Saturday, November 22, 2014

Seawolves 4 - NMU 0

"If you stop UAA's first line you'll beat them"; That surely was the scouting report around the league on the Seawolves so far this season. As I analogized last night, riding "the horse" wasn't getting it done. Coach Thomas has responded tonight by going with a completely revamped lineup.  

Tatchell is centering Tad Kozun (last night's best player) and Brad Duwe … Leask is centering Allen and Azurdia … Anholt is centering Freisen and Cameron …. and on the 4th line Rassell is centering Dylan Hubbs and Anthony Conti.  So it's a full 12 forwards after we've seen the 7th defenseman option for most of the season.  I predict a good outcome from the revamping.

First Period:
All four first shifts created near scoring chances.  Not raise you out of your seats chances but nonetheless more than last night. So with 16:51 to go it's a real positive start.

Kozun goal came from hard work as Duwe was trying to work the puck toward center near the top of the circle the puck got deflected to a waiting Kozun high in the left slot and he finished it sweetly with a  stiff wrist-shot right on the ice that beat Dahlstrom on his glove side.

Shots are a bit even with 5 mins left in the period but all of the reasonable chances have been manufactured by UAA and most of Northern's shots have been outside with the exception of one brief flurry. Mantha's been sharp.

Hubbs finished in the paint after some hard work after Conti made an extremely effective change and carried the puck into the zone nicely avoiding a potential offside and keeping pressure in the Northern Zone.

Austin Sevalrud joined the scoring frenzy in the last minute of the period (did I say "scoring frenzy" while writing about this year's Seawolves?). Hard work from Conti and Hubbs contributed and they picked up the assists. It was briefly reviewed but called a goal, the puck looked to come off the shaft of Sevvie's stick.

All the new lines generated something positive offensively. Just about everything you could hope for with a big change in the lines. Not just having one line to shut down proved problematic for Northern. 

Second Period:
Just finished the first power play chance of the evening. Line changes extend to those units as well. We had decent possession and good work on the power play but no dangerous chances resulted. 

Most interesting sequence of the period so far is when the Rassell, Conti and Hubbs line was deep into a stretch cycling the puck and winning face-offs and Conti just absolutely "worked" Mitch Jones like a rented mule for nearly the whole shift. Stole the puck from him, hit him, blocked his passes and hit him and also hit him.

The five on three power play worked it well and Hubbs had a sweet backdoor chance that he maybe should have finished high as Dahlstrom came back across nicely for a leg save. They continued with good work and trying to find a solid opening but when it was there the puck went wide or high.

Northern had a decent shorthanded break finally after taking penalty after penalty in some sort of homage to UAA's normally high numbers in that stat. Mantha got a small piece of it with his blocker to send it wide.

With Leask in the box for elbowing Dylan Hubbs got into Northern's collective head trying hard to make something happen with the puck on the back side of the net. Then Dominic Shine absolutely decked Hubbs after the whistle. So naturally, Dylan and him go to the box. Then Williams rubs a guy out along the boards and behind his net on the PK and get's whistled for a 5 min CFB.

A good period overall but no goals. 3-0 is a nice lead but you'd hope to extend it. The lines were all still effective but there was less 5 on 5 play through the period as the referees insisted on being part of the game and were pretty active with the calls.

Third Period:
Opened with a Tad Kozun break shorthanded; Tad tried low on Dahlstrom's right (blocker side) to no avail. The last minute of the 5 min major was killed with relative ease.

Conti had a sweet rush inside/outsiding a guy on his way to the net. Northern is trying to apply more pressure to get back into the game over the first five mins of this period. They're stretching it out and trying lots of long passes to push it deep into our end. It's being marginally effectively but could cost them.

Mantha standing solid. He has such good anticipation. He's in the spot he needs to be in before the shot gets there. He's definitely getting more tested so far in this period. Pretty sure UAA just got outshot on their power play so Mantha being sharp is obviously a big thing. He's making everything hit him in the midsection with his perfect positioning. He's also just quick. Definitely the most talented goaltender we've had at UAA since Nathan Lawson. But he's not a crazy goaltender-type.

Also should praise Matt Anholt here. The guy is just super hard-working on both ends. He does a good job on the draws. Probably the best two way (and he scores as I am writing this … quick let me write something praising Scott Allen) forward on the team. Very responsible player with good skates and hands who is willing to give up the body in his own end.

Summary:
4-0 is a good result and of course a win is badly needed. The fans here did a nice job respecting the player's efforts tonight. There's still work to be done for this team to climb in the standings. Hopefully, tonight is some sort of start to restoring some of the league point's that have been lost.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good win! Props for Mantha getting the shutout, he deserved it.

Unknown said...

I should have mentioned Anholt on Friday night or at least included that his effort was top notch. He deserved to tally a goal for a good weekend of work.

Suze said...

Brought our good luck charm with us tonight (the team rarely loses when "Tess" comes to the games!). So very happy for Mantha, what another solid performance. He reminds me of Naumenko in many respects.

Tonight's win is definitely something to build on. The guys looked like they had fun out there. Way to go Wolves; now THAT'S Seawolf hockey.

Anonymous said...

Nice win ' wolves . .....Every body did they job. ....

Suze said...

Did anyone watch last nights delayed game on channel 1? We got home just as the first period was ending and I recorded the game so I could watch the interview with coach after the game. It recorded the second period but not the 3rd. Some home shopping channel was on instead. Strange!

Anonymous said...

So glad they won; much deserved. Good job, guys.
Following up on yesterday, and the coach/player relationship. I hope the writer who said he spoke with the players is correct. On the other hand, players won't say anything publicly against a coach for fear of retribution (being benched). I've been involved in hockey for many, many years. A playing experience can be great or bad depending on coaching. I've seen both. It does make a difference.

AKfan said...

The coach is not there to be a players best friend. I would venture that many players have a love/hate relationship with their coaches. But Thomas is a BIG improvement from Shyiak, the guy had zero personality.

AlaskaAl said...

"I'm not a baby sitter, these are men not boys". Matt is "brutally honest" (his words) with his players.
It's fairly easy to tell "coach speak" from when a coach is giving you the true picture.
It's also pretty easy to tell when someone is sincere and when they're giving you "the line".
Granted I haven't had private conversation with every player. In fact less than half the team.
The guys I've spoken with are happy to play for Matt.

Anonymous said...

Anon ... you are correct in that "players won't say anything publicly against a coach for fear of retribution" - but they talk. They talk to their girlfriends and their family. I know for a fact that the guys like the coach. Stop starting rumors.

vizoroo said...

This game sounds like a lot more fun for Seawolf fans. Shutting out NMU is nothing to sneeze at..Coach made some good moves and got their attention.
Good job!

Suze said...

Awaiting your preview of this weekends games DD!

Anonymous said...

He's gone into semi-retirement.
No longer prolific.
Maybe 1 post a week.

AKfan said...

Yoo Hoo, Donald. Where are you????????????????????

Unknown said...

Do you need Personal Loan?
Business Cash Loan?
Unsecured Loan
Fast and Simple Loan?
Quick Application Process?
Approvals within 24-72 Hours?
No Hidden Fees Loan?
Funding in less than 1 Week?
Get unsecured working capital?
Contact Us:(greenlightcapitalcorporation@gmail.com)


Application Form:
=================
Full Name:................
Loan Amount Needed:.
Purpose of loan:.......
Loan Duration:..
Gender:.............
Marital status:....
Location:..........
Home Address:..
City:............
Country:......
Phone:..........
Mobile / Cell:....
Occupation:......
Monthly Income:....

Contact Us:(greenlightcapitalcorporation@gmail.com)

Post a Comment