Re: CC vs. UAA
How is CC's goaltending? Does your Blueliners play a physical game? I don't know much about this years "Black Bears".
Joe Howe has been very good in net for CC. He hasn't had the kind of freshman year that Bachman had, but a 2.69 gaa and .911 save percentage is more than I would have hoped for out of a freshman goalie. CC's defense isn't overly physical. Kris Fredheim has been one of my favorites since his sophomore year - he's the kind of defenseman you don't notice because he doesn't get out of position or make mistakes. This year he's really picked up his physical play and his puck skills, but both are done only when it's needed. Nate Prosser and Ryan Lowery are the other upperclassmen who have been steady on the blueline for 3+ years. All three will hit, but they're not overly physicaly. Gabe Guentzel got plenty of ice time as a freshman defenseman last year, and is the one most likely to jump into the offense (and make a mistake also, in my opinion). CC has been relying on those 4 for the big minutes and plays them in key situations.
After those 4 they have some guys who are getting their first real experience in college hockey. Doug Leaverton and Joe Marciano are both freshmen who have played most of the games, although they both seem to get limited minutes. Both seem to play a pretty simple game when they're out there - not looking for the big hit or the chance to jump up for a goal. Freshman Mike Boivin has played in about half the games so far. He clearly has some offensive skill, but in my opinion could use a bit of work on the defensive end.
At forward CC has usually had an identifiable star in the recent past - Chad Rau, Marty Sertich, Brett Sterling, Peter Sejna, Brian Swanson, etc. This year's team doesn't have that obvious go-to guy. Bill Sweatt is the closest, but it really feels to me that this team almost has 4 second lines instead of obvious first, second, third and fourth lines. If you take out special teams goals, the goal scoring isn't all that different between the guys who have been on the top line and those on the other lines. Heck, Andrew Hamburg, a freshman, has only played in 11 of the team's 24 games and he's 3rd on the team in even strength goals with 5. I think he's going to be very hard for the coaches to sit for the next few games.
This team reminds me a bit of Bemidji State's team last season. When they have jump, are skating hard and are really moving then they're very good. Wisconsin didn't know what hit them 2 minutes into Saturday's game. When they are sitting back and look lazy, they flat out suck. I think a good barometer is Tim Hall. He's always skating hard (at least early in his shift, he seems to get stuck on long shifts too often). If he sticks out, then the rest of the team isn't skating hard and things don't look good for CC. If everyone is flying around like he is, then they're playing the game they need to in order to win.
