OMAHA, Neb. -- It's almost getting to the point where UMD's next loss can be greeted by a table talking about what the price of gas was the last time UMD lost, or how much it cost to buy a gallon of milk.
That's somewhat sarcastic, but Oct. 15 was a long time ago. After all, we had no idea the Wild would be good.
(Wait, we still don't really know. Carry on.)
The 16-game unbeaten streak is something for this team to be proud of. They're not really hiding from it, which is odd, because most of the time, you hear teams in this spot talking about the need to take things one game at a time, or some gobbledegook like that.
"It's been a lot of fun," junior defenseman Drew Olson says, "and you don't want it to stop."
Fans will often think teams this hot need to be humbled.
For this group, it doesn't seem like a huge problem.
Instead, it seems they're thriving off the attention, even though the attention and pressure will only increase with every game they win.
"The way we look at it as a team is we like to have fun with it," Olson said. "We don't have guys on this team who get cocky or anything like that. They're very down-to-earth. They just want to get to the rink and get the job done.
"We have confidence in our team, and it doesn't matter what anyone else says."
This weekend, No. 1 UMD plays Nebraska Omaha, a team desperate for the kinds of wins that define a season. You know, the kind you can get against the hottest team in college hockey.
UNO has some nice wins this season, beating North Dakota and Colorado College. There are also head-scratching and potentially damaging losses to Alabama-Huntsville, Alaska-Anchorage, and Alaska. The Mavericks' record has ranged from two games below .500 (1-3) to two games above .500 (9-7-3 and 10-8-4, where it is now).
Coach Dean Blais has dealt with disciplinary issues, centering around the eventual dismissal of senior Alex Hudson from the team, and he hasn't gotten nearly the goaltending any of us expected him to. Senior John Faulkner has struggled, holding just an .877 save percentage in 11 games. Freshmen Ryan Massa and Dayn Belfour haven't been a ton better, and the UNO team save percentage of .886 won't take the club very far.
Up front, Blais has some impressive players. Matt White has 27 points, Terry Broadhurst has 14 goals, and freshman Jayson Megna is at nearly a point per game (21 points in 22 games).
UNO doesn't take a lot of penalties (fewest per game in the WCHA), and the penalty kill is solid when they do.
As you would expect, the Mavericks have speed to burn up front. In fact, they could be fairly compared to Western Michigan in terms of the forwards' skating ability.
Where WMU probably has an edge is on the blue line, where UNO doesn't appear as mobile. They're big and tough in the back, though, and those guys can indeed move the puck when they have to.
Key for UMD this weekend will be using their speed up front to get UNO off balance defensively. You also want to make those big defensemen skate early in the game, then take advantage of that in the third period.
It's a formula UMD has used with great success over the last 16 games. As long as the guys are working hard and staying true to their way of doing things, there's no need for a humbling here.
These guys are already humble. That's why they're so good.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Mike Smith's Save on Marian Gaborik
You.
Need.
To.
See.
This.
Incredible save by Smith. Big spot, too.
And, yes, I'm accounting for the fact the Rangers got the two points anyway.
Need.
To.
See.
This.
Incredible save by Smith. Big spot, too.
And, yes, I'm accounting for the fact the Rangers got the two points anyway.
Central Scouting Releases Mid-Term Rankings, Including UMD Recruits
NHL Central Scouting released its mid-term rankings Wednesday morning. A number of players with local ties -- including some UMD recruits -- are included.
North American skaters are here. Follow the links to check out the other lists.
UMD recruits on the list are as follows:
100. Austyn Young, F, Sioux Falls (USHL)
139. Adam Johnson, F, Hibbing
187. Austin Farley, F, Fargo (USHL)
34 (goalies). Matt McNeely, Cedar Rapids (USHL)
Local players on the list:
132. Jake Bischoff, D, Grand Rapids
178. Trevor Olson, F, Duluth East
198. Dom Toninato, F, Duluth East
Not all these players will be drafted. For many of them, they're probably better off if they don't.
But it's nice recognition for some young players who have bright futures.
North American skaters are here. Follow the links to check out the other lists.
UMD recruits on the list are as follows:
100. Austyn Young, F, Sioux Falls (USHL)
139. Adam Johnson, F, Hibbing
187. Austin Farley, F, Fargo (USHL)
34 (goalies). Matt McNeely, Cedar Rapids (USHL)
Local players on the list:
132. Jake Bischoff, D, Grand Rapids
178. Trevor Olson, F, Duluth East
198. Dom Toninato, F, Duluth East
Not all these players will be drafted. For many of them, they're probably better off if they don't.
But it's nice recognition for some young players who have bright futures.
Streaking Bulldogs Atop, Like, Everything
The UMD Bulldogs are unbeaten in 16 straight. You know this. You're aware they haven't lost since Oct. 15. You're aware who that loss came to. You're aware that it doesn't seem to matter as much now as it did then.
This school-record run started innocently enough, as the Bulldogs got back on the proverbial horse with a win and tie at Providence Oct. 21-22. What's happened since is almost incredible.
The Bulldogs have rallied from 2-0 deficits, a 3-1 deficit, third-period holes, and dealt with stretches where it seemed they couldn't buy a bounce. Now, they're about to finish a run of eight straight road games, and UMD is 5-0-1 so far.
The pollsters and computers have all recognized what's going on in Duluth. UMD is a unanimous No. 1 in both national polls -- conducted by USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine. The Bulldogs have the best winning percentage in the country. UMD leads the way in the computer-generated RPI, as well as the Pairwise -- which mimics the NCAA selection process -- and KRACH -- which many people wish mimicked the NCAA selection process.
There isn't a metric by which UMD isn't the top team in college hockey as they get ready to play at Century Link Center Omaha for the first time ever.
(UMD's other games in Omaha were played at the old Civic Auditorium.)
It might not seem like it should matter, but it's a point of pride for this team, and part of the motivation right now is making sure UMD doesn't fall off the radar.
