The Fine Line Between a Split and a Sweep

Weekend Recap

Friday

*3-1 Tech

*Teslak was brilliant, even when the Sioux finally started pouring it on in the third period.

*The defense kicked ass, keeping the puck out of the crease, and making passes to jumpstart the offense.

*Dobson had a very smart game-winning goal that Lammy never saw coming

*North Dakota took too many penalties

*Tech clearly wanted this win, played to win it, and did. That's really all there is to it. As they say, talent may win games, but heart and hustle win games when talent isn't playing sharp.

Saturday

*6-0 Sioux (yuck)

*Tech really needs to work on winning faceoffs. The Sioux dominated that statistic on Saturday, and we paid for it.

*The Huskies looked too flat on both offense (no goals) and defense (for example - the Sioux were 3 for 8 on the power play). They could not generate enough offensive chances, and often had difficulty clearing the puck.

*Nolan was borderline bad for his two periods in the net. Too many sloppy rebounds, and caught out of position too many times. After Teslak didn't allow a goal in the third (he relieved Nolan at the start of the period), I think it's clear that he is now the starter for the next few series - Robbie is simply too inconsistent to consider maintaining the split for the time being.

*Chippy play - fights, words exchanged, a completely uncalled for post-whistle cheap shot by Lamoureux (after he made a perfect glove save and had nothing to bitch about). Just look at the stats - a combined 60 minutes worth of penalties for both sides.

*I'll give North Dakota their due - they proved that they have more offensive talent, and they win when said talent plays well. They were obviously embarrassed about the previous night, they wanted the split, and they got it in a big fashion.

*Horrible officiating. I hate complaining about refs, because it's usually a lame excuse, but in this case I have to speak up - there were some bad calls (or lack thereof) against both teams. Marco Hunt is hereby crowned my Least Favorite WCHA Official, by a long shot. I can't count the number of times the arena was in an uproar after yet another terrible call.


So, thanks Huskies for a good win on Friday and 2 big WCHA points. Let's work on those mistakes and really take it to the Badgers next weekend, eh?

Other than that, I'd also like to say thanks to everyone who showed up at the arena and created an amazing atmosphere. I seriously think the Friday game might've been the loudest I've ever heard the Mac, and it was rocking.

We'll see the Sioux again in January, and you can bet that this weekend has setup what will no doubt be a great series at the REA. Until then, tell Lamoureux I said "Hostile and Abu-Sieve!" ;)

Ready for the Sioux?

This weekend, the North Dakota Fighting Sioux will travel to Houghton to take on the Michigan Tech Huskies at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena. In fact, it's almost Friday morning - the Sioux have probably arrived already.

I've heard that the media respects the Sioux quite a bit - enough to give them some kind of #1 ranking, I guess. Not that polls matter much before Christmas.

They also say that this Jean-Phillipe Lamoureux guy is playing pretty well - shutting out three different opponents for 8 consecutive periods is certainly impressive, especially given some of the games I watched him play last season.

In the end though, does it really matter? Whomever plays better, more complete hockey this weekend should come away the winner, regardless of rankings. At this point in the season, anything is possible.

Which brings me to my nominee for Cliche Arena Rock Anthem of the Weekend - "Solution" by Tesla

Surprisingly, it's not a cliche mega-hit that seems appropriate this week, but instead a metal song you've probably never heard of unless you are a big fan of Tesla. It's the chorus that fits the most...

If we're gonna make it through tomorrow
The solution is to make a change today

With that in mind, did the Huskies spend this week fixing mistakes? Did they refine their penalty kill and defensive plays to help avoid the opportunities MSU-M got last weekend?

I guess we'll find out tomorrow night, because Tech is going to have to be on top of their game with North Dakota in town.

Since this is a three-event weekend for the pep band, I will be in the top row of Section M on Friday night, happy that I'll finally be able to keep a close eye on the game, rather than hunting for music every 15 seconds. My lips will need the break if I have to play for ~5 hours Saturday.

