The Second Best Feeling In The World...

"Meet The Coaches" Thoughts

2008-10-01T01:24:00.004-04:00

*Kyle Bangen discussed the challenges of preparing such a large freshman class for the rigors of WCHA hockey. He did a good job explaining what he did, including working with the new players via phone and e-mail, until they arrived for the start of a rigorous August conditioning program that the whole team took part in. The entire month went very well, as everyone on the team held themselves and their teammates accountable for their conditioning responsibilties.

Someone asked Kyle, "You stated when you were first hired that your goal was to ensure that Jamie was coaching the best-conditioned team in the entire conference. Do you feel you've attained that goal?"

He pointed back to the end of the 06-07 campaign, when the Huskies defeated Colorado College on the road in the first round of the WCHA playoffs. "In the third period of the Sunday game, I believe that CC registered only two shots on goal, and we basically skated them out of their own arena, so if you had asked me then, I would have said yes." However, Kyle went on to explain that this season, with nine freshman on the roster, such an assertion would probably be too bold at the moment. Nonetheless, he will work hard to ensure that while Tech may not necessarily be the best-conditioned team in the league this season, we will certainly remain among the top half.

*The assistants discussed our recruits for Fall 2009, including Steven Seigo, Tommy Brown, Evan Witt, Jake Hauswirth, Anthony Schooley, and Jacob Johnstone.

Seigo, a defenseman, received special permission from the NC$$ to practice with an Austrain Elite team over the summer (one his father apparently works for), and while he wasn't permitted to scrimmage with them, the experience seems to be paying dividends. Seigo already has a 7-7-14 line though 9 regular season games in his second season with the Bonnyville Pontiacs of the AJHL, including 5 PPG.
Defenseman Brown will be playing with Melfort of the SJHL again this season, and while his team is allegedly not as stacked as it was last season, his coaches report that he has taken on a leadership role up there and is doing well.
Witt is a C/W who will be playing his second season with the Alberni Valley Bulldogs of the BCHL, and after posting an 11-24-35 line with them in his rookie season, expectations for him will be higher. Coaches Mikesch and Tok mentioned that at 5'11" and 190 lb. he's already filling out his frame pretty well and they're excited to bring him in next year.
Much buzz surrounded Hauswirth (a LW) this summer, who was a surprise standout at the Washington Capitals' rookie dev camp. He received quite a bit of media attention and there was even discussion of the Caps trying to sign him and send him off to MJ, but thankfully that was averted. Hauswirth will begin his second season with the Omaha Lancers of the USHL, after winning the national championship with them last year. His coaches report that he is expected to wear a letter and perform well all year long as a leader and a scorer.
Jacob Johnstone and Anthony Schooley (both fowards) will be playing together in Green Bay this year, after Schooley received a trade from Waterloo. In spite of Johnstone's numbers on a poorly coached Gamblers team last season, Tech's coaches feel that he has great vision out on the ice, is excellent on the powerplay, and possesses a "lethal shot". Schooley's USHL career has been dogged by two unfortunate injuries, leaving him on IR for much of the past year and a half. He is just now getting back out on the ice after recovering from his second injury, and naturally is not anywhere near 100%, however Tok and Mikesch explained that they still feel he's got good hockey sense, does a nice job of getting open for passes/shots, and has pretty good hands. Hopefully he can get back up to speed with a fresh start on a new team this season (including a new coaching staff, if I'm not mistaken).

*Russell talked about the recruiting situation, and how a few years ago, they were going after mostly the character players (Malekoff, Batovanja, etc.), whereas now they are starting to pick up more skill players (Kattelus, Soley, etc.). With this in mind, it would appear that recruiting is looking brighter each year, and based on the last couple of classes, I would agree.

*Somewhat in relation to the above, Russell also mentioned that they are now gradually tweaking the style of our game to focus more on puck possession.

*With regards to this season, Jamie was very clear that Nolan must step up to the plate and make this his year. He's done his time playing second fiddle to Teslak, and now it's his turn to help lead by having a solid, consistent season. He is expected to be between the pipes for a majority of the minutes, as long as he plays well enough.