Nebraska Omaha has struggled a bit this year, but the Mavericks will be a factor in who wins this league. UNO plays an awfully difficult schedule in the second half, and while it will define the Mavericks' season, it will also probably help decide the MacNaughton Cup winner.
For those unaware, UNO has been marketing like crazy to sell out Friday's game. The arena seats nearly 17,000 for hockey, and the school reports just over 2,000 tickets remain for the contest, which will be televised by NBC Sports Network. Popular TSN play-by-play voice Gord Miller will call the game, with Wild television analyst Mike Greenlay working alongside.
At another crisp and fast practice Tuesday, UMD showed no line changes. Defenseman Scott Kishel, who took a puck off his leg late in Saturday's game and had to be helped to the room, was on the ice and appears to be fine. It's the closest thing UMD has seen to an injury scare since freshman Chris Casto left the Minnesota State game Nov. 18 with a lower-body injury. He missed the rest of that game but was back in the lineup for the next game.
(Knock on wood!)
UMD has one more national television game in the regular season after Friday. The Feb. 10 game at home against North Dakota will be on CBS Sports Network.
This school-record run started innocently enough, as the Bulldogs got back on the proverbial horse with a win and tie at Providence Oct. 21-22. What's happened since is almost incredible.
The Bulldogs have rallied from 2-0 deficits, a 3-1 deficit, third-period holes, and dealt with stretches where it seemed they couldn't buy a bounce. Now, they're about to finish a run of eight straight road games, and UMD is 5-0-1 so far.
The pollsters and computers have all recognized what's going on in Duluth. UMD is a unanimous No. 1 in both national polls -- conducted by USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine. The Bulldogs have the best winning percentage in the country. UMD leads the way in the computer-generated RPI, as well as the Pairwise -- which mimics the NCAA selection process -- and KRACH -- which many people wish mimicked the NCAA selection process.
There isn't a metric by which UMD isn't the top team in college hockey as they get ready to play at Century Link Center Omaha for the first time ever.
(UMD's other games in Omaha were played at the old Civic Auditorium.)
It might not seem like it should matter, but it's a point of pride for this team, and part of the motivation right now is making sure UMD doesn't fall off the radar.
Nebraska Omaha has struggled a bit this year, but the Mavericks will be a factor in who wins this league. UNO plays an awfully difficult schedule in the second half, and while it will define the Mavericks' season, it will also probably help decide the MacNaughton Cup winner.
For those unaware, UNO has been marketing like crazy to sell out Friday's game. The arena seats nearly 17,000 for hockey, and the school reports just over 2,000 tickets remain for the contest, which will be televised by NBC Sports Network. Popular TSN play-by-play voice Gord Miller will call the game, with Wild television analyst Mike Greenlay working alongside.
At another crisp and fast practice Tuesday, UMD showed no line changes. Defenseman Scott Kishel, who took a puck off his leg late in Saturday's game and had to be helped to the room, was on the ice and appears to be fine. It's the closest thing UMD has seen to an injury scare since freshman Chris Casto left the Minnesota State game Nov. 18 with a lower-body injury. He missed the rest of that game but was back in the lineup for the next game.
(Knock on wood!)
UMD has one more national television game in the regular season after Friday. The Feb. 10 game at home against North Dakota will be on CBS Sports Network.
Saturday, January 07, 2012
Game 20: UMD at Western Michigan
KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The record is theirs. Can they add to it?
UMD is set to try to run its unbeaten streak to 16. Friday's win -- among other things -- sealed a winning road trip for the Bulldogs, who are 4-0-1 with three road games left before the Jan. 20-21 dates with Alabama-Huntsville.
Another win here could be huge in the Pairwise, and that's a plus for a league that is flat-out hurting in that area right now.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Seidel - Connolly - Basaraba
Herbert - Oleksuk - Brown
Crandall (Justin) - Hendrickson - Grun
Krause - Tardy - Flaherty
Bergman - Lamb
Kishel - Casto
Olson - Smith
Reiter - Crandall (Aaron)
WMU
Berschbach - Balisy - Walters
Elias - Leone - Squires
Roehl - Crew - Slater
Kessel - Kovacs - Francis
DeKeyser - Witkowski
Stewart - Tennyson
Oesterle - Brown
Pisellini - Slubowski - Moore
UMD is set to try to run its unbeaten streak to 16. Friday's win -- among other things -- sealed a winning road trip for the Bulldogs, who are 4-0-1 with three road games left before the Jan. 20-21 dates with Alabama-Huntsville.
Another win here could be huge in the Pairwise, and that's a plus for a league that is flat-out hurting in that area right now.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Seidel - Connolly - Basaraba
Herbert - Oleksuk - Brown
Crandall (Justin) - Hendrickson - Grun
Krause - Tardy - Flaherty
Bergman - Lamb
Kishel - Casto
Olson - Smith
Reiter - Crandall (Aaron)
WMU
Berschbach - Balisy - Walters
Elias - Leone - Squires
Roehl - Crew - Slater
Kessel - Kovacs - Francis
DeKeyser - Witkowski
Stewart - Tennyson
Oesterle - Brown
Pisellini - Slubowski - Moore
Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Another Dominant Third Period
KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- You could see it coming. It almost seemed as inevitable as a sunrise and sunset. And Western Michigan couldn't stop it. Not even a 27-day layoff could stop it.
The UMD men kept it rolling here Friday night, beating Western Michigan 4-1 to run its unbeaten streak to a school-record 15.
As has been the case for much of this streak, the Bulldogs got the job done with an overwhelming third period effort. Friday was the third time in 15 games that UMD scored three goals in the third period. UMD has at least one goal in the third period of 14 of the 15 games. The only game where UMD didn't score in the third period was its last before Friday, a 4-2 win at Wisconsin in which the Bulldogs did all the necessary damage in the first two periods.
In the last 15 games, UMD has outscored opponents 24-10 in the third period.
(For the season, UMD has outscored the opposition 77-45. The first period is even at 17, so UMD has a 60-28 edge from the start of the second period on.)
