Saturday, February 26, 2011

Seven Seconds Determine Outcome


No doubt Brad Gorham would trade his first goal in a Seawolves uniform for a win tonight.  But after he tallied just 25 seconds into the game, the team was unable to find the twine again.  Couple that with a meltdown of sorts in the third period and at least the misery of riding home on an airplane after a loss was pretty short.

I use the qualifier "of sorts" in relation to the word meltdown purposely.  There was no huge span of horrible play by the squad to cause the loss.  The 'nookies went up 2-1 at 8:09 of the 3rd when they finally finished one of their chances, something the Seawolves didn't do.  Sean Wiles had hit the crossbar in the 2nd period on a shorthanded chance and the Seawolves had a couple of power plays (including 2 mins of 5 on 3 play) all of which would have extended their lead.  But they just didn't have the finishing in them tonight.

Then 7 freaking seconds after UAF went up 2-1 the score was suddenly 3-1.  You know how that shit goes if you've ever watched hockey.  I don't want to say anyone was flat-footed per se ... just that the 'nookies kept forcing the puck forward after the face-off and bam it's in the back of the net.  Boom roasted.  End of story.  The fat lady was singing.

Coach Shyiak called a time out and tried to settle down and rally the troops.  The Seawolves then pushed but weren't generating the sorts of opportunities that looked to put them back in the game.  So with around 6 minutes left in the game, he pulled Gunderson for a sixth attacker in hopes the extra guy would make something happen and turn the momentum.  It didn't happen.

They scored an ENG and pretty much game over.  Yeah, they added some power play goal late in the game.  Whatev.  From my perspective, all I can say is that I'm glad it will be another year before uh um I have to uh um uh huh um hear um uh uh um Erik um Drygas speak on the uh um uh TV.  And next time Erik, just say what you want to say dude.  Come out and say you think Shyiak is a fucker.  I know you want to.  Do it.  If you do it once, then maybe you'll quit with your yearly fixation about him; alternatively perhaps you can do some pregame ritual to get it out of your system? Oh yeah, Shyiak is still 9-6-2 against UAF ... so uh um .. uh .. suck on that.

So after the Seawolves take game two on Saturday guess what happens?  Yep ... another shootout to determine who gets "the cup".  I'm rolling my eyes right now at the prospect.  Three of UAF's 9 cup's have been AWARDED via shootout.  And now that the junior league they're in uses that all year long they should certainly be expected to come out on top if it comes down to that again.

I want to single out some Seawolves for their noticeably good play tonight.  In particular, I thought Jade Portwood and Tyler Currier were great tonight.  Lots of other players had good games and executed well and did their jobs as they should.  But Jade and Tyler were all over it.  They were on top of it.  They skated circles around it.  They hit it.  They both had excellent games.  

Brad Gorham's goal was sweet.  It was a great pass from Grant to Gorham streaking down the left side in transition and Brad buried it.  No blame for this loss on Rob Gunderson either.  As far as I'm concerned he played good enough to have had only two goals scored on him.

It's not the first time this season that the team came out on the short end because of lack of offense.  Not converting on any power play chances is a big factor.  But guys with the pucks on their sticks in scoring areas have to show some aplomb with their shot selection and finish.  That's not easy, I know that.  You only have a fraction of a second sometimes and just getting off a shot is some sort of success, but that's not enough.  Just the way it is.  Gotta put the puck in to win.

And oh yeah ... I hate the frickin umbrella power play.  Yeah yeah .. I know, I know all about how every NHL team uses it and blah blah blah.  This ain't the NHL.  NHL penalty killers don't pressure the puck the same way.  Just sayin ...

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mr. Dunlop,are you that sore of a loser that you would pick on a man in a wheel chair just because you don't like the way he speaks? Do you kick little puppies too? Real tough guy eh? Maybe you should coach the team. We lost 5-1,live with it.

Donald Dunlop said...

A person's walking status has nothing to do with what they say or how they say it. Do you really think that Erik Drygas wants people to pander to him because he was unlucky enough to have a horrible tragic event put him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life? He's supposed to get a free pass on being a jerk because he can't walk?

I highly doubt he would have accomplished much after that sad event if he sat around feeling sorry for himself. And clearly he hasn't done that. He's an accomplished and respect person in his community for lots of good reasons.

I have little doubt that he has accomplished more than I likely would have if such a fate had befallen me. That's speaks to his personal pride and character. Good on him.

But, I'm not going to pander the man. I'll happily give him a hand overcoming any barriers that he might face should I be in a position to help him. But only a disingenuous person would treat him differently with regard to his frankly horrible ability to communicate verbally.

I doubt very much that Erik would want my pity. So I consciously made the choice to treat him EXACTLY like I would anyone else with regard to his work on that broadcast.

Britton said...

Oh come on, Donald. Haider has similar pauses in his speech when the puck isn't moving. Erik was a hell of a hockey player when he was on skates. Now I'm not saying Erik's broadcasting skills will take him far in radio, but the guy knows hockey. His comments on Shyiak's move were perfectly valid.

I can see Shyiak's point in pulling him, but it didn't work. His aggression made the game what it was. Now you risk the UAA players emotions coming into tonight. Saturday has kind of been the dark horse for your team all season as it is.

Bottom line is UAA lost 5-1 to a superior team that played big when it counted. And when UAA loses again tonight, our guys will raise that cup over the pups in victory on your own ice in front of your fans.

