Re: LSSU Laker Hockey 2012-2013, Part 2
Even though they lost on Friday, I feel the offense is starting to click more. They have consistently been getting over 25+ shots on goal (I know that can be deceiving) and are not being outshot 2-1 like earlier in the season. Monardo said Saturday he was going to shoot the puck, and that he did. If they shoot it, goals will come. I have a good feeling about the rest of the season. I hope I'm right.
I agree the product on the ice sure looks a lot better, more complete. I have yet to be able to put my finger on why they are very-solid one night, and not-so-solid the next night. I am thinking its a combination of youth and lack of depth? They are somewhat better this year than last year. And last year, they were somewhat better than the year before. And the year before, they were quite a bit better than the previous year. So there is upward progress.
I think the building fund, the program's increased budget, the school's general overall recommitmen to the program, the increased student attention, the merciful death of the hated CCHA -- and the future All-UP conference next year --- all of this has contributed to a more positive outlook for this program (compared to several years ago, certainly a dark age for LSSU hockey). I would like to see more drastic improvement -- although to be fair, I want them to win every game.
Also, some of the Lakers' stubs and stumbles are not merely confined to LSSU Hockey. Look around the nation, and with the exception of BC -- nearly all D-I programs are finding it hard to seal up 4 points per weekend. Parity is alive and well.
LSSU is now 7-7 overall.
Michigan is 5-7-1;
RPI is 3-5-2;
Yale just took road wins over CC and Denver (Denver, btw, was quasi-swept at home by Yale and New Hampshire).
Maine is 2-9-1;
North Dakota is 6-4-2;
Duluth is 3-7-2;
Wisconsin is 1-7-2!
Ohio State is 5-4-3;
Even first place Miami has only 7 wins in 12 games (7-2-3).
My point is this . . . LSSU probably should not have lost to OSU at home, or UAF, or UAH. But they did. And the larger picture is that, right now, in D-I hockey, there are no automatic games. No "must win four point" weekends.
Oh, yes, we have two gut-crunching weekends coming up -- Notre Dame and Miami. Both teams skate very fast and attack the puck -- which means that both teams are likely to give the Lakers problems. It is the toughest road trp of the season, at least on paper, and the two toughes match-ups. We'll see. They only have five road games under their belts so far:
Tech -- a disaster, as Tech simply skated past them.
BSU -- a great road win on Friday, followed by a 3-rd period melt-down on Saturday.
UAF -- A thrid-perio melt-down on Friday after leading 1-0 through two -- and then a clinically solid game Saturday night in Fairbanks for a split.
Why can they grab points in South Bend and Oxford? Because they can play excellent team defense on the road, and have shown it.
Why is this going to be tough? Because they can also stop working, allow cracks to form, and get blown out. As losses at Tech, BSU, and UAF have shown this year -- IF this Laker team loses concentration for even a moment, the flood gates open.
I remember a story form Jeff Jackson after the 1994 title, where he put a thin balance beam in the lock room and made each player walk over it without falling, and he told them "This is how hard you have to concentrate as a team, every night, every game, every shift." (or words to that effect . . . its been a while). I sort of see this team needing that same level of concentration. There aren't any big guns who will bail you out (ala North Dakota or Minnesota, who can make mistakes and play wide-open and still skate past you). LSSU 2012-2013 has to make the right play, every play, every shift.
That is why I find it so enjoyable to watch the last few seasons -- because they are making the right play far more often than not.
Where they are getting into trouble are those times when they don't quite totally execute the play. When the dump-in goes just a little too soft; when the outlet pass is just a tick off the forward's stick; when the clearing shot doesn't quite get out of the zone. Of course, every hockey team at every level gets into trouble when these simple tasks are not completed correctly. For LSSU 2012-2013, they do not have the horses to run and gun and cover those mistakes.