Friday night's third period was just like many of the others. UMD looked like the superior team. They were physical. They made good passes (not perfect, but good). They won battles all over the ice. For the most part, they kept goalie Kenny Reiter from having to do too much back there (one shot on goal, according to the official stats, in the last half of the period).
UMD also took advantage of its opponent's lack of discipline.
In the third period, Western took two minor penalties. They came 28 seconds apart, and the accompanying five-on-three was too much for the Broncos to defend. It didn't help that Luke Witkowski, one of their top defensmen, was one of the two offending parties.
(WMU coach Andy Murray was not happy with Witkowski's hooking penalty, but it was a hook. He got his stick up into the hands of a UMD player, forcing a turnover that sent the puck into the neutral zone. The Broncos got away with a much more flagrant foul in an earlier UMD power play, but that's no excuse for missing another obvious penalty. The kneeing call that led to the original power play was an easy, textbook call for the officials to make.)
During the five-on-three in a 1-1 game, some guy named Jack Connolly skated across the top of the UMD formation, left to right. He stopped and sent a tape-to-tape pass back to his left, where Travis Oleksuk was all by himself at the bottom of the faceoff circle. Oleksuk isn't going to miss that shot in his sleep.
Three minutes later, Joe Basaraba came into the offensive zone two-on-two with Mike Seidel. Seidel drove to the net, and Basaraba waited for the WMU defenseman to give him enough of an opening for a shot from the left circle. Once he had that room -- and it wasn't much -- he let one rip through WMU goalie Frank Slubowski to give UMD a 3-1 lead.
Jake Hendrickson added the empty-netter, and UMD had a 4-1 win.
UMD is not immune to anything. The Bulldogs started this game slowly, as expected, and they certainly had their share of average shifts in the first 20 minutes. You could see players keeping the game somewhat simple. Shorter passes, quicker shifts. A couple penalties in the first period didn't help the cause, including one before all four lines could take a shift.
I still thought there was some inconsistency in the second period, but you could see UMD starting to get things going again. They had a couple tremendous shifts after J.T. Brown's tying goal, including one that led to a Brown breakaway that Slubowski had to stop. The third period was a lot of nothing for a while, but UMD took advantage of the five-on-three, and that really seemed to change the rest of the game. The Broncos were somewhat deflated after that, and not even a good five-on-four kill where they didn't allow any real chances could get them back in their groove.
And, yes, someone grabbed the puck. When you make history, you make sure you get the puck.
The Broncos tried their very best to knock Connolly off his game. They hit him, denied him space, and hit him some more. It was a good, hard, physical effort against college hockey's best player (yes, I just said it, and I'm probably going to say it a few dozen more times before the season ends). Wasn't dirty, though a couple hits were a bit on the high side. Instead, it was a team doing its best to use physicality and intimidation to keep a guy from controlling the game.
Didn't matter.
You could see it coming. Connolly, Basaraba, and Seidel had a quality shift to close the first period, generating pressure and a nice scoring chance. They had a few more good shifts in the second period, and Caleb Herbert certainly looked good with that group while Seidel was serving a ten-minute misconduct. UMD's top line had a dominant third period, as it's done a lot during this streak.
For Connolly, it was just another day at the office. In the third periods of UMD's last 15 games, the team's senior captain has eight goals and nine assists. That's 17 points in 15 third periods, kids. A three-point-per-game pace. He steps up in third periods of games, and he is a huge reason why UMD continues to put such games away.
On the season, Jack has 32 points in 19 games. If UMD plays in 41 games, as it did last year, Connolly is on pace for 69 points, ten more than last season (59). At this rate, he'll have 60 before the WCHA playoffs even start.
Oh, and he is doing this -- scoring at this pace -- despite a "slow start" that had people wondering if the preseason Hobey hype was unwarranted. Seriously.
Over his 17-game point streak, he has 12 goals and 18 assists. I already quoted the third period numbers, which are incredible. But over 17 full games, he's almost at two points per game. At this rate, he's going to blow everyone out of the water in the scoring race.
After all, the Gophers are done playing cupcakes, and Wisconsin is done with them after taking care of RIT Saturday night.
"In the first month, I think Jack played well," coach Scott Sandelin said before the game Friday. "It seems like since we switched the lines in Denver, that was the weekend where he really took off. Showed his leadership, and showed his ability to be a top player in the country. Sometimes we get spoiled. We expect great things from him.
"I can't speak enough about how his play, and I think he's matured into a really good leader."
There are some great players in college hockey. Justin Schultz comes to mind immediately, as do guys like Austin Smith, Nick Bjugstad, T.J. Tynan, and Brian Flynn, and so many others.
But none of them are doing what Jack Connolly is doing right now. Namely, carrying college hockey's best team on a school-record unbeaten streak.
If that's not enough to make you think "Hobey," go ahead and hang out, because I'm sure he'll give you some more reasons before we're all said and done.
Elsewhere in the WCHA, well, guh.
Alabama-Huntsville got a late goal to beat Denver 3-2. The loss dropped Denver out of the top 20 in the Pairwise. Simply a disastrous loss for the Pioneers, and the WCHA in general, which has now dropped two games to UAH. The Chargers only have two wins. Blah. DU chose to rest Jason Zucker after the World Juniors, and they paid dearly. Zucker will not play in Saturday's finale, either, and that's a must-win for Denver.
Wisconsin beat RIT 6-3. Schultz -- easily the best defenseman in the country, and possibly the best I've seen at this level in my seven years of calling UMD games -- scored two goals and had two assists. He's pretty good.
St. Lawrence knocked off Minnesota State 4-3, and Cornell beat Colorado College 3-1.
So, yeah, not a good night for the WCHA.
On Saturday, in addition to all these series finishing up, North Dakota plays Clarkson in Winnipeg, and the Gophers host Notre Dame.
You almost have to root for Minnesota, kids. Seriously. This league needs another non-conference loss like Jessica Biel needs to go on a diet.
