Irish hockey '10-11-Everyone bets on a sure thing, but it takes guts not to fold.

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

Re: Irish hockey '10-11-Everyone bets on a sure thing, but it takes guts not to fold.

Well begun is half done. So starts the second half of the season with ND in first place in the league, ranked 12th in the nation and 8th in both the KRACH and PWR. It will seem strange watching a mid-week, no students on campus, OOC game being played at the exact same time as the bball game next door. Eesh.

Canisius College will be ND's 3rd Catholic opponent of the season. Don't know why I mention that. Too much Christmas fudge to mention something more interesting I suppose.

ND is 11-6-2 going into the second half. Canisius is 6-7-4. Their only non-league games were a split with a reinvigorated WMU early in the season. ND and Canisius have very similar numbers in many areas. Especially special teams.

ND is led by freshman T.J. Tynan with 23 points. Dredging up last year's stats would put him in 2nd place on the team--for the entire season. Can't wait to see what his numbers will be come April. ND has 8 guys in double digits. Two of those 8 lead the team in PPG's (Calle Ridderwall and Anders Lee each have 3).

Canisius is led by senior Cory Conacher with 18 points. He also helps lead the Griffins in PPG's (along with Vincent Scarsella--both also with 3 PPG's each). Canisius has 5 players in double digits. They also dress quite a few freshmen on a regular basis, as 6 newbies have played in nearly every game with 3 others seeing some playing time.

Other than a man-up, I like ND's numbers. They average 3.58 GF while giving up 2.89. Their PK is a decent 85.1%. It's their PP that needs some adrenaline. It's firing at a 13.3% efficiency. ND has scored 13 PPG's while also giving up 13. They still have not allowed a shortie against.

Canisius averages 2.76 GF and gives up 2.65. Their PK kills 86.1% of chances and their PP is similar to ND's at 13.4%. Like ND, they've scored the same number of PPG's as their opponents (in this case, each registering 11). They've allowed a couple shorties.

Each team has a goalie who has figured prominently in the stats and a BUG who has seen only a little time in net. Mike Johnson has a GA of 2.6 and a save % of .903 with a record of 9-4-2. Freshman Steven Summerhays has a GA of 4.12 and a save % of .795 with a 2-2-0 record. I'm going to guess he'll be in net Wednesday.

The Griffins' Dan Morrison has a GA of 2.79 with a save % of .921. His record is 4-7-3. Freshman Tony Capobianco has a GA of 1.57 and a save % of .954 behind a record of 2-0-1. Canisius doesn't play this weekend, so it's anyone's guess as to who will be in net. They may go with the seasoned number one, but it also makes sense to give the hot freshman more time.

I'm looking forward to marking another team off my "To See" list.

Dreams are great, but you must also have the courage to pursue them.

 

[IrishHockeyFan]

Re: Irish hockey '10-11-Everyone bets on a sure thing, but it takes guts not to fold.

I see there is a game(s) thread on the Shillelagh tournament but it doesn't seem to be getting much traffic for some reason. Sort of like the tournament itself. Canisius is a bit of a trap game for Notre Dame. They should be favored against the Golden Griffins before some potentially tougher foes in Chicagoland, and after having been off for a couple of weeks will need to treat Canisius with respect.

It will be good to see Riley Sheahan back on the ice for the Irish. By all accounts, his being left off the Canadian World Junior roster was a bit of a surprise. To Canada's credit, they don't appear to be missing him much though. If anyone deserved to have the puck bounce their way in the second half, it is him. To his credit, he continues to play hard, and play very well defensively. While he needs to bury a few goals -- and the sooner the better -- he hasn't let the goal scoring slump affect his preparation or how he competes come game time. The way I see it, we're in 1st place without much of an offensive contribution from him. Just imagine what it will be like in the second half when he lights the lamp like he's going to.

 

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

Re: Irish hockey '10-11-Everyone bets on a sure thing, but it takes guts not to fold.

I have not worn a baseball cap since I was a tomboy some 30 years ago. I need to stuff an old hat in my pocket. Ryan Guentzel registers his first career hat trick, doubling his goal total for the season so far, and not one hat. Nada. Zip. Bupkiss. There appears to be a low level of hockey savviness in South Bend. Maybe with next season's ticket order forms, Coach Jackson could include a Hockey 101 guide: Your guy pots 3 goals, throw a hat.

