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.
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."