Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

[NUMcNeely]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Just wanted to stop in to say what a treat it was spending time at Notre Dame this past weekend, 30 hours in a car well spent Everyone was super friendly, the ushers were very pleasant to talk to, and a number of Notre Dame fans went out of their ways to chat me and my friends up. Really great experience, also your arena is GORGEOUS, they did an INCREDIBLE job with it, it has the homely feel you want in a college rink and the modern amenities that you want in a new rink. It was a real treat to see, I'll certainly be back, next time probably with a football game thrown in there too

 

[IrishHockeyFan]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Glad the Northeastern fans all enjoyed your stay. Talk about making yourselves comfortable... Seriously though, I haven't seen a good Notre Dame team get dominated like that in a long, long time. There was no doubt who the better team was, especially on Friday.

It seems like there is a lot of talk going on now about an illness sweeping through the Irish hockey team. It is even being presented as off the record fact on the CCHA blog article on this site. Posters on other sites have commented on it, and I even made note of it offhandedly. What it doesn't do is excuse the way the team looked Friday, or the way the goalie looked Saturday.

This is a team with some issues, one that hasn't improved as either the year has gone on, or over where they were at this time last year while playing 10 freshmen regularly. Scoring has slowed a bit. Notre Dame scored 3 or more goals in 11 of their first 13 games, but only once in the last 5, and 5 goals in the first 10 games, but haven't scored that many since. Jackson's publicly proclaimed number 1 netminder has been pulled in 3 of his last 8 starts over the last 4 weeks. And neither the goalies or the skaters seem to have figured out the shootout matters at least a little bit, even if most of us wish it didn't.

These are all issues that are fixable. Perhaps nothing more than slumps that need to be skated through. But it would be nice to see some consistently solid play on more fronts from here on out. Still a lot of hockey to be played and a lot of ways it can play out.

 

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

So...has everyone recovered from this past weekend's pukefest? God, I hope so.

FSU is coming off 2 straight losses and losses in 3 of their last 4, just as ND is. How they could lose with goalies who have the numbers they have is completely beyond me. The Bulldogs are led by goalies C.J. Motte and Taylor Nelson, who have been splitting time more so lately than earlier this season. Motte has a sick save % of .941 and an even sicker GA of 1.55. Nelson has worse (*disclaimer coming) numbers than Motte's, but that's like saying *the architecture in NYC is worse than the architecture in Chicago. His save % is .929 while his GA is 2.01. FSU has been shutout 3 times and they have shutout their opponents 4 times. ND's Mike Johnson and Steven Summerhays have been, um, struggling lately. Johnson's save % (surprisingly) is .893 while his GA is (also surprisingly) 2.49. Summerhays' save % is .860 while his GA is 3.17. ND has neither shutout an opponent, nor been shutout.

Maybe the 2 teams could do as the beer leagues do and share goalies... Just a thought.

FSU's offense is led by Travis Ouellette who has 13 points. ND is led by T.J. Tynan with 25 points. I'd kill for Anders Lee to get off the schneid and pot a few goals this weekend. FSU averages 2.69 GF while giving up a stingy 1.88/game. ND averages a nice 3.06, but that GA is creeping up at 2.78/game. FSU's PP is middling at 15.8% while their PK is quite successful at 89%. ND's PP is still (surprisingly) good at 20.9%, while their PK is slipping again at 83.9%.

After last weekend, I don't know what to expect from this team. Well, except to expect to not know what to expect. Boy, try saying that statement fast 3 times. Earlier I said this team can't be great without secondary scoring. Bryan Rust responded to that, so I'll point out the elephant in the room that they won't be great, maybe even not quite good, if they can't get quality goaltending.

Henry Ford said it best, "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right."

 

[Craig P.]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

He didn't show up in the scoresheet last Saturday, but Lee looked good. He was one of the few Irish players who did.

 

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

He didn't show up in the scoresheet last Saturday, but Lee looked good. He was one of the few Irish players who did.

He always looks good, even when ill. But he's rung a few off the posts lately, and if those had gone in, a few of these losses would be in another column.

BTW, he got muscled off the puck twice this weekend. Never seen it before and hope to never see it again...

