I'm not sure I did much justice to the whole squad with my recap yesterday. Since it was the first time seeing the freshman, I tried to focus on them. But some of the short blurbs weren't very enlightening. And I barely said anything about any veteran players. The saving grace I suppose is that I've said quite a bit about every veteran player over the last 1-3 years of their careers.
The one glaring omission was any comment about Tommy Grant's penalty shot. First, if I'd been reffing I wouldn't have called it a penalty shot. Grant broke in wide and definitely had a step on the defender by the time he got to the net. The defender tripped him and definitely took away an otherwise clear chance for Tommy. But it was very marginal and the score was already 4-0 with UAA clearly dominating in a preseason game. Yup ... I wouldn't have called it. The SAIT player woulda sat for 2 minutes if I'd had a whistle.
Having said that (that's for Bourno in case he actually ever reads here when he isn't busy making money writing about hockey), a real penalty shot (not the contrived bullshit to decide the outcome of a tied game) is always nice to watch ... because they are SO rare. And here's where I credit the SAIT goaltender with a great save; Grant swung in to the right and cut nicely to the left after a fake. He had the kid beat. You might tag Tommy with a missed shot or say that he should have lifted it. But honestly, he had the goal if not for a crazy good save. Tommy shook it off and bagged one the next period anyway.
I have no idea at all what lines I'd go with after seeing last nights game. Deciding who to put on the ice and where to put them has got to be the toughest part of being a coach. I guess that's why they make the big bucks right? I do know that Curtis Leinweber would skate about 58 minutes if it was up to me. Naslund presents some interesting options. I'm hopeful to see his skating improve over time (not that lack of skating ability kept him from being in the right place ... it didn't seem to be a factor) but his poise with the puck and his vision are outstanding. He could really be a great linemate for the right guys. Speaking of difficult choices ... did you realize that Luka Vidmar is the ONLY right handed defenseman on the squad? There are seven right handed forwards and 8 left handed forwards. Doesn't that seem a little disproportionate? I found it interesting.
All the NCAA rosters have finally been submitted. College Hockey News has updated their Almanac and I'm surprised by a couple of things. UAA does hold the #1 spot for average height amongst the 58 D1 teams. But they're only the #3 in terms of average weight. I'll be accurate by calling the Seawolves the biggest team in college hockey.
The one glaring omission was any comment about Tommy Grant's penalty shot. First, if I'd been reffing I wouldn't have called it a penalty shot. Grant broke in wide and definitely had a step on the defender by the time he got to the net. The defender tripped him and definitely took away an otherwise clear chance for Tommy. But it was very marginal and the score was already 4-0 with UAA clearly dominating in a preseason game. Yup ... I wouldn't have called it. The SAIT player woulda sat for 2 minutes if I'd had a whistle.
Having said that (that's for Bourno in case he actually ever reads here when he isn't busy making money writing about hockey), a real penalty shot (not the contrived bullshit to decide the outcome of a tied game) is always nice to watch ... because they are SO rare. And here's where I credit the SAIT goaltender with a great save; Grant swung in to the right and cut nicely to the left after a fake. He had the kid beat. You might tag Tommy with a missed shot or say that he should have lifted it. But honestly, he had the goal if not for a crazy good save. Tommy shook it off and bagged one the next period anyway.
I have no idea at all what lines I'd go with after seeing last nights game. Deciding who to put on the ice and where to put them has got to be the toughest part of being a coach. I guess that's why they make the big bucks right? I do know that Curtis Leinweber would skate about 58 minutes if it was up to me. Naslund presents some interesting options. I'm hopeful to see his skating improve over time (not that lack of skating ability kept him from being in the right place ... it didn't seem to be a factor) but his poise with the puck and his vision are outstanding. He could really be a great linemate for the right guys. Speaking of difficult choices ... did you realize that Luka Vidmar is the ONLY right handed defenseman on the squad? There are seven right handed forwards and 8 left handed forwards. Doesn't that seem a little disproportionate? I found it interesting.
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All the NCAA rosters have finally been submitted. College Hockey News has updated their Almanac and I'm surprised by a couple of things. UAA does hold the #1 spot for average height amongst the 58 D1 teams. But they're only the #3 in terms of average weight. I'll be accurate by calling the Seawolves the biggest team in college hockey.
Who's the heaviest team? Prepare yourself for a stunner ... UAF. WTF? They're the 42nd tallest team out of 58 but #1 in weight? Hey Nanooks ... as Jim Schonfeld told Don Koharski .. "Go have another donut."
Here's where the rest of the WCHA teams rank ...
