Friday, November 13, 2009

Seawolves Top Secret Strategy Revealed


Lose on Friday night as motivation for Saturday.  Tonight the Seawolves executed that strategy perfectly. They wasted no time allowing the Badgers to score just 14 seconds into the game.  And from there the strategy only got more fully utilized.  With each ensuing Badger goal the Seawolves found some emotion which resulted in more and more frequent scrums and confrontations.  I don't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Flat-footed was my chat room description as the Badgers completely dominated the first period.  After ten minutes had passed the shot count was 8-1 and I couldn't remember where UAA had actually registered a shot.  Then in the second part of the 1st period the Seawolves were skating uphill.  Even with the only 5 on 3 opportunity in the first period, the Seawolves were outshot 13-5. Blown UAA passes, ineffective Seawolf clearing attempts and good Badger hustle spelled doom after the 14 second gift goal.  The Badgers even dominated the first 13 seconds.

The 2nd period was much the same with UAA getting outshot 15-6.  For the game the difference was 37-20.

Lots of players looked disinterested most of the time.  Unmotivated.  Uninspired.  And whatever other Un's you might think of.  Is Untryingveryhard a word?  5-1 doesn't really begin to reflect how badly the Seawolves were outplayed.  Blown coverages lead to a couple of the goals, but other blown coverages luckily didn't.  Jonny O let in a couple of softies.  And the Badgers hit at least 3 pipes.  

It was overall the worst hockey game they've played this season.  The 1st period may have been the worst period I've seen in years.  Easily 80% of it was in the Seawolves end.  Being down only 3-0 at the end of the 1st was just lucky.

I'm all about trying to find something positive and/or say something good about some aspect of a loss.  But tonight that just isn't possible.  Oh wait ... they didn't shutout the Seawolves and there doesn't appear to be any lasting controversy.  On the night they made grunt Aaron Bendickson look like a star letting him score his first 2 goals of the season; his second goal on the night was the 4th shortie UAA has given up this season.

So once again we'll see if losing on Friday results in a highly motivated excellent effort on Saturday night.  It's a bit tiresome as a fan to see things go like this.  What is so difficult about finding one's best effort and using it on Friday?  There's lots of questions in the chat tonight about that.  Is it the players job or the coaches job to get the team motivated to play?  Is it both? 

I'm a rah rah guy ... I tend to think coaches like Herb Brooks and/or Bobby Knight who bring some emotion and fire tend to get the best out of the players in their charge.  I really don't know for sure where anyone on UAA's coaching staff fits as far as inspirational coaching.  But I sure hope that somewhere along the line the coach of the team I support can inspire his players to believe in themselves and that they respond with their best effort. 

Maybe I underestimated the absence of Portwood, Wiles and Lafranchise?  Credit the Badgers.  They weren't unanything.  They wanted to win.  They tried hard. 

It shouldn't be hard for the Seawolves to "get up" for tomorrow nights game.  They've got plenty of reason to do so after tonight.  Will they be motivated next Friday night versus Mankato?  I suppose that's a question for next week. 

I'll be hosting another chat tomorrow for the game.  I've uploaded the Lafranchise/Wiercioch hit to YouTube and I'll put together the highlights from last weekend and upload them after I get drunk eating a couple of cheeseburgers.  Hey ... I gots no booze.

20 comments:

Colten said...

Ha ha, Love the cheese burgers!Don't worry, we'll win tomorrow. Because it's a Sat. game. I remeber playing b-ball against Americans (I'm Canadian) they'd beat us so bad Friday, we'd seriously be Black and Blue. Then Sat we'd come out so mad that we'd actually play on par. You'all know how to play some b-ball! But seriously, we'll win tomorrow!

Suze said...

Thanks for the chat Donald. It was more fun than the game.

UAA is the only team to beat UND and DU, they DO have the talent to compete, and I want that team to show up tomorrow night and every night. And coach, pleaseeeeee start Bryce tomorrow, okay?

The team simply plays better with him in net.

Anonymous said...

how to motivate clark, lunden and grant.do not give them any ice time in the third, throw out your rookies and hope for the best.
score 5 to 1.
are we afraid to play our seniors for a whole game, they will get more ice time when they turn pro next year. shyiak let's them off the hook at the detriment of the team.
one bad first period and shyiak throws in the towel.
he has coached this way since he start at uaa.
if it works great, if not we loose.
we will see if his strategy works tomorrow. I hope so. A win tomorrow would put us back in the race. Und was up 4 - 0 on st. cloud, st. cloud did not bench there top players, scored 2 in the third to make the game 4 to 2.
all the best to the players tomorrow, swallow your pride and go out and beat them up like you did to und and denver.

