Seawolves Complete 3 Point Weekend

Tonight the Seawolves completed their first 3 point weekend since December 8th when they beat Minnesota-Duluth to wrap-up the 3 points at the DECC. The weekend increase UAA's conference points from 8 to 11 and leaves them 7 points behind Mankato who swept DU this weekend. The Seawolves head to Mankato next weekend for a what is now a very important series if UAA hopes to make any sort of move up the standings.

Tonight's game for UAA was a story of assists. Two absolutely great assists led to both of UAA's goals. On the first tally, Peter Cartwright was absolutely unselfish dishing a short pass to Jared Tuton who just had to bury it into a wide open net. Cartwright probably could have scored the goal himself but made sure of it with the little dish to Tuton. Very nice goal. Jared owes Peter a Snickers for that one. UAA's second goal came off an equally nice feed. Paul Crowder won the puck in the corner on a good forecheck and with the briefest of looks found a wide open Merit Waldrop in front of the net with a great feed. Merit had a bit more work to do than Jared Tuton but expertly deked Robbie Nolan and beautifully roofed the puck. A Snickers for Crowder is in order as well. UAA held the 2 goal lead until MTU scored at 12:42 of the 3rd and tied it with 4:31 remaining in the game.

In reviewing coverage of last nights game I noticed that Jamie Russell put the majority of blame for thier 4-0 loss squarely on his team's shoulders. But unlike Jamie's rationalization for his teams loss I'll instead credit MTU for earning the tie tonight. There's little doubt in my mind that the Seawolves didn't "click" as well tonight as they did last night. But I won't focus on that part of the equation. The Huskies picked up their play around the 30 minute mark of the game and slowly put UAA on their heels. The effective offensive game we'd seen from UAA couldn't get going with MTU's success moving forward. Ultimately, the game turned on that effort. Part of the difference was Russell's change from a neutral zone trap into a high zone trap for this game. The deeper pressure against UAA's breakout helped to force more mistakes and turnovers for MTU. Credit to Russell for moving his trap forward and basically catching the Seawolves off guard. UAA's defensive corps was unable to be as successful breaking out with the tighter pressure and consequently were put on their heels. That pressure created situations where UAA forwards were unable to mount effective efforts in the MTU zone since they'd spent more time clearing the puck out of their own zone. We saw the exact same sort of high zone trapping in the two games against Mankato earlier this year so I'd think that tonights game is at least an early look at what the Seawolves can expect next weekend. Breaking through that sort of trap will take some adjustments on the back line but I'm sure the staff will be working on that this week in practice.

There were some disturbing aspects to the Huskies play tonight. I suppose after being owned 4-0 on a Friday night you'd want to come out with more attitude and physical play the next night. Unfortunately, in my not so humble opinion the Huskies lost control with some cheap shots at the end of both the 1st and 2nd period. Not anything out of the ordinary perhaps so I won't bitch about that too much. However, there was an incident that should be considered an embarrassment for the MTU program. As MTU's fortunes were increasing but with the score still 2-0 in UAA's favor, Peter Rouleau had been forechecking deep in UAA's zone. His effort was unsuccessful and obviously frustrated at his inabilty to succeed and as he skated off for a change (with the play already on the other end) he threw a "HISSY FIT" and slammed the glass with his stick. Apparently, he hit it just right and the blow broke the glass causing an extended delay in the game while the pane was replaced. Obviously, referee Derek Shepherd didn't see the event as it was behind the play. But there is no doubt in my mind that Jamie Russell knows exactly who acted like a petulant little child. If Shepherd had seen it you could be assured that he would have issued a 10-minute misconduct. But he didn't. If Jamie Russell is the half the man MTU fans seem to think he is then he should have given Rouleau 10 minutes of bench time. He didn't though. So yeah ... I'm questioning Jamie Russell's manhood. At the very least WCHA commisioner Bruce McLeod should review the incident. I'll be emailing him. I would expect that sort of thing from a UND or Mankato player as they're notoriously undisciplined babies. But I had more respect for MTU before this sad display. The key word in that sentence being "had". If Russell indeed isn't a purse-carrier then he'll step up and do the right thing and bench Rouleau for the first 10 minutes of their next game.

