Laker Hockey 2009-10

[AnchorsAway]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

The Lakers let a chance to boost their spot in the standings slip away tonight and it made for a dissapointing finish to the weekend yes, but in the grand scheme of things i don't think we as fans can be too upset...If you told me at the beginning of the year, or for that matter at any time during my two and a half years as a student here, that the Lakers beat top 15 teams two weekends in a row (including one on the road)... i would have have been ecstatic. We pulled 4 points out of a weekend against the 10th ranked team in the country....would it have been huge to sweep? yes, but you will not here any complaining from me.....unless this happend against a lowly opponent...personally I think this team is transforming into a pretty solid squad.

 

[Bill]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

If the Lakers want to become something more than a bottom four CCHA team, they need to find a way to produce a more consistent effort, especially on home ice. We're now 2-4 on home ice (CCHA) and that isn't good enough. You can't even expect to finish as high as the middle of the pack if you can't protect home ice, and we're not doing that. To me, tonight's loss was hugely disappointing given that we had a 2-0 lead entering the 3rd period. You knew Alaska was going to come out in the 3rd period and throw everything at the Lakers to try and avoid a sweep and we weren't up to the challenge. The Lakers need to get their act together and decide how good of a team they want to be. If they want to move up in the standings, then they need to start playing like they want that.

I think the talent on this team is better than it was 4 or 5 years ago, but they are having too much trouble putting together consistent efforts on the ice. They need to reach down and find a way to elevate their game. It's gut check time.

 

[sm2pk]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

Lakers won 3 points on the weekend. Western has only one win in CCHA play and they are the bottom team in the league with 6 points and 5 of those 6 points came at the Lakers expense. We have no idea from night to night week to week what team the Lakers will bring out to play and I agree Bill,this team has no consistency and without that,no chance in hell to be anything more than a bottom of the league team that upsets an opponent from time to time.

Is it a lack of talent that keeps showing up in crucial situations for the Lakers or is it Roque gets out coached by other coaches? Is it a lack of effort and hard work by the team overall ? I don't know,but they need to fix it if at all possible.

I have seen Bowling Green play a couple games in person and they did not look very good. In two weeks the Lakers take on the Falcons and if they can"t get a victory, it will be a very long second half season for the fans and the team.

 

[AnchorsAway]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

Lakers won 3 points on the weekend. Western has only one win in CCHA play and they are the bottom team in the league with 6 points and 5 of those 6 points came at the Lakers expense. We have no idea from night to night week to week what team the Lakers will bring out to play and I agree Bill,this team has no consistency and without that,no chance in hell to be anything more than a bottom of the league team that upsets an opponent from time to time.

Is it a lack of talent that keeps showing up in crucial situations for the Lakers or is it Roque gets out coached by other coaches? Is it a lack of effort and hard work by the team overall ? I don't know,but they need to fix it if at all possible.

I have seen Bowling Green play a couple games in person and they did not look very good. In two weeks the Lakers take on the Falcons and if they can"t get a victory, it will be a very long second half season for the fans and the team.

First of all the Lakers won 4 points on the weekend...3 on friday, 1 on saturday. No consistency? The Lakers have played very well 3 games in a row against teams that are ranked in the top 15 in the nation...any time we can take 4 points from a team that is 4 spots ahead of us in the standings, i see no reason to complain. What happend this weekend is a positive thing for the Lakers, so save the lack of talent, coaching etc. lecture for a time when we get swept or something. Bill, the Lakers are 2-4 at home against CCHA opponents yes, but they split against an Ohio State team that is ahead of us in the standings and they split and got an extra point for an OT loss aginst an Alaska team that is ahead of us in the standings...yes, they did get swept by Michigan who is below us in the standings but let's face it, Michigan is Michigan and we all know they are too good not to turn things around. The Lakers next 2 CCHA weekends at BG and at home against NMU before break will really give us a clearer look at what region of the standings the Lakers are looking at as far as the playoffs are concerned. BMW has posted solid numbers thus far with a 2.79 GAA and a .911 save %, Nehring stayed hot this weekend with his 8th goal and he along with Macvoy and Schofield are all in the top 20 in scoring in the CCHA. A little more secondary production out of Cassiani, Acton, Cooper and Monardo and the Lakers should be fine

 

[AKJD]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

First of all the Lakers won 4 points on the weekend...3 on friday, 1 on saturday...they split and got an extra point for an OT loss aginst an Alaska team that is ahead of us in the standings...

Perhaps this is nitpicking, but they didn't get an extra point on Saturday. A game has to go to a shootout to get the point for a tie, with the winning team getting the SOW extra point. Alaska won with under a minute left in OT, so they get all 3 points for an outright OT win.

 

[sm2pk]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

Anchors,Lakers got zero points Saturday and why ? they lost. As for consistency,I agree with Bill on that one. Consistency has been a problem for last few years and it seems to be one again this year. Don"t get to excited about UNO and Alaska in top 15. UNO lost twice to Northern over the weekend and Alaska may very well be heading out of the top 20 over the next few weeks.

