I was so inspired by the play of the Badgers during their Friday night contest that I decided to record the game and put off a family event to watch it. As it turns out, that was a very bad idea.
The Badgers started off extremely well and even caused me to crack open a beer for their short handed goal. From the get go, I was watching the game on delay and I saw the poor offensive play come out. I figured that checking the real time score would be a bad idea due to the poor zone play. Then the short handed goal came, and I thought this might be a really good game.
As it turns out, Wisconsin ended up losing the game 3-1 and stifled down the trove of losses that has become known to their name. Rumpel did well, allowing two goals with the third being an empy netter. At this point, I maintain a high confidence for the Badgers due to their missing components. However, this kind of play cannot continue or Wisconsin will end up lower than anyone anticipated.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Pioneers ice CC, Gophers and Badgers....
Another Friday, another day of hatred coughed up in the lineage between rivals. On this day, four teams took part in arguably the two best rivalry's in all of college hockey: CC vs. DU and WI vs. MN.
CC has had a strong year from their team in terms of points, defense, player contribution and teamwork. This time last year their junior goalie, Joe Howe, was swirling down a season that belonged in the toilet. The CC defense was lagging behind and really made the offense look mediocre. This was a sad season because CC had an awesome player in Jaden Schwartz.
Fast forward to this season: Putting the Cornell series aside, CC has had an absolutely dominant season. Josh Thorimbert has looked stunning while Joe Howe has returned to form and found his swagger. The matured defense looks great from their hard knocks a year ago, and the offense has sizzled everything in it's path. I was one of the few people who gave CC absolutely no chance this year because Jaden was gone. Tisk, Tisk. I'm bad. The good news is, without Jaden the Tigers have looked great and have proved to almost everyone that they will not be a bottom feeder in the new NCHC, but a possible contender.....
....Well that was until last night when the Tigers played their first game against a future NCHC team. Denver staple-gunned the Tigers to the boards and railed four goals on 12 shots against Josh Thorimbert. By the fourth goal, Josh seemed to be out of it and everything appeared in line for Josh to leave the game. Howe came in during a tough spot and gave up another goal within two minutes making the score 5-2. Not long after, Joe gave up his final goal making the score 6-2 and the Tigers officially washed out of the game.......but wait a second....The Tigers came back in the third period and literally stunned the Pioneers. CC ripped, clawed and scratched their way to a 6-5 game using the exact same formula that got them past Bemidji and Wisconsin. To say how good the tigers did, they left their net open for over a minute and no goals were even scored. Denver never even got a shot off to the empty netter. It was the exact kind of empty netter that fans want to see. The one that never attracts a puck. With 15.4 seconds left, Rylan Schwartz posted on Denver's goalie skated forward and slapped a shot which was only stopped by a defender in the way. The play wound down to about 3.4 seconds and a faceoff near the blue line all but keeping CC from a season sweep of the Pioneers. Looking back at the game, I think the Tigers showed some real fortitude in playing this game. They showed that they can compete. They did give up quite a few goals, but at least they can work off of this.
BADGERS VS. GOPHERS
I am not one who is nice to college goaltenders. I tend to rip them when I see poor performances. For references on my past views of college goalies, just consult CC fan Lee Siewart. He can tell you personally how many poor reviews I gave of CC goalies in the past. Given my history, I was less than thrilled to see the Wisconsin back up starting for the Badgers. Landon Petersen is a capable goalie who can definitely make plays. However, he did not play much last year and played one game this season. Joel Rumpel has played okay in the past and has a respectable GAA. My main concern with Petersen was not his lack of work, it was the lack of personnel in front of him that worried me. Nic Kerdiles(2nd rd, Anaheim, Suspension) and Mark Zengerle(Broken Finger) were both out leaving Wisconsin without capable scoring options. So my first thought was to grab some beers because I would need a buzz to watch this game. Boy was I wrong! The Badgers never led, but did some solid tape to tape passing and played incredibly good defense against #3 Minnesota. Last year, Minnesota was #2 in the nation for goals scored and all of their top scorers (Bjugstand, Condon, Haula) all came back for another round. Although they lost their goalie to graduation, they picked up a capable replacement in Adam Wilcox. During the first period, Wisconsin showed some talent with the puck. They only had nine shots on goal, but kept the Gophers to the same. They played a solid effort game with a few penalties which they killed off. During the second period, the badgers fell flat. They got scored on, but came right back to score the game equalizing goal. I was not impressed to see a 10 minute game misconduct and a 5 minute major for a blow to the head. However, the badgers played through it and kept their skates moving. Most importantly, Landon Petersen held strong facing 20 shots in the period and only allowing one goal. Enter the third period and yet again another 10 minute game misconduct and a 5 minute major for a blow to the head. Yet again, the badgers killed the penalty off and staved off wicked break away's by Bjugstand and Condon to force an uneventful overtime and a tie. Minnesota gave the first and second star to their players and the third star to Michael Mersch who scored both goals. I however, would have given a star to Petersen for standing tall. He faced 44 shots and only allowed two goals. As a fan, I am optimistic for the Badgers to play another round against the Gophers. However, they are going to need to keep this defense up to continue.
