Just had a few comments to make on other hockey games that have been televised here in Minnesota over the last couple of weeks, and my (brief) observations. BGSU 9, OSU 3 This game was on last week, so it is old news, I know. But I did have a few comments to throw out, ones that I thought might be relevant. Bowling green certainly looked good, as you would expect from a 6 point win. I was certainly impressed with Brian Holzinger, who played a great game. But what really surprised me was the lack of team play. There certainly seem to be talented individuals on the team (ala Holzinger), but individual heroics aren't enough for a championship team. Perhaps it was this one game, but nearly all great plays were made by individuals, not with guys working together. Perhaps the problem was solved in the games this weekend with MSU and Mich, but I didn't get to see those. If BGSU wants to go farther than fishing at or near the top of the CCHA, they have to play better together. Ohio State looked better than I thought they would, despite the drubbing BGSU gave them. I also saw them earlier this year against Denver, and they played alright in both games. I don't have any idea of the age of the team, but they played very young, which seemed to be the biggest problem. With a little patience, they could have seriously shifted the play of this game. When an OSU player got the puck, I could count on him getting rid of it as soon as possible, even if it meant icing it, or passing into a mass of opponents. An instant of looking at the ice would have helped immensely. DU-UAA Denver has not impressed me this season whenever I have seen them play (twice live against Minnesota, plus a number of times on TV). They continued to not impress me in this game. They outshot UAA, but goal minder Lee Schill seemed up to the task. He didn't have the 33 save shutout that did against Minnesota, but then again, NO goalie plays as well as he does against Minnesota. ;-) Denver seemed to get frustrated, and so UAA had the advantage at the end of the game, when it counted. The Pioneers still have something to learn, I guess. Alaska-Anchorage has been a surprise since the Christmas break. They are playing well, and if Lee Schill is (finally) living up to his pre-season hype as (maybe) the top goalie in the WCHA, they could do some serious damage in this second half. Don't count them out just yet. I am sure they won't be satisfied with a tenth place finish this year after sixth last year. BU-BC I am still not sure how BC was in this game at all, other than pointing the finger at Herlofsky for being a sieve. Admittedly, the Eagles played well in the third, but by then it shouldn't have mattered. Herlofsky let in 2 of 4 shots (okay, so they were both PPG's), which doesn't look so good. But then, I suppose it doesn't really matter HOW well your goalie plays, if you can pepper the net with 100+ shots each weekend. Yow! Just when I was convinced that Michigan had the best offense in the country... UMA-PC Last night I had a bit of insomnia, so imagine my surprise when I found Prime showing this game at 2:00 am!! I was more than happy to get a look at the Minutemen for the first time, and see them play in a game that I didn't know the outcome. I was rooting for the underdog, of course. It looks to me that UMA is the exact opposite of Bowling Green. that is, they have some fine team play. The players looked comfortable together, and played well, executing on all the things a team has to do. But they don't seem to have much in the way of individual talent, the kind of guys that can make stuff happen. To highlight my point, there were two instances on Providence power plays: within a minute of each other, two different Mass-Amherst players managed to get shorthanded breakaways by stealing the puck from the point man. Both sped in on the goalie (Brown, I believe, which seems ironic as a goalie for Providence), and neither of them could put the puck in the net. The power play needs to start working for UMA as well. It didn't look bad (well, not TOO bad, speaking from the perspective of an 0 for 37 team), but failed on the most important part: getting goals. And what happened once Mass-Amherst was behind? They took lots and lots of penalties, which kept them form building any momentum, and putting any sustained pressure on Providence. Providence didn't look very good though, and I can easily see why UMA beat them the previous night: they looked like they gave UMA plenty of chances. The Minutemen just couldn't take advantage of them in this game. I must admit, however, that sleep overcame me, and I went to bed after Providence went up 3-0. The game seemed like it was over. Lee-nerd [log in to unmask] "Violence is the last resort of the incompetent." --Isaac Asimov