The UMD men kept it rolling here Friday night, beating Western Michigan 4-1 to run its unbeaten streak to a school-record 15.
As has been the case for much of this streak, the Bulldogs got the job done with an overwhelming third period effort. Friday was the third time in 15 games that UMD scored three goals in the third period. UMD has at least one goal in the third period of 14 of the 15 games. The only game where UMD didn't score in the third period was its last before Friday, a 4-2 win at Wisconsin in which the Bulldogs did all the necessary damage in the first two periods.
In the last 15 games, UMD has outscored opponents 24-10 in the third period.
(For the season, UMD has outscored the opposition 77-45. The first period is even at 17, so UMD has a 60-28 edge from the start of the second period on.)
Friday night's third period was just like many of the others. UMD looked like the superior team. They were physical. They made good passes (not perfect, but good). They won battles all over the ice. For the most part, they kept goalie Kenny Reiter from having to do too much back there (one shot on goal, according to the official stats, in the last half of the period).
UMD also took advantage of its opponent's lack of discipline.
In the third period, Western took two minor penalties. They came 28 seconds apart, and the accompanying five-on-three was too much for the Broncos to defend. It didn't help that Luke Witkowski, one of their top defensmen, was one of the two offending parties.
(WMU coach Andy Murray was not happy with Witkowski's hooking penalty, but it was a hook. He got his stick up into the hands of a UMD player, forcing a turnover that sent the puck into the neutral zone. The Broncos got away with a much more flagrant foul in an earlier UMD power play, but that's no excuse for missing another obvious penalty. The kneeing call that led to the original power play was an easy, textbook call for the officials to make.)
During the five-on-three in a 1-1 game, some guy named Jack Connolly skated across the top of the UMD formation, left to right. He stopped and sent a tape-to-tape pass back to his left, where Travis Oleksuk was all by himself at the bottom of the faceoff circle. Oleksuk isn't going to miss that shot in his sleep.
Three minutes later, Joe Basaraba came into the offensive zone two-on-two with Mike Seidel. Seidel drove to the net, and Basaraba waited for the WMU defenseman to give him enough of an opening for a shot from the left circle. Once he had that room -- and it wasn't much -- he let one rip through WMU goalie Frank Slubowski to give UMD a 3-1 lead.
Jake Hendrickson added the empty-netter, and UMD had a 4-1 win.
UMD is not immune to anything. The Bulldogs started this game slowly, as expected, and they certainly had their share of average shifts in the first 20 minutes. You could see players keeping the game somewhat simple. Shorter passes, quicker shifts. A couple penalties in the first period didn't help the cause, including one before all four lines could take a shift.
I still thought there was some inconsistency in the second period, but you could see UMD starting to get things going again. They had a couple tremendous shifts after J.T. Brown's tying goal, including one that led to a Brown breakaway that Slubowski had to stop. The third period was a lot of nothing for a while, but UMD took advantage of the five-on-three, and that really seemed to change the rest of the game. The Broncos were somewhat deflated after that, and not even a good five-on-four kill where they didn't allow any real chances could get them back in their groove.
And, yes, someone grabbed the puck. When you make history, you make sure you get the puck.
******
The Broncos tried their very best to knock Connolly off his game. They hit him, denied him space, and hit him some more. It was a good, hard, physical effort against college hockey's best player (yes, I just said it, and I'm probably going to say it a few dozen more times before the season ends). Wasn't dirty, though a couple hits were a bit on the high side. Instead, it was a team doing its best to use physicality and intimidation to keep a guy from controlling the game.
Didn't matter.
You could see it coming. Connolly, Basaraba, and Seidel had a quality shift to close the first period, generating pressure and a nice scoring chance. They had a few more good shifts in the second period, and Caleb Herbert certainly looked good with that group while Seidel was serving a ten-minute misconduct. UMD's top line had a dominant third period, as it's done a lot during this streak.
For Connolly, it was just another day at the office. In the third periods of UMD's last 15 games, the team's senior captain has eight goals and nine assists. That's 17 points in 15 third periods, kids. A three-point-per-game pace. He steps up in third periods of games, and he is a huge reason why UMD continues to put such games away.
On the season, Jack has 32 points in 19 games. If UMD plays in 41 games, as it did last year, Connolly is on pace for 69 points, ten more than last season (59). At this rate, he'll have 60 before the WCHA playoffs even start.
Oh, and he is doing this -- scoring at this pace -- despite a "slow start" that had people wondering if the preseason Hobey hype was unwarranted. Seriously.
Over his 17-game point streak, he has 12 goals and 18 assists. I already quoted the third period numbers, which are incredible. But over 17 full games, he's almost at two points per game. At this rate, he's going to blow everyone out of the water in the scoring race.
After all, the Gophers are done playing cupcakes, and Wisconsin is done with them after taking care of RIT Saturday night.
"In the first month, I think Jack played well," coach Scott Sandelin said before the game Friday. "It seems like since we switched the lines in Denver, that was the weekend where he really took off. Showed his leadership, and showed his ability to be a top player in the country. Sometimes we get spoiled. We expect great things from him.
"I can't speak enough about how his play, and I think he's matured into a really good leader."
There are some great players in college hockey. Justin Schultz comes to mind immediately, as do guys like Austin Smith, Nick Bjugstad, T.J. Tynan, and Brian Flynn, and so many others.
But none of them are doing what Jack Connolly is doing right now. Namely, carrying college hockey's best team on a school-record unbeaten streak.
If that's not enough to make you think "Hobey," go ahead and hang out, because I'm sure he'll give you some more reasons before we're all said and done.
******
Elsewhere in the WCHA, well, guh.
Alabama-Huntsville got a late goal to beat Denver 3-2. The loss dropped Denver out of the top 20 in the Pairwise. Simply a disastrous loss for the Pioneers, and the WCHA in general, which has now dropped two games to UAH. The Chargers only have two wins. Blah. DU chose to rest Jason Zucker after the World Juniors, and they paid dearly. Zucker will not play in Saturday's finale, either, and that's a must-win for Denver.