All in all it was a great night for college hockey. Between the two games, I give the goalie star to Landon Petersen. He played better than any of the other goalies mentioned in this blog. I give the player star to Rylan Schwartz because he played outstanding and led by example (except after the game had ended he slammed a DU player into the boards causing a DQ which will force him to watch the next game from the stands). My defensive star is going to Minnesota. Although they didn't play well, I think they were a key contributor into the fine play of Wilcox. Denver, CC and Wisconsin all left their goalies out to dry while the Gophers held a good D.
CC has had a strong year from their team in terms of points, defense, player contribution and teamwork. This time last year their junior goalie, Joe Howe, was swirling down a season that belonged in the toilet. The CC defense was lagging behind and really made the offense look mediocre. This was a sad season because CC had an awesome player in Jaden Schwartz.
Fast forward to this season: Putting the Cornell series aside, CC has had an absolutely dominant season. Josh Thorimbert has looked stunning while Joe Howe has returned to form and found his swagger. The matured defense looks great from their hard knocks a year ago, and the offense has sizzled everything in it's path. I was one of the few people who gave CC absolutely no chance this year because Jaden was gone. Tisk, Tisk. I'm bad. The good news is, without Jaden the Tigers have looked great and have proved to almost everyone that they will not be a bottom feeder in the new NCHC, but a possible contender.....
....Well that was until last night when the Tigers played their first game against a future NCHC team. Denver staple-gunned the Tigers to the boards and railed four goals on 12 shots against Josh Thorimbert. By the fourth goal, Josh seemed to be out of it and everything appeared in line for Josh to leave the game. Howe came in during a tough spot and gave up another goal within two minutes making the score 5-2. Not long after, Joe gave up his final goal making the score 6-2 and the Tigers officially washed out of the game.......but wait a second....The Tigers came back in the third period and literally stunned the Pioneers. CC ripped, clawed and scratched their way to a 6-5 game using the exact same formula that got them past Bemidji and Wisconsin. To say how good the tigers did, they left their net open for over a minute and no goals were even scored. Denver never even got a shot off to the empty netter. It was the exact kind of empty netter that fans want to see. The one that never attracts a puck. With 15.4 seconds left, Rylan Schwartz posted on Denver's goalie skated forward and slapped a shot which was only stopped by a defender in the way. The play wound down to about 3.4 seconds and a faceoff near the blue line all but keeping CC from a season sweep of the Pioneers. Looking back at the game, I think the Tigers showed some real fortitude in playing this game. They showed that they can compete. They did give up quite a few goals, but at least they can work off of this.
