All Things Denver XXXVIII: On To Better Days!

[Chris]

No offense, but I saw that the army-navy game was on, and wondered who is still watching that game. One of those old rivalries, but without current relevance...its tough to find the interest. Guys in the military acadamies have much different opinion than mine, no doubt. North Dakota looked much better tonight, a couple two on one's and their ability to finish did the pios in. ND goalie was good, but most shots were right at his gut. And I will never understand the goalie rotation...you got a guy who just beat a good team the previous night with a super solid game, and you don't play him the next night. Jaillet played ok, but there is no good reason to sit Cowley for the sake of the sacred rotation. One last positive:..DU's good energy level when down 3-0. They kept on the pressure, just couldn't get that magical second goal.

Jaillet played "OK"??? Huh? He kept DU in the game when it could have easily gotten out of hand quickly...It could have been 3-0 midway through the 1st period. Most of the talk around the rink in regards to Cowley is pretty much in agreement that he leaves way too many rebounds. Those rebounds, with the way UND came out, would have likely put DU in a way bigger hole early. For Cowley to be the clear #1, he needs to improve in this area of his game. Can't be leaving all those rebounds right in the slot in a one-and-done in the NCAA's...

[Pablo]

Re: All Things Denver XXXVIII: On To Better Days!

Jaillet played "OK"??? Huh? He kept DU in the game when it could have easily gotten out of hand quickly...It could have been 3-0 midway through the 1st period. Most of the talk around the rink in regards to Cowley is pretty much in agreement that he leaves way too many rebounds. Those rebounds, with the way UND came out, would have likely put DU in a way bigger hole early. For Cowley to be the clear #1, he needs to improve in this area of his game. Can't be leaving all those rebounds right in the slot in a one-and-done in the NCAA's...

Interesting...I didn't think that Jaillet played that great, but maybe I missed some good saves that happened on the other side of the rink from where I was sitting. In any case, Cowley is our best goalie--.927 save ptg vs. .904, 1.89 GAA vs. 2.51, and 2 shutouts vs no shutouts. If Cowley left a lot of juicy rebounds for UND in the first game, the defensemen must have done a good job in clearing them out!

Jaillet is a fine goalie. But the 2nd game vs. North Dakota at home with an opportunity to sweep is a big deal, and I don't know why you don't play your best goalie in that situation. I thought Gwozdecky was occasionally stubborn with sticking to the goalie rotation, and I just hope that Montgomery plays the goalie that gives the team the best chance to win, especially in important games like Saturday's.

Anyone hear anything about Grant Arnold? It looked like he left the game in the 3rd with an injury, and it didn't look very promising the way he left the ice.

[vizoroo]

Re: All Things Denver XXXVIII: On To Better Days!

Yahoo reports Beau Bennett's "couple of weeks" to return due to a lower body injury has now become indefinite.
And now... now he is being tesred for mumps

In the postgame, Monty mentioned Grant had an ongoing "issue". Wasn't sure to what extent or whether this was involved.

[Chris]

Interesting...I didn't think that Jaillet played that great, but maybe I missed some good saves that happened on the other side of the rink from where I was sitting. In any case, Cowley is our best goalie--.927 save ptg vs. .904, 1.89 GAA vs. 2.51, and 2 shutouts vs no shutouts. If Cowley left a lot of juicy rebounds for UND in the first game, the defensemen must have done a good job in clearing them out!

Jaillet is a fine goalie. But the 2nd game vs. North Dakota at home with an opportunity to sweep is a big deal, and I don't know why you don't play your best goalie in that situation. I thought Gwozdecky was occasionally stubborn with sticking to the goalie rotation, and I just hope that Montgomery plays the goalie that gives the team the best chance to win, especially in important games like Saturday's.

Anyone hear anything about Grant Arnold? It looked like he left the game in the 3rd with an injury, and it didn't look very promising the way he left the ice.

Yeah... DU had 15 of the game's first 17 shots fired at their goalie with probably more quality chances than UND had the whole entire Friday game...Yet Jaillet somehow sucked? He was DU's sole positive for the first 15 minutes of Saturday's game. All 3 goals, he was hung out by a combo of solid UND action and lackluster DU 'd'.

You may not get what the coaching staff is doing...but it doesn't matter what YOU get. I also remember you thinking Big Sam was nothing special at one time.


