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

[IrishHockeyFan]

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

I only hope tomorrow can be as solid of an effort by whoever is in net for ND.

Mike Johnson, but remember, I never seem to get my goalie insights correct.

Another ND alum is part of the Leafs family thanks to a rash of goalie injuries

Always been a little mystified as to why David Brown never really made more of his professional career to this point. He started out OK in the ECHL and looked to be making progress with a call up to the AHL in his first pro season but never really seemed to show any improvement on that first year in Scranton. At least from my memory his only weakness at the NCAA level was mental, but by the mid-point of his junior year, even that was a thing of the past. I thought he had a good glove, and handled the puck quite well, and had enough of a skill set that he at least would have made someone's roster as a servicable NHL second string guy.

 

[SwedishJustice22]

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

Well since Michigan won't give us a break (tying the game with :40 left and winning the game with :03 left in OT) it looks like we hold our own fate in our gloves. Win the home and home and the title is ours. Lose just one game and we need Michigan to return the favor. This is not going to be a weekend for the weak hearted, and if its going to come down to the 26th, lets make it the loudest game the Joyce has ever seen and do it in front of the home crowd

 

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

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

Much more complete game tonight. They came out and actually played offense in the 1st period. While the PK blew this weekend, I can live with it because a.) my team swept on the road, b.) my team scored 8 goals on the weekend off the sticks of 7 different guys, c.) both goalies made some awesome saves (with Summerhays having his best game yet) while having a combined save % of .943 on the weekend, d.) each time a player (Joe Lavin, Nick Larson) made a bonehead move, they redeemed themselves by scoring a goal, and e.) my team is still in first going into the last weekend of the regular season and can finish no lower than 2nd.

On a historic-ND-hockey-finding-its-way-on-the-map kinda note, IIRC (because I don't believe Tim Wallace played alongside Mark Eaton against Detroit and Brett Lebda in the few games he had been called up for) I believe tonight was the first time 3 former ND players were on the same NHL sheet of ice.

 

[uaafanblog]

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

I'm sure it's just that I'm in a bad mood after a loss tonight but I'm really sick and tired of seeing this non-sensical, absurdly long thread title. Please continue at an increased posting frequency with whatever golden domer hoohaw you hoosiers talk about so it reaches 1,000 posts more quickly than it's been progressing. I won't be back to check on any replies.

 

[IrishHockeyFan]

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

So that's what happens to fans of teams with 17 consecutive second division finishes. OK, noted.

Great second night effort. My own streak of having no clue as to reading the goalie situation continues. I don't believe I have been correct once in the last two seasons when I have submitted an opinion on which goalie would start. Thank God Jackson is the one making the decisions. 2 good wins in a place that can be hard on an offensive team like Notre Dame to have success, although of late we've been winning there, going 6-1-1 in the last 8 in BR.

Its been a pretty dam good regular season. Two more tough games to go and it could end up being a great regular season.

 

[SteveP]

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

Always been a little mystified as to why David Brown never really made more of his professional career to this point. He started out OK in the ECHL and looked to be making progress with a call up to the AHL in his first pro season but never really seemed to show any improvement on that first year in Scranton. At least from my memory his only weakness at the NCAA level was mental, but by the mid-point of his junior year, even that was a thing of the past. I thought he had a good glove, and handled the puck quite well, and had enough of a skill set that he at least would have made someone's roster as a servicable NHL second string guy.

I wonder if getting buried in the Penguins' system after being a Hobey finalist messed up his head?

 

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

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

If my calculations are correct, the floors and ceilings of the teams should be as follows:

ND can finish 1st or 2nd
Michigan can finish 1st or 2nd
Miami 2nd or 3rd
WMU 4th-8th
NMU 4th-7th
FSU 4th-8th
UA(F) 7th-9th (their league season is complete)
LSSU 4th-9th
OSU 4th-10th
MSU 9th-10th
BG 11th

ND plays WMU, Michigan plays NMU, Miami plays LSSU, FSU plays OSU and MSU plays BG. Everyone has something to play for except BG.

SwedishJustice22, if you want to try out a laid back practice, come to the Ice Box Friday, March 4th at 9:00 p.m. If you need gear, we can scrounge some up for the evening. Let me know so I can start scrounging.

 

[redwings8831]

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

If my calculations are correct, the floors and ceilings of the teams should be as follows:

ND can finish 1st or 2nd
Michigan can finish 1st or 2nd
Miami 2nd or 3rd
WMU 4th-8th
NMU 4th-7th
FSU 4th-8th
UA(F) 7th-9th (their league season is complete)
LSSU 4th-9th
OSU 4th-10th
MSU 9th-10th
BG 11th

ND plays WMU, Michigan plays NMU, Miami plays LSSU, FSU plays OSU and MSU plays BG. Everyone has something to play for except BG.

