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LSSU Lakers 2014-15

Re: LSSU Lakers 2014-15

Bill said:
The season is only half over, but even if the Lakers wind up with their worst record ever I don't think that necessarily means they are the worst team that Lake State has ever put on ice. Things are being compounded by a bad schedule (only 14 home games out of 36 total) and trying to get the players to adjust to a totally different coaching style/philosophy with a new set of coaches. I think the Lakers likely would have a few more wins by season's end if Damon had decided to not yet implement his uptempo philosophy of play and instead tried to adjust his coaching style more to the current players rather than vice versa, but what would be the point of that? If he waited until next season to go uptempo (when his first recruiting class is here), he'd still have a couple of years of Roque recruits on the team and the team would be starting that process from scratch. Better to bite the bullet now and get started on that path.

The cupboard that Damon inherited was pretty bare. No returning goalies with any college experience. Only 2 returning D-men with much experience. 2 of the top 3 scorers from last season graduated, and that from a team that also had trouble scoring. And the 3rd (Globke) doesn't have the luxury of playing on a line with the other 2 like he did last season. It's certainly been a disappointing season for Globke so far but he really didn't figure to have as much success as last season.

Although it was expected and didn't come as any surprise, the early departure of Czuczman to the pros has really made things a lot tougher on the Lakers this season. Having him in the lineup this season would have really helped the overall D.
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Very well said and it's the truth.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2014-15

Bill,when you are 3-17 there are a lot of reasons why for that and the biggest most likely being the talent and skill level are low on your team .
 
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sm2pk said:
Bill,when you are 3-17 there are a lot of reasons why for that and the biggest most likely being the talent and skill level is low on your team .
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Going into this season it was a given that this team would struggle to score with the lack of offensive talent. Most people figured that the team would struggle on the defensive side because of lack of experience on the blueline and in net. The defensive let downs are still plaguing the Lakers at the worst times. When Whitten gets more of his recruits in it should get better. I know it seems like the recruiting seems to be better when I read the bios on Damon's recruits.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2014-15

Dougie G said:
Last game I attended the scratch list was long. Anybody at this point.
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Whitten brought in one forward this season. He played a few games early and currently isn't playing at all, so he hasn't taken the place of any non-freshmen forwards.

Whitten brought in 3 D-men this season, plus 2 D-men were recruited by Roque. Of the 4 returning D-men, only 2 had much experience (Drapluk and Loesch). Loesch struggled some on D and they have been trying him out at forward, but he had still been playing much of the time until he was injured. Whitten had no choice but to play several freshmen D-men. Of the 4 returning D-men, Drapluk has played regularly, Loesch has played quite a bit on D and at forward, Harris has been playing more often lately, and Spratte has played spot duty on D and at forward (the same as he did when Roque was coach). I don't see where any of our non-freshmen D have been displaced by freshmen all that much; Loesch has been out of the lineup more than last season, but part of that is because he was struggling on D. Loesch, Spratte and Bird are all out with injuries at the current time so they aren't available to play anyway.

In net, we didn't have any returning goalies with Div 1 experience. We have 2 freshmen and 1 transfer (and a 4th goalie who is on the roster probably only because he was called upon to practice with the team last season when we had injuries to our starting goalies). Starting Defiel most of the time isn't displacing a returning goalie with experience. Yes Megariotis was at OSU for a season, but he didn't play at all there. As far as goaltending goes, if Whitten decides to give Aldridge or Megariotis a start in net, I'm fine with that.

I'm failing to see how Whitten is being unfair to "other players" by starting a lot of freshmen. As far as the scratch list goes, the Lakers are limited by NCAA Rules as to how many players can suit up for a game so the scratch list is always going to be pretty much the same size, except that it will be a little smaller on the road because they're limited on the number of players that can travel with the team.
 
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Re: LSSU Lakers 2014-15

Still a decent amount of hockey to be played, but it's hard to say which team is worse right now.

Goals per game:
'02-'03: 1.58
'14-'15: 1.70

Opponent goals per game:
'02-'03: 3.84
'14-'15: 4.10

Both were bad hockey teams, but 2002-03 probably hurt worse because it was the 2nd year of Anzalone returning and by year 2, you would have hoped to have seen more improvement than that team showed. It seems unfair to judge Whitten too harshly just yet for this year, but there just isn't much optimism for Laker hockey which is understandable. Seeing a team only have 3 seasons above .500 since 2000-01 will do that to you.
 
Bill said:
Whitten brought in one forward this season. He played a few games early and currently isn't playing at all, so he hasn't taken the place of any non-freshmen forwards.

Whitten brought in 3 D-men this season, plus 2 D-men were recruited by Roque. Of the 4 returning D-men, only 2 had much experience (Drapluk and Loesch). Loesch struggled some on D and they have been trying him out at forward, but he had still been playing much of the time until he was injured. Whitten had no choice but to play several freshmen D-men. Of the 4 returning D-men, Drapluk has played regularly, Loesch has played quite a bit on D and at forward, Harris has been playing more often lately, and Spratte has played spot duty on D and at forward (the same as he did when Roque was coach). I don't see where any of our non-freshmen D have been displaced by freshmen all that much; Loesch has been out of the lineup more than last season, but part of that is because he was struggling on D. Loesch, Spratte and Bird are all out with injuries at the current time so they aren't available to play anyway.

In net, we didn't have any returning goalies with Div 1 experience. We have 2 freshmen and 1 transfer (and a 4th goalie who is on the roster probably only because he was called upon to practice with the team last season when we had injuries to our starting goalies). Starting Defiel most of the time isn't displacing a returning goalie with experience. Yes Megariotis was at OSU for a season, but he didn't play at all there. As far as goaltending goes, if Whitten decides to give Aldridge or Megariotis a start in net, I'm fine with that.

I'm failing to see how Whitten is being unfair to "other players" by starting a lot of freshmen. As far as the scratch list goes, the Lakers are limited by NCAA Rules as to how many players can suit up for a game so the scratch list is always going to be pretty much the same size, except that it will be a little smaller on the road because they're limited on the number of players that can travel with the team.
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So this is as good as it gets? Lots of hockey left. Hoping for some success. From the sounds of things a tough year for all concerned.
 
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Re: LSSU Lakers 2014-15

I had a feeling going into this season that this would be like Anzalone's 1st season in his 2nd stint in 2001-02.
 
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Re: LSSU Lakers 2014-15

Coaches who can outline plays on a blank board are a dime a dozen. The ones who win get inside their player and motivate; something Damon and assistants have yet to accomplish. Tonight's Laker Hockey Show...............well let's just say there's a difference between truth and jibber-jabber.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2014-15

Bill said:
I leave home for a few hours of Christmas shopping and what happens while I'm gone. We have another recruit, forward CJ Hayes from the Fargo Force of the USHL:

http://www.fargoforce.com/news_article/show/457598?referrer_id=1276425
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Damon and Metro were talking to some recruits up in the hallway before the Saturday game at North Dakota. I wonder if this was who they were talking to.

This also reminds me, I should start my Christmas shopping.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2014-15

Laker Dude said:
Damon and Metro were talking to some recruits up in the hallway before the Saturday game at North Dakota. I wonder if this was who they were talking to.

This also reminds me, I should start my Christmas shopping.
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Bill while your shopping all I want is two pure goal scorers for the Lakers.
 
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