kept them out of any significant play in the first half of the period. But with just more than five minutes left in the game, WMU scored to tie the game and send the teams to overtime. Actually, the third period and the overtime looked pretty even, with no clear advantage to either side in play, although clearly there was an advantage to WMU on the scoreboard. There were a few players from either side that impressed me: LSSU #4 (Captain) Keith Aldridge. Aldridge seemed to handle himself very well, and played an important part for the Lakers, a clear leader on the ice. Nice job. #8 Mike Morin. This guy is FAST. He really had some wheels, and that allowed him to be involved in some key plays, skating past the WMU defense. He scored the only goal for the Lakers (his sixth of the season). WMU #14 (Captain) Gallentine. I guess you have to be pretty good to be the captain, but both captains were very impressive. Gallentine was always in the play when he was on the ice, making things happen. He gave a lot of hustle, and I thought he played extremely well. #33 Cardwell. He was all over the ice. It might have been his entire line, but #33 kept jumping out at me. Cardwell scored the tying goal in the third, but he was a factor all night long. The line was #33 Cardwell, #5 Duke, and #8 Mayers, that was very impressive. Easily WMU's best line. Fast skating, and hard work. Nice to watch. Unfortunately, that was about all to see that was really good. There were several players, especially on LSSU's squad, that were disappointments. And it sounds like they didn't do any better on Saturday. Misc. notes: The announcers seemed to be pro-LSSU. I am not sure why that is, but they seemed to talk about everything from the Laker perspective. It bothered me a bit, because I would think a national broadcast should be a bit less biased. I have a new suggestion for the shootouts, for those who have been following the Hockey East controversy. How about a shootout for any game that has less than 5 goals scored? :-) I thought about this about halfway through the overtime period, the score tied 1-1, and looking like it might stay that way. I said to myself, "This game needs a shootout. Maybe two." The whole thing was pretty boring, with little scoring, and not that much pressure put on either goalie, who, by the way, played pretty evenly. If we look at this weekend's Hockey East matchup between BU and Maine, we see a 5-5 tie, BU wins shootout 2-1. As Ryan Robbins pointed out, after scoring 5 goals each, why should a crummy shoot out determine the better team? The teams are evenly matched. Plus, the fan, seeing 10 goals scored, has gotten his/her money's worth. But take a 0-0 or 1-1 tie. Neither team has shown itself to be clearly better. The fans, seeing 0 or 2 goals, want a little more. A shootout would bring a little excitement to an otherwise boring game (whoops! I should watch myself--not all low scoring games are boring, but most are--the 3-2 Mich. St.-Wisc. game last weekend, for example, or the 2-1 WMU-LSSU game here). We could even explain it this way: the players haven't had much offensive opportunity to bury the puck--they need a little extra practice :-) How about a shoot out to get them going? Maybe two or three if it is a 0-0 tie. Any takers on this idea? :-) :-) Lee-nerd [log in to unmask] "Violence is the last resort of the incompetent." --Isaac Asimov