*Finally, I commend Russell for taking a stand against the use of shootouts in college hockey, and concur with his logic that hockey is first and foremost a team sport, not a sport of one skater's talent versus a goaltender's reflexes. Russell also pointed out that while shootouts may work in the NHL with their 80-some game schedule, college hockey schedules are simply too short for the idea to be viable. The example he gave is thus...

"Say we go out to North Dakota, a pretty tough place to play, and manage to take 3 of 4 points from them that weekend - that's significant. Now consider if North Dakota picked up a shootout win on Saturday, rather than the teams just skating to a tie. In that case, they pick up two points, and the three we get suddenly have less impact on our place in the standings." Jamie is right - with a regular season schedule of 38 games or less, shootout victories would significantly impact the regular season standings for every team in the league, much more so than in the NHL, where teams have a greater chance of making up some of those points down the road.

Following a few quick thoughts on the Toronto series, the meeting broke into a couple tour groups, and I took a facilities tour that included a skating treadmill demonstration courtesy of Kyle Bangen and freshman Seth Soley (who seems to have nice stride and acceleration, I might add), and a peek into the locker & weight rooms, which seem to have come a long way in the last five years or so with recent improvements.

Bottom line: While this season may not look too great for Tech (at least on paper), I think the future is still bright for the Husky program. With Jamie Russell having the full support of the administration and the majority of the community, there is a sense of stability in place where the revolving door of coaching staff has finally come to a stop, excellent plans are in place, and the recruiting networks are well-established. I look foward to watching further progress over the next three years or so.

For Better or Worse...

2008-09-17T01:09:00.004-04:00

...here comes the 08-09 campaign.

After a long summer of hibernation in my drone cube at Ford IT of Houghton, pretending I knew how to design complex software, classes have resumed and exhibition hockey is now just over two weeks away.

While there are large question marks on offense, I think we can point back to the 06-07 season to prove that there are going to be players who will step up and fill the void of consistent scorers left behind by the likes of Rouleau and Shelast. The question is, how many of them are going to?

All I ask of this year's team is that they play complete, 60-minute games. Far too many times last year they either skated out unprepared to play or lost focus mid-way through the game. They simply can't do that anymore.

You can expect my 08-09 overview and predictions in the coming days.

Sorry St. Cloud Fans, But...

2008-03-29T13:57:00.002-04:00

The 07-08 NCAA Bracket...

2008-03-23T12:21:00.002-04:00

This will be interesting to fill out.

For instance, SCSU is playing Clarkson. The two teams split in a non-con series during the regular season. Clarkson has only won a single NCAA game in the past 17 years, but do I go ahead and pick St. Cloud to chalk up their 7th first round loss anyway?

Wisconsin snuck into the field with a losing record, but will be playing on home ice in the Madison regional, with a majority friendly crowd and a clean slate. Could they make an improbable run? Two wins puts you in the Frozen Four.

The Colorado Springs regional looks rough, with UNH, CC, MSU, and Notre Dame. Between Regan, Bachman, Lerg, and Pearce, any of those goaltenders could catch fire. CC has home ice, but faces tough opponents.

Air Force, Princeton, and Niagara are in the mix, thanks to autobids. They will face Miami, North Dakota, and Michigan, respectively. Could any of them pull off the upset?

Minnesota may not score a lot, but Kangas has really saved their bacon in the second half. Can he keep up his strong play in net long enough for the Gophers to grind out some close wins?

These questions, and many more, to be answered soon.

A Look Back

2008-03-21T16:24:00.003-04:00

Way back in September, I took a stab at predicting the WCHA final standings for the 07-08 season. My predictions were:

1. North Dakota
2. Minnesota
3. St. Cloud State
4. Michigan Tech
5. Wisconsin
6. Colorado College
7. Denver
8. Minnesota State
9. Alaska-Anchorage
10. Minnesota-Duluth

Here's how things actually turned out...

