This years UAA senior class has only 3 representatives on the hockey team. Seniors Shane Lovdahl, Mat Robinson and Jeremy Smith. These three represent a diverse set of skills and their contributions will be important for a successful season.
Shane's career at UAA included a promising freshman season followed by a season that saw him absent from the ice in the 2nd half due to an eligibility problem which was technical in nature. His third season showed me a lot of growth (particularly in the 2nd half) in his overall game. Shane had the label of not having the quickest feet on the team but I didn't see anything during the second half last season that causes me any concern. He is strong on his skates and can lay on the big hits both along the boards and on open ice. He played smart defensive hockey, good passes in transition and even showed a flair for stickhandling on the offensive end. I expect Shane to be an important part of UAA's power play. It will be critical to get more goals on the power play as compared to last season and in order to do that you need experience on the blueline. And lets never forget that Shane has a very heavy shot. I think he has some pretty clear motivations to help him make this season a career best for him. He's had a few games in every season where he's watched in street clothes and nobody wants to do that their senior year. There is every reason to think that won't be a problem.
When writing about Mat the first area to focus on is his wheels. He's got a helluva set. But it doesn't stop there. His vision on the ice is second to none. He always has his head up and his sense of anticipation is as good as anyone. Robbie should be a supremely confident senior player. My biggest question is how much can he contribute offensively this season. I can imagine Coach Shyiak would like to increase Mat's focus on the offensive side of things and help him find more ways to contribute. With a solid defensive minded partner Robbie could be free to wheel at times. When those opportunities arise he will need to take full advantage this season. If he does that then leading the team in goals by a defensemen will be a reasonable expectation. The last two years have been all about bringing along a set of defensemen who make a difference in transition to offense. Mat is the oldest and most experienced defensemen on this team with exactly the set of skills needed to make an impact at important times in a game. Who among us doesn't appreciate the perfectly executed hip check now and again from Robbie too ... eh? To summarize ... Robbie's play is very important this season.
Local boy Jeremy Smith walked onto the Seawolf team last year. Jeremy ended his 4 year junior career in the 04-05 season. In the intervening time he didn't play any organized competitive hockey. When Jeremy was added to the roster last year I remember doing a little research and discovering what a popular guy he was with Youngstown/Mahoning Valley fans. He was the enforcer and racked up a solid 198 minutes fulfilling that role. Jeremy looks like a rugged guy too. His potential contribution though to this teams success is measurable. Jeremy will almost certainly be in street clothes pretty much every night. His maturity and leadership in practice and in the stands will be important to the freshman joining him in the stands. A positive example will contribute to those freshman joining and staying in the lineup when their time comes. My hope is that Jeremy gets to play a solid set of minutes against UAF in the second game of that series here in Anchorage. That'd be fun to see.
Shane's career at UAA included a promising freshman season followed by a season that saw him absent from the ice in the 2nd half due to an eligibility problem which was technical in nature. His third season showed me a lot of growth (particularly in the 2nd half) in his overall game. Shane had the label of not having the quickest feet on the team but I didn't see anything during the second half last season that causes me any concern. He is strong on his skates and can lay on the big hits both along the boards and on open ice. He played smart defensive hockey, good passes in transition and even showed a flair for stickhandling on the offensive end. I expect Shane to be an important part of UAA's power play. It will be critical to get more goals on the power play as compared to last season and in order to do that you need experience on the blueline. And lets never forget that Shane has a very heavy shot. I think he has some pretty clear motivations to help him make this season a career best for him. He's had a few games in every season where he's watched in street clothes and nobody wants to do that their senior year. There is every reason to think that won't be a problem.
When writing about Mat the first area to focus on is his wheels. He's got a helluva set. But it doesn't stop there. His vision on the ice is second to none. He always has his head up and his sense of anticipation is as good as anyone. Robbie should be a supremely confident senior player. My biggest question is how much can he contribute offensively this season. I can imagine Coach Shyiak would like to increase Mat's focus on the offensive side of things and help him find more ways to contribute. With a solid defensive minded partner Robbie could be free to wheel at times. When those opportunities arise he will need to take full advantage this season. If he does that then leading the team in goals by a defensemen will be a reasonable expectation. The last two years have been all about bringing along a set of defensemen who make a difference in transition to offense. Mat is the oldest and most experienced defensemen on this team with exactly the set of skills needed to make an impact at important times in a game. Who among us doesn't appreciate the perfectly executed hip check now and again from Robbie too ... eh? To summarize ... Robbie's play is very important this season.
Local boy Jeremy Smith walked onto the Seawolf team last year. Jeremy ended his 4 year junior career in the 04-05 season. In the intervening time he didn't play any organized competitive hockey. When Jeremy was added to the roster last year I remember doing a little research and discovering what a popular guy he was with Youngstown/Mahoning Valley fans. He was the enforcer and racked up a solid 198 minutes fulfilling that role. Jeremy looks like a rugged guy too. His potential contribution though to this teams success is measurable. Jeremy will almost certainly be in street clothes pretty much every night. His maturity and leadership in practice and in the stands will be important to the freshman joining him in the stands. A positive example will contribute to those freshman joining and staying in the lineup when their time comes. My hope is that Jeremy gets to play a solid set of minutes against UAF in the second game of that series here in Anchorage. That'd be fun to see.
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