SwedishJustice22, if you want to try out a laid back practice, come to the Ice Box Friday, March 4th at 9:00 p.m. If you need gear, we can scrounge some up for the evening. Let me know so I can start scrounging.

Miami is locked into 3rd. Shootout wins are not taken into account for the tiebreakers.

 

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

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

Miami is locked into 3rd. Shootout wins are not taken into account for the tiebreakers.

I didn't even look at # of wins compared to Michigan. I stupidly simply looked at points. Michigan and ND have 2nd sewn up. So that means BG and Miami are locked in their respective current places.

 

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

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

Just a reminder for season tix holders that there is an appreciation reception just prior to the game Saturday behind the curtain at 6:00. Go in from gate 2.

 

[IrishHockeyFan]

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

I wonder if getting buried in the Penguins' system after being a Hobey finalist messed up his head?

Perhaps it would have with the Freshman version, certainly the Sophomore one. But by his Junior season he showed a level of maturity that that would go on to fuel his great Senior season. I think Jackson challenged him to the core, questioning him on a lot of levels during his Junior campaign, and he responded more than appropriately. Grew up as a player and as a person. Probably goes more to the idea that Hobey winners (and finalists) -- much like their Heisman Trophy counterparts in football -- are often not wildly successful in the professional ranks. Who knows why, though?

 

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

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

Man, has this season skated by. Quickly. I can't believe it's been almost 3 years since Calle Ridderwall's transformation from a 4th line guy to the "Woverine Killer" as some people refer to him. Or the fact that Ryan Guentzel, watching from the slot on that 4th line as Ridderwall's goal went in, now finds himself 3rd on the team in scoring. This will be the last season we will get to see Ben Ryan in his post-season beardedness. Someone on NDNation went so far as to qualify his beard as "glorious." This will be the first real chance to see Cap'n Lavin get scruffy as they get to rest up and grow those beards for the 2nd round. I bet he can out-mountain man Ryan given the chance!

But all of that facial hair is still several weeks away. The last regular season games are here. Home and home against the resurgent Broncos. I am going to the game in Kalamazoo Friday, but Mr. JJfP is, thankfully, not. He has never seen ND win up at Lawson. So I won't let him go this time.

There are some unbelievable similarities between ND and Western. Both are led by freshmen. Chase Balisy has 29 points in 34 games for Western and T.J Tynan has 44 points for ND in the same number of games. WMU has 12 guys with at least 10 points, while ND has 17 players in double digits. Sophomore Matt Tennyson is their top defenseman with 16 points. Sophomore Sam Calabrese, also with 16, is our top blue line scorer. Tennyson is also their top PPG scorer with 6. Max Campbell is their next guy in line with 5 PPG's. ND's top PPG scorers are Jeff Costello, also with 6, and Anders Lee, also with 5.

Jerry Kuhn has been in net for every game since before Xmas, so I assume that trend will continue this weekend. He's got a GA of 2.36 and a save % of .908. Mike Johnson and Steven Summerhays will likely split again. They both had fantastic games in Big Rapids, so I'm comfortable with that arrangement. Johnson has a GA of 2.55 with a save % of .907. Summerhays has a GA of 3.01 and a save % of .858.

WMU averages 2.76 GF and gives up 2.44. Their PP sits at 15.8% on the strength of 25 PPG's. Their PK is at 80.3% while giving up 27 PPG's against. They've scored 4 shorties, but given up 5. ND scores 3.68 GF and gives up 2.68. Their PP is so-so at 16.8%. Ironically, their opponents also go 16.8% on the PP as ND's PK is 83.2%. ND has 28 PPG's for and 26 against while remaining stuck on 12 shorties. They've now given up 2 shorties.

These will be the last games to end a regular season at the JACC. Here's to ending the season on a good note. The reward for a job well-done is the opportunity to keep doing it.

 

[ND Hockey]

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

Time sure does fly. I can't believe it's been three years either. It's even tougher to believe that only three players remain from the 2008 Frozen Four run. As senior day approaches, let's take a look back at what happened to that 2007-08 Freshman class.

Robin Bergman went back to Sweden after first semester, then committed to Maine, then left to play professional hockey in Finland. Bergman now plays for the Finnish league champions TPS Turku. Ian Cole and Teddy Ruth went pro after three years to pursue the NHL. Brad Phillips left the team after an injury caused him to miss all of 2008-09 and then left after a disappointed 2009-10 season. Phillips was last seen playing for the Bloomington PrairieThunder of the Central Hockey League.

On the other hand, almost all of Michigan's freshmen remain from the 2008 Frozen Four. Max Pacioretty went pro after his rookie season and is now a three year veteran of the NHL. Tristin Llewellyn was kicked off the team just a month ago. Aaron Palushaj, Matt Rust, Carl Hagelin, Louie Caporusso, Chad Langlais, Ben Winnett, Scooter Vaughan, and Bryan Hogan all still remain. Shawn Hunwick didn't dress that day, but was also a member of that 2007-08 team.

