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LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

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Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

Lakers did a great job holding off the Redhawks last night. KK was very solid, and I don't know how he even saw some of those shots. That being said, the Lakers still have the offensive part of their game they need to improve on. Yes, scoring four goals against Miami seems impressive, but they could have gotten more. They had a two-man advantage, and not only did they not score, they didn't even get the puck down low to create a grade-A scoring chance. They had a full blown 3-on-1 and couldn't bury the puck. These are GIFTS that they need to take advantage of.
The officiating was horrid all weekend, and the Cassiani and Robinson calls really come to mind tonight. I've never been a fan of the way Miami plays, the way they set picks and run interferance, and it never seems to get called. They throw in cheap shots after the wistle to get other teams off their game. It's affective, but I'm not a fan of it. It was good to see the Lakers push back tonight, too. Good team work standing up for each other and their goaltender.
 
Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

January was set up to be a very challenging stretch for the Lakers. Getting 2 points at Michigan and 3 vs a very improved Miami team is a great start. Great job!
 
Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

Taking 9 out of 12 points from Miami... that is great good job boys ... I just wish we had nik Sellout and Frank Anzoloney as part of LSSU this year... We would have got 19 out of 12 points vs Miami. My son is wonderfully afraid to go into the corner, but he is a superstar in the plymouth mi no checking men's beer league. He had 4 goals last night vs miller lite. I just don't udderstand why he got cut with cherry picking skillz like that man he would have had 6 career assists at LSSU.

The Tooth is Out There
TNA
TNA
 
Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

What a terrific way to come back for yet another Saturday night victory, I think it's safe to say that the Lakers have done enough to cause anyone (other than the Truth trolls) to quit waiting for the other shoe to drop for this team. Being in the top 3 of the CCHA in the third week of January in a vacuum is something no one gave this team a snowball's chance in He** of doing, but when you take into consideration that the CCHA that we are currently 3rd in has 8 of the top 20 teams in the nation and 9 in the top 18 of the Pairwise rankings, you are talking about this being our program's most impressive achievement since the mid 1990's. This season has been a heck of a one to follow and I can't wait for the rest of it! Go Lakers!!!
 
Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

AnchorsAway said:
What a terrific way to come back for yet another Saturday night victory, I think it's safe to say that the Lakers have done enough to cause anyone (other than the Truth trolls) to quit waiting for the other shoe to drop for this team. Being in the top 3 of the CCHA in the third week of January in a vacuum is something no one gave this team a snowball's chance in He** of doing, but when you take into consideration that the CCHA that we are currently 3rd in has 8 of the top 20 teams in the nation and 9 in the top 18 of the Pairwise rankings, you are talking about this being our program's most impressive achievement since the mid 1990's. This season has been a heck of a one to follow and I can't wait for the rest of it! Go Lakers!!!
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It's great that they are in 3rd place at this point in the season, but let's not get carried away about it. There are 6 teams within 3 points of them; 3 of those teams (ND, Ferris, and MSU) have 2 games in hand on the Lakers, and Michigan has 1 game in hand (equalizer later this afternoon). I'll judge this season by what they've accomplished when it's over, not by where they are now. I get the feeling they are just hanging on in the standings. I think they will drop at least several places in the final CCHA standings if they don't learn to win on Friday nights. That's an obstacle they have got to overcome. There will be teams passing them if they continue to do no better than split each weekend. They especially have to do a better job of protecting home ice. I think the overall talent on this team is better than they've had in many years but they still need to show us they can finish well.
 
Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

Bill said:
It's great that they are in 3rd place at this point in the season, but let's not get carried away about it. There are 6 teams within 3 points of them; 3 of those teams (ND, Ferris, and MSU) have 2 games in hand on the Lakers, and Michigan has 1 game in hand (equalizer later this afternoon). I'll judge this season by what they've accomplished when it's over, not by where they are now. I get the feeling they are just hanging on in the standings. I think they will drop at least several places in the final CCHA standings if they don't learn to win on Friday nights. That's an obstacle they have got to overcome. There will be teams passing them if they continue to do no better than split each weekend. They especially have to do a better job of protecting home ice. I think the overall talent on this team is better than they've had in many years but they still need to show us they can finish well.
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On the road (@NMU, @MSU, @Alaska), I'd be happy with splits. Hosting the #1 and #2 teams in the conference (WMU, Ohio State), I'd be happy with splits. If the Lakers finished 5-5 in the final 10 CCHA games, that's a pretty solid season and probably a 1st round bye in the conference tournament.
 
Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

I believe its long past due time that we got to be excited about our team. I agree with Bill's insights -- e.g., they haven't won anything yet, they struggle to score goals, they struggle oddly on Friday nights. However, I am willing to get blindly excited. I know the team is mostly playing .500 hockey. But week after week after week this team has a chance to fold -- mostly because of the Friday struggles. And week after week this team pulls out a gut-check win.

The only weekend they have disappointed was at OSU. Otherwise, they have gutted out splits or quasi-splits at Ferris, at Ann Arbor, and a sweep of Miami. That kind of hard work, winning on Saturday nights on the road, is very hard. It requires tremendous nerve and some guts. And this team has guts.

At home, they split with a very good Miami team (the games against LSSU are responsible for Miami lagging in the standings). They swept MSU. And they earned tough splits against NMU and Notre Dame.

Yes, there are some down weekends: the split against BGSU hurts. And they should have rolled up Bemidji. The random odd tie against Canisius and the horrible lackluster loss to RIT also grate.

But at every turn, I think we in Laker Land have become so accustomed to the bottom falling out -- even during modest seasons -- that we all seem to be waiting, expecting. And the Lakers are giving opportunities for those bad feelings to fester. Who here went into Saturday night against Michigan and expected the ugly sweep? Who here expected the Lakers to fight back against Miami this weekend? Who here expected Ferris to sweep 'em up on the road?

Frankly, they almost darn near pulled off a split with OSU on the Saturday night game.

Now, do they need to prove it every weekend? Yes.
Do they need to win in the playoffs for the year to be considered a success? Yes.

But those expectations are no different from those carried by Duluth, or Wisconsin, or Boston College. Success in the playoffs will ultimately determine the success of the season.

What I LIKE about this team is the guts. I also like the fact that the team is being led by underclassmen -- there are only two seniors contributing heavy minutes. This tells me that perhaps the talent level is matching the work ethic. Perhaps we have a class of young players who are putting it all together, and that this season will not be a fluke -- but instead the start of something fun.

So I am willing to get caught up in the fun. I am willing to believe a sweep in Lansing can happen. I am wiling to beleive that despite the narrow points-gap in the standings, the Lakers will earn a bye and home ice.

And I will go a step further: With this goaltending, work ethic, and defensive mindset of this team: they can make noise at the Joe and maybe steal some NCAA action.
 
Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

As an aside, MSU is just above the Lakers in the PWR -- LSSU is at 18th, MSU at 15th. A sweep at the Munn Morgue would be a nice step toward securing an NCAA spot.
 
Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

Lakerblue said:
As an aside, MSU is just above the Lakers in the PWR -- LSSU is at 18th, MSU at 15th. A sweep at the Munn Morgue would be a nice step toward securing an NCAA spot.
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It certainly would help. Their last Friday night win and their last sweep were in late October at Miami, so you could say they are overdue.
 
Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

I realize I did not graduate from Lake State with a mathematics degree but at times I seriously wonder about some of the workings of the "fuzzy math" that is used to choose the NCAA field. In College Hockey Weekly's bracketology blog that is found in the NCAA bracketology thread not only is Northern Michigan in the tournament field but inexplicably they are a number 2 seed....This is the same team that has 5 wins over ranked teams compared to Lake State's 6...Lake State also has as many road wins against ranked teams (2) as Northern Michigan has on the road period... Northern Michigan has a losing record in their conference and is 2-7-1 on the road...what about that is so impressive that they would be a number 2 seed???

