Lake Superior State Hockey Lakers 2013-2014 (part II)

[sm2pk]

Re: Lake Superior State Hockey Lakers 2013-2014 (part II)

Didn't Lake State last summer commit to a 10 year program to build the Lakers back into a national contention team ? Or did that go by the way side with the disappearnce of 3dognight ?

 

[Truth Serum]

Re: Lake Superior State Hockey Lakers 2013-2014 (part II)

Didn't Lake State last summer commit to a 10 year program to build the Lakers back into a national contention team ? Or did that go by the way side with the disappearnce of 3dognight ?

And I bought a brick, the college even mailed it to me down here. I hope the unnamed donors speak out on this and their conditions for the funding and keeping this coach. The Administration up there is smart to keep him around, and for good reason, a good effort on Friday and tough luck up there on Saturday. Coach will have his boys ready to spring a couple of upsets at Ferris. Year 9 will be the best one yet for Lake Superior under Jim Roque. Just you wait and see!!!

 

[Lakers2Glory]

Re: Lake Superior State Hockey Lakers 2013-2014 (part II)

Didn't Lake State last summer commit to a 10 year program to build the Lakers back into a national contention team ? Or did that go by the way side with the disappearnce of 3dognight ?

You mean the biggest PR fiasco in LSSU history? The LSSU Foundation should know you don't prematurely put information out in public before you have your plan in place. Even if they did have a plan, there is no better way to lose people's interest in donating to the University when no one tells anyone what is going on for two years. I don't know a single person in SSM who thinks this project is going to take place. Someone from the University needs to say it, not 3dognight. We don't need specifics, just a "yes it is still going to happen" would be great. Until then, I consider that project a lost cause.

 

[Anchors Aweigh]

Re: Lake Superior State Hockey Lakers 2013-2014 (part II)

So the coach changed goalies. The backup doesn't give up a goal, and the "I never scored a goal above bantam" crowd still complains. I was at both games. KK fought the puck all weekend long.

Bill, you seem to be reconsidering your Roque fan club membership ;-)

KK played one of his worst games on Friday, and certainly wouldn’t have minded being pulled after three goals. He mostly payed the price for always playing deep in the net, which also brought him a great deal of success.

On Saturday, no one would have been surprised seeing Murdock starting (rotating habit, poor performance, senior weekend ...).
Kapalka wasn’t perhaps at his very best, but reasonably above average, and none of the goals were soft and, remember, he didn't gwet pulled after a goal. The score was close, the Lakers were at their best since the beginning of the weekend … Bill said it “nonsense”.
From where we were sitting, we couldn’t understand what Roque was yelling at Kapalka, it was loud enough to look worrying, and consistent with what Bill heard.
His body language, and the players’ indifference (they looked like thinking "oh shut up please. Say something useful"), made someone behind me (who usually complains about the refs) comment “please call an ambulance”.
Even the "I never scored a goal above bantam" ought to know that if you are unhappy with your goalie, you talk to him face to face, and only in a positive way as additional stress will not improve his focus.
Assuming Kapalka dropped too early (which he did a lot on Friday), please convey this advice to Jim Roque (as a few JR apologist are reporting the content of this forum): You talk to your goalie during a break and tell him to relax and stay focused on the next shot. That’s all you can do during a game, anything else would just disturb the player and should be done after the game, still in a civil and constructive way (ouch, that may be a problem).
Don’t start teaching him Tony Esposito or Don Muio tricks which were outdated before he was born.

Please also tell Roque that only opponent fans yell at the goalie, just to disturb him, so Kapalka just did the right thing in trying to stay focused on the game, because it was the only thing to do. Did he expect him to look at him all the time for additional instructions, noding "yes coach !" until he was scored between the pads and hear “don’t F@@@@ keep standing up”.

Murdock wasn’t really challenged, and was pretty lucky on a few pucks which were close to getting in when he was out of position or out balance. So the comment about the move being successful is useless.

Bill mentioned the senior ceremony. Interestingly, it brought some light on the subject, as on some ongoing speculation.

As usual, players come in and skate around the ice hugging and shaking hands with almost everyone and his brother, mostly teammates, staff, parents, fans, kids etc, the first one being the headcoach.
not surprisingly, Jim Roque turned his back to Ravn who came in first, and then stood away from the board so than the other players coming in one by one got the message they should try the next one; he only move in the end forward for his two pets.
At the end, the seven “roster” seniors standing in front of the team bench grabbed Ravn and put him in the middle of the picture. Was it a message ? Was Roque even still around ? who knows but it was nice to see.
May be because Roque wasn't there ... but just speculating.

 

[Bill]

Re: Lake Superior State Hockey Lakers 2013-2014 (part II)

Even Friday, the Laker defense let Margonari skate right in close on two of those goals and he just blasted it right by KK. He can only wear pads so big. Fighting it? I wouldn't say it was his best but certainly not his worst. The SOG were 40-14. He was probably wore down in the 3rd because the puck never left our zone for the first 2 periods. KK is the last person I would blame out there. If it were anyone else, we probably would have lost 10-0.