1. CC (+5)
2. UND (-1)
3. DU (+4)
4. MSU-M (+4)
5. SCSU (-2)
6. Wisconsin (-1)
7. Minnesota (-5)
8. Minnesota-Duluth (+2)
9. Michigan Tech (-5)
10. Alaska-Anchorage (-1)

So, it appears I underestimated a few teams and drank a little too much Kool-Aid when placing a couple others. While I don't think anyone saw Richard Bachman having the freshman season that he did (undoubtedly the biggest reason why CC won the MacNaughton Cup), here's what I had to say about the Tigers roughly six months ago, when summarizing my pre-season observations:

6. Colorado College

I considered placing CC higher, until it was announced that Jimmy Kilpatrick will be out until Thanksgiving to recover from surgery. Since they will be missing the guy who appears to be their top playmaker for the majority of the first-half, they will be more vulnerable. With a large question mark in goal, CC will need to rely on their defense heavily, and hope someone can fill Kilpatrick's skates while he is out. A first-half schedule that includes Minnesota, New Hampshire and North Dakota in their first six games, plus St. Cloud State in December could make for a rough start.

So, I was obviously wrong about Kilpatrick, since Rau was able to really step in and fill that role. The question mark in net turned out to be a brick wall, although I was correct about that tough first-half schedule (even if Minnesota wasn't all that great this year). In fact, discussing CC in greater detail in an earlier post, this is also what I mentioned:

If the Tigers can hammer out their goaltending issues early on, they could be pretty good this year. Assuming they get past a seemingly-suicidal opening stretch against Minnesota, New Hampshire and North Dakota with a 3-3 or even 2-4 record, they will be a team to keep an eye on.

Their record in those first six games? 3-3

A few other anomalies in my predictions this season:

2. Minnesota

Lots of people say they are too young on defense, but let's be honest - they are the Gophers. They have strong recruits and will adapt quickly, I'm sure. Their offensive depth is top-notch and I'm sure Frazee will be fine, in spite of the occasional meltdown.

You have no idea how amusing I find those two calls right now. Turns out, freshman netminder Alex Kangas had to get to work saving the Gophers from complete embarrassment for most of the regular season.

4. Michigan Tech

On paper, Tech returns almost all of the defense that propelled them to last year's results, plus both of their goalies. With a decent recruiting class, the question is - who will step into the leadership roles left behind by Helminen, Batovanja, and Skworchinski? The Huskies' schedule is pretty well-balanced, so they could get burned if they don't find their legs quickly.

OK, so call me a homer. I really think this team suffered with the loss of senior defensemen Jake Wilkens to injury right at the beginning of the year, coupled with the graduations of big leaders like Helminen and Batty the previous season. Combine that with captain Jimmy Kerr leading the team in penalty minutes, and apparently I was right to suspect leadership might be a problem for the 07-08 Huskies.

8. Minnesota State-Mankato

Now that their top goaltender has recovered from an injury, he will need to work his way back into top form for the Mavericks to have a chance at moving up in the world. Without Steve Wagner and Travis Morin to lead MSU-M, they will need to rely on players like Kalinski and Berge to step into those roles.

Step into those roles they did, and Zacharias did a great job in net to vault the Mavs into the top-half of the league this season, after a tough start.

9. Alaska-Anchorage

With a large class containing some surprisingly decent recruits, it seems that Dave Shyiak could be laying the foundations for the Seawolves. They've got a ways to go however, and this year they will need to find players into step into the voids left by Jay Beagle and Justin Borune. Still, they should be good enough to avoid rock bottom.

Not quite. However, this year's did UAA look better than Seawolf teams from the last several seasons.

So, it's been an interesting year. I can only hope to improve from here.

To the Lady Seated in Section G, Row 13, Seat 2...

2008-03-02T22:14:00.005-05:00

OK, so I promised myself that I'd rant about this incident here rather than at THB. Here we go.

Let's set the scene - last Saturday, my friend (wrapped in duct tape - don't ask) and I spent the third period in a couple of empty seats about 2/3 of the way up Section G at the JMSIA.

The Pep Band began playing "No Beer" and my friend and I started singing along. This is, of course, the infamous "other side" of the JMSIA, where most people (with a few notable exceptions) can't be bothered to get off their ass and make some noise. With such intelligent people as the lady I'm about to discuss seated over there, it's little wonder why they don't. She'd probably squawk if they so much as raised their arm to join in a "Sieve!" chant.

