Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

[IrishHockeyFan]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

FWIW, BG has been playing good hockey since the first of the year. We tied what was then the number 2 ranked team in the nation twice and beat them in shoot outs both nights. We split with UAF, we split with 13th ranked WMU, and now 8th ranked ND. Oddly, nobody seems to be noticing and the teams that lose to us continue to count the loss as an unfathomable anomaly.

I'll quibble a little with the "good" characterization. .500 hockey should be considered mediocre hockey. BG is 3-3-2 in that time frame. I don't know that any Irish fans thought a loss to BG last weekend was an unfathomable anomaly, but I think it is certainly fair to consider the loss Saturday somewhat of an anomaly. Especially considering ND swept BG on their ice earlier and BG had but 3 CCHA wins going into the game. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a single fan of either team who would honestly think if both teams played to the absolute limits of their capabilities Notre Dame shouldn't win. You came much closer to that BOTH nights I think than we did, so kudos to BG for bringing it. That's generally the most important thing anyway, which is why I posted earlier that I enjoyed the 2005-2006 edition of this team a whole lot more than I am enjoying this one of late. I also agree that the game Friday could easily have gone the other way. Again, because BG came to the rink better prepared to play.

[BGFan]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Compared to the first half of the season and years prior, it's good hockey. Taking out 3 ranked teams in a month's time is better than we've seen here in a decade. You call it what you want, I'll call it good hockey, for now anyway. The only thing that we're looking for at this time is continued improvement, turning the corner comes next.

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

I've been looking at scoring from last year and this year (again). Most of the players are right on the mark. Some are even better than last season. Of all the players who returned this season and who scored last season, only Bryan Rust, Nick Larson, Mike Voran, David Gerths, Kevin Lind and Shayne Taker are off the mark significantly (and I won't worry about Lind or Taker as I never want Dmen to be tops in scoring). Every other player is scoring at virtually the exact same pace as last season; some are way better thus far. I'll call out Nick Larson in particular because he is a junior. The others don't necessarily get a pass, but maybe they show there is something to a "sophomore slump."

ND is also averaging significantly fewer shots on net this season than last. Last season, ND took better than 33.5 shots/game. This season it's down to 28.6/game. I used to hate fans who screamed, "Shoot it!" Maybe they were on to something...

The biggie is the GF this season as opposed to last season because the GA is actually better this year (2.7) than last year (2.75). GF last season was a fat 3.43/game. This season it is a starving 2.9/game. So how hard is that to fix? Larson, Rust, Gerths and Voran can register a couple multi-point games to get back on track and help the team to a strong finish. Piece o'cake.

When was the last time ND played FSU when FSU was in first place in the league? Almost a decade ago. They are bringing a 10-game unbeaten streak to South Bend. FSU is a heavily upperclassmen-laden team, and they have 11 players in double digits in scoring. A freshman doesn't appear on the stats sheet until the 10th spot. They are led by senior Jordie Johnston with 27 points. He's tied for the team lead with 5 PPG's.

ND has 9 players in double digits, with a healthy mix of scoring from all four classes. ND is led by sophomore T.J. Tynan with 38 points. Freshman Austin Wuthrich is 5th on the team in scoring. Anders Lee still leads with 6 PPG's.

While C.J. Motte (.926, 1.98) has been getting time in net, including against ND, Taylor Nelson (.916, 2.36) gets the majority of starts. FSU averages 2.87 GF while giving up 2.3 GA. They are 19.2% on the PP and 83.3% on the PK (their league numbers on special teams are even better).

I'm guessing Mike Johnson (.890, 2.54) will share the weekend with Steven Summerhays (.891, 2.78). When looking at Johnson's stats from last year to this year, his GA is better this season. It's his save % that is taking a hit. He faced an average of almost 27 shots last season and had a respectable save % of .904. This season, he is facing only about 20 shots/game. As typed earlier, ND is scoring only 2.9 GF while giving up 2.7. Our PP is 20% while our PK is 81.2% (both of which are worse in league play).

I'd say keys to winning this weekend would be to let the goalies make the saves, don't take a lot of penalties (i.e. discipline is important), and don't let Ferris take a lead into the first intermission. They clamp down, play a big trap and protect leads well. Oh yeah...and SHOOT THE PUCK.