Also, don't get all googly-goo over personal stats...that's really irrelevant right now...and if you so desire stats, check WINNING percentage. After all, winning is the end-all stat...

[Pablo]

Re: All Things Denver XXXVIII: On To Better Days!

Yeah... DU had 15 of the game's first 17 shots fired at their goalie with probably more quality chances than UND had the whole entire Friday game...Yet Jaillet somehow sucked? He was DU's sole positive for the first 15 minutes of Saturday's game. All 3 goals, he was hung out by a combo of solid UND action and lackluster DU 'd'.

You may not get what the coaching staff is doing...but it doesn't matter what YOU get. I also remember you thinking Big Sam was nothing special at one time.


Also, don't get all googly-goo over personal stats...that's really irrelevant right now...and if you so desire stats, check WINNING percentage. After all, winning is the end-all stat...

I never said Jailett sucked. I said he played OK on Saturday, and I said he is a fine goalie. If you think he is better than Cowley, that's cool. But most people would probably disagree. Part of the fun of discussions, you know...people having different opinions and all.

Hmmmm...I don't recall saying much negative about Sam. I'm sure he had a few bad games, but Sam was so consistent that it's hard to fathom anyone saying that Sam wasn't an excellent goalie, especially over the long haul. DU has been so good in the goalie department for so long (Dubie, Manno, Berkhoel, Brittain, Cowley, others), that there really isn't much room to criticize the goalies themselves. There has, however, been room to criticize the coaches' decisions about who to play over the years. Once again...differences of opinion are OK.

If GAA and saves percentage are irrelevant in evaluating goalies, then...hmmm....not sure what to say about that. If Jailett tears it up, I'm sure you will remind me about my libelous statements. Ha...all I'm doing is saying that I think Cowley is playing better right now, and that Cowley deserved two starts against ND.

I see you are getting a bit riled up, so I will peace out. Will check back, though, to see if anyone has any injury reports...kind of worried about Arnold, and hope he is OK.

[Chris]

I never said Jailett sucked. I said he played OK on Saturday, and I said he is a fine goalie. If you think he is better than Cowley, that's cool. But most people would probably disagree. Part of the fun of discussions, you know...people having different opinions and all.

Hmmmm...I don't recall saying much negative about Sam. I'm sure he had a few bad games, but Sam was so consistent that it's hard to fathom anyone saying that Sam wasn't an excellent goalie, especially over the long haul. DU has been so good in the goalie department for so long (Dubie, Manno, Berkhoel, Brittain, Cowley, others), that there really isn't much room to criticize the goalies themselves. There has, however, been room to criticize the coaches' decisions about who to play over the years. Once again...differences of opinion are OK.

If GAA and saves percentage are irrelevant in evaluating goalies, then...hmmm....not sure what to say about that. If Jailett tears it up, I'm sure you will remind me about my libelous statements. Ha...all I'm doing is saying that I think Cowley is playing better right now, and that Cowley deserved two starts against ND.

I see you are getting a bit riled up, so I will peace out. Will check back, though, to see if anyone has any injury reports...kind of worried about Arnold, and hope he is OK.

Dude. Who said Jaillet was BETTER? I didn't and I just said it is not clear that there is a #1. After recovering from his early injury situation, his play and Cowley's have been pretty even. Thus there is a rotation. DU has given up more than 4 goals on 4 occasions so far and 3 of those games were Cowley starts...that implies a touch of inconsistency which doesn't lend itself to a guy who should play all 120 minutes in a particular weekend at this point.

What I don't get is that you seem to think that somehow Cowley's presence would have stopped Mattson from skating the puck (UND's first goal) from above the face off circle, down the boards, behind the net and walk around to the low slot and roof his first goal of the season with nary a DU body or stick to help out their goalie. Then, somehow, this same magical presence would have prevented DU from surrendering a couple perfectly executed UND 2-on-1's...then there is the fact that DU didn't even get on the board until under 10 minutes left in the game, which is obviously Jaillet's fault.

The point is that UND came out strong and DU did not...Jaillet played well and held his team in as much as he (or, really, any other goalie) possibly could. I don't foresee the rotation going away when DU resumes play after the New Year.