BADGERS VS. GOPHERS
I am not one who is nice to college goaltenders. I tend to rip them when I see poor performances. For references on my past views of college goalies, just consult CC fan Lee Siewart. He can tell you personally how many poor reviews I gave of CC goalies in the past. Given my history, I was less than thrilled to see the Wisconsin back up starting for the Badgers. Landon Petersen is a capable goalie who can definitely make plays. However, he did not play much last year and played one game this season. Joel Rumpel has played okay in the past and has a respectable GAA. My main concern with Petersen was not his lack of work, it was the lack of personnel in front of him that worried me. Nic Kerdiles(2nd rd, Anaheim, Suspension) and Mark Zengerle(Broken Finger) were both out leaving Wisconsin without capable scoring options. So my first thought was to grab some beers because I would need a buzz to watch this game. Boy was I wrong! The Badgers never led, but did some solid tape to tape passing and played incredibly good defense against #3 Minnesota. Last year, Minnesota was #2 in the nation for goals scored and all of their top scorers (Bjugstand, Condon, Haula) all came back for another round. Although they lost their goalie to graduation, they picked up a capable replacement in Adam Wilcox. During the first period, Wisconsin showed some talent with the puck. They only had nine shots on goal, but kept the Gophers to the same. They played a solid effort game with a few penalties which they killed off. During the second period, the badgers fell flat. They got scored on, but came right back to score the game equalizing goal. I was not impressed to see a 10 minute game misconduct and a 5 minute major for a blow to the head. However, the badgers played through it and kept their skates moving. Most importantly, Landon Petersen held strong facing 20 shots in the period and only allowing one goal. Enter the third period and yet again another 10 minute game misconduct and a 5 minute major for a blow to the head. Yet again, the badgers killed the penalty off and staved off wicked break away's by Bjugstand and Condon to force an uneventful overtime and a tie. Minnesota gave the first and second star to their players and the third star to Michael Mersch who scored both goals. I however, would have given a star to Petersen for standing tall. He faced 44 shots and only allowed two goals. As a fan, I am optimistic for the Badgers to play another round against the Gophers. However, they are going to need to keep this defense up to continue.
All in all it was a great night for college hockey. Between the two games, I give the goalie star to Landon Petersen. He played better than any of the other goalies mentioned in this blog. I give the player star to Rylan Schwartz because he played outstanding and led by example (except after the game had ended he slammed a DU player into the boards causing a DQ which will force him to watch the next game from the stands). My defensive star is going to Minnesota. Although they didn't play well, I think they were a key contributor into the fine play of Wilcox. Denver, CC and Wisconsin all left their goalies out to dry while the Gophers held a good D.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Badgers go down in flames
What a week of hype and showdowns. This blogger used to be a tiger fan.....bad weekend to say that.....YIKES!
Coming into this weekend, CC had fire from the Cornell series and Wisconsin looked poised to end all things after dominating Duluth.
My weekend preview was that Joel Rumpel would take the pipes against Josh Thorimbert and possibly Joe Howe. Rumpel proved his worth in the Northern Michigan series after Petersen messed up big time.
It's slipping my mind (note for a later edit), WI had a player injured this week during practice. Not that it would have changed the outcome.
So then begins my thoughts.......
When WI went up 2-0 on Friday night I thought that my friend Lee Siewert and Tim Matteson would be the laughing stock of the WCHA. I laughed at the Kohl Center during the Tiger frustration. What I didn't know is the resilience of this Tiger team. They began to play like a team and more importantly, began scoring. Their work was a thing of beauty that had not been seen since the Boston College playoff game a couple of years ago.
Now, it was back.
With the scored tied 2-2 I was wanting Justin Schultz and Nic Kerdiles to be on the ice so badly. Both players had the same chance of playing on these nights. Schultz is now a pro and Kerdiles is suspended.
CC took over and never looked back. They did give up the lead once, but never really felt like they were down. I watched as my Badgers looked in misery.
My night ended with an AK-16 goal which for the first time, ruined my night.
Enter Saturday. It didn't get much better.
Now during my time as a Tiger fan I often gave criticism to Joe Howe. I gave honest critiques and never gave anything that I didn't feel was deserved. I never felt that I gave Joe a scolding just because he had a bad play. It just happened to be that his Junior year was not his best, and one of my most public as a Tiger fan.
With that being said, Joe looked like the Joe that I knew. The Joe who signed my goalie mask. The Joe who took the world arena from Colorado Springs and held it on his shoulders in St. Louis while the rest of his team dismantled BC. That same base lowered him to the ground when Michigan owned St. Louis for only a night. A costly one.
But tonight, Joe was back in form. He played well and really saw the puck. I was very impressed with his work, but more impressed with the defense. Last year, people saw the defensive problems which was such a poor outlet for that team. They did so many good things.
However, on this night the Tigers would not be denied their lineage. The right to say that they had Bob before the Badgers did. The right to say they didn't sell out for him.
My Badgers have an incredible amount of work. The offense did nothing on Saturday and the defense messed up on Friday. We need Kerdiles more than he needs us. Hopefully he'll be a force in Denver.
To all my CC friends: Fans of CC 1. Jim 0
Coming into this weekend, CC had fire from the Cornell series and Wisconsin looked poised to end all things after dominating Duluth.
