Re: LSSU Hockey 2012-2013
sm2pk................no problem, I respect your opinion, but I hope your getting enough air with your head burried in the sand. I'm just commenting what one of their assistants told me,
I love the Glory Days as much as anyone . . . but most of this seems, and sounds, like Ancient history. Jackson left. He was, at the time, a hugely popular and hugely in-demand coach. And that means there was money and power being dangled. That happens in sports. Jackson didn't leave because the program was slipping. Jackson didn't leave because he knew recruiting was off. Jackson didn't leave because he knew the program could not sustain success at that high level. Jackson left because money, power, and opportunity came calling, and he answered that call. He certainly answered that call while he and his program were at the top of the NCAAs . . . but that is axiomatic. (Much like the absurd saying, "I found my lost car keys. They were in the last place I looked." Of course they were in the last place you looked. e.g., the coach left when he was at his peak market value. Of course he left at his peak market value).
Anyhow, there have been many, many, many bad seasons since then. Borek was over his head. I disagree that the kitchen was empty when he arrived, but I guess that is a matter of opinion.
Frank's return was amazing for how terrible it was. There is only one person crazy enough to declare that the worst 4 year stretch in NCAA history was somehow anything -- anything -- other than a compelte trainwreck. Sorry, I liked Frank and I wanted him to recapture the magic. He did not. Those teams were dreadful to watch. And because the hockey was so unwatchable, the malais of Borek turned into total collapse under Anzalone. That is not spite, or anger, or emotional ranting. That is the truth. Frank's teams were horrible. His game-plan, always defensive in nature, took on a bizarre feeling -- three defensemen, a fourth forward/defeseman, and a random roving forward. But the talent was so low, and the teams so slow, that even this ultra-defensive posture could not prevent the team from being badly outshot on a nightly basis. When your leading scorers are routinely leading the team with 18 points in 38 games, there is NO joy watching that team. There was a wierd lack of fitness. There was a wierd lack of simple skills (I remember those dark days wondering why -- WHY -- can't an LSSU defenseman pass the puck in a forward motion?). The team was slow. The defensive system installed by Anzalone was cumbersome and worse, ineffective. There was NO transition game. The Lakers would ice the puck nearly twice and three times as much as the opposition. It was a minor miracle if the team strung together 3 passes.
But THIS is all ancient history, too.
Its all in the past.
We can't relive the glory days and we shouldn't dwell on the dark days.
We have a program that is slowly coming out a dark, dark period. The school was also in a dark period. Funding and enrollment were down. Cuts were everywhere. There were very real and serious questions being asked about the viability and necessity of LSSU as an institution.
But just as the college is starting the show a healthy heart beat again, so too is the hockey program.
The funding and fund raising efforts are going very well. And there are lots of good people out there quietly drumming up financial support. The building and facilities are getting much-needed upgrades and improvements. The team on the ice was, until mid-February, legitimately in the hunt for a top-four CCHA finish and a spot in the NCAAs. The coach - while frustrating for some fans and posters on this site -- is dedicated to his team, his program, his school, and (by all indications) the coach has a good working relationship with his Athletic Director. The team is moving to the WCHA with the other UP and Alaska schools in a move that should improve rivalries, and possibly the W-L record and provide an easier (potentially) path to the NCAAs. The Soo as a town is slowly coming out of its darkest haze. The UP is stirring, as well. Both Tech and NMU are doing equally good things on the ice and on their respective campuses. We have a hockey team full of very bright young hockey players who act as excellent ambassadors for the program. And most importantly, we have some decent talent to watch.
This season, the forecheck and transition games were obviously greatly improved. There was a good flow to Laker games that has been in short supply the past decade. Except for the melt-down at the very end of the season, this was a good team to watch.
Next year, they bring back virtually the entire team -- including the excellent goaltending.
Anyhow, thats my rant for the week. Things are quite a bit brighter in Laker land than at any time in the previous 10+ years.