When it comes to the future there are 2 kinds of people: Those who let it happen and those who make it happen. Which of those will sit in the locker room come Friday?

[Craig P.]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

If you look at JJ's history he's always been at places (Lake State) where he had to rely on systems to beat the big boys. It's the difference between driving a Hyundai and a Lamborghini. Yet he still drives like he has a Hyundai.

That's what LSSU is now, but it's not what LSSU was then. Brian Rolston would be a notable example of the Lamborghinis JJ had at his disposal with the Lakers.

[IrishHockeyFan]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

This is a huge weekend for the team. Huge. Come out with two wins and we are in the drivers seat as far as a top 4 finish is concerned. Get swept and believe it or not, 9th place is a distinct possibility, especially if Northern Michigan or Lake Superior sweep their weekends. The CCHA is a tough league this year and not a lot separates one team from another. But I'll look upon anything worse than 4th place as distinctly huge failure. Notre Dame is capable of much more than what they've shown lately.

there have been far too many games this season where the team was outworked and outcoached. I don't think we were prepared well to play a number of teams this year and the effort against a few others fell far short of acceptable. Excuses have crept into some of the postgame comments. Bad habits have more than once reared their ugly heads. But this is a group of players and coaches who are capable of scaling some pretty tall mountains. Coaches who have won end of the year honors and led teams to championships. Players who have competed for and won banners. And skated in a Frozen Four. Yet the coaches have yet to craft game plans that solve some of the same problems we saw in some of the early season games, and this group of highly skilled and talented players have yet failed to impose their own will on the season and demand the consistently superior play that has eluded them so far.

If the season ends at some place far short of what anyone expected in October, or when the team was 10-2-3 and rocketing towards a top 1 or 2 seed in the NCAAs, or 5-0 in their fabulous new surroundings and the building was, by most accounts, a much more difficult place for visitors, it won't be because of officiating, or some other team's "system", or anything else outside of the confines of the CFIA. It will be because too many people relied on talent, history, or expectations. A lot can happen in the next few weeks. The good thing is this Notre Dame team is capable of controlling as much of it as they want to. Capable is a gift not to wasted.

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Now where did I put that panic button...



I won't address the 3 times that Ferris had too many men clogging up the neutral zone (one of which saw them with 8--EIGHT--skaters on the ice), with only one of which being whistled a penalty. I won't even dignify their 1-2-2 style of play that would lull a coma patient to sleep. I won't stoop to bringing up the fact that they have no drafted players while Notre Dame has 8 players the NHL deemed worthy of selecting.

But I will mention that in the last 3 games (all of which have been at the illustrious Compton Family Ice Arena, where students go to catch up on ZZZ's), Notre Dame has scored a paltry 4 goals. Total. For those of you who don't count math as a forte, that's 1.33 goals/game. But, luckily for the visiting teams, they've given up 7 goals. Again, for the math-phobic, that's 2.33 goals/game for the guys in dark jerseys.

If you're curious about our goalies' save % in the 2 losses in that span, collectively it was 87%. In the win it was 96%. That win with the stellar save % also saw the opposition take more shots than the 2 losses with the less-than-stellar save %. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't I just a few days ago post something akin to "...let the goalies make the saves." By golly, I did. Maybe it hasn't been the goalies all along. Maybe it's the rest of the team trying to be all things on the ice.

As of this moment (10:40 p.m. Friday), Notre Dame is clinging by their fingernails to a bye in the league and are the last team in should the tourney begin this second. I never thought I would say what I'm about to type, "I don't expect Notre Dame to win more than 2 of its last 5 regular season games. I don't expect Notre Dame to get a bye. I don't expect Notre Dame to make the tourney." That's the hardest thing to do as a teacher. Admit defeat.

[NotreDameFan27]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

The season is now pretty much lost, unfortunately. This nonchalant play has finally caught up to us. We were given opportunity after opportunity to pull ahead this season and we blew it everytime. There is no leadership on this team. We had 2 captains, 2 goalies, an ineffective senior class more interested in "fooling around" than winning, and no one ever stepped up to make things right. Over time it eroded the confidence and chemistry of the team.

