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Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

I assume the HBO/Dr Melfi reference has something to do with The Sopranos, but I also have no idea how that has anything to do with this thread. If memory serves isn't Dr. Melfi Tony Soprano's psychiatrist? Anyway...

Not that it matters today, but I was kind of surprised we dropped so far in the pairwise. I would have thought that with the results of so many of the teams being so schizophrenic our number would still be a little higher. We dropped quite a bit further than Alaska jumped (from 5th to 11th in RPI, Alaska went to 33rd from 35th and is now a TUC). UMD had a worse weekend against a similarly rated opponent (MTU, 30 spots behind them in the RPI) and went to number 1 in the PWR. This is the time of year where these numbers really start to make you scratch your head. Either very fun to watch, or nerve wracking, depending on which direction your team moves.

No matter what happens, Notre Dame controls their destiny. We could see them finish just about anywhere in the CCHA. We could see them miss the tournament or get in as a number 1 seed somewhere.
 
Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

I've seen one episode of The Sopranos. Gotta say, The Godfather did it better and 3 and a half decades sooner.

Speaking of something akin to a godfather, this weekend is the "Lefty fest" when supposedly many former players will be on hand to honor their former coach. Will I now finally get to see John Schmidt after 30 years?!

So I looked at BG's last 10 games, as I did for UA(F), and while they have not fared as well as Alaska did in their preceding 10, Bowling Green does have a few feathers in their cap (Get it? Feathers? Cuz they're the Falcons...). Anyhoo. They are 2-5-3 in their last 10. In that mix are 2 shootout wins against the former top team in the league and a victory against another former league leader. In those 10, their GF is 1.6 (like I stated earlier, if they had anyone who could score, they'd likely be in the middle of the league), while their GA is 2.8. They have only 2 players in the teens in scoring, Cam Wojtala and Ryan Carpenter, each with 16 points. Wojtala and Bryce Williamson lead the team with 3 PPG's each. Williamson leads the team in G's with 7. Andrew Hammond will be in net. He's got a save % of .897 and a GA of 2.62. BG's PP stinks, going 11.1% overall, 8.3% in CCHA play, but their PK is pretty decent both overall (85%) and in league play (83%).

ND over the last 10 games is 5-5 with a few solid victories. Their GF in that span is 2.8/game while their GA is 2.7. Phew. That's a little close. ND has 8 players who are in the teens or higher in scoring; 3 of those in the 20's; 1, T.J. Tynan, in the 30's. Scoring should not be an issue. Anders Lee still leads the team in G's (14) and PPG's (6), but that's because he built up such a cushion to start off the season... I bet I would have an easier time getting struck by lightning-twice-than guessing who will be in net this weekend for ND, but my guess is: both of them. Steven Summerhays has a save % of .893 and a GA of 2.76 while Mike Johnson has a save % of .885 and a GA of 2.63. ND's PP is still awesome at 20% overall and 18.9% in the league, but the PK smells a little at 80.2% overall. You don't even want to know what the PK is in conference play. :eek:

Coach Jackson has assured the students that the team is going to "Bring it." The great Vince Lombardi once said, "The strength of the group is the strength of the leaders."
 
Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Forgot to mention the ND alumni game at 1:00 Saturday afternoon. Come out and relive the past with some former players. {please, please, please let John Schmidt show up}
 
Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Does anyone else find it odd to look at the overall statistics and see Notre Dame dead last in goals allowed? No CCHA team has given up more than Notre Dame's 77. Granted counting just conference games we are 5th, and much closer to first in goals allowed than last.

This series is a trap series. If the Irish treat Bowling Green like anything other than the best college hockey team going, they will fail this weekend. I hope every Notre Dame player taking the ice realizes this.
 
Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

I have determined that John Schmidt has entered the witness protection program.

I have also decided to look for a good anti-ophidic serum for Anders Lee because he is definitely snake bit.