Wisconsin beat RIT 6-3. Schultz -- easily the best defenseman in the country, and possibly the best I've seen at this level in my seven years of calling UMD games -- scored two goals and had two assists. He's pretty good.
St. Lawrence knocked off Minnesota State 4-3, and Cornell beat Colorado College 3-1.
So, yeah, not a good night for the WCHA.
On Saturday, in addition to all these series finishing up, North Dakota plays Clarkson in Winnipeg, and the Gophers host Notre Dame.
You almost have to root for Minnesota, kids. Seriously. This league needs another non-conference loss like Jessica Biel needs to go on a diet.
Friday, January 06, 2012
Game 19: UMD at Western Michigan
KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Here we go. Off a break of almost exactly four weeks, the UMD men return here to start a two-game series.
Along with the normal radio coverage, the Friday clash can be seen on CBS Sports Network if you have DirecTV or Dish Network. Ben Holden, the great Dave Starman, and Shireen Saski provide the coverage.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Seidel - Connolly - Basaraba
Herbert - Oleksuk - Brown
Crandall (Justin) - Hendrickson - Grun
DeLisle - Tardy - Flaherty
Bergman - Lamb
Kishel - Casto
Olson - Johnson
Reiter - Crandall (Aaron)
WMU
Berschbach - Balisy - Walters
Elias - Squires - Slater
Roehl - Crew - Beebe
Kessel - Leone - Kovacs
DeKeyser - Witkowski
Stewart - Tennyson
Oesterle - Brown
Pisellini - Slubowski - Moore
Along with the normal radio coverage, the Friday clash can be seen on CBS Sports Network if you have DirecTV or Dish Network. Ben Holden, the great Dave Starman, and Shireen Saski provide the coverage.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Seidel - Connolly - Basaraba
Herbert - Oleksuk - Brown
Crandall (Justin) - Hendrickson - Grun
DeLisle - Tardy - Flaherty
Bergman - Lamb
Kishel - Casto
Olson - Johnson
Reiter - Crandall (Aaron)
WMU
Berschbach - Balisy - Walters
Elias - Squires - Slater
Roehl - Crew - Beebe
Kessel - Leone - Kovacs
DeKeyser - Witkowski
Stewart - Tennyson
Oesterle - Brown
Pisellini - Slubowski - Moore
Thursday, January 05, 2012
Jim Scherr's Job Not an Easy One
KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The National Collegiate Hockey Conference doesn't launch until 2013, but the league's formation has already begun. The eight teams -- UMD, Colorado College, Denver, Miami, Nebraska Omaha, North Dakota, St. Cloud State, and Western Michigan -- have been announced, and the league hired its first commissioner Wednesday. Former USOC head Jim Scherr is going to be front and center as the league's top executive.
Scherr spoke about the job Wednesday in Colorado Springs. There were a few things brought up that I found noteworthy. I also have some unsolicited thoughts on what the league needs to do as it moves toward Opening Night in October 2013.
Scherr is not a hockey guy.
I kind of expected this. To get this right, the NCHC is more in need of a commissioner that has a business/marketing background. Hiring a hockey guy as a commissioner is not the way to start a new hockey league.
There are relationships to be forged. There are deals to be cut. You need someone with business acumen, not someone who played hockey for 30 years and has no background running an organization or negotiating these types of arrangements.
I don't intend to demean hockey in any way here, but it's a lot easier to teach someone like Scherr -- who might not have a hockey background but is also no stranger to the game -- a thing or two about hockey than it would be to teach someone else the nuances of business deals.
Not only that, but the bulk of Scherr's work in the runup to the league's launch will involve things that have little to do with hockey, but a lot to do with how the league will conduct its business.
Scherr's most important move in the short term will be hiring a hockey operations person.
Scherr's lack of a hockey background is a huge one. He needs a right-hand man who has such a background and can make the hockey-related decisions.
He shouldn't be expected to decide on a league scheduling format, how the schedule will work, or who will oversee the league's officials.
This person will be -- for many fans -- the main face of the league, the person responsible for the most important decisions.
(This will shock you, but most hockey fans don't give a crap about corporate sponsorships or marketing. That's silly. They want to know how the league will work on the ice.)
I would also lean against hiring someone who has ties to the NCHC members, just to eliminate the perception of a good ol' boy network in the league office. It's an issue that helped drive a wedge between the WCHA and the departing schools, and it's silly that they would start up their new league with more of the same.
This isn't to say there aren't some wonderfully qualified candidates within the league. My only point is that an independent voice could work wonders for a lot of the NCHC teams' fans, many of whom are still confused about why the hell this is happening to start with.
Someone in the league needs to figure out what to do with online video.
I've seen systems for online video that work quite well. I've never heard a complaint, for example, about Denver's Pioneer Vision, even though fans who want to watch their favorite hockey team play at Denver have to remember to cancel their subscription before it auto renews (just a dumb system, in my opinion).
On the other hand, I get a complaint about America One about once a month, and I don't even have anything to do with it. No one is perfect, but one of the things the NCHC can do is package its eight member schools to do an online streaming deal that benefits everyone.
Fans can probably give up on the idea of getting the games for free. However, I think it's reasonable to assume the league is better off doing one deal for streaming. It centralizes everything and makes it less confusing for fans. It also makes the package a more attractive buy for a fan. If a game isn't on television, fans know they can go to the league website and watch it over the interwebs.
Scherr will be in Kalamazoo for Friday's UMD-Western Michigan game. I hope we'll be able to talk to him on the air. I'll update the blog if I get any information on that.
Scherr spoke about the job Wednesday in Colorado Springs. There were a few things brought up that I found noteworthy. I also have some unsolicited thoughts on what the league needs to do as it moves toward Opening Night in October 2013.
Scherr is not a hockey guy.
I kind of expected this. To get this right, the NCHC is more in need of a commissioner that has a business/marketing background. Hiring a hockey guy as a commissioner is not the way to start a new hockey league.