Despite the vast differences in seniority, this season Notre Dame and Michigan have been separated by the thinnest of margins all season long in the human polls, the PairWise, and the CCHA standings. Notre Dame is just two wins away (albeit two really tough conference games against a team playing for its tournament life) from becoming the unlikeliest of all conference champions since David Brown and Notre Dame announced their arrival to the college hockey elite in 2006-07.

I'm going to end this post with a photograph. Since this message is chocked full of nostalgia anyways it is an old photograph. I've been looking for something that accurately and succinctly recaps the Jeff Jackson era at the JACC. Currently, six banners hang from the west end rafters. Here is how it looked when I arrived at Notre Dame as a freshman:

It's a lot more crowded down there now, but there's plenty more room on the other side of the parking lot.

 

[SwedishJustice22]

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

If I just read the bracketology correctly, if we both win out this weekend Michigan wins the CCHA because of the tie breaker for winning percentage which is conference wins? That doesn't seems right and I would hate to look back on this amazing regular season knowing that we might have been officiated right out of the conference title in that Saturday night Miami game. I know the bigger picture and I want that picture but it would be a little bit of a sour taste in my mouth imo

 

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

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

If I just read the bracketology correctly, if we both win out this weekend Michigan wins the CCHA because of the tie breaker for winning percentage which is conference wins? That doesn't seems right and I would hate to look back on this amazing regular season knowing that we might have been officiated right out of the conference title in that Saturday night Miami game. I know the bigger picture and I want that picture but it would be a little bit of a sour taste in my mouth imo

That is not correct. ND would still have one more point than Michigan if both win out. If we are tied in points, Michigan wins the tie breaker. There are weird possibilities where ND and Michigan could end up completely tied in everything and ND would win the tie breaker by virtue of their record against Miami. However, keep in mind that we could just as easily blame some soft goals on several losses, ties or SOL's. If ND doesn't take the regular season, it isn't an official's fault.

On a different note, did you see my question about my men's team practice that you could take part in? If interested, let me know.

 

[SwedishJustice22]

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

Well its come down to this. Tomorrow night. Notre Dame, Indiana. Joyce Center Hockey Rink. Our fate in our own hands. Win and its ours. Lose and we have to hope. Win in a shoot out....lets hope it doesn't come to that. I don't think besides the good old black out game for the White Sox back in 2008 that I have been to a game that is going to have this much energy and pressure. I have a feeling that I will have my face pressed to the glass the entire game and won't be able to relax until that clock reads 00:00 after 60. So in the words of Leroy Jenkins: LETS DO THIS!

 

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

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

Last night was great, with the exception of the parking lot attendants at Lawson. After I let my Irish temper loose (along with some well-placed F-bombs), I got my way. And that was after the Irish won! Imagine what I would've been like had we ... Perish the thought. 6th in the PWR. 60 minutes of good, solid hockey can make this a perfect night. Well, that and John Schmidt showing up for the 1st team honors. Tomorrow will be the first Sunday since September that I have no game or practice myself, so the chance to go out celebrating has never been better timed. Let's finish strong, boys.

(BTW, SugarIsland, sorry we didn't do more than wave at each other from a distance...)

 

[Sec2 Row 13 Seats 567]

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

Jackson needs to burn the GREEN JERSEY'S...........................................................................................................and
__________________________________and_________________________________________and__________________________
and the league needs to fire Wilkins.
Nuff Said

 

[Sugarisland]

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

Jackson needs to burn the GREEN JERSEY'S...........................................................................................................and
__________________________________and_________________________________________and__________________________
and the league needs to fire Wilkins.
Nuff Said

....and last night Bronco fans would have wanted Wilkins fired too. Bummer that we got arguably the two worst officials in the CCHA for such an important series for both teams. They are so predictable......watching trips , holds, and crosschecks right in front of them.... and then calling someone for a questionable interference penalty.

JJFP.........you don't have to stay in your seat between periods........Bronco fans don't bite

I should have come to South Bend tonight. After last night, I certainly did not expect a 2-0 Bronco win. We certainly have turned a corner this year. ND, Mich, and Miami are head and sholders above the rest of the league but the feeling here is that Western is on their way. Beat Ferris and we go to the Joe for the first time since 1994.

 

[BII]

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

Great series. Notre Dame is the best college team that I've seen this year. Western is experiencing the same high you guys did when you finally hired a real coach. It is amazing to watch a Western team actually play hockey after all these years. This could turn into a nice rivalry. Notre Dame played two good periods and normally that would have been more than enough to win. Now you have to play 60 minutes to beat us. Good warm up for the NCAAs.