 

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

I've been trying to decide if I should press the panic button. I imagine some skaters are thinking, "Anders isn't scoring. I have to." {grips stick a little tighter} I imagine some goalies are thinking, "I don't have reliable help, in front of me or in a back-up. I have to play the puck." {does anything but stop the puck}

That's what I imagine. But then the issue could be things like zero shots on nearly 2-minutes of 5 X 3 hockey. Or it could be the fact that in the last 4 games, our GF is 1.5/game. Or maybe it could be that in that same 4 games our GA is 5/game.

Santa can't get here soon enough.

 

[IrishHockeyFan]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

At least a couple more games before I'd push the button. But I would have my finger hovering over it at least.

Two big things are really gripping this team right now. One is the obvious shortcomings in our goaltending, which College Hockey News isn't sugarcoating any longer, calling it "downright bad." The other is the dreaded sophomore slump. 4 guys have had it pretty much all year, and one is feeling its horrible grip after a hot start.

Something isn't right with Mike Johnson, and hasn't been for quite some time now. Have to wonder if it is physical, between the ears, or what. And no matter how often he struggles, Jackson seems completely unwilling to give Summerhays an extended look right now. If my count is right, we've seen 6 mid game goalie changes so far this season. Johnson's pretty severe inconsistency has to be affecting his teammates confidence to a great extent and the coach obviously isn't confident in Summerhays. Not a good mix.

Then you have that 2nd year slump. Last season we all marveled at the way all those freshmen found their way productively into the lineup. 4 of them, Taker, Lind, Costello and Gerths, combined for 49 points as newcomers. Those 4 this year have managed all of 10 points so far. With half the assured games gone none of the four are anywhere near where I would have expected them to be, and one has yet to find his way onto the scoresheet. And Anders Lee is in the midst of a slump that has to be driving him crazy. 12 goals and 17 points in the first 11 games, no goals and 2 points in the last 8.

But we have had a couple of Freshmen step up this season, and a Junior. Austin Wuthrich has played well, been very aggressive around the net and scored some timely points. And Robbie Russo looks to be getting used to NCAA hockey, playing smarter and smarter and starting to find his shot. And Riley Sheahan is starting to score at a more consistent clip while maintaining his claim as one of the better all around forwards in the CCHA. With as many goals and nearly as many points as last season already, he's more than doing his part.

These guys know what it takes to win, and I think the leadership in the locker room is sound. Hopefully they go out and prove me right on the ice.

 

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

I'll take it down from DefCon 5 to DefCon 2.

Specific kudos go to Billy Maday for those last 2 shifts when he worked his tail off with the puck, Mike Voran for his first 2-goal game, Stephen Johns for that killer hit, the PP units for going 25% and the PK units for going 100%. Everyone had a nice, quality game, including (and I'm so glad I can finally say this) the goalie, Steven Summerhays.

Anders Lee came oh-so-close two more times tonight. God help the opposing goalie who's in net when he does get out of his slump!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goal each night.

 

[IrishHockeyFan]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

What pleased me most about the win on Saturday was the team looked to get back to doing what THEY are good at doing. Good solid puck movement, patience, proper positioning are all things you need to do when you play a team like Ferris, and they accomplished all of that. Throw in some timely scoring by a couple of guys from that Sophomore class that I called out a few members of -- including a solid performance by Steven Summerhays -- and there's the end of your losing streak.

I think this team needs the break they have coming up now. Use it well, recharge, and come out firing on December 31st.

 

[NotreDameFan27]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Hi, new poster (long time lurker) here, but I want to ask the regulars if they think Summerhayes should start getting a lot more starts now, if not replace Johnson outright as the starter?

I like Mike Johnson, and he has had good stretches, but I definitely think that Summerhayes has far more upside between the two of them. I can understand why Jeff Jackson went with Johnson like he did, given that he had a hot hand for a while there, but he's sitting at a .889 save percentage and has a record of 7-5-3 in 17 starts. I can't imagine that Summerhayes would play worse than this. With the bulk of the players still being sophomores and with an excellent recruiting class coming in Jeff Jackson also has to start thinking about the future and I think Summerhayes is definitely the goalie of the future at Notre Dame.