We got to the "Refs" verse, and by that point Campion had started going on his rampage of shitty ass calls against MTU, so my friend and I were singing it extra loud for his listening pleasure. All the while, this woman (who was probably between 40 and 50) was giving us a dirty look and I could tell she was going to say something if we started in on the "Sex" verse.

So sure enough, we start in with "In heaven there is no sex, that's why we use Brand X (latex!)" No sooner did my friend shout "Latex!" when she stretched across her husband, grabbed his arm, and (from what I could hear over the band) told him, "If you want to use that kind of language, go over with the band or the student section. There are kids over here!"

So, let's analyze the situation. You're objecting to the use of the words 'sex' and 'latex' around children. First of all, do you really think that the average person under the age of 12 has any clue what is implied by the word 'latex'? I think not. Secondly, even if we were to head over to the student section, don't you think your precious little children could still hear the Misfits and the band singing along from across the arena? The answer here is a resounding yes! So basically, this isn't about children at all, is it? This is about you being a prude and how you are somehow embarrassed or annoyed at having to sit next to a couple of loud people, isn't it? Congratulations lady, I've called your bluff.

If I may make a suggestion, you should've taken your kids to a high school game, an Ojibwa Eagles game, or even a Finlandia game. Any of those would be reasonably quiet and peaceful for you, and maybe they'll even host a nice, friendly ice cream social for everyone afterwards.

Of course, I was there to watch hockey and cheer for my team. So as much as I would've LOVED to have this little discussion with her, I knew where my priorities were. I was so mad, I actually didn't think until afterwards to ask if her name happened to be Judy Szyysyzkjdfjddkoski (or however that particular woman's last name was spelled), but I'm sure there are more 'other siders' like her anyway. Frankly, I wish they'd just leave us to our antics if they're so "offended".

I will say though, I was proud that the BS band that came over behind Mannino during the second period had the courage to use 'balls' during the S-H-A-V-E taunt instead of toeing the $uzanne line. Thank you.

Worth a Weekend's Fun?

2008-02-25T00:32:00.006-05:00

Yes, the ugly, red-faced mug on the right is me. :D

So the question remains - after spending $40 on tickets to the game, $95 on two nights in a motel, about $125 on gas, and approximately $60 on food and drinks, was my first WCHA road trip worth it?

To examine this scenario, we'll take the categorical approach...

The Games - Royally sucked, from a results standpoint, but in no way can I say that I didn't see it coming - we have failed to extract a victory from the confines of the National Concrete Center since 1998. The no hardware Huskies converted on their chances and in spite of generating opportunities of our own, Tech did not. Weslosky was good all weekend, making some Hasek-like saves and he had a wicked-fast glove on more than one occasion. Unfortunately, even when Tech had a clear shot at an open net, somehow they would find a way to miss it. I knew the sweep was imminent on Saturday when my Huskies dominated the majority of the 1st period, failed to score even once, then watched Nolan give up a soft goal with less than a minute left. Gwilliam's CFB major in the 2nd, followed by another Nolan softy was just the nail in the coffin.

The Arena - The National Hockey Center is actually a decent place to see a game, in spite of the derogatory "Concrete Center" moniker. The small Tech contingent was placed in one of the upper corners, but the sight lines are good in virtually every section, sans maybe the very highest parts of the corners. The atmosphere could be pretty good, considering that the majority of the crowd (young and old) gets into the "Sieve! You Suck!" cheer after SCSU scores and it's loud. Otherwise it's mostly SCSU's student section (The Dog Pound) trying to fill a building which is just a bit too large to hear any sort of cheer or chant they were attempting all the way in the opposite corner of the arena. All the concrete turned out to be good in the end though - it made the perfect surface for tapping out the PK Ditty. :P

Post-Game Entertainment - The Red Carpet and various local watering holes are basically the extent of nightlife in St. Cloud. Friday was spent partially at MC's Dugout and partially at the Martini Lounge inside The Red Carpet. Saturday evening was spent at McRudy's, where the above photo was taken. Of the three, McRudy's was probably my favorite - it's hard for me not to like a place that has big glasses of Newcastle on tap, knows how to make a good whiskey sour, and has $2 Captain & Cokes on special. Of course, there's also nothing quite like MEg pestering you on multiple occasions (this was after 3+ drinks) about writing for THB, watching your entire table drunkenly attempting to sing Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'", bigblue_dl's random black jokes, the humor in seeing CSPAN on TV in a bar, etc.