There are relationships to be forged. There are deals to be cut. You need someone with business acumen, not someone who played hockey for 30 years and has no background running an organization or negotiating these types of arrangements.
I don't intend to demean hockey in any way here, but it's a lot easier to teach someone like Scherr -- who might not have a hockey background but is also no stranger to the game -- a thing or two about hockey than it would be to teach someone else the nuances of business deals.
Not only that, but the bulk of Scherr's work in the runup to the league's launch will involve things that have little to do with hockey, but a lot to do with how the league will conduct its business.
Scherr's most important move in the short term will be hiring a hockey operations person.
Scherr's lack of a hockey background is a huge one. He needs a right-hand man who has such a background and can make the hockey-related decisions.
He shouldn't be expected to decide on a league scheduling format, how the schedule will work, or who will oversee the league's officials.
This person will be -- for many fans -- the main face of the league, the person responsible for the most important decisions.
(This will shock you, but most hockey fans don't give a crap about corporate sponsorships or marketing. That's silly. They want to know how the league will work on the ice.)
I would also lean against hiring someone who has ties to the NCHC members, just to eliminate the perception of a good ol' boy network in the league office. It's an issue that helped drive a wedge between the WCHA and the departing schools, and it's silly that they would start up their new league with more of the same.
This isn't to say there aren't some wonderfully qualified candidates within the league. My only point is that an independent voice could work wonders for a lot of the NCHC teams' fans, many of whom are still confused about why the hell this is happening to start with.
Someone in the league needs to figure out what to do with online video.
I've seen systems for online video that work quite well. I've never heard a complaint, for example, about Denver's Pioneer Vision, even though fans who want to watch their favorite hockey team play at Denver have to remember to cancel their subscription before it auto renews (just a dumb system, in my opinion).
On the other hand, I get a complaint about America One about once a month, and I don't even have anything to do with it. No one is perfect, but one of the things the NCHC can do is package its eight member schools to do an online streaming deal that benefits everyone.
Fans can probably give up on the idea of getting the games for free. However, I think it's reasonable to assume the league is better off doing one deal for streaming. It centralizes everything and makes it less confusing for fans. It also makes the package a more attractive buy for a fan. If a game isn't on television, fans know they can go to the league website and watch it over the interwebs.
Scherr will be in Kalamazoo for Friday's UMD-Western Michigan game. I hope we'll be able to talk to him on the air. I'll update the blog if I get any information on that.
Bulldogs Finally Back At It
KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- This break felt like it was six months, instead of close to one month.
In some ways, it feels like the UMD men's hockey team is starting the season all over again. The Bulldogs haven't played since beating Wisconsin 4-2 in Madison on Dec. 10.
The team practiced the following week, then went their separate ways for a two-week hiatus. They returned to practice at the DECC last week, and started serious preparations Monday for a series here against Western Michigan that begins Friday night (6:30, CBS Sports Network on television, 94X and the network on the radio).
To get back in the swing of things, assistant coach Jason Herter -- running practice along with assistant Derek Plante while head coach Scott Sandelin worked with Team USA at the World Juniors -- did a lot of fundamental drills in the team's first couple days back.
Lots of skating, passing, and simple stuff.
The challenge ahead is twofold. For starters, this Western Michigan team is pretty good. The Broncos made the NCAA Tournament last year under one-and-done coach Jeff Blashill. Their performance surprised many college hockey observers, and impressed enough hockye people that Blashill was in high demand. Not even a raise at WMU could keep him from taking an offer to become an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings.
Enter Andy Murray. The veteran coach has worked in Europe, the NHL (most notably with the Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues), and with Canadian national teams. He'd never coached college hockey.
Until now.
"I firmly believe you only live once," Murray said. "I admire the coaches who work in the business. I had three children that played college hockey. I had a number of players I had coached in the NHL who played here at Western, and when the opening came up, they contacted me and said 'Coach, they need some help here.'"
Murray's team is pretty solid. They have some speed and skill with guys like Chase Balisy and Dane Walters. There is plenty of youth, and guys like defenseman Garrett Haar are slowly getting used to playing at this level.
Western Michigan doesn't overwhelm people with their talent, but there is speed on this team, and a superb work ethic.
The Broncos aren't a high-scoring team, and they may be more interested in slowing down UMD rather than trying to skate with the Bulldogs.
In a 15-minute conversation, Murray mentioned UMD's team speed a number of times, and clearly has great respect for the program Sandelin has built. Murray isn't a stranger to UMD hockey, as daughter Sarah played four years at UMD and was part of two NCAA women's championship teams. She and brothers Brady (North Dakota) and Jordy (Wisconsin) are all playing professionally in Switzerland.
I'm babbling. I mentioned that this challenge for UMD is twofold. The other part of it is fighting the natural rustiness you will see after such a long stretch with no games.
I'd lay in the "this affects both teams" counter, but Western played a series at St. Cloud State, getting a Balisy overtime goal on Friday to earn a split after a three-goal third period got SCSU a win Thursday. The Broncos already kicked off the rust, and they'll be ready to play Friday.
Herter has been guarding against this all week. The reality is that no practice, no matter how crisp, can properly simulate game speed. Game situations, yes. Game speed, not so much.
"As good as we feel we're practicing right now, multiply that by ten for what's going to be happening Friday night," Herter said. "It's right back into the fire. Our kids are prepared for it, and they just have to weather the storm."
The primary responsibility for weathering the storm could fall on senior goalie Kenny Reiter. During UMD's 14-game unbeaten streak, Reiter has a 1.83 goals against and a save percentage of .934. As good as he's been, he may have to be better early on Friday if UMD comes out sloppy or a bit slow.
UMD has a number of things working in its favor. For starters, it's a very mature team. Slow starts, deficits, and adversity don't really bug this team much. Neither does playing on the road. UMD is unbeaten in 12 straight games away from Duluth, dating back to last year's Final Five loss to Bemidji State. UMD is 5-0-3 on the road this season.