Summerhayes has had a couple of bad games as well, but he was also the USHL goaltender of the year prior to coming to Notre Dame, this should give Jeff Jackson confidence that he can play at an elite level consistently with some experience. I think Jackson continued to go to Johnson, even after he began badly struggling, primarily because they have a close personal relationship. Both have mentioned this in the past. Otherwise, I think it's obvious that Summerhayes is the better choice to move ahead with. Even if he should falter you know you have an experienced back up in Johnson you can call on.

I just want to point out that I have felt this way for a while, so this isn't just a knee jerk reaction to what happened on Saturday. Even last year I believed that Notre Dame was only an elite goaltender away from a national championship. I believed that Johnson was ultimately their weak link and the reason they lost in Detroit and the Frozen Four semi-final against Duluth (although I admit he was outstanding in the Northeastern regionals).

Anyway, this is my opinion, i'm curious what other fans/regulars here think about this.

 

[Third Family Member]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Hi, new poster (long time lurker) here, but I want to ask the regulars if they think Summerhayes should start getting a lot more starts now, if not replace Johnson outright as the starter?
.

Hi ND27 and welcome. To answer your question, I don't know that either goalie is comfortable in their role, neither know if they are the starter or the backup, and neither appears comfortable in taking the reins and saying I am the starter which would make the other push to find HIMSELF in the role. But what I fear, having seen more of Johnson's play, is that Johnson is truly an .890 goalie, because he does consistently seem to put up those numbers.

One of the things that I wish both goalies would do is be nothing more than a goalie. Mike, especially, has a habit of wandering and attempting to play the puck, and then getting caught out and having to scramble, usually resulting in a frantic effort on the part of everyone to recoup, with the end result being a goal by the opponent. It's like he feels, on occasion, he has to be all and do all on the team. Handle the puck like you are a goalie, not like you are a defenseman, not like you are a forward. Unfortunately, I think that more often than not, elite goalies are a combination of talent, hard work and mind set, with mind set taking the top spot. David Brown had the talent but he had to use sports psychology to get himself into the mind set. Jordan Pearce had the mind set all along (though sometimes I'm not sure what it was, he was just such a quirky personality), and then worked hard to develop the talent.

I'm not sure Jeff has a close "personal" relationship with any of them, as you seem to describe. He's the coach. He lives, breaths, eats, sleeps, and thinks hockey. He's single minded in the extreme, and it is how he has developed himself into the coach that he is. That is the relationship he has with them. I see a "close, personal" relationship dividing a team, because it is playing favorites. Jeff was a goalie, playing behind some really great goalies at Michigan State (Ron Clarke, Gary Carr, Dave Versical) and he will have some extra affinity with goalies for that reason, but I think it extends to all 3 of the goalies, in equal measure. That's the personal aspect of his coaching relationship.

So, I guess we sit back now and wait for one of the goalies to take charge and demonstrate he is the one that will take this team the places they want to go.

 

[IrishHockeyFan]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Anyway, this is my opinion, i'm curious what other fans/regulars here think about this.

Better watch out. Having an opinion rubs some people the wrong way... just kidding and I think some of the longer tenured posters here get the joke. Welcome to the board.

I don't know that anyone knows what to think with the goalies right now. I often post about my own frustration when it comes to reading Jackson's mind as it concerns his netminders. Just when I'm sure one will start, he starts the other.

While it is only my opinion I actually think Johnson is the one that brings the higher upside to the ice. He's just incredibly inconsistent. I think he is completely capable of the kind of play we saw from him in New Hampshire last year in the NCAAs on most nights. His play then against two high powered offenses (I think Merrimack and UNH were the top two scoring teams in Hockey East last year) was huge. He was in large part the reason we saw the Irish advance against UNH, as they peppered him with nearly 40 shots and were in his face the entire third period. I think you might be placing a little too much blame on him for the NCAA semi-final loss, as Notre Dame took an uncharacteristic number of penalties and the penalty kill in general took the night off. Yes, he didn't play well in St. Paul either, and as we've seen he can certainly have a meltdown of a start like the ones against Lake State or Northeastern.