And to be clear, I'm with you in the hate for a shootout to determine the winner in this series. Best of 3, and if a game is tied, keep going through multiple overtimes until whoever wants it more puts one home. But we'll never see best of 3 in the regular season for something like this.

EDIT: Sorry. All I have is my phone for Internet and autocorrect gets the best of me. Edited for word changes.

None said...

The guy does not know hockey. As evidence by his call of a "blindside hit" when Tommy blew up that chump with his head down. I actually said to the guys I was watching the game with "wow, this color guy doesn't know a damn thing about hockey does he?" Tough to find a blindside hit when the players are facing each other. I tuned him out after that.

On the game. I was amazed at how much better UAF looked... and I couldn't tell if they were that much better than UAA or if UAA was just playing really, really bad. Still not sure. I know this: UAF was faster, controlled the pace of play, and had better goal tending. Disheartening loss, but even more troubling performance for a variety of reasons.

The Wolves better show up tonight and blow the doors off these guys. Especially since we are now in 9th in the WCHA and the prospect of an 11th place finish is looking very real. (I realize that the Gov cup has nothing to do with league standings. An 11th place finish would be much tougher to swallow if we got hammered by our instate rival is the point)

Donald Dunlop said...

Deleted Anons,
Add something to the discussion ... follow the guidelines. It's that simple.

Brittion,
Well then you are free to toss eggs at Kurt if you wish aren't you? I'm not here making some relative comparison between Haider and Drygas. It's not even the first time I've dissed Drygas for his on-air work.

And I'm well aware of what sort of hockey player Drygas was. I watched him play more than a couple of times when he was 17 and 18. It has no bearing on his ongoing champing-at-the-bit with regard to Shyiak. Because he played hockey that means his astonished hyperbolic exhortations regarding Shyiak's attempt are somehow more valid?

There's two sides to that hockey argument. If it had worked (and such moves have sometimes worked in the history of the game) then it would have been validated. Wouldn't it? And that incident didn't spur the first set of comments from Drygas. It was the just that one that spurred Bruce Cech to remind him he was on TV.

And lastly, UAF was "superior" for about 7 seconds. That was the difference.

Anonymous said...

I don't know what game you were watching but the Nanooks out played the Seawolves as the score was 5-1. They are a very fast team that just ran circles around UAA. The game was way more than " 7 seconds as you say" UAA was out played and out coached. Sorry your team loss :(

Amanda M said...

Donald, if UAF was only 'superior' for 7 seconds, why did Shyiak feel the desperation to pull the goalie with 6 minutes left?

Donald Dunlop said...

Did you not see UAF score 2 goals within 7 seconds of each other? But for those 7 seconds it was a 1-1 game wasn't it? Since those 7 seconds though UAF was ahead by 2 goals. And it isn't considered desperation. His team wasn't generating many offensive scoring chances. They weren't playing well. That doesn't = UAF being superior. It evidences a period of the game where UAA wasn't able to generate enough domination to score a goal and get back into the hockey game.

Without those two goals it was a fairly evenly played game overall. They turned the tide. That doesn't equal UAF being superior either. They were the better team last night as evidenced by the win. That isn't superiority. That's a win.

Do you honestly think I'm EVER going to give UAF credit in a game against UAA? Do you understand that if Wiles hadn't rang the crossbar and instead scored that shorthanded goal (one of several shorthanded chances for UAA through the game) that perhaps the momentum would have swung the other way.

The game was evenly played for most of the night. SEVEN seconds changed that. Did they not?

Was UAF's play up to that point superior? NO. Did they turn the tide and win the game because of those SEVEN SCONDS? YES.

Your "desperation move" was Shyiak's "surprise move". Had it worked there'd be people calling him brilliant for doing it.

Seven seconds determined the outcome. Anyone not seeing that is blind.

Anonymous said...

I know this has nothing to do with yesterday's game (I was screaming at the TV in disappointment), and I know the Seawolves will do justice at the Sully. Buuuuuut, who's the girl in that picture? :D

Donald Dunlop said...

No idea who she is. I used google image search and typed in "seven seconds" ... that was the first image that appealed to me.

Anonymous said...

Sad to say UAA was very sloppy last night. Come on Grant 3-1 10ft in front of the goal and you cough up the puck on a diving poke check? Move the puck you know better. Sorry folks look at UAF's second goal. We got 3 guys back bunched up and not one guy plays the man...sorry defense. We cannot score 1 goal and try to cling to that lead all night. Caved in big time 3rd period. Skated tired and flat. Turnovers all over the ice. Suck it up and play tonight for your last home appearance of the year. Oh yeah Shyiak recruit speed cause there ain't no hitting in this level of hockey...Mike

Anonymous said...

UAF is never superior to UAA. As for OnWolves, you are NOT a fan of UAA. Never have I witnessed a fan more against this team than you. You just are a frickin prick. UAA can skate circles around any team. Too bad they could not pull off the win. Tonite they will.

Anonymous said...

I agree with you Donald.....a shoot out is not a good thing. Also I'd like to say, i'm tired of seeing us get a few goals (if we are lucky and they are working hard) and then sit back and let them come back to score on us, and lots of times it equals losses for us. To quote a quote.....a good defense is based on a good offense....and that's what we need.

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