I understand they may make the point that they have had a tougher schedule up to this point but apparently moral victories count for more these days than I realized...I would like to finish by pointing out that Lake State is not the only team that is getting the shaft in this equation in favor of NMU but since they are my favorite team I decided to delve into the statistical comparisons between those two schools.
 
Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

AnchorsAway said:
I realize I did not graduate from Lake State with a mathematics degree but at times I seriously wonder about some of the workings of the "fuzzy math" that is used to choose the NCAA field. In College Hockey Weekly's bracketology blog that is found in the NCAA bracketology thread not only is Northern Michigan in the tournament field but inexplicably they are a number 2 seed....This is the same team that has 5 wins over ranked teams compared to Lake State's 6...Lake State also has as many road wins against ranked teams (2) as Northern Michigan has on the road period... Northern Michigan has a losing record in their conference and is 2-7-1 on the road...what about that is so impressive that they would be a number 2 seed???

I understand they may make the point that they have had a tougher schedule up to this point but apparently moral victories count for more these days than I realized...I would like to finish by pointing out that Lake State is not the only team that is getting the shaft in this equation in favor of NMU but since they are my favorite team I decided to delve into the statistical comparisons between those two schools.
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I'm a Northern grad and fan, and I agree with you--the polls, PWR, and bracketology don't make sense sometimes. NMU has had kind of an up and down season, but have sort of kept themselves in the hunt because of SOS. They still have a tough schedule ahead of them: 7 road games and only 4 home games. I suspect LSSU has a competitive schedule as well.

I don't think there is that much difference between NMU and LSSU or the rest of the CCHA and only the next couple of months of regular season and playoff games will settle it all. Right now I don't pay much attention to any of the polls, rankings, or bracketologies. Wait until March. I try to just sit back and enjoy the hockey.

LSSU follows NMU playing MSU this weekend. Northern tied 5-5 (SOL) and lost 2-1 to MSU. I was at the Saturday game and it could have gone either way, but NMU got into penalty trouble in the third period and Sparty held on for the win. I suspect the Lakers will have a tough series with Sparty. In the Pick-em thread I chose a split, with LSSU getting their usual Saturday night victory.

LSSU @ NMU 2/24-25.

Edit: Just as an after thought, I thinks it's best for LSSU and NMU to fly under the radar for the time being rather than having a high ranking target on the back of their jersey.
 
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Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

aygwm2 said:
I'm a Northern grad and fan, and I agree with you--the polls, PWR, and bracketology don't make sense sometimes. NMU has had kind of an up and down season, but have sort of kept themselves in the hunt because of SOS. They still have a tough schedule ahead of them: 7 road games and only 4 home games. I suspect LSSU has a competitive schedule as well.

I don't think there is that much difference between NMU and LSSU or the rest of the CCHA and only the next couple of months of regular season and playoff games will settle it all. Right now I don't pay much attention to any of the polls, rankings, or bracketologies. Wait until March. I try to just sit back and enjoy the hockey.

LSSU follows NMU playing MSU this weekend. Northern tied 5-5 (SOL) and lost 2-1 to MSU. I was at the Saturday game and it could have gone either way, but NMU got into penalty trouble in the third period and Sparty held on for the win. I suspect the Lakers will have a tough series with Sparty. In the Pick-em thread I chose a split, with LSSU getting their usual Saturday night victory.

LSSU @ NMU 2/24-25.

Edit: Just as an after thought, I thinks it's best for LSSU and NMU to fly under the radar for the time being rather than having a high ranking target on the back of their jersey.
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I watched that Saturday night game on television and I agree it could have gone either way, I was really pulling for NMU to win actually (I am in the interesting dilemma of being an avid LSSU fan and graduate yet one of my best friends is a prominent player for NMU)..and I think you are right that it probably is best for the U.P. schools to lay low for as long as possible rankings-wise...all in all I think college hockey is a lot better off when some smaller institutions like LSSU and NMU are relevant on a national level...it's what separates NCAA hockey from the other major NCAA sports in my opinion.
 
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