Mike said...

So far a road team we are not. If we come out with no passion again tomorrow you can expect a repeat of tonights disaster. We played the same ho hum game in Minnesota and got our butt's handed to us on Saturday as well. Please someone step up and pour your heart out for every shift so it catches on...

Anonymous said...

Its an absolute joke that 49 is not playing every night.No Heart tonight.

Anonymous said...

I agree, Bryce is the better goalie and gives the team an edge with how he plays the puck.

Tonight I didn't see any back checking, forechecking, blocking shots, hard hits, etc, etc, etc.

puckdangler said...

The game was frustrating. I guess being a UAA Seawolf hockey fan isn't easy. Maybe we're the longest-suffering fans in organized sports? I checked out the WI. public tv delayed internet stream of the game. Watching the 2009-10 Seawolves play for the first time my impression is that the Wolves are speedy, and skilled. I can't understand why the team doesn't win more consistently.

Jimjamesak said...

IOn the goalie front I don't see how either goalie is better than the other because they both suck. They each have moments of brillance but most of the time they flat out cannot make the saves they need to make. They do make fine saves in every game but only after they've given up 2-3 goals. That's a huge problem. Please let us have a really great goalie coming in next year, otherwise we are screwed.

As for coming out unmotivated, I don't want to blame the coaching staff but it's coming to light that it seems to be the coaches. This isn't the first time the team has come out and just plain sucked this season, and it's going to happen again because it's been a problem for a few years and it hasn't been dealt with. That makes it seem it's not the players, but the coaches.

The other problem is discipline. 31 PIMs tonight and we're averaging 22 PIMs a game. There's a fine between being agressive and being dumb and right now we're way into dumb territory. And it's been that way for last two seasons. Blame the refs all we want but they're aren't all of the sudden gonna turn smart one day so we need to adjust.

I could go on about the penalty kill and the power play but I won't. I'm tired and I hate ranting.

Donald Dunlop said...

I've got no issue with the number of penalties tonight as the majority of minutes tonight came after Wisconsin initiated pretty much every scrum.

On the season I'd agree that we're not being angels and have taken a few too many. But that isn't the biggest problem for this team. The biggest problem is playing like stars one night and playing like shit another.

That inconsistency has but one cause in my view. Motivation. Since I think we're all starting to understand that Shyiak isn't Herb Brooks or Bobby Knight then a player or two (ahem ... the captains and upperclassmen) are going to have to provide the RAH RAH and inspiration.

If it doesn't come from there then someone with a strong personality is going to have to emerge in the locker room. Not any easy dynamic to force something like that but unless and until someone motivates these guys this sort of thing is going to continue.

Anonymous said...

Clark seems to be the spark plug on this team, the coach does not allow hime to play his game.
1 penalty bench him, the game was just starting to shift in our end after they killed of that penalty and one other. Then as usual the coach swithes every line and power play unit up. He has done this for four years now. During a game it is never smart to switch up your power play unit, we got a short handed goal scored on us again.
Do bad kurt could not interview clark, lunden and grant after a game. We might get a perspective on the game other than the coaches.
If you are going to blame your upperclassman let them play the whole game. Coaches who never quit on ther players develop winners.
Come out strong tonite and prove the coach wrong again.
Fan

Zzzz said...

Grant needs to be playing on a line of his own... Obviously, other than a few scores in last weeks blowout, that line has been quiet. Time for something new.

None said...

So, pretty much everything I was complaining about last week that generated so much conjecture. We are slower, can't pass, can't shoot, and spend most of the game in the penalty box.

Missing Wiles, arguably the best player on the team, obviously didn't help.

Is it brutally clear to anyone else that its time to relocate UAA's Western Canada scouts to the Midwest so they can find some talent that translates to scoring (rather than racking pims) in the NCAA? More Wiles, less Crowell.

And motivation is not the problem. Big time players get up for every game, regardless of the coach giving a Win One for the Gipper speech. The problem, as I've pointed out many times, is the massive disparity in talent.

And remember fellow Wolves fans, this is the good half. The lousy Wolves don't show up until after Christmas break...