It breaks down like this: Ferris State is now 2+ games ahead of us, and we're playing them in Big Rapids tomorrow. Western Michigan is 2 games ahead and even if we end up tied in the standings the tiebreaker goes to them because they beat us this season. Michigan is ahead of us and enter into an easy final two series after this weekend. That means we're fighting LSSU, Michigan State and Miami for the fourth spot. We play Miami in Oxford next weekend and close out the season against Michigan State at the Comp.

Therefore, we pretty much have to run the tables (at least win four of the next five) to even finish in the top four. I don't expect that to happen given the way we are playing. Our only shot now is to go into the playoffs and make a run there, win the CCHA title and then make another run in the NCAAs.

Otherwise, our season will be over in a couple of weeks.

I'm feeling a little shell shocked right now, I must admit, I don't know what happened. After how terrible we played last Saturday I expected us to come out firing. Instead, we recorded six shots in the first half of the game. We didn't start pressing until we were already down. By that second goal, with seconds left in the period, it was over. We couldn't score even though we began the third with two back-to-back powerplays.

The explanation is simple: these guys have given up on the season. You know what? As of right now, so have I.

[hattrick16]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

I won't stoop to bringing up the fact that they have no drafted players while Notre Dame has 8 players the NHL deemed worthy of selecting.

Good thing it's a team sport.

I hope some of you can make the short drive up to Big Rapids for tomorrow night.

[IrishHockeyFan]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

I haven't been this disappointed in an edition of Notre Dame hockey since 2005. I saw a defeated team out there from nearly the moment Ferris scored their first goal. And the previous 30 minutes of hockey were just about as bad. What a lackluster effort. I no longer see this season going beyond the first weekend of March. Sadly, it makes little difference if the first weekend of March is played at the Compton or somewhere else. They can't sustain 60 minutes of well played hockey anywhere, and the idea that this team could bring enough of a sustained effort to win 2 games out of three against anyone or anywhere is laughable. Stick a fork in the Irish. They're done. The last 7 games are just a formality.

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

I just finished watching Minnesota lose to DU, which is amazing given that I'm loaded up with cold medicine, so I can't believe I'm still awake. At least...I think I'm awake.

Anyway, even thought Minny was down 2 goals for the entire 3rd, they were flying. Flying up the ice, flying into the zone, guys flying to get open for actual shots on net. And they had many great shots on net. This effort was with the Gophers safely in 1st in the WCHA and barring a catastrophic perfect storm will make the tourney easily, so really have "little" to play for. I want my team to play with that sense of urgency, talent and desire.

[IrishHockeyFan]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

MSU is another example. Down 2-0 to Michigan halfway through and they manage to keep the motors revving enough to come back and win 3-2. There are logical arguments to be made that Michigan is even a better team than Michigan State. Outside of the results I can't begin to make the same argument about Ferris State when compared to Notre Dame.

Following the game there were numerous examples of the excuses I feared as well. Yet Notre Dame is the team with the supposed NHL caliber talent. We're the team with the award winning coach. We're the team with the oh-so-important facilities, facilities the head coach says are as good as any in hockey, college or pro. But give me the team that plays disciplined hockey. Give me the team that plays with a chip on their shoulders. Give me a team that gets the absolute most out of whatever talent they can put on the ice.

This team has grown soft. They think they are the the team that made a Frozen Four with a dozen freshmen. They're resting on the laurels of the 10-2-3 start. Or opening up 5-0 in the fabulous Compton Family Ice Arena. They are playing every bit like the stars of the nationally broadcast Onward To Victory. Since it's original showing by the way the team is just 2-4 at the home that was showcased so beautifully. Welcome to Notre Dame indeed.

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

I've been wanting to blame the goaltending, or the CFIA, or even the student support for Notre Dame's woes on the ice, but I think it may have been their Thanksgiving feast.

While ND still called the JACC home, they went 2-2 to start the season with a PP of 16.6% and a PK of 79.2%. They averaged 4.0 G/game and gave up 3.25 G/game. Those are not solid stats, with the exception of the GF.

Since the move across the parking lot, ND is 14-10-3 (those 3 ties being SOL) with a PP of 20% and a PK of 81.4%. The have averaged 2.73 G/game and have also given up 2.73 G/game. The record and PP are solid. The PK, acceptable. Even the GA is decent. The GF is not.

But when I looked at pre-Thanksgiving stats compared to post-Thanksgiving stats, the numbers are frightening.