Anyhoo. Congrats cubed to Guentzel. He had a 4-point night. Not to be outdone, or overtaken in the stats page, was T.J. Tynan, also with a 4-pointer. Calle Ridderwall completed the trifecta of quadruple mentions on the scoresheet. ND had 8 players register multi-point games. They also went 25% on the PP. Finally. Speaking of that, this was a surprisingly clean game, given the lopsided score. That's a testament to Canisius and their coaching staff.

Nice to see Steven Summerhays (as I expected) play 2 solid periods. Also nice to see Joe Rogers lose his red shirt and play a solid period himself. They weren't tested much, but they each had to make some big saves.

I did not figure this game would be such a blowout. I thought ND would come out on top, but I thought by a score of 5 or 6 to 2. Double digit games are painful to watch, even when it's your team that puts up the double digits. I wonder if Canisius felt as ND did when they suited up against NoDak that first game?

Apparently, my posse and I are the only regulars heading to Hoffman Estates this weekend. Given that this is ND's tourney, I hope there are more than just the 4 of us wearing blue and gold in the Sears Centre...

 

[Craig P.]

Re: Irish hockey '10-11-Everyone bets on a sure thing, but it takes guts not to fold.

Anyhoo. Congrats cubed to Guentzel. He had a 4-point night. Not to be outdone, or overtaken in the stats page, was T.J. Tynan, also with a 4-pointer. Calle Ridderwall completed the trifecta of quadruple mentions on the scoresheet.

Not complete yet... Johns had 4 assists.

Incidentally, Tynan is up to 3rd nationally in scoring, although in more games than most of the rest of the top 10.

 

[StillaLeafsFan]

Re: Irish hockey '10-11-Everyone bets on a sure thing, but it takes guts not to fold.

I'm hoping to make the game on Sunday, so hopefully there will be at least 5 of us cheering for the Irish.
I wouldn't throw a hat unless the game was almost over because the ushers have zero tolerance for that stuff. I almost got kicked out for banging on the glass after a goal. Yeesh.

 

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

Re: Irish hockey '10-11-Everyone bets on a sure thing, but it takes guts not to fold.

Not complete yet... Johns had 4 assists.

Just caught that. I missed an A.

I wouldn't throw a hat unless the game was almost over because the ushers have zero tolerance for that stuff. I almost got kicked out for banging on the glass after a goal. Yeesh.

Only at ND. Like I said, there's a low level of hockey savviness...

 

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

Re: Irish hockey '10-11-Everyone bets on a sure thing, but it takes guts not to fold.

Auld lang syne. Long, long ago. Most people assume ND will be meeting BU in the championship game this weekend. That would play well for the New Year. However, I love the sport of hockey. I take nothing for granted. All four of the teams participating in the Shilellagh Tourney are in the top 28 of the KRACH rankings.

Notre Dame is the highest in those rankings at 9th. ND is 3-2 in the month of December. They have earned points this season against some biggies, including BC, Michigan, Miami and NoDak. They are 12-6-2 thus far.

BU is 13th in the KRACH standings. The Terriers are 1-3 in December and they've earned points against UNH, Maine, Wisconsin and Notre Dame. They're 8-4-5.

Brown is 26th in the KRACH behind a 3-4-4 record (remember that the ECAC starts later and plays fewer games). They are 0-2-1 in December, but have earned points against BU and UNH.

Minnesota State is 28th in KRACH behind a 6-8-4 record. They are 2-2 in December and have earned points against CC and Minnesota.

ND scores 3.9 GF/game while giving up 2.85 GA/game. Top guys per class are T.J. Tynan with 27 points (which leads the team), Nick Larson with 12 pts., Billy Maday also with 12 and Ryan Guentzel with 23. As for special teams, ND has 14 PPG's behind a 13.7% PP. They've given up 13 PPG's against while killing off penalties at an 86% clip. They lead the nation in shorties with 8 while giving up none.

BU registers 3.12 GF while giving up 3.18. Sahir Gill is their top freshman with 16 points. Alex Chiasson leads the team and the sophomore class with 18 points. David Warsofsky has 17 points and Joe Pereira leads seniors with 11 points. They are 12% on the PP and 84% on the PK. They have 11 PPG's while giving up 15 a man down. They have 3 shorties and opponents have scored 4 shorties against them.

