It's Nothing New

I don't really have a lot to say here...

*The Huskies still don't know how to sweep a series and build momentum - nothing new there.

*Todd Andersen blows - he's a WCHA official, so nothing new there either.

*Tech can't finish/score (insert overused jokes about "The Ratio" and husky women here) with any modicum of regularity - wow, nothing new there either!

I mean c'mon - the Huskies played very well this weekend overall. Saturday's game certainly should have been a W or at least a T in the column, but when you whiff on the majority of your best chances to put up points, you can't expect either.

I've said it before; 3+ goals, consistently - that's what it will take to win games in this league night in, night out. Until the Huskies figure out how to take care of that, they won't finish in the top half of the conference.

Overall bright spot this weekend? I'll hand it to the PP units - the puck movement is getting better and better, and they're even starting to take their chances with passes across the slot; the problem is the speed. Every now and then, you'll see one of our guys take a pass and immediately tap it over to someone else, which is good. That's the kind of movement we need to see more of - it keeps opposing penalty killers on their toes and gets them to make mistakes that take them out of position. Unfortunately, you can't score unless you shoot, and Tech can't make that decision fast enough. We may not have many "sniper" type players with good hands and high accuracy, but if you make faster decisions when you have a clear shot, eventually someone will get it right and the puck will go in.

As for individual bright spots, obviously Rouleau (3-2-5) and Gagne (2-1-3) had big weekends, as did Shelast (1-2-3). Kattelus chipped in two principle assists. Eli also played solid hockey and picked up his first point of the season with an assist on Saturday.

Anyway, we now turn towards next weekend and a series at St. Cloud State. I will be in attendance, and for the money I will spend to be there, I expect that my Michigan Tech Huskies will play two good games, regardless of the outcome. I'd better not be paying to watch two more unforeseen drubbings at the hands of the league's other Huskies, regardless of their sickening record against us in our last twenty meetings (16-2-2).

Other than that, I'm looking forward to spending a brief weekend in the fine state of Minnesota, in spite of the fact that I've never been there. I'm reasonably well-traveled in some parts of the U.S. (The Great Lakes, Dixie, the Mountain West), but nevertheless, there are some regions I just haven't gotten around to visiting (The Plains, New England, coastal California, Desert Southwest).

It's Still An Upside-down M

I don't really even want to discuss this weekend. It's ridiculous that it wasn't at least a split for the Huskies, and it's Winter Carnival - it should've been a friggin' sweep.

What can I say - hardly any of our numerous scoring chances (especially Friday) were finished. Until Tech figures out how to score at least 3 goals a game, consistently (nearly every night), they will not rise out of the bottom half of the WCHA.

Highlights

*Royer - Certainly deserved more than the one goal he got on Friday. Tried hard to get things going and was rewarded for it.

*Kattelus - Worked to setup plays all weekend, too bad no one could finish them. I look forward to watching him in the seasons ahead.

*Kitti - Continues to bring his energy and physical game to the lineup every night, even if he doesn't have a lot of points. Wonder if he might be wearing a C or an A next year.

*Teslak - While Saturday's result was certainly not Nolan's fault, the team has almost always seemed more confident and focused in front of Teslak. I hope that doesn't bite us in the ass next season after he leaves.

On Notice

*Nolan - He'll need to be more consistent if he plans to start the majority of our games next season. Again, tonight was not his fault, and he did make several timely saves, but I felt he was caught out of position a little too much for comfort.

*Kerr - I know he wants to go out there and be the enforcer and all, but the silly little penalties need to stop. He needs to lead by example - making big, clean hits and keeping his head on straight.

*Foote - I've watched him make some very untimely turnovers all season - where was that 20+ pt. breakout season he promised us?

*The Entire Defense - Gave up too many opportunities on Saturday, including two virtually point-blank shots that resulted in BADger goals.

Bench Minors

*The atmosphere in the 3rd period - I know it sucks being down 4-1, and I'm just as guilty of failing to keep things going, but I thought afterwards that we could certainly have done much better than that.

*The Minor Key Fight Song - NO!!! If the band plays this again after ANY loss, I will punch whomever is directing in the face. I don't care if we just lost, you don't fucking trash the fight song by turning it into a funeral march. Ugh.

That's all I got - looks like 7th or 8th place for us this year, at best.

Tigers Contained

A good weekend at home for the Michigan Tech Huskies, taking 3 out of 4 possible points from the conference leading #3 Colorado College Tigers. 2-2 tie Friday, 5-2 victory Saturday.

