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Irish hockey '12-'13: Why would you not wanna go there?

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  • Re: Irish hockey '12-'13: Why would you not wanna go there?

    So the kudos go to Steven Summerhays for being 4-0 (with 2 shutouts) against MSU thus far in his career (to put that in perspective, in the decade that Coach Poulin was behind the bench, ND beat MSU 4 times--and yes, I know, MSU was a stellar team then), the penalty killers and the power players, specifically Robbie Russo for his team-leading 4th PPG and the game-winner, Anders Lee for basically forechecking by himself thus allowing his linemates to change up, Shayne Taker for hugely blocking a shot (when I noticed he left the bench after crawling to it, Mr. JJfP said not to worry as he'd be back on the bench after throwing up... ) and to T.J. Tynan for that unbelievable hustle at the end to save an icing and kill off the clock.

    Oddly, for the 2nd ND-MSU game in a row, Summerhays got a little miffed, but this time it was at the ref (never could figure out why though) and had to be calmed down (lest he get whistled for a misconduct) by teammates.

    Secondary kudos go to the entire team as we are now all alone in first in the league with several games still in hand against everyone else and for setting a new ND hockey record with their 9th league win in row. Anyone for 10?
    "Hockey is the only tribe I belong to." --Jack Falla

    "Why, as a matter of fact, I suggested starting a hockey program to Father Callahan, our president. He was downright interested until we came to the use of sticks, and then he threw up his hands. He said, 'No, that game is not for our University. Notre Dame will never endorse any game that puts a club in the hands of an Irishman.' " -- Knute Rockne: All American

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    • Re: Irish hockey '12-'13: Why would you not wanna go there?

      Break out the cliches, as our best special team players saved the day. Russo and Tynan combining on a PP goal, and they've been our best special team skaters of late, and in Russo's sake all season. And Summerhays was the pest penalty killer last night, especially on the late MSU power play.

      Summerhays has been the real deal ever since wrestling the starting reins from Mike Johnson (or maybe more accurately from Jackson). 16-7 with 6 shutouts and a 1.45 GAA. He hasn't given up more than 3 goals once in that timeframe, which means every night out there, he's giving his team a great chance to win. His won-loss record probably doesn't quite reflect how well he's actually played. After years of being spoiled by better and better netminders (Cey, then Brown, then the best here so far in Jordan Pearce) we were probably getting greedy and putting too much pressure on one guy. Well, another one is stepping up. Here's to keeping it up for exactly 3 more months.

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      • Re: Irish hockey '12-'13: Why would you not wanna go there?

        I'm scouting my place on the ledge. My hand is hovering over the panic button. 3 goals in 3 games. 8 goals against in 3 games. And let's be brutally honest: 2 of these 3 games were against a crappy team with a stellar goalie. Tonight they were a day late and a dollar short. ND had some nice chances: Bryan Rust with another breakaway. Peter Schneider getting absolutely robbed after deking around the MSU defender. We outplayed MSU for half the game. The rest of the time we were killing penalties, not looking for offense, so it's not like the Spartans were playing inspired hockey. They really didn't play great until the last 2 minutes of the game. It was all Hildebrand. And none of Summerhays (with the exception of going ballistic at the ref--and he was right and the goal was called back...not that it mattered).

        Mike Johnson should get the start Tuesday. Man do I hope Jeff Costello is back soon. And Mario Lucia gets his hours back on EST. And the rest of the team starts scoring again. And I can climb down off the ledge.
        "Hockey is the only tribe I belong to." --Jack Falla

        "Why, as a matter of fact, I suggested starting a hockey program to Father Callahan, our president. He was downright interested until we came to the use of sticks, and then he threw up his hands. He said, 'No, that game is not for our University. Notre Dame will never endorse any game that puts a club in the hands of an Irishman.' " -- Knute Rockne: All American

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        • Re: Irish hockey '12-'13: Why would you not wanna go there?