Mavericks Milked

9 goals on the weekend, and just one allowed. A pretty solid start to WCHA play for the Michigan Tech Huskies.

Of course, Mankato isn't really expected to run away with the league title this season, or even to garner home ice. But still, four points in the league is four points in the league, and a big confidence booster for this team going into this weekend's series with #1 North Dakota.

As for the games, it really all boils down to goaltending and team experience. Overall, Tech played like a veteran team who had already weathered three games, while Mankato definitely looked like a young team that was playing their first games of the season. The Mavs could not finish on many of their opportunities, in part due to the solid goaltending of Teslak and Nolan, and also because many of their shots were simply off target - wide or high.

Some positives for the Huskies to take away from the weekend:

1. The power play. While it still looks weak at times, it is definitely showing improvement, with our ability to capitalize on both of the 5x3s Mankato handed to us, and even a 5x4.

2. The goaltending. Much better performances from both Teslak and Nolan this weekend. Other than a mistake that cost Robbie the shutout on Saturday, these are the goaltenders I know from last season, and they should present a challenge for the Sioux.

3. Shot blocking. I saw several attempted shots get blocked, which is a good sign for the penalty kill. However, that being said...

Some things that need to be worked on...

1. The penalty kill. We got the job done, but I think luck played a role. A lot of times, Mankato would shoot and the puck would be lost in a scrum in the front of the net, then a Tech player would fortunately come away with it and ice it. On a team with a strong penalty kill, pucks should rarely spend that much time hanging out in or in front of the crease, waiting to be buried. The shot is blocked before the puck ever gets there, and if it does get there, a defender is quick to fire it out of the way.

2. Penalties. The best way to kill a penalty is to avoid it in the first place. 15 penalties on the weekend is, in my opinion, too much time spent in the sin bin.

So for now, Tech fans get to be happy with a sweep to start the season, but this is just the beginning of the year and there's still tons of hockey left to be played, so we can't get too excited yet.

Perhaps I'll have a little more on the series with the Sioux later this week.

A Reflection Upon Last Season...

As part of my pre-game speculation, let's take a look back at what happened the last time these two teams met.

Last season, Michigan Tech played MSU-Mankato only once, down in Mankato during February. Excitement was high following a tie/win weekend against Colorado College at home the previous weekend, and a minimum of three points were expected in the quest for home ice, if not four.

The result? Tech bussed back to Houghton with one measly point to show for their efforts, after a tie/loss weekend result. Once again, the Huskies faced the problem of playing down to opponents they should have beaten, even on the road. The team faced similar situations against Duluth, getting swept at tDECC after a disappointing GLI performance when they should have been looking to rebound, and all the way up in Alaska two weekends later, when they split with Anchorage, a team they pounded 9-0 and 5-3 at the MacInnes back in October. This pattern of playing down to lesser opponents and also frequently losing games in overtime naturally got very tiresome for us fans to witness.

What does all of this mean? Well, for one thing, it leads us to my selection for...

Cliche Arena Rock Anthem of the Weekend - "We're Not Gonna Take It" by Twisted Sister

That's right Huskies - we the fans, are no longer going to sit there and take agonizingly close losses to teams we ought to beat, and neither should you. Even the geezers will be angrily *click*click*click*-ing their dentures in displeasure if this happens at any point throughout the season.

Bottom line - That means no more playing down to weaker opponents, no more sub-par hockey against girly teams like eNeMa U, and no taking periods off. We expect you to come out, work your asses off, and play the best, most entertaining 60 minutes of hockey you can provide us with. If overtime is required, we expect you to play your hearts out for that 5 minute overtime period and skate to win it, not just well enough to avoid a loss. You do that, and we the fans will be happy.

It's Friday in Houghton. The puck drops in exactly 2 hours, 10 minutes. The quest for Jim's trophy begins this evening. Let's play to win it.