Pre-Thanksgiving, ND went 9-2-3 (again the 3 ties were SOL) with a PP of 18.6% and a stellar PK of 87.5%. They were scoring 3.29 G/game and only giving up 2.35 G/game. All of those stats would make any fan smile.

Post-Thanksgiving, ND has gone 7-10 with a PP of 17.8% and a PK of 77.7%. They are averaging a scant 2.41 G/game, while giving up 3.0 G/game. The only stat there that is acceptable is the PP. Everything else after the holiday has sucked. Royally.

Which begs the question, "What the hell was in the pumpkin pie?!"

[NotreDameFan27]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

The regular season is kaput so i'm not going to get upset about losses anymore. The only thing i'm wondering is whether you guys feel we'll get it together for the playoffs?

We won't get a bye, have home ice advantage or get an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament, so we'll have to win it all the old fashioned way: by winning all our games/series. Do you guys think we can pull this off? Do we have it in us after this collapse?

I still think we have a good team. We're a little soft, maybe, but still good. If they can get this monkey off their back, whatever it is, then they can make a run in the playoffs IMO. Someone just has to step up and lead them though. That's the fundamental problem here, leadership.

P.S. I'm beginning to think that JJ simply doesn't like Steven Summerhayes. He gives Johnson chance after chance and always keeps Summerhayes on the shortest of leashes. Two goals and he was out. That doesn't scream confidence. Do you guys know if Summerhayes has an attitude problem? I know he's kind of cocky and was known, when in the USHL, as being a "fighting goaltender," but is there something else about him?

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

So many questions. Zero answers. But I'll give you my $0.02 worth, NDF27.

Coach Jackson, IMO, likes aggressiveness, so I doubt that's the problem with Summerhays. He gave up 2 goals on 5 shots. That's the problem.

ND is, as I type, 19th in the PWR and 7th in the league. I fully expect them to mail in the last 4 games, as they have been doing apparently, given Eric Ringel's statement last night that ND was playing "nonchalant." There is no way in Hades that they are going to go to Oxford and win, given that Ringel also added that no one on the team has anyone's back. And MSU is playing for a bye, and will be coming off a split with arch rival Michigan. A few weeks ago I thought 4th-6th was the likely finish for ND. Now I hope they don't finish in 10th, but fully expect them to be 8th or 9th. Ninth means no home ice, not that that matters anyway.

I'd have to have a lot of booze in me to think this team could now put together a string to climb in the PWR or win in the post-season to put them in the tourney. Mathematically, they can do wonders for their league finish and even their PWR. If they had heart. If I had lived to be a million years old, I never would've expected a repeat of 2 seasons ago. 2 seasons ago, at the very end of the regular season, ND had the opportunity to get a first-round bye had they played with the desire to continue their season. That desire rested solely in my heart, not in theirs, and they pooped out the remaining few games and had to travel to Columbus for the first round to end their season in an unforgiveable manner.

As far as stats for this weekend go, the once solid PP was not to be as ND went 10% against Ferris; moreover, their PK is still foundering at 77.8% for the weekend. Our goalies' combined save % was 78.5% while FSU's Nelson finished the weekend with a monstrous save % of 98.3%. ND managed 1 goal on 59 shots. FSU managed 8 goals on 56 shots.

My brother and I were talking during the game and he recalled a comment Coach Jackson made at one of the chalk talks. Jackson said he didn't like to use hockey as a punishment for players. That he didn't want to use what they loved to chastise. My feeling is, this team doesn't deserve the luxury of the game they supposedly love. Punishment and shame go a long way to straightening out bad behavior.

[IrishHockeyFan]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

... i'm wondering is whether you guys feel we'll get it together for the playoffs?

No.

Do you guys think we can pull this off?

No.

Do we have it in us after this collapse?

No.

I still think we have a good team.

ummm, not a question, but I still say no.

We're a little soft

A little? No, I've seen harder marshmallows. I've seen harder clouds. If the Notre Dame hockey team was what was used to cover the ends of Q-Tips, they wouldn't need to bother with the warning about putting them inside your ears.

I hope these guys are all enjoying the amenities the Compton Family Ice Arena has to offer. The fans sure haven't had much of anything to enjoy there lately.