Other Notes - Val's is a must - it looks like an ordinary greasy spoon, but they have great, made-to-order burgers, fries, and shakes in this dumpy little shack on the east side of the river (take-out only), and it's reasonably priced to boot.

So yes, St. Cloud is indeed worth a weekend's fun for the average college hockey fan. Additionally, all the SCSU fans we met over the weekend were pretty cool.

***************

And so now, with basically any discussion of home ice all but over, Tech looks to position themselves as high as possible to try and earn a trip to a weaker team's barn for the WCHA playoffs.

It's Denver weekend, with the Pioneers hitting Ho-town for two games on senior weekend. I anticipate that Gwoz will probably have his boys on a tight leash after last year's incidents, which they certainly will not be permitted to forget thanks to the Misfits and tSBFitW. With Mannino in the nets, look for a revival of all the "Ice Cream Headache" jokes, don't be surprised to see a few sections of "wall" with holes punched through them, and definitely be on the lookout for some new things too. Perhaps something that might help give Tech a mental boost - we'll see.

***Takes a big gulp of tTech Kool-Aid™, specially prepared by Twitch Boy***

Friday: Motivated by senior weekend and my top-secret "mental booster", the Huskies deliver 50 hits in the first period. Mannino cries for his mommy by the middle of the 2nd after he gives up his 3rd goal and the "Ugly Goalie!" chant is busted out. He is pulled for Chevy who is so shell-shocked by the antics of the Tech fanbase that he fails to notice the play in front of him. Tech wins 5-1.

Saturday: Marc "Like A Rock" Chevy gets the starting nod, and backstops Denver to a 2-0 lead at the end of the second. Twitch Boy, in a fit of rage, grabs a contingent of Pep Band members and invades the Tech locker room, where he delivers a rousing motivational speech which is followed, on cue, by a flawless performance of the fight song. Meanwhile, the bad beef that mysteriously found its way into Chevy's pre-game meal suddenly takes effect at the start of the 3rd, and the distracting symptoms of food poisoning cause him to give up three goals. In a twist of cruel irony, Randy Schmidt has returned to the reffing ranks, and disallows the tying DU goal with 0:00.4 seconds remaining on the clock after deciding he'd rather hit the bar and get wasted with Tech fans than play an overtime period. The Huskies win 3-2.

It's Nothing New

2008-02-17T02:23:00.007-05:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It's Still An Upside-down M

2008-02-09T23:58:00.000-05:00

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

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

Highlights

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

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

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

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

On Notice

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

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

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

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

Bench Minors

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

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

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

Tigers Contained

2008-01-27T15:08:00.000-05:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Checking in on Future Huskies

2008-01-14T13:34:00.000-05:00

Where are they, and how are they doing?

08-09

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

09-10

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

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

They Say It's Your Birthday...

2007-12-29T01:43:00.000-05:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jingle Bells

2007-12-16T01:16:00.000-05:00

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

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

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

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

Rivalry Week

2007-12-08T22:49:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Rivalry Week here at tSBFitW.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Notice

2007-12-08T01:03:00.000-05:00

I realize that I've been slacking a bit lately, but I've been busy with finals projects, papers, and other end-of-the-semester BS. Expect a post on the upcoming eNeMa U slugfest at some point in the next few days. ;)

CPZ Not Attending MTU; Duluth Series This Weekend

2007-11-14T15:36:00.000-05:00

Two sources have now confirmed that Casey-Pierro Zabotel will not be attending Michigan Tech. He was unable to achieve a high enough score on his entrance exam retake to meet the NCAA's standards. It's a shame, but tSBFinW wishes him good luck with the rest of his career. He has signed with the Vancouver Giants of the WHL, so no doubt the major junior league trolls at WCHB will flood the announcement with comments about the NCAA's obvious inferiority by tomorrow morning. ;)

