Seawolves 2 - Minnesota 2

All year long the knock on the Seawolves has been that goaltending hasn't been up to snuff. I don't see anyway that sort of talk can continue after the last few performances by both Bryce and Jonny O. They haven't just been good lately; they've been excellent to spectacular at times. Doug and the Rug called Bryce as player of the game and they were certainly right tonight. He made at least 3 GREAT saves to keep the team in the game.

Though I thought the undermanned Seawolves played well and gave a respectable account of themselves, they were outplayed at times; enough times that one might say the Gophers should have won the game. But Bryce wasn't having any of that tonight. Shyiak shortened the bench in the third period and it turned out to be an effective move. The Seawolves were at thier best in the 2nd and 3rd period. They played well during OT generating one solid flurry with a scoring chance.

Credit (along with Bryce) has to go to quality defensive play by all the skaters. I thought they did an excellent job throughout the game getting to pucks in their own end and clearing the zone. They challenged and won their fair share of free pucks in the slot as well. The Gophers are no slouches when it comes to attacking the net from all different angles and they definitely got their share of chances. Congrats to all the shot blockers and to players who stayed with their man defensively.

I'd classify it as a good tie for the Seawolves since they came back twice from deficits. A point is a point, and you can't turn your nose up at it when it comes on the road.

I'm already looking forward to tomorrow nights game after the last couple of Saturday performances that the guys have put together. The lineup tomorrow will be of particular interest. The 4th line of Selby, Lovdahl and Carlson didn't play badly by any means but I also noticed they seemed a bit lost at times going forward. That's to be expected with a D guy that has never played center and two guys who have seen tons more bench than ice over their careers. Props to them for their efforts.

The PK is to be congratulated as well. I liked how well everyone moved thier feet shorthanded and stayed aggressive. Other than the first Gopher goal on the power play the Seawolves didn't really give the Gophers many good looks. When they did ... Bryce was dead solid.

I don't know whether to expect a gentlemanly game tomorrow night. I agree with Doug and the Rug that neither team tonight really wanted a tie and there was some serious looking chirping at the end of the game with Stoa and Clark exchanging cheap shots.

For tomorrow UAA will have to find a way to increase their possession in the Gophers end. Jade Portwood had a good game in the Gopher end. He was real strong on the puck and effective whenever he touched it deep. Tyler Moir showed all sorts of hustle. Craig Parkinson might be the very definition of a 2-way forward. He wins draws (by hook or crook), blocks tons of shots and goes forward with abandon. Paul Crowder and Kevin Clark both had strong games and like the Gopher scorers were just a bounce or an inch away from scoring on more than a couple of chances. All the blueliners were sharp. Nils and Mat had strong games and both contributed offensively. Lafranchise was effective physically in his own end showing strength along the boards and was smart with the puck. Congrats to Nick Haddad on his 2nd goal ... good freaking eyes Nick ... he really picked up the rebound perfectly to score his goal.

The team should certainly feel good about their chances tomorrow. Does Shyiak go with Bryce or Jonny tomorrow? Tough question if you ask me. I know there's a solid philosophy that says go with the guy who had the hot hand. But who's to say that Jonny won't play equally as well as Bryce did tonight? He played excellent in the loss to SCSU last weekend. If the call were up to me ... I'd go with Bryce.