My weekend preview was that Joel Rumpel would take the pipes against Josh Thorimbert and possibly Joe Howe. Rumpel proved his worth in the Northern Michigan series after Petersen messed up big time.
It's slipping my mind (note for a later edit), WI had a player injured this week during practice. Not that it would have changed the outcome.
So then begins my thoughts.......
When WI went up 2-0 on Friday night I thought that my friend Lee Siewert and Tim Matteson would be the laughing stock of the WCHA. I laughed at the Kohl Center during the Tiger frustration. What I didn't know is the resilience of this Tiger team. They began to play like a team and more importantly, began scoring. Their work was a thing of beauty that had not been seen since the Boston College playoff game a couple of years ago.
Now, it was back.
With the scored tied 2-2 I was wanting Justin Schultz and Nic Kerdiles to be on the ice so badly. Both players had the same chance of playing on these nights. Schultz is now a pro and Kerdiles is suspended.
CC took over and never looked back. They did give up the lead once, but never really felt like they were down. I watched as my Badgers looked in misery.
My night ended with an AK-16 goal which for the first time, ruined my night.
Enter Saturday. It didn't get much better.
Now during my time as a Tiger fan I often gave criticism to Joe Howe. I gave honest critiques and never gave anything that I didn't feel was deserved. I never felt that I gave Joe a scolding just because he had a bad play. It just happened to be that his Junior year was not his best, and one of my most public as a Tiger fan.
With that being said, Joe looked like the Joe that I knew. The Joe who signed my goalie mask. The Joe who took the world arena from Colorado Springs and held it on his shoulders in St. Louis while the rest of his team dismantled BC. That same base lowered him to the ground when Michigan owned St. Louis for only a night. A costly one.
But tonight, Joe was back in form. He played well and really saw the puck. I was very impressed with his work, but more impressed with the defense. Last year, people saw the defensive problems which was such a poor outlet for that team. They did so many good things.
However, on this night the Tigers would not be denied their lineage. The right to say that they had Bob before the Badgers did. The right to say they didn't sell out for him.
My Badgers have an incredible amount of work. The offense did nothing on Saturday and the defense messed up on Friday. We need Kerdiles more than he needs us. Hopefully he'll be a force in Denver.
To all my CC friends: Fans of CC 1. Jim 0
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
College Hockey talks
This has been a lonely week for the news casters of college hockey. Inside College Hockey tied up their skates and called it a career. Although this is not as big of a shift change as the conference line up, it's pretty big in the sports world. Almost 75% of what INCH wrote or ranked ended up on other news feeds.
Being such, I have decided to put my money where my mouth or in this case fingers are and start my own news agency. All of the legal framework is set and I hope to have it up and running for the next season.
Since I am quite a crafty guy, I called some sports bloggers and ended up talking with some representatives from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Yes, they corrected me UAH is referred to properly as "in" rather than "at". During our talks, I spoke with a number of people sensitive to the required conference shift and in the interest of keeping peoples names out of the news I have decided to withhold all names from these talks. Basically, UAH is in a battle with the WCHA to gain acceptance. With the folding of the CCHA, no team will want to take UAH. This is because Hockey East is not looking to add teams without a name lineage (Notre Dame) far away from the bulk of their campuses. Atlantic Hockey would be a good choice, but they would reduce the allowable scholarships. The Big Ten or B1G is untouchable. No team in that league will exit or form in another conference. This leaves the WCHA as the only hope for UAH. The problem is in the travel. When the CCHA folded, they left the burden of Alaska-Fairbanks on the WCHA. Combined with Alaska-Anchorage the bills are going to add up quickly.
From what I gathered, most of the meetings with the WCHA have been positive with the general exception being getting accepted. It appears the WCHA is hinging upon Iowa State to turn their club team to varsity. As a former director of a college club team, I have played Iowa State. I know that this team is likely the best team to move up. Although the WCHA won't say it, they don't want UAH because of the travel. If the WCHA does indeed get the opportunity to strip Air Force from Atlantic Hockey, this conversation is completely over. But that likely won't happen, so if you are a UAH fan just hope that I.S. doesn't elevate their program.
Being such, I have decided to put my money where my mouth or in this case fingers are and start my own news agency. All of the legal framework is set and I hope to have it up and running for the next season.