Brown scores 3.45 GF, while giving up 3.82 GA. Dennis Robertson leads their newbies with 10 points. Chris Zaires also has 10. Jack MacLellan leads the juniors and the team with 20, while Harry Zolnierczyk is the top senior with 13 pts. They have 12 PPG's while going a whopping 24% on the PP. They have given up 11 PPG's behind a PK of 80.7%. They have scored and given up 3 shorties.

MSUM scores 2.78 GF and gives up 3.33 GA. Chase Grant is their top freshman with 11 pts. Eriah Hayes has 9, Michael Dorr has 10 and Kurt Davis is their top senior while also leading the team with 14 pts. Their PP is 15.6% while scoring 14 PPG's. They've given up 17 PPG's with a PK that works 81.9% of the time. They've scored 2 shorties, but given up 4.

ND should start Mike Johnson both games. He's got a save % of .903 and a GA of 2.60. BU should employ Kieran Millan, who has a save % of .912 with a GA of 2.85. Brown's starter is Mike Clemente with a save % .879 and a GA of 4.01. MSUM's Phil Cook will likely start. He's got a save % of .911 with a GA of 3.11.

With a few aberrations, all the teams have similar numbers. Even though this tourney has been an afterthought lately, including in the stands, I think all 4 of the games should be quite competitive. I can think of no better way to ring in the New Year (and WeAreNDHockey's b-day) than to watch college hockey all weekend long.

Benjamin Franklin rung in the New Year with a good sentiment, "Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man." Good luck, boys.

 

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

Re: Irish hockey '10-11-Everyone bets on a sure thing, but it takes guts not to fold.

&%#$

22.9 seconds. My new rallying cry. Or maybe 53 seconds. I loathe giving up goals with under a minute left in a period. Hell, I loathe giving up goals in the last 90 seconds of a period (something ND has done with too much regularity this season). But--22.9 seconds left. In the 3rd. In a tie game. &%#$

Well, the desired matchup was achieved. For the consolation game. I think I would've rather lost in the fashion BU managed. Somehow getting blown out is less gut-wrenching than coughing up the game with twenty-two point nine seconds left.

MSUM outplayed ND in the first period and ND got mighty lucky several times when a few Mavericks whiffed on the puck. When ND scored their first goal, I thought, "Okay. They've solved the goalie. I feel good." Then they tied it up. Then they took the lead. Then...

MSUM's goalie stood on his head and made some killer saves all game. I'd say he is the sole reason they won, but then I keep thinking about 22.9 seconds left. Stand the guy up. Take a freakin' penalty. Make a save. Something.

Tomorrow's another day. Shake this one off.

Edit: Forgot to mention that one of Brown's senior captains, David Brownschidle, is the nephew of Jack and Jeff. Am I dating myself for mentioning that I watched them play at ND?

 

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

Re: Irish hockey '10-11-Everyone bets on a sure thing, but it takes guts not to fold.

Egad. That tie dropped ND to 11th in the PWR. However, I count that as a "good" tie--coming back from 2 goals down in the 3rd... Does anyone else find it ironic that the 2 teams "expected" to play for the tourney trophy were the only 2 teams to not register a victory this weekend? Again, egad.

Positives to take away from the tourney:

1. ND scored another shortie.

2. Mike Johnson started to return to, um, form at the end of regulation, in OT and in the SO. Nice way to salvage the weekend.

3. Apparently BC is opening the Compton FC next season.

4. This is the last year in the Sears Centre? Right?

 

[IrishHockeyFan]

Re: Irish hockey '10-11-Everyone bets on a sure thing, but it takes guts not to fold.

3. Apparently BC is opening the Compton FC next season.

Is this official? Did Jackson say something about it this weekend? I feel like those office workers who panic when someone "forgets" to invite them to lunch for a week or two!

4. This is the last year in the Sears Centre? Right?

Soft environment. Soft play. Finally, a soft outcome. Hopefully that all adds up to be the death knell for this tournament. Why give away home dates (or even a weekend on the road in a good environment)? Reward a fan base that is growing and becoming more excited, but is not yet evolved enough to put in the effort or commitment to travel 2 or 3 hours, with games they WILL see.

 

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

Re: Irish hockey '10-11-Everyone bets on a sure thing, but it takes guts not to fold.