Seawolves 4 - MTU 0: Well Earned and Deserved

If ever a hockey team deserved an outcome it was the UAA Seawolves tonight. So often I've echoed Coach Shyiak's assertions that the Seawolves are better than their record would indicate and tonight they were rewarded with a "W" for their outstanding effort. It wasn't the first time we UAA fans have seen our team outplay and opponent. But it was the first time in quite a while (I ain't looking it up) that we saw them get that "W" at home. Big huge well-earned congratulations to the team. Not a single skater in green and gold tonight looked as if they believed anything other than victory would be the result. Everyone looked confident. Everyone looked like they just were not going to be denied. And you know what? It's great to see them play that way and get the win. That'll make their late night pizza's taste better. That 3 Musketeers bar will be sweeter. Even a simple drink of cold water from the faucet tastes better tonight. UAA fan blog commenter and Chugiak resident Will Shaw (section 213, row 2) couldn't even jinx Jonny O with his talk of "shutouts" while there was still 14 minutes left in the game. Lucky for him that MTU didn't score otherwise he'd have walked out dripping from the Coca-Cola I would have dumped on his head!

Congrats to Jonny O on the shutout. Congrats to the goal scorers (Tarkir @ 4:46 of the 1st; Lunden @ 6:38 of the 1st; Waldrop @ 4:35 of the 2nd and Lovdahl @ 7:58 of the 2nd). 10 different players made it onto the scoresheet. Tarkir's goal was a result of going hard to the net following a shot. Lunden's goal resulted from quality cycling deep in the MTU zone and a sweet pass from Kevin Clark. Waldrop's goal came from a bit of a scramble in front and being in the right place at the right time. Lovdahl's goal was an absolute rocket from inside the blueline on the power play. Four completely different situations and all of them important lessons as well as something that has been preached by the staff. Work the puck deep, go hard to the net, play good positionally and shoot the puck. Sound simple? It is simple. Simple hard-nosed smart hockey well-executed in all phases. The hitting game was plainly evident and forceful all night long particularly in neutral ice and in MTU's zone. The Huskies trapped for the entire game but it never really presented a problem as the Seawolves skated through it and/or just forced their way through neutral ice. Defensively, the team was very sound. If there was a glitch or mistake then someone was there to cover it up. Once again the team did a good job blocking lanes and forcing the opponent wide. Of the 18 shots he faced probably only 3 or 4 were from prime scoring areas. And when a good shot did get through he was Jonny O on-the-spot. No sloppy rebounds; no juggled shots; a solid all around performance in the net and a shutout to show for it. Congratulations are certainly in order for that as well.

Series Preview: MTU vs. UAA

The above picture is a partial screen grab from the College Hockey News "Tale Of The Tape" compare feature that is one of my primary references when compiling a preview going into a series. Hopefully, Adam Wodon won't really mind me grabbing the image and posting it here since I do try to pump their tires whenever I think about it. I purposely didn't include the whole page so to see the additional comparisons (Scoring Leaders and Goaltending) you'll have to click on this link. In any case, Adam probably rarely visits so any chance of him discovering my felony and objecting to it is pretty low.

You will note this week that MTU and UAA have very similar numbers in several categories. Physically, UAA isn't much bigger than the original WCHA Huskies; Adam added that particularly category as a result of an email request that I made. Usually, I post the "ranking" for each team (i.e... UAA is 2nd tallest and 6th heaviest; MTU is 15th tallest and 16th heaviest) and I get those from links on CHN's Almanac page. Both teams have identical power play percentages. Goals for each team are only .25 per game different with that mini-edge going to UAA. Goals against are .76 per game in MTU's favor. MTU's penalty kill is a fair bit more effective (5.1%) than the Seawolves. Over the last 10 games MTU leads with 4 wins - 3 losses and the teams have tied 3.

The points available this weekend seem about equally important to each team. The Seawolves most recent two losses to UND created a bit of a gap (6 points) between them and the three teams immediately above them; MSU-M, SCSU and of course MTU. So in order to keep pace UAA could really use a sweep. Tech now has two games in hand over 8 other teams in the league so whatever points they get this weekend will obviously help them in the race for 5th where they are currently 2 points behind Duluth and Wisconsin. With a 3 point weekend in their last series versus CC, the real Huskies should be pretty confident coming into the Sully. UAA's confidence shouldn't have taken a hit last weekend since every player and the staff knows how dramatically they outplayed the hostile and abusive co-opters of Native American imagery and names. Coach Shyiak's optimism and positive attitude as displayed on last nights Coaches Show is indicative of that.

