Re: Miami hosts St. Cloud St. Oct 9-10
Great trip to Oxford, long summary to ensue:
Obviously the most disappointing part was the Huskies not getting a win either night. However, there were plenty of positives to take away. Friday night Volpei really impressed me, he seemed to be working hard every shift. Festler also stood out, it's good to see him back out there and I think he could play a big role this year. As much as I was impressed with Gaudet when he played last year I was equally disappointed this weekend. He made a number of mistakes that just can't happen against a team like Miami. The powerplay was very frustrating to watch but I have to give credit to the RedHawks there. They are always pressuring the puck and never really give you time to set anything up. The times the Huskies did get set up the shots were blocked or there weren't many lanes open. Not to say they didn't have chances though because they did, just not many of them. Huskies need to learn to make tape to tape passes and do it quick, too much holding on to the puck. It would've been great to get a win but this series is nothing to get too upset about. Miami is a VERY good team. They have some big kids in their lineup and they also have a number of very skilled players. It looked like the early part of the season as sloppy play happened often for both teams. The goalies for both teams were outstanding. Dunn looked very good Friday night and there was nothing he could do about the first two goals. They were both on the powerplay. The OT goal was on the other end of the ice so I didn't really get to see it. Camper had the puck in the slot, took the shot, and then was able to skate behind the goal to sweep around and clean it up. Not sure if Dunn could've covered or why the puck was still there but regardless he played a great game. Saturday Lee proved to be very fundamentally sound. Very rarely was he ever out of position. The first goal he was completely hung out to dry and the second one I didn't see because everyone around me was standing cheering for the first goal and I was sitting. Huskies have a lot of work to do but they can learn from these games. It's great to see a tough non-conference opponent on the schedule.
As for the campus, I was impressed. My expectations were very high from everything I had heard and it didn't disappoint. The campus itself is much bigger than I anticipated and the layout is well done. Love the look of the buildings as they're all brick and just have a very classy look and feel. Went inside the new business building and wow, what a place that would be to go to class. New hockey arena is great, they have a huge front lobby/entrance area that actually looks similar to what I think the Huskies will be getting. The arena itself is very nice but feels a little small....there just aren't a ton of seats compared to what I'm used to. It's one lower level bowl around the entire sheet, think someone said it seats around 3500 or so. Not necessarily a bad thing just different. The student section covers blue line to blue on one end of the ice. Those sections were packed. There were a good number of empty seats throughout the rest of the arena. Was a little disappointed seeing that considering you have the #1 ranked team and they just finished runner-up last year. Most of those filled up in the 2nd and 3rd periods from SRO people. Although I'm guessing if it were Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan, etc the season ticket holders would've been there. Good atmosphere for the games. Friday night we upgraded our SRO for some seats behind the goalie in the "visiting team" section. Saturday we didn't upgrade as we were able to sit in some seats on the blue line about 7 rows up behind the penalty boxes. Stood by a Flyers scout for awhile during the first period before being able to grab the seats. He was definitely taking a lot of notes.
Night life was pretty good and yes, the 3:1 girls to guys ratio is true.....as is the claim that most are easy on the eyes. Even my wife thought so, although she couldn't believe some of the outfits the girls are wearing on campus these days. Us guys didn't seem to take much issue with it.
We were at a bar, 45 East I think, both nights after the games hanging out with some of the Miami parents and a couple players. My buddies wife is good friends with one of the players family. They were a lot of fun and good conversation was had. They had a lot of good things to say about St. Cloud. Miami will go far this year and good luck the rest of the way. Would love to see these two teams play again later in the year when the stakes are a little higher. If not, we'll see you in St. Cloud next year!
I wasn't even mad. I jsut think it is sad they do the same stupid stupid stuff over and over and never improve....