I thought the Lakers D backed up too much both nights, giving Mankato too many grade A shots and creating too much traffic in front of KK (especially Friday on the traffic). I don't blame KK for the Friday loss; it was team effort.

 

[Bill]

Re: Lake Superior State Hockey Lakers 2013-2014 (part II)

Bill, you seem to be reconsidering your Roque fan club membership ;-)

KK played one of his worst games on Friday, and certainly wouldn’t have minded being pulled after three goals. He mostly payed the price for always playing deep in the net, which also brought him a great deal of success.

On Saturday, no one would have been surprised seeing Murdock starting (rotating habit, poor performance, senior weekend ...).
Kapalka wasn’t perhaps at his very best, but reasonably above average, and none of the goals were soft and, remember, he didn't gwet pulled after a goal. The score was close, the Lakers were at their best since the beginning of the weekend … Bill said it “nonsense”.
From where we were sitting, we couldn’t understand what Roque was yelling at Kapalka, it was loud enough to look worrying, and consistent with what Bill heard.
His body language, and the players’ indifference (they looked like thinking "oh shut up please. Say something useful"), made someone behind me (who usually complains about the refs) comment “please call an ambulance”.
Even the "I never scored a goal above bantam" ought to know that if you are unhappy with your goalie, you talk to him face to face, and only in a positive way as additional stress will not improve his focus.
Assuming Kapalka dropped too early (which he did a lot on Friday), please convey this advice to Jim Roque (as a few JR apologist are reporting the content of this forum): You talk to your goalie during a break and tell him to relax and stay focused on the next shot. That’s all you can do during a game, anything else would just disturb the player and should be done after the game, still in a civil and constructive way (ouch, that may be a problem).
Don’t start teaching him Tony Esposito or Don Muio tricks which were outdated before he was born.

Please also tell Roque that only opponent fans yell at the goalie, just to disturb him, so Kapalka just did the right thing in trying to stay focused on the game, because it was the only thing to do. Did he expect him to look at him all the time for additional instructions, noding "yes coach !" until he was scored between the pads and hear “don’t F@@@@ keep standing up”.

Murdock wasn’t really challenged, and was pretty lucky on a few pucks which were close to getting in when he was out of position or out balance. So the comment about the move being successful is useless.

Bill mentioned the senior ceremony. Interestingly, it brought some light on the subject, as on some ongoing speculation.

As usual, players come in and skate around the ice hugging and shaking hands with almost everyone and his brother, mostly teammates, staff, parents, fans, kids etc, the first one being the headcoach.
not surprisingly, Jim Roque turned his back to Ravn who came in first, and then stood away from the board so than the other players coming in one by one got the message they should try the next one; he only move in the end forward for his two pets.
At the end, the seven “roster” seniors standing in front of the team bench grabbed Ravn and put him in the middle of the picture. Was it a message ? Was Roque even still around ? who knows but it was nice to see.
May be because Roque wasn't there ... but just speculating.

I'm not quite sure how I made it into the lead statement of that reply but I'm not a member of the Roque fan club nor have I ever been. I started off neutral in the early years of his stint at LSSU. Based upon the team's overall season to season records under Roque, within season trends, and things I've heard over the years (such as this past weekend), I'm certainly not part of any Roque fan club. And I only comment on things I've heard which I'm reasonably sure are from a reliable source.

 

[Lakerblue]

Re: Lake Superior State Hockey Lakers 2013-2014 (part II)

Know what you're posting about. I've probably been to more Laker games than you. Ever been to a Laker Frozen Four? How many road games have you been to this year? Ever played at the Pullar? Tweak the NMU fans all you like. I tweaked a few of them during our Friday game there. They tweaked back on Saturday. What? You didn't like that one refuted your bus comments with facts? By the way, how many goals did you score above Bantam?
As for poster resumes, there are plenty of very knowledgeable posters here. It's also very easy to tell who the ones who don't know a lot but rattle their keyboards like they do are. Usually they're the ones whose arse becomes most chapped over a comment like the "bantam" one. The ones who do make insightful posts know such comments aren't meant for them.

Grew up playing in the Pullar, where I learned to skate and where my kids learned to skate. Played there as a kid and as a quasi-old-man, and a few years in between. Post-Bantam, I played my freshman year for the Blue Devils. Did not play Midget, but instead left the Soo in 10th grade to play with the Waterloo Siskins as an underaged because I had relatives there. Spent 11th-and12th grades getting my clock cleaned and my head kicked around in North Bay. Went to LSSU and played Soo Onatrio senior league. Dabbled in coaching but didn't like it. Moved around. Grad school. Moved some more. Back to the Soo to raise a family. Took up curling a few years ago as the knees and hips started to object to hockey.
Saw the Lakers win it all in Albany in 92 and lost it all in Milwaukee in 93 and win it all again in Cincy the following year. Been a season ticket holder as a quasi-adult since 1999, although I confess to missing more home games lately now that my kids are playing more hockey.
Dislike NMU and its lame apologist -- especially those who profess some LSSU blood. Those are probably the same nerds who say they hate UM hockey -- but are big UM football fans.
Long bus rides suck, but they are part of sports in the UP. Get over it. So perhaps 17 hours is extreme. So what?
The team needs a new coach. I now agree. I agreed last summer, but I am not the sort who abandons my beloved Lakers. I hoped for the best, and this Fall things started out nicely. They have unfortunately followed a predictable end. For that, and the empty seats, the coach deserves to lose his job.