I think the key for the Seawolves this weekend will be goal scoring. I know that sounds ridiculously obvious. But as with last weekend the guys are going up against a hot goaltender and a team that has a very definite team-oriented defensive strategy. Getting to at least 3 goals is the key. I know ... I know. Like I said, it's obvious. Painfully obvious in this case. Getting denied by hot goalies, posts and crossbars and/or referees is not an option this weekend. Here's my advice: Shoot early, shoot often and don't stop shooting. Shoot from the blueline, shoot from good angles and bad angles, shoot from no angle and then shoot again. Go to the net and pick up the rebounds from all those shots. Try wraparounds, wrist-shots, slap-shots, snap-shots, backhands, deflections, tip-ins and even use the dreaded Aaron Voros "thigh-in" shots. Pick up the puck and throw it at the guy. Get as much rubber headed in Teslak's direction as possible, as often as possible. Shoot the puck before and after the whistle if you have to. Whatever it takes. Make Teslak (and possibly Nolan) sick and tired of rubber. Make them wish they'd never see another puck in their lifetimes. Make them eat rubber. Give them nightmarish rubber flashbacks. And in your own end make it as easy as possible for Jonny O and/or Bryce Christianson. Block shots, clog shooting lanes and plaster Huskie forwards to the wall.

I see no reason we shouldn't expect to see the Shyiak cycling game in full evidence. The Seawolves will get the puck in deep and work it to create chances. They'll use size and strength in the corners and behind the net to create chances. We should see defensemen carrying the puck forward and inserting themselves into the offense. Every player on the ice ought to be looking for a way to contribute to offense. Offense, Offense, Offense. That's my choice for the mantra. Go forward, keep going forward and go forward again.

See ya at the games. I have a pass for Friday's luncheon and I'd like to go but I'm not counting on it. Big week on the homefront for illness and minor surgeries and Friday looks like a helluva busy day already. But if I can manage it I'm all about a free feed.

Supporting the Team: Being a Fan

I will endeavor here to bring forth my utmost eloquence with regard to the important subject of fan support. Sports fans indulge themselves in watching their favorite team engage in battle for a vicarious thrill. That is the core. Certainly there are tangents to that core rationale such as community or regional pride. However even in those tangential situations the voyeuristic vicarious enjoyment remains. Colloquially, we "get off" on it.

In my case, over my lifetime I've slowly abandoned viewing all the major professional sports. The egotistical salary hounds and greedy owners with their pissing contests and strikes have soured me permanently. I haven't watched an NHL or NFL game in years. I stopped watching and following baseball after the strike in the early 80's. For a time in the 80's living in Omaha I was a college basketball fan however lure of the NBA and the goals of the individual star players caused that game to lose it's glow.

Thankfully we have virtually none of that in college hockey. Sure, some players are using it in the hopes that it will lead to a gig in "the show". But most kids are playing in exchange for higher education. That is why I go. I go because the players are risking permanent physical injury to entertain us while trying to win a hockey game. They aren't giving it their all because someone stuffed a million bucks in their pocket. They aren't giving it their all because someone is likely to stuff a million bucks in their pocket. They are giving it their all for the purity of competition. For me it is the closest thing remaining to the once adhered to values of the Olympic games; that the participation is the most important thing; that as in life, the struggle surpasses in importance the triumph. Google "Bud Greenspan" and "The Olympiad" and buy the DVD set if you want to see someone put these ideals into words greater than I can. His documentaries defined the truth of sport for me and should be watched by anyone calling themselves a sports fan.

I disdain the fan at a UAA hockey game that boos the effort of the amateur student/athletes on the ice. Thankfully, such things don't happen very often. These young men deserve better. They deserve our full support. I know as well as everyone reading this that winning makes the experience better. But you know what? Losing shouldn't detract from it. Whether the team won or lost in the past has no bearing on the efforts of the current team. If you are the kind of fan that will come to the rink for half a season and then stop going because the team hasn't lived up to expectations then I'd implore you to stop going altogether. Don't turn up next season. And please don't show up when the team starts exceeding predictions and/or expectations. There is nothing worse in my mind than a bandwagon fan.

I know when the team wins, that the Sullivan Arena will start to fill up. And I know I'll be sitting in my seat looking around thinking, "Half you bastards don't deserve to be getting this vicarious enjoyment". Now to be less than eloquent: If you don't dig what you're seeing then stay home wanker. I know we all want the team to succeed for their own sakes; but for now that success is likely to be intermittent. There are many many reasons for that but it is the reality today. Tomorrow is another day. I'll be at the Sullivan for the today's, tomorrow's and the next day's. Join me for the pleasure of the game and the effort of the squad. They deserve it. If they win great, but I applaud the struggle and the purity of their competitive spirit.

I like the picture below. It says what I'm trying to say but from the players perspective. It does a better job of it than I have. Click it to enlarge it and then read it several times.

Thanks for reading my blog. This entry is in no way directed at anyone specifically or any comments made here but instead is the product of my thoughts regarding some of the comments. Hopefully, it gives everyone something to ponder.