The Bulldogs also have a little more scoring depth than WMU, if you look at the teams on paper. The Broncos will probably remind you of a more-skilled version of Providence, another team that had some skating ability and a great work ethic, but didn't overwhelm you with their offensive depth.
Whether or not the streak lives another weekend will probably be determined by UMD's ability to play a crisp, fast game after taking nearly four full weeks off.
In some ways, it feels like the UMD men's hockey team is starting the season all over again. The Bulldogs haven't played since beating Wisconsin 4-2 in Madison on Dec. 10.
The team practiced the following week, then went their separate ways for a two-week hiatus. They returned to practice at the DECC last week, and started serious preparations Monday for a series here against Western Michigan that begins Friday night (6:30, CBS Sports Network on television, 94X and the network on the radio).
To get back in the swing of things, assistant coach Jason Herter -- running practice along with assistant Derek Plante while head coach Scott Sandelin worked with Team USA at the World Juniors -- did a lot of fundamental drills in the team's first couple days back.
Lots of skating, passing, and simple stuff.
The challenge ahead is twofold. For starters, this Western Michigan team is pretty good. The Broncos made the NCAA Tournament last year under one-and-done coach Jeff Blashill. Their performance surprised many college hockey observers, and impressed enough hockye people that Blashill was in high demand. Not even a raise at WMU could keep him from taking an offer to become an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings.
Enter Andy Murray. The veteran coach has worked in Europe, the NHL (most notably with the Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues), and with Canadian national teams. He'd never coached college hockey.
Until now.
"I firmly believe you only live once," Murray said. "I admire the coaches who work in the business. I had three children that played college hockey. I had a number of players I had coached in the NHL who played here at Western, and when the opening came up, they contacted me and said 'Coach, they need some help here.'"
Murray's team is pretty solid. They have some speed and skill with guys like Chase Balisy and Dane Walters. There is plenty of youth, and guys like defenseman Garrett Haar are slowly getting used to playing at this level.
Western Michigan doesn't overwhelm people with their talent, but there is speed on this team, and a superb work ethic.
The Broncos aren't a high-scoring team, and they may be more interested in slowing down UMD rather than trying to skate with the Bulldogs.
In a 15-minute conversation, Murray mentioned UMD's team speed a number of times, and clearly has great respect for the program Sandelin has built. Murray isn't a stranger to UMD hockey, as daughter Sarah played four years at UMD and was part of two NCAA women's championship teams. She and brothers Brady (North Dakota) and Jordy (Wisconsin) are all playing professionally in Switzerland.
I'm babbling. I mentioned that this challenge for UMD is twofold. The other part of it is fighting the natural rustiness you will see after such a long stretch with no games.
I'd lay in the "this affects both teams" counter, but Western played a series at St. Cloud State, getting a Balisy overtime goal on Friday to earn a split after a three-goal third period got SCSU a win Thursday. The Broncos already kicked off the rust, and they'll be ready to play Friday.
Herter has been guarding against this all week. The reality is that no practice, no matter how crisp, can properly simulate game speed. Game situations, yes. Game speed, not so much.
"As good as we feel we're practicing right now, multiply that by ten for what's going to be happening Friday night," Herter said. "It's right back into the fire. Our kids are prepared for it, and they just have to weather the storm."
The primary responsibility for weathering the storm could fall on senior goalie Kenny Reiter. During UMD's 14-game unbeaten streak, Reiter has a 1.83 goals against and a save percentage of .934. As good as he's been, he may have to be better early on Friday if UMD comes out sloppy or a bit slow.
UMD has a number of things working in its favor. For starters, it's a very mature team. Slow starts, deficits, and adversity don't really bug this team much. Neither does playing on the road. UMD is unbeaten in 12 straight games away from Duluth, dating back to last year's Final Five loss to Bemidji State. UMD is 5-0-3 on the road this season.
The Bulldogs also have a little more scoring depth than WMU, if you look at the teams on paper. The Broncos will probably remind you of a more-skilled version of Providence, another team that had some skating ability and a great work ethic, but didn't overwhelm you with their offensive depth.
Whether or not the streak lives another weekend will probably be determined by UMD's ability to play a crisp, fast game after taking nearly four full weeks off.
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
Wisconsin Lets Great Season Slip Away
Hope everyone had a good New Year's weekend. Back in the grind we go, I guess.
After back-to-back losses on Hail Mary throws derailed Wisconsin's BCS title hopes before October was over, there was still a chance for the Badgers to finish the season on a high note. The Big Ten title was within their grasp -- thanks in large part to the numerous flaws shown by division foes Ohio State and Penn State throughout the season -- and therefore the Rose Bowl was still a possibility.
By winning out, Wisconsin was able to earn the Big Ten championship, and they got that Rose Bowl slot against Oregon Monday.
It was there that Wisconsin's inability to manage the clock and close a game again bit them hard. This time, Oregon found a way to win the highest-scoring Rose Bowl ever, 45-38. Both teams led, but neither ever led by more than seven points.
Turnovers were a factor, with Wisconsin getting a touchdown off an Oregon fumble, and Oregon getting a huge touchdown off a Wisconsin interception. But it was a turnover that only led to a punt that turned the game for good.
Wisconsin sophomore receiver Jared Abbrederis caught a long pass from Russell Wilson. As he was being tackled near the sideline, he lost the ball. Inexplicably, the ball died on the grass and didn't bounce out of bounds. Oregon recovered. Abbrederis has to secure the ball more effectively, but it was a great strip and a hell of a lucky break for Oregon, because the ball totally should have bounced out of bounds.
The other big play in the game was a Wisconsin kickoff that went for a touchback.
The Oregon returner fielded the kick in the end zone, took a couple steps, then thought better of it and dropped to a knee. The rules say the ball must be completely out of the end zone to be out of it (just like the tip of the ball just has to cross the goal line for a touchdown to stand). The ball was clearly not out of the end zone. Only half of it (maybe) was.
Badgers coach Bret Bielema protested the call, then burned a timeout to try to get the officials to review it. That left Wisconsin with only one timeout later, and instead of getting the ball back with 50 seconds left, Wisconsin didn't even have 20.