Steven Summerhays brought a great resume to Notre Dame and a reputation as a very competitive guy. But in his (admittedly) limited game opportunity or his practice preparation he has yet to show Jackson that he needs to be handed the reins as the number one guy. His numbers last year in 12 games didn't blow away anyone, and so far this year I think his record is better than his performance. I do feel like he played a very good game Saturday, and gave the kind of performance in net this team really needed. It seems that quite like the backup quarterback is the most popular player on a struggling football team, the backup goalie is in a similar position on a team with netminding issues. Summerhays will eventually get his chance if Johnson struggles for an extended period of time.

I think the current struggles are a combination of a lot of things. Inconsistent netminding, a schedule with too many games compressed into too few days, final exams, and a persistent bug that made its way around both the campus and apparently quite a few college hockey teams recently. I think coming out of the break we will see if Johnson can reassert himself as the obvious starter, as well as if a few other guys can fight their way out of a few slumps.

 

[NotreDameFan27]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Hi ND27 and welcome. To answer your question, I don't know that either goalie is comfortable in their role, neither know if they are the starter or the backup, and neither appears comfortable in taking the reins and saying I am the starter which would make the other push to find HIMSELF in the role. But what I fear, having seen more of Johnson's play, is that Johnson is truly an .890 goalie, because he does consistently seem to put up those numbers.

I'm not sure Jeff has a close "personal" relationship with any of them, as you seem to describe. He's the coach. He lives,
So, I guess we sit back now and wait for one of the goalies to take charge and demonstrate he is the one that will take this team the places they want to go.

Thank you for your thoughtful response. I suppose the issue here is that I feel Summerhayes has more LATENT ability than Johnson does. The problem with Summerhayes, as you described, is that he hasn't "taken charge" of the team and/or the situation. This is where I believe coaching and experience will only help him.

Again, I don't fault Jeff Jackson for going with Johnson early on as Johnson had the most experience and had that strong stretch of games. Obviously, you go with the hot goaltender in that situation. My point is that Johnson, in 17 games, is playing at .890 level. If this is the case, why not start Summerhayes, who I feel wouldn't be any worse, and hope he develops the mentality that he needs to as a starter.

 

[NotreDameFan27]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Better watch out. Having an opinion rubs some people the wrong way... just kidding and I think some of the longer tenured posters here get the joke. Welcome to the board.

I don't know that anyone knows what to think with the goalies right now. I often post about my own frustration when it comes to reading Jackson's mind as it concerns his netminders. Just when I'm sure one will start, he starts the other.

While it is only my opinion I actually think Johnson is the one that brings the higher upside to the ice. He's just incredibly inconsistent. I think he is completely capable of the kind of play we saw from him in New Hampshire last year in the NCAAs on most nights. His play then against two high powered offenses (I think Merrimack and UNH were the top two scoring teams in Hockey East last year) was huge. He was in large part the reason we saw the Irish advance against UNH, as they peppered him with nearly 40 shots and were in his face the entire third period. I think you might be placing a little too much blame on him for the NCAA semi-final loss, as Notre Dame took an uncharacteristic number of penalties and the penalty kill in general took the night off. Yes, he didn't play well in St. Paul either, and as we've seen he can certainly have a meltdown of a start like the ones against Lake State or Northeastern.

Steven Summerhays brought a great resume to Notre Dame and a reputation as a very competitive guy. But in his (admittedly) limited game opportunity or his practice preparation he has yet to show Jackson that he needs to be handed the reins as the number one guy. His numbers last year in 12 games didn't blow away anyone, and so far this year I think his record is better than his performance. I do feel like he played a very good game Saturday, and gave the kind of performance in net this team really needed. It seems that quite like the backup quarterback is the most popular player on a struggling football team, the backup goalie is in a similar position on a team with netminding issues. Summerhays will eventually get his chance if Johnson struggles for an extended period of time.

I think the current struggles are a combination of a lot of things. Inconsistent netminding, a schedule with too many games compressed into too few days, final exams, and a persistent bug that made its way around both the campus and apparently quite a few college hockey teams recently. I think coming out of the break we will see if Johnson can reassert himself as the obvious starter, as well as if a few other guys can fight their way out of a few slumps.

