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Michigan Tech '11-'12 Season Thread I: Hope Springs Eternal

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Re: Michigan Tech '11-'12 Season Thread I: Hope Springs Eternal

oldish husky said:
You're absolutely right. Although it's a little unsettling to read a post from bb_dl that's so overwhelmingly positive and void of anger.
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I'm really not a bad guy. I just have no remorse for those who **** me off, and there's very little gray area.
 
Re: Michigan Tech '11-'12 Season Thread I: Hope Springs Eternal

The Darkness said:
Call me a homer, but I wouldn't be surprised if Tech had 10 wins by the end of the month.
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Given their schedule it isn't out of the question, but still alot to ask for. It would be pretty awesome if it happened.

Fade: I don't think it will be that bad with UND, for the most part I like the UND fans that I've met, and we get along fine. The UND fans I know aren't like the DU people. I've never met a DU fan that I liked, they're all a-holes.
 
Re: Michigan Tech '11-'12 Season Thread I: Hope Springs Eternal

For the Nacho schools, it appears that they broke up a perfectly good WCHA and scrapped the CCHA for very little......NBC/Versus just posted their coverage schedule for this season and it's very tilted to the East. Only a handful of future Nacho schools and clearly very market driven. Looks like Notre Dame was one of big drivers in the decisions on which games to cover. Note that they're only covering the Hockey East tourney.

Dec. 31 Boston University at Notre Dame, 7 p.m.
Jan. 6 Dartmouth at RPI, 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 13 Minnesota Duluth at Nebraska-Omaha, 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 20 Michigan at Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 27 Yale at Harvard, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 3 Cornell at RPI, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 10 Boston College at Vermont, 7:30 p.m.; Minnesota at Denver, 10 p.m.
Feb. 17 Dartmouth at Yale, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 24 Boston University at Vermont, 7:30 p.m.; North Dakota at Denver, 10 p.m.
March 2 Denver at Nebraska-Omaha, 7:30 p.m.
Hockey East Tournament
March 9 Quarterfinals 7:30 p.m.
March 16 Semifinals 5 and 8 p.m.
March 17th Finals 8 p.m.
 
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Re: Michigan Tech '11-'12 Season Thread I: Hope Springs Eternal

rustedblades said:
I don't think JR's style of play would have netted the same results. I think that many posters have complimented the former coaching staff on their recruiting abilities; just didn't know what to do with the players once they got here. No disrespect to JR but keep in mind it is the assistant coaches that did (and still do) a lot of the recruiting leg work. (Props to PM, CT, DW and now BM)

Bottom line the coach needs to figure out how to get the most out of the talent that you have; Coach Pearson has done exactly that!
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I thought JR's recruiting was pretty good considering the team's stats during much of his tenure. I think he could sell ice to eskimoes. However, I think he and his assistants lapsed into a style of play and a player management philosophy that failed to bring out the best in each player. I watched for years as the team played a cloistered, defensive style that de-emphasized speed and skill (which could be viewed as a lack of confidence in the players on the part of the coaching staff). I think this style of play (along with frequent losses) effected the player's motivation and I think the style also increased the likelihood of injuries. It was a vicious cycle & downward spiral that was impossible to get out of once it started. Mel probably spotted this right away by watching a few games worth of video because he was used to watching the U of M teams. It's easy to see when you're not in the midst of it. Making some cuts and having the kids compete internally for ice time definitely stepped up the motivation factor and the speed/tempo of the team. It broke the cycle and coupled with a big injection of talent (injured players returning and freshman), put the team on a strong footing.
 
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Re: Michigan Tech '11-'12 Season Thread I: Hope Springs Eternal

bigblue_dl said:
Given their schedule it isn't out of the question, but still alot to ask for. It would be pretty awesome if it happened.
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Against Mankato, Alaska, and St. Lawrence, playing the way they have been playing Tech should be able to sweep at least one of those weekends, and hopefully do no less than sweep the other two. Winning 4 games out of 6 is great for Tech no matter who they're playing and winning five doesn't seem far-fetched.

In which case the Duluth series will start the portion of Tech's schedule that will determine if this is just an overachieving mediocre team, or a fairly good team. That series is going to be so awesome.
 
Re: Michigan Tech '11-'12 Season Thread I: Hope Springs Eternal

Shirtless Guy said:
One comment I would like to make about the whole coaching change and the early success here. Just remember that last year's team played much of the season without Olson, all the season without Baker and players like Blake Pietila, David Johnstone, Tanner Kero and Riley Sweeney were not on this team at all and with the exception of Sweeney, those guys were recruited by Russell (as well as Lebrecque). This is not the same team Jamie won 4 games with. Mel has been great and I continue to look forward to the success he is having with this team but let's not forget just how unlucky Tech was the last few years.
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Agreed totally. The next few recruiting classes will be key to keeping this going. Mostly I have been sandbagging to tell the truth.I think expectations are too high.

rustedblades said:
I don't think JR's style of play would have netted the same results. I think that many posters have complimented the former coaching staff on their recruiting abilities; just didn't know what to do with the players once they got here. No disrespect to JR but keep in mind it is the assistant coaches that did (and still do) a lot of the recruiting leg work. (Props to PM, CT, DW and now BM)


Bottom line the coach needs to figure out how to get the most out of the talent that you have; Coach Pearson has done exactly that!
Click to expand...