 

[Bill]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

First of all the Lakers won 4 points on the weekend...3 on friday, 1 on saturday. No consistency? The Lakers have played very well 3 games in a row against teams that are ranked in the top 15 in the nation...any time we can take 4 points from a team that is 4 spots ahead of us in the standings, i see no reason to complain. What happend this weekend is a positive thing for the Lakers, so save the lack of talent, coaching etc. lecture for a time when we get swept or something. Bill, the Lakers are 2-4 at home against CCHA opponents yes, but they split against an Ohio State team that is ahead of us in the standings and they split and got an extra point for an OT loss aginst an Alaska team that is ahead of us in the standings...yes, they did get swept by Michigan who is below us in the standings but let's face it, Michigan is Michigan and we all know they are too good not to turn things around. The Lakers next 2 CCHA weekends at BG and at home against NMU before break will really give us a clearer look at what region of the standings the Lakers are looking at as far as the playoffs are concerned. BMW has posted solid numbers thus far with a 2.79 GAA and a .911 save %, Nehring stayed hot this weekend with his 8th goal and he along with Macvoy and Schofield are all in the top 20 in scoring in the CCHA. A little more secondary production out of Cassiani, Acton, Cooper and Monardo and the Lakers should be fine

When you're in the bottom four teams in the standings, as the Lakers have been most of the time in recent years, most of the teams they play will be above them in the standings. For them to move up in the standings, they are going to have to start sweeping some of their league opponents on home ice, regardless of who it is. If they played at least .500 on home ice and picked up a few road wins (but more losses), they would still be sweating it out trying to get home ice for the first round of the playoffs. To get home ice in the first round, it's highly likely they will need to play at least .500 hockey on home ice. The season still has a long way to go, so they can still manage that if they play well enough on a more consistent basis. The team should not be satisfied with anything less than home ice in the first round this season; I certainly won't be.

I think the Lakers have enough talent that they should no longer be satisfied with playing well but losing by one goal, as has often been the case the last couple of years. We need more than moral (playing fairly well) victories. We need more victories in the W column.

Today's game is lower scoring than it used to be. Between goaltending and defensive play (by both D-men and forwards), the Lakers need to get their goals against (per game) average down lower. Something down in the 2.5 or lower range is what I mean. If they can do that, I think they have enough offense to win enough games to move up to at least the middle of the pack. I think getting Kyle Haines back from injury will help the defense, but improving the overall scoring defense still needs to be a team effort.

 

[Neil Diamond]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

what was built by Frank Anzalone a few years ago

Wrong.

Built by Bill Selman. Anzalone rode Selman's wave.

 

[sm2pk]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

How long was Sellman there..a year and half maybe

 

[Bill]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

How long was Sellman there..a year and half maybe

That's about it. He was a good coach, but I don't think the small town atmosphere of the Soo fit his style all that well. To his benefit, he had the presence of mind to hire Frank Anzalone as an assistant coach.

 

[MeridianStreet]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

what was built by Frank Anzalone a few years ago

Wrong.

Built by Bill Selman. Anzalone rode Selman's wave.

I would have to disagree with this statement. Regardless of what one thinks about Frank (I'm not exactly a big booster) this is not accurate. You cannot deny the magnitude of his accomplishment, taking small Lake Superior State to the national stage beating Maine (#1 in the nation) and St Lawrence for the NCAA championship.

Selman was a "big stage" guy but not here very long.

 

[AnchorsAway]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

When you're in the bottom four teams in the standings, as the Lakers have been most of the time in recent years, most of the teams they play will be above them in the standings. For them to move up in the standings, they are going to have to start sweeping some of their league opponents on home ice, regardless of who it is. If they played at least .500 on home ice and picked up a few road wins (but more losses), they would still be sweating it out trying to get home ice for the first round of the playoffs. To get home ice in the first round, it's highly likely they will need to play at least .500 hockey on home ice. The season still has a long way to go, so they can still manage that if they play well enough on a more consistent basis. The team should not be satisfied with anything less than home ice in the first round this season; I certainly won't be.

I think the Lakers have enough talent that they should no longer be satisfied with playing well but losing by one goal, as has often been the case the last couple of years. We need more than moral (playing fairly well) victories. We need more victories in the W column.

Today's game is lower scoring than it used to be. Between goaltending and defensive play (by both D-men and forwards), the Lakers need to get their goals against (per game) average down lower. Something down in the 2.5 or lower range is what I mean. If they can do that, I think they have enough offense to win enough games to move up to at least the middle of the pack. I think getting Kyle Haines back from injury will help the defense, but improving the overall scoring defense still needs to be a team effort.

Thank you for clearing up the point situation, i was under the impression that teams losing in the OT period did recieve a point....I agree wholeheartedly with the defense needing to put up more points and i also think getting Haines back will help boost the blue line corps. I agree the Lakers will have to have to play consistently well to get a home ice playoff series and i really think they will do that...There has already been games where the Lakers have come from behind from an early deficit which is something that teams of the past couple years have failed to do. This team has shown signs of vast improvement on a consistent basis in my opinion and i think they are getting better each weekend. Hopefully they start to peak when we have series against the "big boys' in late January.