Since I am quite a crafty guy, I called some sports bloggers and ended up talking with some representatives from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Yes, they corrected me UAH is referred to properly as "in" rather than "at". During our talks, I spoke with a number of people sensitive to the required conference shift and in the interest of keeping peoples names out of the news I have decided to withhold all names from these talks. Basically, UAH is in a battle with the WCHA to gain acceptance. With the folding of the CCHA, no team will want to take UAH. This is because Hockey East is not looking to add teams without a name lineage (Notre Dame) far away from the bulk of their campuses. Atlantic Hockey would be a good choice, but they would reduce the allowable scholarships. The Big Ten or B1G is untouchable. No team in that league will exit or form in another conference. This leaves the WCHA as the only hope for UAH. The problem is in the travel. When the CCHA folded, they left the burden of Alaska-Fairbanks on the WCHA. Combined with Alaska-Anchorage the bills are going to add up quickly.
From what I gathered, most of the meetings with the WCHA have been positive with the general exception being getting accepted. It appears the WCHA is hinging upon Iowa State to turn their club team to varsity. As a former director of a college club team, I have played Iowa State. I know that this team is likely the best team to move up. Although the WCHA won't say it, they don't want UAH because of the travel. If the WCHA does indeed get the opportunity to strip Air Force from Atlantic Hockey, this conversation is completely over. But that likely won't happen, so if you are a UAH fan just hope that I.S. doesn't elevate their program.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Two games. Two perspectives.
The WCHA had a good weekend of non-conference games. As a Badger fan, I am not sure what to take from this weekend. I was also able to take in a Colorado College game and caught some surprises in the arena.
First up is Colorado College.
For the past three years I have been a fan and a season ticket holder to the Colorado College Tigers. I thought the first two years were real good ones and the last one was the sucker punch that I needed to take off, amongst moving being the other.
So this year I watch the games from the television unless Wisconsin comes to Colorado (NOV 30,DEC1).
But I took in a CC game on Saturday and this will be the review that I was waiting to write.
Coaching: I've known the staff at CC for quite a while. Coach Owens is pretty good at staying the course and not falling to pressure from outside sources. He makes tweaks but a overhaul is rare. I saw the same coaching staff as I have the past three years: steadfast and loyal to the way they do things. So nothing new, take that as a good thing.
Offense: This is what I thought I wouldn't see. Losing Jaden Schwartz to the NHL and a host of talented seniors was sure to cost the Tigers. Not the case, they continue rolling but more as a team. I like that a little better than playing one guy for most of the minutes. Good job to all four lines getting action. I thought everyone played really well, while most players did little to no developing last year, I feel from this one game that they picked off where they stopped two years ago.
Defense: This is what I knew I wouldn't see this weekend. I guess everyone goes into Vegas knowing they will leave rich, but no one ever does. I was wrong here too. Wow was I wrong, and happy for it. Last year was a horrific attempt at defending and I really couldn't pin point the faults. Guentzel was a great player, Dineen was a good leader. The defense looked good on paper but never made the impact they needed. But I also knew that CC was a bomb on defense waiting to explode. That happened from what I saw. Harstad played well and so did Stoykewych before he was injured. I'm most impressed with Marciano. He was a stay at home defender for the last two years. That changed on Saturday and I think that's the biggest difference from last year.
Goaltending: I only got to see one night, and from that one night I can only judge off the goaltending I did see. That goaltender was Joe Howe. Joe is a great guy and I don't know what the future holds for him but I wish him the best. With that being said, I think the best way to sum up this Saturday's effort was horrible. I had seats which made me privy to Howe's net. He's not tracking the way he did his freshman and sophomore year. The puck has become a problem and he seems to lock up before the shot is taken. Needless to say the goals he did give up were pretty bad. On this case, I'd have to disagree with Owens that CC has a good tandem. Howe just isn't the same goalie he was his first two years.
Overall: I think CC is way under-rated. I would venture to say CC will finish top five this year. They have the ability to make plays. Given that Clarkson didn't look like much of a contender, CC still put up 40 shots and got 5 goals. That bodes well for top competition where they will probably get 10 less shots and two less goals.
Wisconsin:
I'm a bit shaken by what I saw this weekend. I shouldn't be shaken, but I am. Last season WI got most of their goals off rebounds and Justin Shultz was the leading scorer. He's gone now and nothing left me thinking national championship banner for the Badgers.