In my mind there were three big keys to this weekend's results.

#1 - Heart & Hustle: It wins games - period.

#2 - Faceoff Wins: Tech must've spent two weeks working on this, because it really showed. Winning a key faceoff is like a small moral victory, mentally. In terms of the actual game, puck possession is always a good thing, and winning faceoffs is an important way to ensure your team is carrying the puck the majority of the time.

#3 - Tough, Physical Play: You could tell that CC did not want to play the physical game. They are, for the most part, a very fast team who wants to try and skate circles around their opponents, not deliver big, "whoop and holler-worthy" hits.

Friday could have probably been a win for the Huskies were it not for the outstanding play of one Richard Bachman. The Huskies also played the best OT period I've ever personally witnessed them play, keeping up pressure on Bachman and the CC defense, and not permitting the Tigers to get any shots on Teslak. Saturday, Bachman looked significantly more mortal, and perhaps had his first off night of the season. To his credit though, almost all of Tech's goals on Saturday came off of good passes and hard work.

As for Tech goaltending, Teslak looked good on Friday night despite his month off due to injury. Perhaps a few more rebounds than usual, but the defense helped him out when he needed them to. Saturday, Nolan looked fine, making several key saves in spite of perhaps one soft goal.

So now, with three big conference points against the top team in the WCHA, Michigan Tech looks ahead to next weekend and a series up in Anchorage. With all due respect to UAA, a sweep is a must for the Huskies if we want to keep the goal of home ice alive this season. Unfortunately, Anchorage is fresh off of a series with North Dakota in which they, by all accounts, outplayed the Sioux on Saturday and still lost following a potentially huge goal that was ultimately disallowed. So I have to believe they're pretty angry about that, and will be ready to fight for points back in their home barn. Their record is really not indicative of their potential.

Given Tech's tendency to play well against ranked teams and poorly against weaker teams, I'll have to say that this series is likely to end in a split, with UAA taking a Friday victory and Tech salvaging two points on Saturday. The long trip is likely to take its toll on a team that is admittedly tired of flights, buses, restaurants, and hotels after their long, mid-season road schedule.

I sort of wish I was headed up to Anchorage next weekend. Having been there once before (about 7-8 years ago), I can say it's a nice city and would make for a worthwhile "road" trip someday.

Checking in on Future Huskies

Where are they, and how are they doing?

08-09

Forward Bryce Reddick (BCHL - Cowichan Valley) is averaging more than a point per game, posting 15-32-47 in 42 games played this season. Those stats include 10 PPG, 3 GWG, and an even +/- rating. So far, he is the runner up on his team in points.

Forward Brett Olson (USHL - Waterloo) is averaging more than a point per game with 8-15-23 in 19 games, 5 PPG, and an even +/- rating. His point total is good enough for third on his team.

Forward Jake Hauswirth (USHL - Omaha) has registered 9-5-14 in 30 games, 1 PPG, and a +9 +/- rating.

Forward Seth Soley (USHL - Omaha) is 4-4-8 in 23 games and a +3 +/- rating.

Defenseman Ricky Doriott (USHL - Sioux City) is 1-3-4 in 23 games with an impressive +15 +/- rating.

Goalie Corson Cramer (USHL - Ohio) has started 14 games for his struggling squad, registering a .894 SV% and 3.65 GAA.

Forward Anthony Schooley (USHL - Waterloo) remains on injured reserve and appears to be out for the remainder of the season.

Forward Alex MacLeod (AJHL - Camrose Kodiaks) has posted 10-4-14 in 13 games, after being traded from the BCHL's Penticton Vees last month.

09-10

Forward Evan Witt (BCHL - Alberni Valley/Vernon) is 8-16-24 in 42 games (between both teams), including 2 PPG. The BCHL lists him as an 08-09 recruit, while Heisenberg has him down for 09-10. Who is correct?

Forward Jacob Johnstone (USHL - Green Bay) is 1-0-1 in 24 games played, registering a -14 +/- rating.

They Say It's Your Birthday...

In a nutshell, I'd like to thank the Michigan Tech hockey team and staff for one of the best birthday presents I've ever had.

Tonight's Huskies perhaps took a little while to get going, but I was quite happy with their performance overall. I knew as soon as Nolan came up with a huge ass save within the first two minutes of the game that he would be fine. The defense came up pretty big too, with a lot of good blocks, a strong PK, and plenty of successful clearing attempts.