          Tomorrow we have #1 in the league versus #11 in the league and while 20 points separates the two teams, BG is a hard team to play against. They are coming off a road drubbing of Michigan, had the weekend off to bask in that glow and now get to host a tired Notre Dame that hasn't scored as many goals in their last 3 games as BG did at Yost in one.

          Both teams have 6 players in double digits, both teams have a defenseman up there on the stats sheet (something I'm actually not too jazzed about as I have found that when Dmen are in your top 5 in scoring, you aren't scoring). Mike Sullivan is their leading defenseman (5th in scoring). He has 11 points, all assists. He also leads the team in +/- at +11. Ryan Carpenter leads the team in scoring and PPG's with 3. Robbie Russo leads ND's blueliners (3rd in scoring--eek!). He too has 11 assists, but also 5 goals for 16 points. Russo leads the team in PPG's with 4. Bryan Rust is best on the team in terms of +/- at +15.

          Andrew Hammond (.914, 2.7) should get the start for BG, while I fully expect Mike Johnson (.929, 1.91) to start Tuesday unless his is a lingering ding. I would have thought 3 weeks off would have helped Steven Summerhays, but he was not sharp against Minnesota nor in the second MSU game.

          BG scores more as the game wears on. The 2nd period is their worst defense, which is good because that is the stanza that is ND's best offense. However, the 2nd period is also when ND gives up the most goals--by a wide margin. BG's special teams have a total score of 89.8 while ND's total is 107.5. BG has scored only 10 PPG's thus far while giving up 18 plus 5 shorties. ND has 19 special team goals while giving up only 8 (zero SHG's against).

          The humorist Will Rogers once said, "Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."
          "Hockey is the only tribe I belong to." --Jack Falla

          "Why, as a matter of fact, I suggested starting a hockey program to Father Callahan, our president. He was downright interested until we came to the use of sticks, and then he threw up his hands. He said, 'No, that game is not for our University. Notre Dame will never endorse any game that puts a club in the hands of an Irishman.' " -- Knute Rockne: All American

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          • Re: Irish hockey '12-'13: Why would you not wanna go there?

            Summerhays may be a little fatigued. Yes, they all had a long rest over the break, but three games and all of the travel has to be a hard turnaround. Hopefully the leaders and coaching staff manage the rest of the season well, because there are no more off weekends until the second weekend of March. And yes, there better be an off weekend for this team the second weekend of March.

            Costello is also out "indefinitely" whatever that means. One thing it means is that someone will have to step up to make up for his points. The key to Notre Dame's success the last few seasons has been the ability of someone to pick up the slack. It was absent for most of last season, and it hammered us in the second half. Will we get an unexpected contribution from Garrett Peterson? Will Lucia get back into the groove he was in in December? Will Johnson deliver if he is called upon more frequently in the second half (something Jackson has said would happen)? Will the coaches be able to come up with some effective combinations?

            As has been the case nearly every season since Jackson arrived, there are a lot of good things to be earned by the Irish in the second half. Will they earn them?

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            • Re: Irish hockey '12-'13: Why would you not wanna go there?

              Well, at least they scored 2 goals. I was really hoping that Mike Johnson would not give up poopy goals on consecutive shots to take us right out of the game. Many times. So much for being optimistic.

              Mr. JJfP is trying to coax me off the ledge by reminding me that ND travelled from Indiana to Minnesota to Michigan back to Indiana before heading to Ohio all in 8 days.

              Keep the window open and give me a blanket, but I'm sleeping on the ledge tonight.
              "Hockey is the only tribe I belong to." --Jack Falla

              "Why, as a matter of fact, I suggested starting a hockey program to Father Callahan, our president. He was downright interested until we came to the use of sticks, and then he threw up his hands. He said, 'No, that game is not for our University. Notre Dame will never endorse any game that puts a club in the hands of an Irishman.' " -- Knute Rockne: All American

              Comment


              • Re: Irish hockey '12-'13: Why would you not wanna go there?

                Very disappointing start to the second half. So much for earning some good things.