Your turn.

 

[Lakerblue]

Re: Lake Superior State Hockey Lakers 2013-2014 (part II)

I thought the Lakers D backed up too much both nights, giving Mankato too many grade A shots and creating too much traffic in front of KK (especially Friday on the traffic). I don't blame KK for the Friday loss; it was team effort.

To be fair, MSU's forwards were the best collection I've seen in the Soo all season. That was a very talented and fast bunch of players. I agree the D backed up and showed too much respect -- but I have to give MSU some credit, their boys were fast and big and hungry.

 

[Bill]

Re: Lake Superior State Hockey Lakers 2013-2014 (part II)

To be fair, MSU's forwards were the best collection I've seen in the Soo all season. That was a very talented and fast bunch of players. I agree the D backed up and showed too much respect -- but I have to give MSU some credit, their boys were fast and big and hungry.

I completely agree.

 

[sm2pk]

Re: Lake Superior State Hockey Lakers 2013-2014 (part II)

Lakerblue,if you decide to run for governor,you have my vote.

 

[davyd83]

To be fair, MSU's forwards were the best collection I've seen in the Soo all season. That was a very talented and fast bunch of players. I agree the D backed up and showed too much respect -- but I have to give MSU some credit, their boys were fast and big and hungry.

That group is dizzying at times! Best line that's been through here for sure. Saw them two weekends this year and they were amazing. Now let's see if we can find a way to get LSSU, Tech & NMU to Grand Rapids.

 

[Lakerblue]

Re: Lake Superior State Hockey Lakers 2013-2014 (part II)

Let me heap more praise on MSU.

I looked closely at their schedule. They lost two in Minnesota and one to SCSU in St. Paul. Ok, there is no shame in those loses. They had a terrible trip to UAA an were amazingly swept in Anchorage.

Otherwise, this is a very impressive team. They obviously started slow . . . but with perhaps Ferris slowing (swept by UAF), Mankato could be a terror in the tourney.

 

[Lakers2Glory]

Re: Lake Superior State Hockey Lakers 2013-2014 (part II)

Roque just said on the Laker Hockey Show he put Murdock in to 'spark' the team.

Not sure I believe that....

 

[LSSULaker889294]

Re: Lake Superior State Hockey Lakers 2013-2014 (part II)

Didn't Lake State last summer commit to a 10 year program to build the Lakers back into a national contention team ? Or did that go by the way side with the disappearnce of 3dognight ?

I'm sure it went by the wayside. At least they have the "Back to the Attack" program. I think they are using it for arena improvements at the moment. I know they put in new Tvs around the arena, put in a new student loft and a few other things. They will probably put in money for locker room improvements and a new scoreboard similar to Michigan Tech's.

 

[Bill]

Re: Lake Superior State Hockey Lakers 2013-2014 (part II)

Roque just said on the Laker Hockey Show he put Murdock in to 'spark' the team.

Not sure I believe that....

I wonder what the players think about Roque's answer. Kudos to Bill Crawford for asking Roque the question.

 

[LSSULaker889294]

Re: Lake Superior State Hockey Lakers 2013-2014 (part II)

I wonder what the players think about Roque's answer. Kudos to Bill Crawford for asking Roque the question.

No doubt Bill Crawford reads this thread.

 

[gfmorris]

Re: Lake Superior State Hockey Lakers 2013-2014 (part II)

Lakers get swept by Ferris and Northern splits with Alabama and it's checkmate for Lake State.

Please don't call us Alabama.

I think that it's nutty that LSSU can still get home ice with a sweep of Ferris and some help. It seems a bit bonkers, but it's possible.

GFM

 

[davyd83]

Please don't call us Alabama.

I think that it's nutty that LSSU can still get home ice with a sweep of Ferris and some help. It seems a bit bonkers, but it's possible.

GFM

Isn't Alabama that little school in Tuscaloosa that plays club hockey near Birmingham? I hear they have a football team too.

 

[gfmorris]

Re: Lake Superior State Hockey Lakers 2013-2014 (part II)

Isn't Alabama that little school in Tuscaloosa that plays club hockey near Birmingham? I hear they have a football team too.

I think that's right. I really wish that our SID would diminish the Alabama on the line chart.

As for this weekend, we'll try to help you as best as we can. We're on the cusp of setting the NCAA season losses mark (Tech has it at 34), and we'd rather not. Also, we haven't beaten a D-I team at home for three years. Those kids want to put up a spot here.

If Roque stays around after all this, well, I just don't know, man.

GFM

 

[davyd83]

Please don't call us Alabama.

I think that it's nutty that LSSU can still get home ice with a sweep of Ferris and some help. It seems a bit bonkers, but it's possible.

GFM

There are a few teams who could still have home ice or miss the playoffs altogether. I love this playoff race. Every series this weekend, every shift this weekend is critical.