Is this official? Did Jackson say something about it this weekend? I feel like those office workers who panic when someone "forgets" to invite them to lunch for a week or two!

I should have put a disclaimer with this statement. Nothing has come from Coaches Jackson or York. This info was "revealed" as one of the prizes in the intermission puck shoot. Winner got 4 tix to ND-BC football and 4 tix to ND-BC hockey "...to open up the new Compton Family Center..." The timing works (3rd week in November just in case the arena isn't quite finished by the expected October 18 date), but don't quote me on it. And let's face it, the opponent works. If it's not Michigan, who better than BC to come in and lose to ND on opening night?!

Why give away home dates (or even a weekend on the road in a good environment)? Reward a fan base that is growing and becoming more excited, but is not yet evolved enough to put in the effort or commitment to travel 2 or 3 hours, with games they WILL see.

Couldn't agree more. My posse and I were saying this very thing while trying to ignore the loud music and moronic PA guy.

 

[IrishHockeyFan]

Re: Irish hockey '10-11-Everyone bets on a sure thing, but it takes guts not to fold.

I should have put a disclaimer with this statement. Nothing has come from Coaches Jackson or York. This info was "revealed" as one of the prizes in the intermission puck shoot. Winner got 4 tix to ND-BC football and 4 tix to ND-BC hockey "...to open up the new Compton Family Center..." The timing works (3rd week in November just in case the arena isn't quite finished by the expected October 18 date), but don't quote me on it. And let's face it, the opponent works. If it's not Michigan, who better than BC to come in and lose to ND on opening night?!

Whew I was starting to get an "Old Yeller" feeling there...

Hopefully we won't have to wait until the ND/BC weekend to either have a home date, or play in the Compton Center.

Over the last 6 seasons we've averaged 9-10 games played by the 3rd weekend in November. I'd hate to have that long of a "road trip" to open the season, and it might be a logistical nightmare to have to play more than one series at the Joyce before moving.

Ideally no more than one would work OK if it would happen to fall during an early semester break and students would not have to be accommodated.

Then again, maybe I am being overly optimistic as to how many full season ticket packages they will manage to sell. I've heard figures bandied about, I know Notre Dame has surveyed the market to have a workable target, and I understand the student area will be at least double what it is now and possibly 3 times as big, but no one I trust enough to be in the middle of the "in the knows" has told me what any of those numbers are.

 

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

Re: Irish hockey '10-11-Everyone bets on a sure thing, but it takes guts not to fold.

I was starting to get an "Old Yeller" feeling there...
Hopefully we won't have to wait until the ND/BC weekend to either have a home date, or play in the Compton Center.

I know the season is starting on the road and there will likely be a few games played in the JACC as was stated at the DTP event, so 11/18 is not out of the question for opening night in the new arena. There will be home games before then, just with the possibility that they will still be in the old home before going on the road again and returning to face BC in November.

Don't worry, fella, we don't have to get the gun for you.

 

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

Re: Irish hockey '10-11-Everyone bets on a sure thing, but it takes guts not to fold.

College hockey part II starts this weekend. The post-season is 9 weeks away. Oh, how I want a 1st-round bye. ND has 14 games left in the regular season, half of which are at home. Were the season to end today, 3 of those opponents on the upcoming schedule would earn a bye and 3 would get home ice for the first round of the playoffs. The remainder of the season is not a cake walk by any stretch. Mettle-testing more like it.

Friday's game will be the first game all season that I cannot watch, as I play the first of 5 games this killer weekend. Odd how I don't care much whether my teams win or lose, but I care a great deal whether ND wins or loses. If my teams can win 2 of the 5, I'm okay with that. I'd kill for at least a win and a tie in 2 games for ND this weekend.

Looking at CCHA stats only, NMU and ND have a lot of similarities with the exception of ND's rookies and NMU's PP.

ND is 2nd in the league in GF with 3.64. NMU is 7th with 2.36. Both teams are 6th in GA at 2.71. ND's PP is weak, both in the league and overall. In league play, they average 14.3% on the PP for 7th place. NMU is 2nd a man-up at 19%. ND is also 7th on the PK at a dismal 82.1%. NMU is only slightly better at 6th place and 82.7%. I suppose our D1-leading 9 shorties-for makes up a little for our special teams' anemic numbers.