                A chance to solidify their pairwise rankings and instead we're steadily moving the wrong direction. A chance to put some nearly insurmountable distance between us and the rest of the CCHA, and instead we pick up 1 win in 3 games against two teams we should, quite frankly, not be losing to.

                Come the middle of March, will we look back at the first two weeks in January as simply a bump in the road during the course of a long season, or will we point to it as the beginning of the end to another promising year?

                I'm sure of one thing right now though. Not even our goaltending, which was the area of most consistence all season long through December 15th, is pulling its weight. Summerhays looked soft on half the goals scored against him in the two losses to Minn and MSU, and Johnson failed to deliver in a pinch again. Jackson's words before the game seem almost prescient now, when he said that Johnson's start was more about the end of the season than now. It almost seemed he didn't have total confidence in him.

                I have a feeling there isn't going to be a middle ground for this team. They are either going to put the recent poor performances behind them and achieve spectacular results, or they are going to crash and burn like last season. I truly have no idea which path is likely.

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                • Re: Irish hockey '12-'13: Why would you not wanna go there?

                  Some additional thoughts...

                  I hope the excuse machine that seems to kick into high gear when this team struggles has been put into storage. Yes, 4 games in 8 days. Yes, hot goaltenders are everywhere. Yes, we have an injury to a pretty important player.

                  Most of these guys played regular seasons of 60 games in the USHL or other junior leagues and many top players skated in 50+ games. 4 games in 8 days, while uncommon, is no excuse.

                  Yeah, Hammond is good. Hildebrand is hot. Wilcox too. Well, I guess pencil in 2 losses in Columbus later on this season, because no one is hotter than their guy. The other teams all have goalies too. It's no excuse.

                  Yes, we're missing Jeff Costello. He's a big piece of our puzzle. But Minnesota was missing a pretty big piece of their puzzle, and the game against them was effectively over 5 minutes into the second period. Every team deals with injuries. Again, no excuse.

                  Teams sometimes get outplayed and still win. Once in a while you do everything right and you still lose a close one. Notre Dame isn't falling into either of these categories this season, nor did we make a habit of it last year. We have played below our collective talent level in each of our losses, sometimes outlandishly so. Now we've even lost a game in which we scored first, something we had not done all season. That is worrisome.

                  This team could borrow a page from any of the teams from 2007 to 2009. Our talent level is quite a bit higher now than the team that won the first significant championships in the programs history. I dare say that team would mop the floor with this one.

                  I hope to be proven wrong in the most convincing fashion over the next 7 weeks. If so, I'll gladly come back to this post and eat crow. I give this team a 50-50 chance.

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                  • Re: Irish hockey '12-'13: Why would you not wanna go there?

                    Here come the nervous nellies.

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                    • Re: Irish hockey '12-'13: Why would you not wanna go there?

                      Originally posted by NotreDameFan27 View Post
                      Here come the nervous nellies.
                      And here comes Pollyanna Pauline, who believes in trophies for everyone and doesn't believe in keeping score.

                      Last time I checked, they do keep score in college hockey, and I'd rather see an empty seat in the CFIA than one filled by someone who doesn't care if the team is held accountable. Same coaches, most of the same players, and some of the same issues bubbling forth as last season. If you're not nervous, my guess is you don't care if the final record is 19-17 or 25-11.

                      Here's your ribbon:



                      *****http://www.athleticawards.com/images/products/winnerspop.jpg******

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                      • Re: Irish hockey '12-'13: Why would you not wanna go there?

                        If being nervious and worried is what you want you got it in JJ.Why would he break up the Tynan line and move TJ to the point on the PP? Up until now his best move was combining 18-22-16 which allowed them to have 2 PP units and not disrupt the 4 line rotation. My ? to IHF and JJFP is are these moves strategic or just Head Games?

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                        • Re: Irish hockey '12-'13: Why would you not wanna go there?