Swept by SCSU - yuck. Losing twice to the One & Done Huskies in our own barn does not make this blogger happy. News of tTeslak's back spasms also makes this blogger very, very concerned for the upcoming series against the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs. If Robbie Nolan wants to get back on track, he needs a strong showing out in Daloot on both nights, assuming tTeslak can't play again. Our offense must also create and bury a lot more chances than they did against St. Cloud. We cannot expect to sweep on the road if we can only score three goals per weekend.

This blogger will be traveling home for most of Friday, and won't have access to a computer again until Monday, so he likely won't be hearing any game results until then. Therefore, in lieu of listening to or being at the games, he'll just have to make sure to sieve/taunt a picture of Stalock before he leaves. :)

A Night of Futility

2007-11-10T12:11:00.000-05:00

Awful defensive breakdowns, turnovers at the worst possible moments, shaky goaltending, and an offense that couldn't finish many of the limited opportunities they created. That describes the play of the Michigan Tech Huskies last night, as they were upset by St. Cloud State at the MacInnes.

If MTU intends to garner a top 5 spot in the conference this season, home weekends with less than three points are not the way to go about it. SCSU outskated us last night, and we should have been playing a crushing physical game against a smaller, younger team. It simply did not happen.

Perhaps the worst news this weekend is that Michael Lee Teslak could be suffering from back spasms, as he did not start on Friday (as expected). Robbie Nolan is really going to have to step up his play in the net if Teslak is out for any length of time. What happened to his play from last season? He's given up some of the sloppiest goals I've ever seen in his last two starts.

I hope we see a completely different Tech team on the ice this evening, and hopefully they can salvage a split out of last night's mess.

2007-11-06T10:54:00.001-05:00

Weekend Recap

So it's a little late; deal with it. :P

MTU and UW split a pair of games down in Madison, at the Kohl Center. I was unable to go, though I did listen to Saturday's game (and I even got to watch the third period). I'm glad we came away with a road split, because Tech sounded/looked tired on Saturday. This win Friday/lose Saturday situation had better not become routine.

Looking Ahead

This weekend, we're back in Houghton for some hot, Husky-on-Husky action at the MacInnes, as St. Cloud State comes to town for a two-game series.

I've said this on USCHO and I'll say it again - we need to sweep St. Cloud this weekend. We need it to prove that we can be consistent and sweep a series, and also to gain some momentum going into a stretch of five straight road games. Next weekend we'll face what appears to be a surprisingly decent UMD squad at the DECC, and then we'll be down at the Mariucci at the end of the month (following a weekend off), looking to extend our recent winning record there against the Goofs, who by then will have six more games under their belt and should be ready to play. After that, it's another weekend off before the annual slugfest with eNeMa U, beginning Friday at the Berry in Marquette.

This is it - we're at home for the final time until mid-December, and the team will enjoy the benefit of a friendly crowd. St. Cloud has gotten off to a slow start (though they appear to be slowly gelling), so we need to take advantage of that.

We need a sweep - let's get it.

The Fine Line Between a Split and a Sweep

2007-10-28T02:30:00.001-04:00

Weekend Recap

Friday

*3-1 Tech

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

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

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

*North Dakota took too many penalties

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

Saturday

*6-0 Sioux (yuck)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ready for the Sioux?

2007-10-25T21:54:00.000-04:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mavericks Milked

2007-10-22T00:04:00.000-04:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Some things that need to be worked on...

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

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

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

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

A Reflection Upon Last Season...

2007-10-19T16:29:00.000-04:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Showdown In No Man's Land

2007-10-14T22:29:00.001-04:00

Friday - NMU

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

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

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

Sunday - LSSU

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

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

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

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

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

Exhibition Against Toronto

2007-10-06T22:34:00.000-04:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bring it eNeMa U. :P

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

2007-10-02T11:48:00.000-04:00

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

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