I hope you're right, thank you for your response.

 

[WeAreNDHockey]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Interesting Q and A tonight. Even touched on the goalie issue. My thought is neither goalie has shown me enough. Jackson referred to the inconsistency spoken about here. I believe there are a handful of NCAA teams right now going with a fairly regular goalie tandem, and that would be my choice here. Johnson has looked worn down at times in his first couple of seasons, and playing both guys would solve that. It would also give Summerhays a real test while not turning over the net to him, something he may not have earned outright yet based on his play over his first two seasons. It would also give both goalies every chance to earn the nod come CCHA and (hopefully) NCAA tourney time.

 

[NotreDameFan27]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Interesting Q and A tonight. Even touched on the goalie issue. My thought is neither goalie has shown me enough. Jackson referred to the inconsistency spoken about here. I believe there are a handful of NCAA teams right now going with a fairly regular goalie tandem, and that would be my choice here. Johnson has looked worn down at times in his first couple of seasons, and playing both guys would solve that. It would also give Summerhays a real test while not turning over the net to him, something he may not have earned outright yet based on his play over his first two seasons. It would also give both goalies every chance to earn the nod come CCHA and (hopefully) NCAA tourney time.

I was thinking that myself after this weekend given that Ferris State uses both their goalies with regularity. That may be the solution.

What else did Jackson say at the Q & A?

 

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Better watch out. Having an opinion rubs some people the wrong way...

Great. Now you've gone and angered them.

It seems that quite like the backup quarterback is the most popular player on a struggling football team, the backup goalie is in a similar position on a team with netminding issues.

You are soooo right. I seem to recall many fans calling for Brad Phillips to get his time in net, only to have him get it in Auburn Hills and then proceed to gack it up. That answered the question for everyone. Now if one of the current goaltenders would pull a Jordan Pearce out of his pads, it would help in this situation tremendously!

WANDH called for a tandem. I have noticed that Mike Johnson does wear down easily; four games seems his limit. Maybe after the 3 weeks off, everyone will have refreshed, recuperated and regrouped and Johnson can start 4 games and Steven Summerhays can play every 5th in relief. Or vice versa. Or go with a tandem. Whatever.

I'm just waiting to hear the lines from "Miracle"... "...what?! That's my net!" "They scored 9 goals on you Mike/Steven/Joe. It's everybody's net."

What else did Jackson say at the Q & A?

Most of the Q's were surprisingly elementary (from new hockey fans I surmised), but Coach Jackson did a nice job answering them to inform new and seasoned fans of the sport. There was a question about line changes, power play shots/passes, team GPA's, the aforementioned goalie situation, and my personal fave (simply because I asked it) about his take on coaching college kids as opposed to the other levels he's coached. He also talked about needing a body akin to Christian Hanson (smiley. heart.) in front of the net, team goals regarding penalty minutes, special teams, etc. and the losing streak. Coach Slaggert also talked about the incoming players and a bit about what it's like being the face of ND hockey (recruiting-wise). I was surprised by the number of brand new season ticket holders who attended. I think that face-to-face talk will go a long way toward solidifying the fan base. That--and a winning product on the ice.

One thing I find helpful to remember when I feel like pushing the panic button is that after the calendar turned 2008, Notre Dame did not win 14 of their last 22 games before backing into the NCAA's and playing in the last game of the year. Sometimes losing is just what a team needs to get back on track.

 

[NDgolden]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Better watch out. Having an opinion rubs some people the wrong way... just kidding and I think some of the longer tenured posters here get the joke. Welcome to the board.

Opinion away I say! :

Being regular about my meds and evening anger management classes has made a world of difference, smoothing out all the rough edges, despite this recent bout of spotty play by the lads..... My overdue apoligies to JJFP.

Lets hope BU gets a taste of the our real ND team.


Peace to all and Merry Christmas!

 

[Third Family Member]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

LOL, NDgolden, and Joyeux Noel to you as well!

 

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Being regular about my meds and evening anger management classes has made a world of difference...

Kindred spirit! (This is why I no longer carry a baseball bat in my car... )

I'll take our spotty play over BU's "adversity" any day.