This having been my 21st, I will now commence with some celebratory adult beverages and begin to contemplate tomorrow's title game against a certain school from Ann Arbor. A school that I grew up cheering for. A school that I nearly attended. But that was then, and this is now.

My opinion is that Sparty was due for a rude awakening. They have played a lot of middle-of-the-pack CCHA teams, but have failed to defeat anyone with a record better than .500 at this point in the season. Beating Michigan will be a much taller order for the Huskies, especially since the Wolverines new lines (formed due to the temporary absences of some players to World Juniors) have now had a game to adjust.

{PROVICED played a decent first period against Michigan this afternoon, but the Wolverines eventually found their mojo and Sauer played well. Sure, a lot of shots were simply fired into his chest, but he made some good saves to preserve his shutout. None were as big as the shot that he stoned with a save against the side of his body, after he'd been caught wandering from the net. Bottom line - this is not the Billy Sauer that I saw against North Dakota in last year's NCAAs.

Sleep well Huskies, for tomorrow you must truly play to win.

PS. - Props to the Michigan Alumni Band for only playing "Let's Go Blue!" 8 times this year. In spite of the fact that I kept count, I felt that was reasonable. ;)

Jingle Bells

Two decently-played games, and almost nothing to show for it. We have GOT to score goals, or at least Stewart has got to stop making a career out of playing well against Tech. Although based on his embellishment Friday night, he might have a career in drama!

It was fun invading the BEC on Friday night, and I lost my voice as I intended to do. I may be biased, but I'd say we out-cheered the Puckheads. Oh, and Northern's hockey band does suck. But hey, at least they aren't the Michigan Alumni Band (*Let's Go Blue*...23...23!)

Frankly, in spite of the weekend, I'd rather be a winless Husky than any sort of Wildcat.

With that, it's time for an exam/holiday break here at tSBFitW. I'll be back with some GLI coverage after Christmas. 3rd place or bust!

Rivalry Week

Welcome to Rivalry Week here at tSBFitW.

Following a weekend off which saw SCSU slip into a tie for the rock bottom of the WCHA after a Denver sweep, and Wisconsin continue to languish in the bottom three after a 1-point weekend at Mankato (no tears shed by this blogger), we find ourselves almost at the midway point of the collegiate hockey season. Hell, even Minnesota nearly blew a 4-1 lead to earn a split with the Sioux and they remain in the bottom half of the league.

A look at the standings, however, shows the incredibly amount of parity within the WCHA at this point in the season.

Colorado College -------- 10-2-0 -------- 20 pts.
Denver ------------------ 9-3-0 --------- 18 pts.
Minnesota-Duluth ------- 5-6-3 --------- 13 pts.
North Dakota ------------ 6-6-0 -------- 12 pts.
Michigan Tech ----------- 5-6-1 -------- 11 pts.
Minnesota --------------- 5-7-0 -------- 10 pts.
Minnesota State --------- 3-6-3 -------- 9 pts.
Wisconsin --------------- 4-5-1 --------- 9 pts.
Alaska-Anchorage ------- 2-5-3 -------- 7 pts.
St. Cloud State ----------3-6-1 --------- 7 pts.

A mere four points separate 8th place Wisconsin from 3rd place UMD. That's a single weekend sweep folks, and a surprisingly tough UAA squad is now only another game behind that group following a three-point weekend at Duluth. There's no doubt that SCSU still has the guns necessary to get on a hot streak and improve too, with quite a bit of offensive talent.

At this point, the only thing certain is that CC and DU appear to be running away with the league's top-tier this season, but there's still plenty of time for that to change during the second half of the league schedule.

At any rate, Tech now has six non-conference games to prepare for, the first of which is coming up this weekend. It's the annual slugfest against Not Much Upstairs, eNeMa U, STD U, etc.

There really isn't a lot I can say about this series. As Jamie Russell himself has said, there is essentially no worthwhile pep talk you can give a Tech squad regarding the rivalry - if they aren't totally fired up to play their archrivals, words won't help. I would love nothing more than to pick up two, well-fought wins this weekend, and try to get some momentum going into the MSU game at the GLI. Besides which, we still have that loss from the beginning of the season to avenge, and I don't expect that the team has easily forgotten that either.

Regarding this stretch of non-con games, naturally I'd love to see a 6-0 record and a GLI championship. Realistically, I'd like to see 5-1 or 4-1-1. A win at the GLI, a sweep of Mercyhurst, and at least a win/tie against NMU. We need to use these games as a springboard for a good second half.