I have to say, David Gerths had a fantastic game. And...wait for it...he's off the schneid! Nice primary assist on Nick Larson's GWG as he filled in for Stephen Johns when Johns pinched in, kicked the puck back out to Gerths on the point and he blasted a shot that Larson tipped in. Also have to give kudos to Mike Johnson for a solid game and a few point blank stops and a nice save on a knuckler from a semi-breakaway.

The end of the season is going to be a roller coaster ride for many teams in this league, as one win or one loss can either send you flying or send you flailing. Here's to a launch into outer space.
 
Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

I...uh...how...{sigh}

I am completely baffled by this team. I'm completely puzzled by the crappy (and I mean worst of the 41 D1 teams I've seen this season) student support. I'm left speechless at the lack of "home ice advantage" Notre Dame has.

While I mean no disrespect to Bowling Green whatsoever, how the hell does this team lose to that team?! BG's top 5 guys have 64 points. Our top TWO guys have 65 points. Our top 5 guys have 124 points.

The only thing I can bank on with this team is that I can't bank on anything.
 
Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Well I know one thing you can bank on. When you are that poorly prepared you deserve the inevitable loss you suffer at the hands of the last place team in the CCHA.

Awful weekend of hockey out of Notre Dame. Really and truly awful. They are dam lucky to come out of it with a win. On a team so loaded with talent, on and behind the bench, the way they play the game sometimes -- especially at home -- is almost shameful. This team is looking more and more like the pampered entitled bunch we saw loafing around the Joyce 2 seasons ago.

Taker and Johns were lifeless out there. One turnover or bad play after another. Summerhays was good enough through two periods, but couldn't begin to make up for the effort in front of him in the third period. Then he decided to hopelessly overplay his position on the third BG goal and left the net wide open for the BG player who the defense decided not to cover. Not nearly mentally tough enough for this team. And 9 shots on goal over the final 40 minutes? Why does this team refuse to get pucks to the net? Our forwards were mindlessly inconsistent all night long. One good solid shift followed by a shift that featured awful passes, or slow skating, or no backcheck. 3 of their 4 goals on the weekend came from simply putting the puck to the net, including the tipped in game winner last night. So what do they need to have happen to see that that extra pass, or the pretty spin-o-rama, or the incessant carrying of the puck until you are out of options is not working? If the goals they score doing the productive things don't tell them, I suppose nothing will.

If this team worked as hard and played as smart as the team Jackson had in his first couple of years here, I doubt they'd have 5 losses, let alone the 11 they are saddled with right now. There is a failure of leadership right now. I don't know if it is the coaches, or the captains, or if the majority of the team thinks they have the talent to beat teams like Alaska or Bowling Green just by lining up for the faceoffs. Jackson's first Irish team was more fun to watch than this bunch has been of late. And they finished 6 games under .500. But they came to play every night. Oh for this edition to begin doing the same thing.
 
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Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Wow. Still 10th in the PWR after tonight. I almost wish we would have taken a hit. Something needs to wake these guys up.
 
Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

I've been griping about the student support and their privileged-silver-spoon-sucking-taking-cues-from-the-old-men-in-Cadillacs-with-big-class-rings-sitting-on-their-hands-in-the-football-stadium mentality. Now I fear that has seeped into the team. Even Squarebanks (the UA[F]) poster) noted that, "ND looked like a team that didn't want to be here [in Alaska] and was expecting to play half-*** and win."

Do they believe that they are talented enough to win simply by showing up? Do they believe the other teams are awed by the new digs? Do they think they intimidate opponents? Do they need to have the adage that hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard stamped on their foreheads?

Pre-Thanksgiving this team was 9-2-3 and had options up the wazoo. Post-Thanksgiving they are 7-9-0 and quickly running out of options.
I am also shocked that we are still in the top 10 in the PWR. I would have bet dollars to doughnuts we were out of the running. Regardless of our PWR ranking right now, I fear for the life of our post-season.
 