                          Originally posted by Irish83 View Post
                          If being nervious and worried is what you want you got it in JJ.Why would he break up the Tynan line and move TJ to the point on the PP? Up until now his best move was combining 18-22-16 which allowed them to have 2 PP units and not disrupt the 4 line rotation. My ? to IHF and JJFP is are these moves strategic or just Head Games?

                          Some of the moves are because Costello is out again, and the team has also dealt with a couple of illness issues. Practice has certainly been disrupted, so that is going to mean game combinations will be as well. In addition, he was missing Lucia from some of the practices after the rest of the team returned from the holiday break, and he didn't intend on playing him the minutes he had been getting in his last couple of games before going across the big pond. So more practice changes there. Lucia's emergence really seemed to have solidified this team from an offensive and PP standpoint.

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                          • Re: Irish hockey '12-'13: Why would you not wanna go there?

                            And Tynan has been on the point all season on the 1st PP unit. With Costello out indefinitely, it's like the season is just starting and Coach Jackson has to figure out lines from scratch again. I like Voran-Tynan-Lucia and Schneider-Lee-Wuthrich/DiPauli for the top two until Costello returns.
                            "Hockey is the only tribe I belong to." --Jack Falla

                            "Why, as a matter of fact, I suggested starting a hockey program to Father Callahan, our president. He was downright interested until we came to the use of sticks, and then he threw up his hands. He said, 'No, that game is not for our University. Notre Dame will never endorse any game that puts a club in the hands of an Irishman.' " -- Knute Rockne: All American

                            Comment


                            • Re: Irish hockey '12-'13: Why would you not wanna go there?

                              You know, on paper, Notre Dame should never have lost to Michigan State and Bowling Green. But they did. Once again this weekend, the paper predicts ND should not lose to Alaska. I want like hell to have arrogant confidence in that piece of paper, but the paper I seem to keep consulting is made of wet tissue, not corrugated cardboard.

                              I won't even go into the specific differences between Alaska's stats and ND's. Only their GF is comparable. Their special team total score is comparable, but when you break down their PPG's for and against, ND blows them off the ice. Our GA (even after these last 4 games) still trumps theirs. Our goalie stats are still better. Our top guy still scores more. Our record, in and out of the league, is much more palatable.

                              So here's what I'm gonna type instead: I'm begging Nick Larson to make his presence known to the back of the net, not the penalty box. I'm pleading with Steven Fogarty to prove my pre-season confidence in him wasn't based on the hole in my heart where Christian Hanson used to be. I'm praying that David Gerths will score more goals than I do. I want Steven Summerhays to once again prove to me, Coach Jackson and every other worried fan that he is the best goalie in the league. I want Stephen Johns to help Summerhays prove that point. I want Anders Lee and T.J. Tynan and Mario Lucia to score like their careers depended on it.

                              I want my team to play like that piece of paper with all those stats is made of steel.
                              "Hockey is the only tribe I belong to." --Jack Falla

                              "Why, as a matter of fact, I suggested starting a hockey program to Father Callahan, our president. He was downright interested until we came to the use of sticks, and then he threw up his hands. He said, 'No, that game is not for our University. Notre Dame will never endorse any game that puts a club in the hands of an Irishman.' " -- Knute Rockne: All American

                              Comment


                              • Re: Irish hockey '12-'13: Why would you not wanna go there?

                                Originally posted by Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres. View Post
                                And Tynan has been on the point all season on the 1st PP unit. With Costello out indefinitely, it's like the season is just starting and Coach Jackson has to figure out lines from scratch again. I like Voran-Tynan-Lucia and Schneider-Lee-Wuthrich/DiPauli for the top two until Costello returns.
                                The pp unit before the break was the top two lines. Depending on who drew the penalty it was 22-18-16 or 9-11-21. Also Rust has been their most consistant forward and is a first liner. 5 and 8 have been the blueliners on the PP followed by Johns and Taker not that it matters. Last night the second unit was made up with 3 different lines and it took 3-4 shifts to straigten out the lines.

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