Offense: Anemic. They played horrible on both nights, and nothing about this offense says "reloading OR rebuilding". The whole "twitter-gate" with Kerdiles hurt the Badgers big time.
Defense: The bright spot that I didn't think would be there. Wisconsin changed their game quite a bit from last year. They still have good players but they block shots A-La Ferris State. I think this will help the shaky offense and maybe team red can find their stride mid season.
Goal-Tending: Rumpel played pretty well. He's a big body who takes up much of the net to begin with. I think he tries to sell that when playing puck handlers and then get's burned. I think he can improve there. Peterson played Saturday when I was not watching and I've already heard the groans of his play. I knew this was a one goalie team, so nothing new to report.
Overall: I saw a report placing WI 4th in the WCHA for predictions. If Kerdiles' suspension does hold up, and/or something does change soon expect this team to be the Enron of the WCHA.
First up is Colorado College.
For the past three years I have been a fan and a season ticket holder to the Colorado College Tigers. I thought the first two years were real good ones and the last one was the sucker punch that I needed to take off, amongst moving being the other.
So this year I watch the games from the television unless Wisconsin comes to Colorado (NOV 30,DEC1).
But I took in a CC game on Saturday and this will be the review that I was waiting to write.
Coaching: I've known the staff at CC for quite a while. Coach Owens is pretty good at staying the course and not falling to pressure from outside sources. He makes tweaks but a overhaul is rare. I saw the same coaching staff as I have the past three years: steadfast and loyal to the way they do things. So nothing new, take that as a good thing.
Offense: This is what I thought I wouldn't see. Losing Jaden Schwartz to the NHL and a host of talented seniors was sure to cost the Tigers. Not the case, they continue rolling but more as a team. I like that a little better than playing one guy for most of the minutes. Good job to all four lines getting action. I thought everyone played really well, while most players did little to no developing last year, I feel from this one game that they picked off where they stopped two years ago.
Defense: This is what I knew I wouldn't see this weekend. I guess everyone goes into Vegas knowing they will leave rich, but no one ever does. I was wrong here too. Wow was I wrong, and happy for it. Last year was a horrific attempt at defending and I really couldn't pin point the faults. Guentzel was a great player, Dineen was a good leader. The defense looked good on paper but never made the impact they needed. But I also knew that CC was a bomb on defense waiting to explode. That happened from what I saw. Harstad played well and so did Stoykewych before he was injured. I'm most impressed with Marciano. He was a stay at home defender for the last two years. That changed on Saturday and I think that's the biggest difference from last year.
Goaltending: I only got to see one night, and from that one night I can only judge off the goaltending I did see. That goaltender was Joe Howe. Joe is a great guy and I don't know what the future holds for him but I wish him the best. With that being said, I think the best way to sum up this Saturday's effort was horrible. I had seats which made me privy to Howe's net. He's not tracking the way he did his freshman and sophomore year. The puck has become a problem and he seems to lock up before the shot is taken. Needless to say the goals he did give up were pretty bad. On this case, I'd have to disagree with Owens that CC has a good tandem. Howe just isn't the same goalie he was his first two years.
Overall: I think CC is way under-rated. I would venture to say CC will finish top five this year. They have the ability to make plays. Given that Clarkson didn't look like much of a contender, CC still put up 40 shots and got 5 goals. That bodes well for top competition where they will probably get 10 less shots and two less goals.
Wisconsin:
I'm a bit shaken by what I saw this weekend. I shouldn't be shaken, but I am. Last season WI got most of their goals off rebounds and Justin Shultz was the leading scorer. He's gone now and nothing left me thinking national championship banner for the Badgers.
Offense: Anemic. They played horrible on both nights, and nothing about this offense says "reloading OR rebuilding". The whole "twitter-gate" with Kerdiles hurt the Badgers big time.
Defense: The bright spot that I didn't think would be there. Wisconsin changed their game quite a bit from last year. They still have good players but they block shots A-La Ferris State. I think this will help the shaky offense and maybe team red can find their stride mid season.
Goal-Tending: Rumpel played pretty well. He's a big body who takes up much of the net to begin with. I think he tries to sell that when playing puck handlers and then get's burned. I think he can improve there. Peterson played Saturday when I was not watching and I've already heard the groans of his play. I knew this was a one goalie team, so nothing new to report.