A Showdown In No Man's Land

Friday - NMU

The power play clicked twice, which was about the only highlight of the game for the Huskies. The kittens came out looking to get chippy, which Tech unfortunately played into, giving Northern too many chances, including a 5x3 that led to the GWG.

Teslak looked uncomfortable in the first period, especially after getting burned on a shortie (not entirely his fault, because someone did turn over the puck), but he did a good job of keeping his head on straight in spite of that, only allowing one goal in the next two periods. Unfortunately, our offense could not support him with any even-strength tallies.

Overall, Tech simply played down to Northern's level, and got stuck with a close loss for it. After so many similar losses last season (Mankato, UAA), this is really getting tiresome.

Sunday - LSSU


Tech came out looking pretty good in the first period, getting out to a 2-0 lead with a PP tally and an even-strength goal. I then experienced a horrible feeling of deja vu, as one of LSSU's players fired a shot from half-ice and scored with one second remaining in the period. Just like Saturday's Winter Carnival game last season, Robbie was faced with a long shot that bounced all over the place, took a weird angle that he misread, and the puck slipped through his legs for a goal.

That seemed to take the wind out of Tech's sails in the second period, as they played very uninspired hockey for the majority of the time. Robbie looked rattled, giving up some nasty rebounds that led to two goals and the lead for LSSU. Finally, with 4-5 minutes remaining, Tech seemed to pick up the slack and caught a break with LSSU's Perkovich off for slashing, making the most of the opportunity to gain some momentum going into the third frame with a PP goal from Jordan Foote.

The third period was mostly dominated by the Huskies, with Jimmy Kerr burying a point-blank opportunity from the slot early on to regain the lead, and good defensive play all around. Tech clearly wanted the win at that point.

We'll probably see the goaltending rotation again next weekend against Mankato, so Robbie will need to prove that he has shaken off the early-season jitters he seemed to experience tonight with a strong performance.

If I had to sum up the weekend, I'd say that overall I'd like to see more of the Huskies I saw in the first and third periods of the LSSU game (with continued improvement of course), and I'd rather not see the team I saw against Northern again.

Exhibition Against Toronto

OK, so I admit I was slightly worried when Tech couldn't even light up Toronto once in the first period, but I reminded myself that it was the first game of the season, and we are supposed to be more of a second and third period team.

And indeed, that thought still seems to hold true. 7 goals later, I walked away pretty impressed with the team's overall effort. Toronto's goalie, with some luck here and there, kept his team in the game for the first period and half or so, but I knew our team had found their legs after back-to-back goals 21 seconds apart in the second.

There was a lot of nice passing and puck movement going on (I never realized just how much I missed the sound of a crisp pass until tonight). The PP/PK units looked pretty good (PP looked better than last season anyway), though I reminded myself that Toronto is a CIS team, therefore not a great test of either.

Because I was frequently busy trying to locate sheet music and band quickies, I only got to see a couple of freshmen on the ice. Cousens definitely made his presence felt, and I got to see Royer play too, including his goal that put Tech up 5-0. I'm told by others who were able to watch the game more intently that both Baker and Kattelus also played hard. So the freshman class clearly holds a lot of promise.

As for the goalie situation, both Teslak and Nolan played well in spite of facing long stretches with the puck on the opposite end of the ice (where it belongs! :D) and very few shots. Teslak absolutely stoned a Toronto player who had what I consider to be their only serious opportunity to spoil the shutout.

I can't really think of anything else to write, so in summary I would say that this team definitely looks pretty good on the ice to start the season, and I'm sure they will look even better after some games against tougher competition.

Bring it eNeMa U. :P

It's The Time...Of The Season for Polling...

The USCHO/CSTV and USA Today pre-season polls were issued yesterday. Michigan Tech garnered 38 points in the USCHO poll and also picked up 3 points in the USAToday poll.

As usual, pre-season polls (and the majority of polls in general) should be taken with a grain of salt. It's just interesting to see what the "experts" think.