 

[Neil Diamond]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

I would have to disagree with this statement. Regardless of what one thinks about Frank (I'm not exactly a big booster) this is not accurate. You cannot deny the magnitude of his accomplishment, taking small Lake Superior State to the national stage beating Maine (#1 in the nation) and St Lawrence for the NCAA championship.

Selman was a "big stage" guy but not here very long.

You're right, of course.

But I thought it would be fun to poke a little fun at Truth Squid, who was last seen sitting on the shore of Lake Superior, waiting for definitive proof the Anzalone's can indeed walk on water.

 

[Bill]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

For any of you Lakers fans that listen to the Lakers Hockey Show on Monday evenings, or the Lakers Pre-Game Shows, there is a Lakers Chat Room where you can ask questions to Jim Roque for these shows. This has been set up by Paul Van Wagoner, the Lakers broadcaster. Here is the link:

http://forum4.aimoo.com/LSSUlakerslivechat

You will need to join to get a User Id to ask questions, but it's a piece of cake. Paul takes the questions from this chat room and asks them to Jim Roque. Sometimes the questions get asked and responded to and sometimes they don't. I think if they had better participation in this chat room, they more likely will respond to questions.

 

[lssualumn]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

Made it a hockey day Saturday. Watched Sault High tournament game at the Pullar then over to the Laker game after. It was my first Laker game this
year and I came late but it looked like a re-run. I agree with most that the
Laker talent has gotten better each year since Frank left. Coach Roque says
his assistants do the recruiting and he listens to them so I give credit to
them. What would Frank have given to have the likes of Perkovich, Schofield,
Nehring, MacVoy, Gysbers, Cassiani, and Kaunisto, to name a few, on the same team when he came back to Laker Country. All seven of these players could end up in the AHL in the next couple of years with average Laker careers. If you look on the AHL website it appears Perkovich is a better pro than he was a college player and many said he wasn't ready to turn pro and would never succeed if he left early. He may be in the NHL by the end of the year. Is he overachieving? Are the Lakers underachieving? Blame the goaltenders, power play, upper classmen, radio guy, AD, President, whoever, but at some point if they are doing the right things inside the locker room success will occur.

I'm not beating a Frank soap box. I see the guard of Laker hockey has changed but don't discredit the past to falsely build up the present. I bring up Frank because his guidance built the Laker Hockey dynasty. Love him or hate him he put us on the map and to say he rode the Bill Selman wave would be like saying Jeff Jackson rode the Frank Anzalone wave. Right now any wave would be good.

 

[PerkyforPrez]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

Very very well put.

 

[LSSULaker889294]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

Anyone know what Bill Selman is doing nowadays? Without Frank, we would have probably have ZERO NCAA championships. Probably the same with Comley at NMU.

I think the Lakers have a pretty good chance at the RPI tournament. They just can't let last Saturday's heartbreaker get at them.

 

[Neil Diamond]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

Made it a hockey day Saturday. Watched Sault High tournament game at the Pullar then over to the Laker game after. It was my first Laker game this
year and I came late but it looked like a re-run. I agree with most that the
Laker talent has gotten better each year since Frank left. Coach Roque says
his assistants do the recruiting and he listens to them so I give credit to
them. What would Frank have given to have the likes of Perkovich, Schofield,
Nehring, MacVoy, Gysbers, Cassiani, and Kaunisto, to name a few, on the same team when he came back to Laker Country. All seven of these players could end up in the AHL in the next couple of years with average Laker careers. If you look on the AHL website it appears Perkovich is a better pro than he was a college player and many said he wasn't ready to turn pro and would never succeed if he left early. He may be in the NHL by the end of the year. Is he overachieving? Are the Lakers underachieving? Blame the goaltenders, power play, upper classmen, radio guy, AD, President, whoever, but at some point if they are doing the right things inside the locker room success will occur.

I'm not beating a Frank soap box. I see the guard of Laker hockey has changed but don't discredit the past to falsely build up the present. I bring up Frank because his guidance built the Laker Hockey dynasty. Love him or hate him he put us on the map and to say he rode the Bill Selman wave would be like saying Jeff Jackson rode the Frank Anzalone wave. Right now any wave would be good.

Again, agreed.

Please notice I clarified my Selman comment. It was merely a yank on Truth Squid's chain. No one would dispute the success the Lakers had was due primarily because of Frank and Jeff.

 

[Bill]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

Anyone know what Bill Selman is doing nowadays? Without Frank, we would have probably have ZERO NCAA championships. Probably the same with Comley at NMU.

I think the Lakers have a pretty good chance at the RPI tournament. They just can't let last Saturday's heartbreaker get at them.

I think he's probably retired. He went to work for Anheuser-Busch back at the start of 1983, when he left LSSU. LSSU was his last coaching job.

 

[sm2pk]

Re: Laker Hockey 2009-10

Selman did a good job with the St Louis University hockey team until they cancelled the program. Selman did get out totally after he left the Soo and went into the business world.