Overall: I saw a report placing WI 4th in the WCHA for predictions. If Kerdiles' suspension does hold up, and/or something does change soon expect this team to be the Enron of the WCHA.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Wisconsin Hockey: Gear up for 2012!
So here we are, nearly a month removed from the college hockey season and I am already stoked. This year presents a couple of new styles for me. First off, I no longer have season tickets to CC and second I no longer am a fan of CC.
The first and second are interrelated so I'll address them here. Last season I decided to reach out into the CC fan base and find people as like minded as myself and my friend who I attend games with. At first the introduction was fun and smooth. I met quite a few people who enjoyed the game, but were quite older than me. They came off as the casual fan and less of what I was looking for. However all of them had deep roots to the school, so I thought why not try it? Well I was no worse for the ware after introducing my family to this group of people at a local restaurant. But things slowly changed. After about a month into the season, Joe Howe stumbled in net and things were looking down. I saw his obvious dragging in net, but I knew something had to be wrong. After all, Joe had spent many hours of every day training over the past summer. I even had the opportunity to train were Joe trains and found that his trainers were baffled by his performance. But none the less, I proceeded to write a blog about the situation in net after a disasterous outing against Nebraska-Omaha. I called upon Scott Owens to replace Howe with Thorny and to rework the defense. What I got was cold hearted reviews and heated rants to the point where I deleted the blog. However, that did not stop people in the CC group from making comment after comment just to play devils advocate to anything I said. Eventually I made enough of them mad that they just stopped talking to me altogether. It was at that moment that I realized many of the CC fans outside of the student section were not typical fans you would find at UND, WI, MN or any other school for that matter. Most were older who had solid jobs, grown up children and made significant contributions to the CC family. I realized why there is such a disconnect between Denver and CC beyond the location rivalry. CC is founded by fans who give more to the school, take less and love the school more than the sport. I find no passion in this atmosphere because I was there for hockey.
So during the playoffs last year I purchased DU tickets to watch my old badgers play. They lost in 3, but I realized how much I missed a team with fans who identified with me.
So now that the past is behind me, I move forward with Wisconsin as my team of choice. With that comes my first review of the season which is a long awaited debut.
First I have to address the obvious: Justin Schultz is gone. To put this into perspective, Schultz was a great defenseman. He ate ice time like I eat twinkies. His contributions were not as present if you attended one or two games, but viewed his work from a whole. This throws people off into thinking that Schultz was just a cog in the wheel. To put this to rest, Schultz was the wheel. But with every new season comes the chance for new recruits to headline the system.
Bucky's fifth quarter does a good job of breaking down the player positions so I wanted to focus on the evolving goalie situation. Peterson and Rumpel are back for round 2. If experience has anything to do with the goalie situation then expect Peterson to meander over the the bench at the opening practice. But even with that, something has to be addressed with Rumpel. Although he is talented, and a possible future NHLer, he lacks the upper body movement of a Richard Bachman or Sam Brittain. This guy is all lower body and keeps his upper body generally rigid. He needs to be more fluid in his motions or the badger red light behind him will light up. That's never a good thing.
With Schultz gone, Rumpel is going to get the opportunity to remake himself. He's going to have to prove to himself and everyone else that he can dominate the net.
Peterson will need to be strong in his no doubt low amount of minutes. His best attributes need to be on display as their is room in the Wisconsin locker room for a goalie controversy.
All in all Wisconsin looks good this year. They have a bit more experience in their net minders, but lack a power defenseman. I wouldn't project Wisconsin to take the league championship but then again UND, UMD, UM, and SCST will all have new netminders. These were three of the powerhouses last season and if any one of them slips, a team like Wisconsin surely can take over.
From what I saw last season, Denver looks to be a favorite from a goal tending standpoint. The loss of Schwartz at CC and Shore in Denver are going to raise big question marks.
Here is the questions that I want to ask for 2012-13:
St Cloud State: Will Mike Lee's departure actually mean anything to the huskies?
Duluth: With Reiter and Connolly both gone, who is going to make this team dance?
North Dakota: A logo change, Dell and Nelson gone could probably mean the end of the broadmoor trophy landing in Grand Forks.
Denver: How big of a loss is shore anyways?