Don't say orientated or disorientated or conversate or preventative ... ok? They're not actual words. When and if you do use actual words together ... do NOT say "morass of this travesty" as this boob (with a Master's Degree from UND) on an NHL blog does. That's called a non-sequitur. It is also a travishamockery ... which isn't a word but describes such ignorant usage perfectly. Yes. I'm a bit of a grammar cop. Bagging on the Ivies and using language like that is marvelously ironic.
If you believe the pundits then UAA faces some mighty odds this coming weekend. Michigan is ranked 33 teams higher than the Seawolves and Mercyhurst is 15 teams higher. Oh gosh ... do our lowly #38 Seawolves stand a chance? UAF is #30. No ... these alleged pundits weren't trying to be funny.
I spoke with Steve Cobb last night and he told me that the issue of a future 22 game conference schedule was/is "on the table". A brief discsussion revealed one very surprising WCHA member that isn't currently in favor of such a change. In any case, I'll just say that the issue isn't likely to go away and certain television pressures may increase the chances for it to happen. Going to a 22 game conference schedule after UNO and Bemidji join would be a very positive change for the UAA program.
I'm still looking for someone to volunteer to make about a hundred or so "BYOTCH - Buy Your Own Tickets" posters. 8 x 10 would be fine. Even just regular paper would probably be fine. The reason I'm looking for a volunteer? I'm an idea man ... not an implementer. I will hand them out to the student section and to any UAA fans near the visiting team's bench. Get in touch with me if you want to help. This is an effort I'd like to see ready to go by the first WCHA home series.
I've edited the "About Me" section in the sidebar to include my phone number. I realize my controversial nature may invite certain types to utilize the number for other than niceness; but I expect the fact that I'm generally the biggest asshole on the college hockey internet to preemtively dissuade most of that. The number is (907)720-7117.
Minnesota - 4th tallest/26th heaviestThat certainly displays the extent of the difference in size between UAA and the rest of the WCHA. UAA is an average of 6ft .88in and 191.42lbs. UMD is an average of 5ft 11.36in and 176.36lbs. So UAA is 1.5 inches taller on average and a smidgen over 15lbs per player heavier. Those are fairly substantial differences. I can't wait to see what effects it all has.
Denver - 9th tallest/22nd heaviest
Mankato - 15th tallest/28th heaviest
Wisconsin - 16th tallest/37th heaviest
Colorado College - 19th tallest/10th heaviest
Michigan Tech - 22nd tallest/11th heaviest
North Dakota - 23rd tallest/44th heaviest
SCSU - 33rd tallest/55th heaviest
UMD - 43rd tallest/57th heaviest
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Don't say orientated or disorientated or conversate or preventative ... ok? They're not actual words. When and if you do use actual words together ... do NOT say "morass of this travesty" as this boob (with a Master's Degree from UND) on an NHL blog does. That's called a non-sequitur. It is also a travishamockery ... which isn't a word but describes such ignorant usage perfectly. Yes. I'm a bit of a grammar cop. Bagging on the Ivies and using language like that is marvelously ironic.
_______________
If you believe the pundits then UAA faces some mighty odds this coming weekend. Michigan is ranked 33 teams higher than the Seawolves and Mercyhurst is 15 teams higher. Oh gosh ... do our lowly #38 Seawolves stand a chance? UAF is #30. No ... these alleged pundits weren't trying to be funny.
_______________
I spoke with Steve Cobb last night and he told me that the issue of a future 22 game conference schedule was/is "on the table". A brief discsussion revealed one very surprising WCHA member that isn't currently in favor of such a change. In any case, I'll just say that the issue isn't likely to go away and certain television pressures may increase the chances for it to happen. Going to a 22 game conference schedule after UNO and Bemidji join would be a very positive change for the UAA program.
_______________
I'm still looking for someone to volunteer to make about a hundred or so "BYOTCH - Buy Your Own Tickets" posters. 8 x 10 would be fine. Even just regular paper would probably be fine. The reason I'm looking for a volunteer? I'm an idea man ... not an implementer. I will hand them out to the student section and to any UAA fans near the visiting team's bench. Get in touch with me if you want to help. This is an effort I'd like to see ready to go by the first WCHA home series.
I've edited the "About Me" section in the sidebar to include my phone number. I realize my controversial nature may invite certain types to utilize the number for other than niceness; but I expect the fact that I'm generally the biggest asshole on the college hockey internet to preemtively dissuade most of that. The number is (907)720-7117.
3 comments:
UA_ 3 SAIT 1 after 2 periods ha ha ha ha ha.
Yep, it was 3-1 after two in the banks.
Somehow, UA_ pulled off two PP goals and an even strength goal in less than 2 minutes in the last period, to make it 6-1.
I hear UA_ likes donuts! They took several from the Seawolves last year. So yup, go have some more Nanooks!
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