Then came the spike at the end of the game. Wilson tried to kill the clock, but there wasn't enough time for that. I don't know if that call came from Wilson or Bielema, but it was a poor decision. Along with the unnecessarily burned timeout, it was another example of Bielema struggling with clock management.
To recap, Wisconsin lost three games this season. The first came on a Hail Mary pass at the end of the game where three Badgers watched a Michigan State player catch an already-tipped pass before any of them tried to tackle the receiver (on a tipped pass, there can be no pass interference ... everyone is fair game). The second came on a glorified Hail Mary pass in which Wisconsin let an Ohio State player run down the field without bothering to do much about it.
Then came the Rose Bowl.
Ugh.
Bielema is getting shredded for his clock/timeout management. He should. It's not getting better.
However, the big picture dictates that Bielema is doing a pretty good job. Yeah, he's 2-4 in bowl games (Barry Alvarez was 8-3). Yeah, he's 0-2 at the Rose Bowl (Alvarez was 3-0). But this is not a program that tasted a ton of success before Alvarez arrived. The transition wasn't perfect, but Bielema did well taking over and keeping things going with at least a solid rate of success on the field.
He doesn't strike me as a threat to win a national championship, but neither did Gene Chizik, either. And Les Miles is potentially crazy, yet is going for another title on Monday. Chip Kelly is nuts, too, and he could have won last year.
Bielema is flawed, but is he more flawed than others who have caught lightning in a bottle and won? I don't know.
It's frustrating to be sunk by similar circumstances in losses, but it's also easy to lose sight of all the good Bielema has done. The Badgers had a great power running game this season, but Wilson's presence allowed them to form a formidable passing game that consistently took pressure off Montee Ball. Offensive coordinator Paul Chryst will be missed as he makes his way to Pittsburgh to become head coach, but there is talent, and if Bielema can solve the inconsistency at quarterback that forced him to recruit Wilson in the first place, Wisconsin will be back in Pasadena soon.
As Bielema himself said Monday, hopefully a future trip is accompanied by tears of joy, not tears of sorrow.
After back-to-back losses on Hail Mary throws derailed Wisconsin's BCS title hopes before October was over, there was still a chance for the Badgers to finish the season on a high note. The Big Ten title was within their grasp -- thanks in large part to the numerous flaws shown by division foes Ohio State and Penn State throughout the season -- and therefore the Rose Bowl was still a possibility.
By winning out, Wisconsin was able to earn the Big Ten championship, and they got that Rose Bowl slot against Oregon Monday.
It was there that Wisconsin's inability to manage the clock and close a game again bit them hard. This time, Oregon found a way to win the highest-scoring Rose Bowl ever, 45-38. Both teams led, but neither ever led by more than seven points.
Turnovers were a factor, with Wisconsin getting a touchdown off an Oregon fumble, and Oregon getting a huge touchdown off a Wisconsin interception. But it was a turnover that only led to a punt that turned the game for good.
Wisconsin sophomore receiver Jared Abbrederis caught a long pass from Russell Wilson. As he was being tackled near the sideline, he lost the ball. Inexplicably, the ball died on the grass and didn't bounce out of bounds. Oregon recovered. Abbrederis has to secure the ball more effectively, but it was a great strip and a hell of a lucky break for Oregon, because the ball totally should have bounced out of bounds.
The other big play in the game was a Wisconsin kickoff that went for a touchback.
The Oregon returner fielded the kick in the end zone, took a couple steps, then thought better of it and dropped to a knee. The rules say the ball must be completely out of the end zone to be out of it (just like the tip of the ball just has to cross the goal line for a touchdown to stand). The ball was clearly not out of the end zone. Only half of it (maybe) was.
Badgers coach Bret Bielema protested the call, then burned a timeout to try to get the officials to review it. That left Wisconsin with only one timeout later, and instead of getting the ball back with 50 seconds left, Wisconsin didn't even have 20.
Then came the spike at the end of the game. Wilson tried to kill the clock, but there wasn't enough time for that. I don't know if that call came from Wilson or Bielema, but it was a poor decision. Along with the unnecessarily burned timeout, it was another example of Bielema struggling with clock management.
To recap, Wisconsin lost three games this season. The first came on a Hail Mary pass at the end of the game where three Badgers watched a Michigan State player catch an already-tipped pass before any of them tried to tackle the receiver (on a tipped pass, there can be no pass interference ... everyone is fair game). The second came on a glorified Hail Mary pass in which Wisconsin let an Ohio State player run down the field without bothering to do much about it.
Then came the Rose Bowl.
Ugh.
Bielema is getting shredded for his clock/timeout management. He should. It's not getting better.
However, the big picture dictates that Bielema is doing a pretty good job. Yeah, he's 2-4 in bowl games (Barry Alvarez was 8-3). Yeah, he's 0-2 at the Rose Bowl (Alvarez was 3-0). But this is not a program that tasted a ton of success before Alvarez arrived. The transition wasn't perfect, but Bielema did well taking over and keeping things going with at least a solid rate of success on the field.
He doesn't strike me as a threat to win a national championship, but neither did Gene Chizik, either. And Les Miles is potentially crazy, yet is going for another title on Monday. Chip Kelly is nuts, too, and he could have won last year.
Bielema is flawed, but is he more flawed than others who have caught lightning in a bottle and won? I don't know.
It's frustrating to be sunk by similar circumstances in losses, but it's also easy to lose sight of all the good Bielema has done. The Badgers had a great power running game this season, but Wilson's presence allowed them to form a formidable passing game that consistently took pressure off Montee Ball. Offensive coordinator Paul Chryst will be missed as he makes his way to Pittsburgh to become head coach, but there is talent, and if Bielema can solve the inconsistency at quarterback that forced him to recruit Wilson in the first place, Wisconsin will be back in Pasadena soon.
As Bielema himself said Monday, hopefully a future trip is accompanied by tears of joy, not tears of sorrow.
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