A reminder: I stated during Sam's freshman season that he was, in my experience, the best freshman goalie I had seen at DU (especially since he was a true freshman [other true freshman goalies have, in the past 10 years been Cowley and Murray who both didn't play much]). You were basically: "Meh...he's OK but he is no Mannino..."
So, I completely remember you labeling Sam as essentially just " OK" as well.

As for stats: I just meant that it is too early still to use stats solely as a support for your lame assumption. Check the details in their individual play, especially recently since Jaillet seems recovered from his BC incident...both goalies cut down angles well, square up quite well, have good athleticism, quick gloves...also Cowley's stats are a bit padded by virtue of Jaillet not having been available against CC and AFA, Cowley's NCHC stats are not nearly as flashy on their own...

I tell you what, next time I run into Monty, Carle and all, I will alert them that Pablo doesn't approve of how they divvy up certain guys' playing time and that their team with a .667 winning % and which is on course for yet another 20+ win season just needs adjustment to meet Pablo's desired specifications... Rock on, dude...

EDIT: Like stated, Cowley's stats in NCHC play are quite average (so are Jaillet's) and NCHC play is the name of the game after the New Year, neither are positioned to be "the guy"...again current goalie stats do nothing...

continue, for all I care, good laughs have virtue I suppose...

[Pablo]

Re: All Things Denver XXXVIII: On To Better Days!

Because I think that Cowley is a better goalie, it follows that I think that Cowley was more likely to make a save on a breakaway, no matter whose fault the breakaway was.

I was going to address some of your other points, but frankly I can't muster the energy to respond to you calling my assumptions lame, paraphrasing some random comment I had years ago (!), and you telling Monty about what Pablo thinks. If that's your standard for being able to post thoughts on a message board--that the poster has to know more than the coach--then OK. Hopefully all your comments meet that standard, too. You get a bit defensive sometimes...remember that we're all DU fans. Not all of us think that you have to turn in your fan card if you don't agree with what a coach is doing, or if you criticize anyone in the program. Chill out a bit...Seems that the DU fanbase posting on this board has shrunk, and it will continue to shrink if it isn't fun to post here. So Kumbayah, my friends, and go DU!

Your substantive points are well taken, but I still say: play Cowley for a while, let's see what he can do! The kid has great potential.

[vizoroo]

Re: All Things Denver XXXVIII: On To Better Days!

Don't miss Will Butcher and TeamUSA when they take on BU tonight at 7:30 Eastern. Live stream-FREE-goterriers.com.

Meanwhile in Saskatchewan at the World Junior A Challenge TeamUSA advances to the gold medal game Saturday at 3:30 Eastern. DU recruits/Dubuque Saints Dylan Gambrell and Blake Hillman each are on the scorecard. Dylan with a goal and Blake with an assist.

[32 Degrees!]

Re: All Things Denver XXXVIII: On To Better Days!

Where, in Denver, could one purchase a DU hockey Jersey? Prefer the real thing, or as close as possible. No time to order online.... Thanks

[cetihcra]

Where, in Denver, could one purchase a DU hockey Jersey? Prefer the real thing, or as close as possible. No time to order online.... Thanks

DU book store may have them, or go to the DU MHoops vs Bryant game on Sunday, they'll sell them there.

r

[vizoroo]

Re: All Things Denver XXXVIII: On To Better Days!

Interview with Will Butcher by NHL.com. Nice clips from DU games.

http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/con...d=53&id=703885

ADD: Butcher on pk had an assist on a shorty against BU,

[thedunker]

Where, in Denver, could one purchase a DU hockey Jersey? Prefer the real thing, or as close as possible. No time to order online.... Thanks

Call pioneer online store. They have best selection, the real things. Both stores can overnight

[thedunker]

Interview with Will Butcher by NHL.com. Nice clips from DU games.

http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/con...d=53&id=703885

Up early Viz. Eichel is as good a frosh as I've ever seen.

[32 Degrees!]

Re: All Things Denver XXXVIII: On To Better Days!

Call pioneer online store. They have best selection, the real things. Both stores can overnight

Thanks. I went to the Coors Fitness Center today. They have both home and away jerseys. They look pretty official; no numbers or nameplates, but they have the USA flag and league logos on the chest. I'm all set now.

[thedunker]

Thanks. I went to the Coors Fitness Center today. They have both home and away jerseys. They look pretty official; no numbers or nameplates, but they have the USA flag and league logos on the chest. I'm all set now.

You found the official ones