Colorado College: For 2 years the QB of this team has been Jaden Schwartz. Now that he is gone, does this team have anyone who can control?
Wisconsin: A team without offense last year now presents itself as a team without anything this year. Could this be the end of the line for coach Mike Eaves?
We will see.....
The first and second are interrelated so I'll address them here. Last season I decided to reach out into the CC fan base and find people as like minded as myself and my friend who I attend games with. At first the introduction was fun and smooth. I met quite a few people who enjoyed the game, but were quite older than me. They came off as the casual fan and less of what I was looking for. However all of them had deep roots to the school, so I thought why not try it? Well I was no worse for the ware after introducing my family to this group of people at a local restaurant. But things slowly changed. After about a month into the season, Joe Howe stumbled in net and things were looking down. I saw his obvious dragging in net, but I knew something had to be wrong. After all, Joe had spent many hours of every day training over the past summer. I even had the opportunity to train were Joe trains and found that his trainers were baffled by his performance. But none the less, I proceeded to write a blog about the situation in net after a disasterous outing against Nebraska-Omaha. I called upon Scott Owens to replace Howe with Thorny and to rework the defense. What I got was cold hearted reviews and heated rants to the point where I deleted the blog. However, that did not stop people in the CC group from making comment after comment just to play devils advocate to anything I said. Eventually I made enough of them mad that they just stopped talking to me altogether. It was at that moment that I realized many of the CC fans outside of the student section were not typical fans you would find at UND, WI, MN or any other school for that matter. Most were older who had solid jobs, grown up children and made significant contributions to the CC family. I realized why there is such a disconnect between Denver and CC beyond the location rivalry. CC is founded by fans who give more to the school, take less and love the school more than the sport. I find no passion in this atmosphere because I was there for hockey.
So during the playoffs last year I purchased DU tickets to watch my old badgers play. They lost in 3, but I realized how much I missed a team with fans who identified with me.
So now that the past is behind me, I move forward with Wisconsin as my team of choice. With that comes my first review of the season which is a long awaited debut.
First I have to address the obvious: Justin Schultz is gone. To put this into perspective, Schultz was a great defenseman. He ate ice time like I eat twinkies. His contributions were not as present if you attended one or two games, but viewed his work from a whole. This throws people off into thinking that Schultz was just a cog in the wheel. To put this to rest, Schultz was the wheel. But with every new season comes the chance for new recruits to headline the system.
Bucky's fifth quarter does a good job of breaking down the player positions so I wanted to focus on the evolving goalie situation. Peterson and Rumpel are back for round 2. If experience has anything to do with the goalie situation then expect Peterson to meander over the the bench at the opening practice. But even with that, something has to be addressed with Rumpel. Although he is talented, and a possible future NHLer, he lacks the upper body movement of a Richard Bachman or Sam Brittain. This guy is all lower body and keeps his upper body generally rigid. He needs to be more fluid in his motions or the badger red light behind him will light up. That's never a good thing.
With Schultz gone, Rumpel is going to get the opportunity to remake himself. He's going to have to prove to himself and everyone else that he can dominate the net.
Peterson will need to be strong in his no doubt low amount of minutes. His best attributes need to be on display as their is room in the Wisconsin locker room for a goalie controversy.
All in all Wisconsin looks good this year. They have a bit more experience in their net minders, but lack a power defenseman. I wouldn't project Wisconsin to take the league championship but then again UND, UMD, UM, and SCST will all have new netminders. These were three of the powerhouses last season and if any one of them slips, a team like Wisconsin surely can take over.
From what I saw last season, Denver looks to be a favorite from a goal tending standpoint. The loss of Schwartz at CC and Shore in Denver are going to raise big question marks.
Here is the questions that I want to ask for 2012-13:
St Cloud State: Will Mike Lee's departure actually mean anything to the huskies?
Duluth: With Reiter and Connolly both gone, who is going to make this team dance?
North Dakota: A logo change, Dell and Nelson gone could probably mean the end of the broadmoor trophy landing in Grand Forks.
Denver: How big of a loss is shore anyways?
Colorado College: For 2 years the QB of this team has been Jaden Schwartz. Now that he is gone, does this team have anyone who can control?
Wisconsin: A team without offense last year now presents itself as a team without anything this year. Could this be the end of the line for coach Mike Eaves?
We will see.....
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