ND scores progressively more as the game wears on while NMU gives up progressively more the deeper into the game you get. Mike Johnson's numbers in league play have slipped to a save % of .896 with a GA of 2.47. NMU may repeat their netminding duo from their visit here with the brick wall known as Jared Coreau who has a league save % of .921 and a GA of 3.02 and Reid Ellingson who has a save % of .923 with a GA similar to Johnson's at 2.45.

ND has 3 players in the top 15 in league points, T.J. Tynan (who just earned his 3rd ROTW award) being 4th with 17 points in the CCHA. NMU has one player in the top 15. Tyler Gron is 9th with 13 league points. ND also has 3 in the top 15 in goals while NMU's Gron is their one player in that category. ND has 4 in the top 15 in league assists. NMU doesn't have any in the top tier. Each team has one player in the top 15 in PPG's. ND's Anders Lee is 10th, while NMU's Gron is 2nd. ND has 5 rookies in the top 15 in the league with Tynan and Lee going 1-2. NMU's Erik Higby is 10th.

Special teams and goalies will play a huge part in the 2nd half of the season. Who will step up?

The mettle of a man is tested in adversities and he who remains firm in his beliefs comes out shining.

 

[IrishHockeyFan]

Re: Irish hockey '10-11-Everyone bets on a sure thing, but it takes guts not to fold.

Special teams and goalies will play a huge part in the 2nd half of the season. Who will step up?

This is something I was thinking about after this weekends games.

At this point we need a goalie -- any goalie -- and one of our young defensemen to step up and lead. We have not shown enough improvement on the blueline. In fact sometimes it's been hard to discern any improvement. Sounds like a knock, but not meant to be, on either the young guys, OR the leadership. It's easier to learn when you have someone experienced to fall back on across the line from you. We often have two freshmen out there at once, and always have at least one (or a soph who has freshman experience), so learning of course has been coming in fits and starts. But we are 22 games into the season and it is time for one of the young charges back there to grab the bull by the horns and see to it the mistakes in our end begin to go away. As well, it's time for Mike Johnson to do the same and -- if need be -- put this team on his back and get the young guys over the hump. Every mistake should not result in a goal, and too often that's what is happening, with either netminder between the pipes.

 

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

Re: Irish hockey '10-11-Everyone bets on a sure thing, but it takes guts not to fold.

Can't believe no one has mentioned, although it can be read on ND's site and the CCHA site, that T.J. Tynan was league ROTM (along with the aforementioned ROTW) and for the 2nd time this season an ND frosh (Anders Lee) got national ROTM. The 2 of them seem to have a lock on CCHA ROTM thus far. I see great things for the future of ND hockey.

 

[IrishHockeyFan]

Re: Irish hockey '10-11-Everyone bets on a sure thing, but it takes guts not to fold.

Well, that was enjoyable.

 

[Third Family Member]

Re: Irish hockey '10-11-Everyone bets on a sure thing, but it takes guts not to fold.

Good Lord. Don't answer the phone in the 3rd period or else you will miss the game! Congrats to Sam Calabrese for his 2nd straight shortie, could this be a new career move for him? Congrats to Riley Sheahan, who FINALLY found the back of the net. Congrats to Mike Johnson, who from the sound of it, made a few more than outstanding saves tonight. Here's to another good game on Saturday night.

 

[Craig P.]

Re: Irish hockey '10-11-Everyone bets on a sure thing, but it takes guts not to fold.

We had, by my count, 1:46 of major penalty 5x3 power play, which is astonishing. I don't think I've ever seen that happen before. (And by "seen" I mean seeing in the box score, as I obviously wasn't at the game or watching it.)

 

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

Re: Irish hockey '10-11-Everyone bets on a sure thing, but it takes guts not to fold.

Niiiice. I got to listen to the 1st four goals, then had to play, then in between games got to call home for the rest of the details. And am home now from my second game to see that ND has given themselves some room at the top. This game had everything. Three PPG's. Rock on! Two more shorties. Woo hoo. And I second what 3rdFM said about Riley Sheahan. Finally! No goals late in a period. Strong shift after giving up the first goal. Coming back after giving up said first goal. 8 different scorers. All 4 classes registering goals. I will be watching tomorrow night as I play early enough to order the game, order a pizza and sit in front of the t.v. Make it worth my money, boys.