I think some people were perhaps a bit too quick to dismiss what last year's seniors did for this team.
I would like too, but I doubt I will get one. Rockford has crazy fans. His PRACTICE jersey from last spring (and he played what, 2-3 weeks?) went for $200 on Ebay from the team. Cue the Iverson clip... "Practice?!? Practice? We auctionin' a jersey from... PRACTICE, not a game, but PRACTICE..."[Kero jersey] and I'm sure you'll buy it when it is made available for purchase...
You guys really need to settle down, we've play 4 games and there were 4-game stretches last year that were worse or at least similar. You can never underestimate a rivalry weekend and Ferris is not an easy place to play.
well yes to all and... Vallis was pretty good last night. His defensive and checking game could improve, but I like his skill with the puck and we need the scoring imho. Patrick Anderson.. also pretty good. did the dirty work needed.
The team as a whole played a lot better defensively, though all the breakaways we gave up are concerning.The forwards came back a lot better and the defense got the puck out quickly instead of holding it and being caught. (I thought NMU's pressuring the puck so much in the first game gave us a lot of problems and I think we will see a lot of teams do that going forward, especially when we are on the pp.)
I'd like to see our pk be better.
I do see a number of guys upping their game vs last year. Heinonen is better, Baltus is better, Eick is better, L'Esperance too.... Among others.
Overall, reasons to be optimistic, but the league as a whole is better and it will be tougher to win.The non conference games are bigger and bigger.
We absolutely have to stay out of the box. We can grind teams down, but only if we are not on special teams all night.
I agree, the two biggest concerns I see are yours as well, the amount of breakaways we give up and our penalty issues. Penalty issues should be something we can overcome, just need to be more disciplined out there and not retaliate for things. The breakaways will come with time I think, just as players become more positionally and situationally aware as they gain experience. Overall the freshman already look really good and the sophomores are all showing improvement too, so hopefully we can put it together and have another successful season.
I would like too, but I doubt I will get one. Rockford has crazy fans. His PRACTICE jersey from last spring (and he played what, 2-3 weeks?) went for $200 on Ebay from the team. Cue the Iverson clip... "Practice?!? Practice? We auctionin' a jersey from... PRACTICE, not a game, but PRACTICE..."
http://www.ebay.com/itm/181817729557
I can easily see his game jerseys for $400+, which is way out of my league. I'm all for snagging up the Tech alumni jerseys, but sometimes I have have to say no. Andy Sutton played more than a dozen years in the NHL and you can get some of his NHL jerseys for $250 or less. Minor league fans are crazy in general... especially during auctions.
Ryan J
I hear ya. There are a LOT of jerseys I want, but the pricing is just insane. And that just isn't game-worn. Jersey prices (in all sports) have risen very dramatically. The NFL being absolutely insane.Minor league auctions are generally a no-fly zone for me. The prices are beyond what I will pay because I'll never see that kind of money if I try to sell it. Most folks who buy in those auctions either don't care what they pay, they just want the jersey (example: Puck Bunnies) or they have no idea what the resale market is for minor league pro jerseys (example: Dr Smith or Lawyer Jones or Mr Duckworth who wants one to frame in their office).
Plenty of long standing jersey collectors get a private chuckle every time someone new comes on a collector forum trying to sell their $1,000 jersey for ONLY $900 because they need the money. Then they get offended when they get offers of $200-$250 for the jersey. "But I paid $1,000 for this at the auction last year..." Yes, you did. Much like a $20,000 car is worth $15,000 the minute you drive it off the lot the jersey devalues to near market price the minute you buy it.
I actually wan't aware that Copley was now in the Chicago market. Pretty much the only way I'm getting one of his Wolves jersey would be to trade a fan for one of his Tech jerseys.
Ryan J
Minor league auctions are generally a no-fly zone for me. The prices are beyond what I will pay because I'll never see that kind of money if I try to sell it. Most folks who buy in those auctions either don't care what they pay, they just want the jersey (example: Puck Bunnies) or they have no idea what the resale market is for minor league pro jerseys (example: Dr Smith or Lawyer Jones or Mr Duckworth who wants one to frame in their office).
Plenty of long standing jersey collectors get a private chuckle every time someone new comes on a collector forum trying to sell their $1,000 jersey for ONLY $900 because they need the money. Then they get offended when they get offers of $200-$250 for the jersey. "But I paid $1,000 for this at the auction last year..." Yes, you did. Much like a $20,000 car is worth $15,000 the minute you drive it off the lot the jersey devalues to near market price the minute you buy it.
I actually wan't aware that Copley was now in the Chicago market. Pretty much the only way I'm getting one of his Wolves jersey would be to trade a fan for one of his Tech jerseys.
Ryan J
That's one of the main reasons I got into game used/worn jerseys. In college I pretty sizable collection of "authentic" and replica NHL jerseys. I doubt they are worth 10% of what I paid today because they're a commodity over the counter item. Game used on the other hand is one of maybe a handful, has some historical value and if you are reasonable in what you acquire, you can get it for WAY less than the "pro quality / authentic / on-ice" jerseys sold in stores. You can go to a dealer than handles NHL teams and get a game used jersey of some cup-of-coffee NHL player for like $100. Sure its nobody you've every heard of, but it's $100 and already has a name and numbers on it. They get big bucks for the big name players, but they also need to move hundreds of jerseys from players no one knows or cares about and will forget next year. Not to mention game used jerseys are what the teams actually wear on the ice - you're not going to get any more authentic. NHL retail over the counter "authentics" are pretty much what the players wear, but NFL "authentic" isn't even close to the what the players get for game use.I hear ya. There are a LOT of jerseys I want, but the pricing is just insane. And that just isn't game-worn. Jersey prices (in all sports) have risen very dramatically. The NFL being absolutely insane.
Sorry if this is preaching to the choir here but...The problem with 2 and 2 is, with this schedule we can't afford more than about 5 losses and still make an at large spot in the tournament. Its math. We're 2 weeks in and can't lose more than 3, maybe 4 more games. That's a tough row to hoe.