Let the two minutes of hate begin!

Donald Dunlop said...

OnWolves:
I certainly don't welcome your comments about recruiting when I clearly refuted them last week. Why you think it's a good subject to revisit baffles me.

Wiles is FAR from the best player on the team. Don't get me wrong. Sean has come a long way. But when he got here HE COULDN'T SKATE. One of the current top scoring forwards from the USHL is coming here next year and guess what? He's from Western Canada. Grant, Clark, Lunden, Leinweber all have CLEARLY superior skill to Wiles. After that you'd get an argument from me about a number of other players having more talent/skill than Sean.

Again, that's no knock on Wiles. I like what he brings. But it's more energy, enthusiasm and effort than it is skill or talent. As for you comparative knocking of Crowell ... that guy came here and hit the ice running and ready to compete. It has taken him little to no time to adjust when compared with Wiles who's taken quite a bit of time.

Bruijsten came here from the USHL and was valued by other schools. What's he brought that puts him above Spencer? Or Gellert?

It seems to me that you are being deliberately obtuse and negative in order to advance negative associations with the current coaches. Fine. You don't like them. Say it. Don't use specious arguments. UAA's recruiting grounds are largely determined by forces outside of UAA. That's the way it is. That's the way IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN.

Dean Talafous employed a recruiting strategy similar to the one your advocating and turned UAA into the SCSU, UMD, UofM, Wisconsin Jrs.

I'm willing to leave your comments stand. But if they continue to be related to this failed argument then I'm just going to delete them since #1 ... you are wrong. And #2 ... you're beating a dead horse and all you are doing is making me refute them. I'll do that twice but I won't be forced to do it again.

You are not a Seawolves fan in my mind. You're disgruntled and/or a transplant from that area (even though you "claim" otherwise). Your intent here is highly questionable.

The fact that you call the team "slower" in and of itself puts you squarely in the RUBE category unless of course you're just some masked troll from another fanbase. Which I'm starting to suspect.

Anonymous said...

I only have one thing to say. Please seawolves play 60 minutes tonight!

Anonymous said...

to jimjamacracks berate of the goalies. Clark Kent couldn't have saved us last night. Johnny actual played well or it could have been 10 to 1.The first goal was weak and yes there is no room for error especially on the first Goal of any game. Everything has to go well for us to win flippen period Buddie.I can think of several games where a Goalie stole games for us last year but normally our losses and wins our tied to 5 factors. Scoring,Special teams,Defense,Discipline,Hardwork/puckluck...I cant think of a game where a Goalie has stolen a win this year but it will happen. If your pointing to Stats then be rest assured that the save percentages are off by at least 20 percent for our Goalies. Just witnessing How its done at Minnesota and Wisconsin UAAs Stat People are completly on a different page doing things differently/wrong than programs with over 75 years tradition in regards to Hockey as a College sport. Donald has reported on this several times and he is right with the fact that it is recorded much differently to the fact PEOPLE/Everybody Notices. We have a Goalie coming in next year and you might want to ask Adam Murray the differences between juniors and the WCHA. Its a mile so dont expect Clark Kent next year either.

-30- said...

Yeah, let's let this recruiting argument die. Note teams in the WCHA with 5 AJHL players:
Denver
Mich Tech
ND
MD
UAA has three. Time to pick up more, I guess.
This isn't about team speed. Chemistry yes. Speed no.

Donald Dunlop said...

-30-
I suspect this is left over resentment from when John Hill turned tail and ran away from his "dream job" to go polish tDon's shoes again. Unfortunately, a couple of Assistant Coaches lost their jobs the next year. They live in town. They have friends. They blame Shyiak instead of blaming the guy who bailed on the program.

Anonymous said...

They also blame Cobb and bad mouth him every chance they get.

Donald Dunlop said...

I'm not trying to cast anyone in particular in a bad light. It makes sense to me that folks who know our esteemed alumni and former assistants here in Anchorage would harbor some misdirected resentment.

Whether Keith or Jack have anything to do with that is something that I have no direct knowledge of so I'm not going to label them as anything other than esteemed alumni. I cheered heartily for each of them when they played here. I wanted the teams they played on and coached to succeed just as deeply as I want our current team to succeed.

I'd wish and hope all UAA's alumni are supportive of the current program.

Anonymous said...

Keith Morris would love to see the program fail. He's very very bitter, and I know as I have talked to him numerous times.

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