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Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

They almost played like they didn't want to win yesterday. I don't know what has happened to these guys. Why do these people sit on a one goal lead with nearly two whole periods left to play? Why not play with the same intensity they played with in the first ten minutes? 9 shots in two periods, against BOWLING GREEN, is ridiculous.

I think this is an overly pampered team, that's the problem IMO. They remind me of the US World Junior Team this year. They'll win if you let them beat you; if not, well, they'll accept losing too.
 
Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

I've been trying to figure out how to put what I'm seeing on the ice onto paper (or computer screen, whatever). That's it, NDF27! Pampered. That's the word I've been searching for. Hammer. Nail. Head.
 
Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

If I see one more spin a rama I may have to lose my temper. In 2 frickin' years, this move has not resulted in ONE SINGLE GOAL within 30 seconds of seeing it. It confuses no one, it does nothing. It's time to acknowledge that you can turn in a circle, and move on to a different play.

If I see one more blind, backwards or drop pass, as opposed to getting the puck deep, I also am going to give serious consideration to losing my temper. I can recall at least 3 instances last night where that pass was sent backwards to near the blue line to be met, not by a Notre Dame team-mate, but rather a Bowling Green player just sitting there waiting to pick it off. A drop pass if you know your partner is there is one thing, a drop pass HOPING your partner is there is the height of pee wee play. These guys are almost old enough to be parents of a pee wee player, not acting like a pee wee player.

And the last rant is such a fundamentally simple process I cannot believe we have to say it. If you don't put the puck on net, you don't score goals. 9 shots in 50 minutes is unacceptable. Simply unacceptable. Zero shots in 10 minutes of the final period is beyond unacceptable. It's sit your butt down and let someone else who wants to play give it a go. Not that I want to encourage him to suit up, but Eric Ringel played harder in that alumni game Saturday afternoon than did some of the players last night. And he sure took more shots on goal.

Pitiful is the word that comes to mind.
 
Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Something that is bothering me right now is Jackson's insistence that his team is still a "young" team. They played 2 Freshmen last night. They played 4 the night before. And anyway, it's February. I think you are hard pressed to point to inexperience -- especially in the regular season -- once teams have played more than half their games. This team routinely had 9 or 10 Freshman players on the ice last season. The fact that this is a college sport means you are going to have teams with Freshmen. Hockey especially lends itself to impact underclassmen since so many begin the game not as 17 or 18 year olds, but often times as 20 year olds. Even at Notre Dame. And the argument that ANY of the Sophomores should be given a pass because of youth or inexperience is complete balderdash. I served with plenty of Corporals who exhibited tremendous leadership skills despite their relative youth, many of them no older than most of the underclassmen on this team. Whatever is wrong with this team, the dates on their birth certificates are not the problem.
 
Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Something that is bothering me right now is Jackson's insistence that his team is still a "young" team. They played 2 Freshmen last night. They played 4 the night before. And anyway, it's February. I think you are hard pressed to point to inexperience -- especially in the regular season -- once teams have played more than half their games. This team routinely had 9 or 10 Freshman players on the ice last season. The fact that this is a college sport means you are going to have teams with Freshmen. Hockey especially lends itself to impact underclassmen since so many begin the game not as 17 or 18 year olds, but often times as 20 year olds. Even at Notre Dame. And the argument that ANY of the Sophomores should be given a pass because of youth or inexperience is complete balderdash. I served with plenty of Corporals who exhibited tremendous leadership skills despite their relative youth, many of them no older than most of the underclassmen on this team. Whatever is wrong with this team, the dates on their birth certificates are not the problem.

They make too many excuses for losing. The real problem is that they accept losing, PERIOD. It becomes a self-fulfilling thing after a while. That's the main difference between the first and second half of the season. There were a lot of close games in the first half too, but they still thought of themselves as a top-tier team and would play to win - even when behind. Now they accept that it's okay to lose and they lose a lot of those close games now.

The problem, in my opinion, is entirely mental.
 
Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Well the students don't get a pass for last night. Their effort was lacking which was especially disappointing considering JJ challenged them this week in the Observer.

I think this team tends to be reactive rather than dictating the tempo and style. During the Michigan game, there was some fast maybe even shinny like hockey being played. It was fun to watch but this is Michigan's style. Last night ND ended up playing BG's game which tends to be more like goon hockey. ND was the more talented team and showed that the first 10 minutes as ND completely controlled the game. Shots were 8 to 1 ND and Russo had a great goal from the point. Then the goon hockey started to pick up and the rest was a chippy BG type of game.

I also wonder how much of this is on Coach JJ. Brian Kelly takes a lot of heat for sticking to his system and being a system guy. But JJ is a system coach as well, defensive trap and cycle hockey. But last night showed and I find this to be true most of the time, that ND is the more talented team on the ice. With the trap and cycle you're taking throughbreds and turning them into plough horses. If you have the horses let them go. If you look at JJ's history he's always been at places (Lake State) where he had to rely on systems to beat the big boys. It's the difference between driving a Hyundai and a Lamborghini. Yet he still drives like he has a Hyundai.

Finally the players may not be the only ones who were "pampered" in the CFIA last night. I have beat the topic to death but add last night to the evidence for what is happening to ND hockey in the CFIA.

I am worried going forward because Ferris State tends to play a very similar game to BG only they have been more effective against ND with it in recent years.
 
Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Finally the players may not be the only ones who were "pampered" in the CFIA last night. I have beat the topic to death but add last night to the evidence for what is happening to ND hockey in the CFIA.

I wasn't able to make it last night. Was there something that happened out of the ordinary to make you think this again?
 
Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

I wasn't able to make it last night. Was there something that happened out of the ordinary to make you think this again?

Not sure if ND1 was speaking of anything in particular, but the crowd was awful.

We "townies" are showing up pretty consistently. I see the same pockets of empty seats here or there, but nothing unlike any other "sold out" building usually has. It is our students who have chosen not to support the team in numbers everyone may have expected. In addition, they make no noise to speak of, and generally wait for the band to play the Victory March or one of their other traditional numbers before the rest of the students get vocal at all. I have no idea why they keep saying our games are sold out when the student section was clearly far from full. The southwest corner was quite empty Saturday, and in fact both nights the student sections were more sparsely populated than the other sections.

Two times on the weekend they spontaneously started a "Let's Go Irish!" cheer, and Friday it took until the third period. That was it. College crowds at hockey and basketball games feed off the students in large part. When our students are quiet and apathetic, the crowd follows suit. They set aside a large enough section of seats for the students at the CFIA that even IF the crowd took a while to follow suit the students alone should make the place fairly loud, as long as they show up and make noise.

The response by the team and the students to Jackson's Observer letter left a lot to be desired. Neither group came anywhere near close to bringing it this weekend.
 
Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Your inability to score more than 2 PP goals out of your numerous chances cost you the game. You had 5 penalties to our 10 in the first 2 periods. That is almost inconceivable. The 3rd period was played penalty free so "goon" hockey, in the eyes of the refs must have been non-existent and yet BG out shot ND 12 - 4. That tells me one thing: BG out hustled and out played ND completely in the 3rd period. ND didn't "lower themselves" to playing goon hockey, they were flat out beaten. I watched the games. Friday's game, with a minimum of penalties, could easily have gone either way. The penalty differential last night was bogus. There were many times when the announcers thought that the penalty was on a ND player when it turned out to be the other way around. I'm not saying that we didn't deserve many of them....but definitely not all of them.

FWIW, BG has been playing good hockey since the first of the year. We tied what was then the number 2 ranked team in the nation twice and beat them in shoot outs both nights. We split with UAF, we split with 13th ranked WMU, and now 8th ranked ND. Oddly, nobody seems to be noticing and the teams that lose to us continue to count the loss as an unfathomable anomaly.
 
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