Agreed.

UpNorthHockey said:
For the Nacho schools, it appears that they broke up a perfectly good WCHA and scrapped the CCHA for very little......NBC/Versus just posted their coverage schedule for this season and it's very tilted to the East. Only a handful of future Nacho schools and clearly very market driven. Looks like Notre Dame was one of big drivers in the decisions on which games to cover. Note that they're only covering the Hockey East tourney.

Dec. 31 Boston University at Notre Dame, 7 p.m.
Jan. 6 Dartmouth at RPI, 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 13 Minnesota Duluth at Nebraska-Omaha, 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 20 Michigan at Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 27 Yale at Harvard, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 3 Cornell at RPI, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 10 Boston College at Vermont, 7:30 p.m.; Minnesota at Denver, 10 p.m.
Feb. 17 Dartmouth at Yale, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 24 Boston University at Vermont, 7:30 p.m.; North Dakota at Denver, 10 p.m.
March 2 Denver at Nebraska-Omaha, 7:30 p.m.
Hockey East Tournament
March 9 Quarterfinals 7:30 p.m.
March 16 Semifinals 5 and 8 p.m.
March 17th Finals 8 p.m.
Click to expand...

You know if they had had a little patience with the WCHA inviting both Notre Dame and Miami in before this all started, it was possible that the revenue in the old structure would have been higher than the new. I think they put all their eggs in the ND basket and came up empty and now have to live with each other's foibles. Maybe it will last but maybe not. In any event everyone will have less money except Hockey East.
Also it is real important that the new WCHA get their act together on TV rights very quickly. In my mind the most important thing is where the playoffs are held and the broadcast issues around that. If I was king I'd be pushing for Milwaukee.

UpNorthHockey said:
I thought JR's recruiting was pretty good considering the team's stats during much of his tenure. I think he could sell ice to eskimoes. However, I think he and his assistants lapsed into a style of play and a player management philosophy that failed to bring out the best in each player. I watched for years as the team played a cloistered, defensive style that de-emphasized speed and skill. I think this style of play (along with frequent losses) effected the player's motivation and I think the style also increased the likelihood of injuries. It was a vicious cycle & downward spiral that was impossible to get out of once it started. Mel probably spotted this right away by watching a few games worth of video because he was used to watching the U of M teams. It's easy to see when you're not in the midst of it. Making some cuts and having the kids compete internally for ice time definitely stepped up the motivation factor and the speed/tempo of the team. It broke the cycle and coupled with a big injection of talent (injured players returning and freshman), put the team on a strong footing.
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Agreed however, Russell just was not the coach Mel is. No offense to him, I was a big supporter of his, But The overall way Mel treats the players, the philosophy of the way the game is played, the expertise now in Houghton, is really strong. IMHO if you look around college hockey, you'd be hard pressed to find more expertise and a better, more motivating philosophy than Mel has. Kudo's go to Suzanne and whoever helped her for bringing him here. (And we need to keep Shields if we can possibly do so. I am equally impressed with him just from that 3 minute interview)

I don't think that anyone had any idea Mel would be this good, except maybe RED. I think this combination is what top kids are looking for when sizing up schools over pretty much everything else. Even if we go .500 the rest of the year, I'm extremely happy with it, And I'm going to up my contributions.
 
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Re: Michigan Tech '11-'12 Season Thread I: Hope Springs Eternal

manurespreader said:
You know if they had had a little patience with the WCHA inviting both Notre Dame and Miami in before this all started, it was possible that the revenue in the old structure would have been higher than the new. I think they put all their eggs in the ND basket and came up empty and now have to live with each other's foibles. Maybe it will last but maybe not. In any event everyone will have less money except Hockey East.
Also it is real important that the new WCHA get their act together on TV rights very quickly. In my mind the most important thing is where the playoffs are held and the broadcast issues around that. If I was king I'd be pushing for Milwaukee.
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My hope is that Michigan Tech, Michigan, and Michigan State try to get the GLI on Versus or the BTN.
 
Re: Michigan Tech '11-'12 Season Thread I: Hope Springs Eternal

Flashy Man said:
My hope is that Michigan Tech, Michigan, and Michigan State try to get the GLI on Versus or the BTN.
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Will MSU continue to be part of the GLI? I understand the possible need from the point of revenue, to get seats filled. They have been a part of it for 37 out of the 45 yrs (41 yrs UM) but there have been other teams.

Just too hard of a sell in D-twa? A really fickle area for college hockey in my experience. Probably can't expand it to get more people in. Are the dollars split evenly between all the teams? Any concern of this arrangement being dropped in a few years? Inquiring minds want to know.
 
Re: Michigan Tech '11-'12 Season Thread I: Hope Springs Eternal

Officially, we're good until at least 2013. The GLI has supposedly been booked, unofficially, through 2014.
 
Re: Michigan Tech '11-'12 Season Thread I: Hope Springs Eternal

Flashy Man said:
My hope is that Michigan Tech, Michigan, and Michigan State try to get the GLI on Versus or the BTN.
Click to expand...

I would hope so too. I don't know how the other tourney's are going at this.

giwan said:
Will MSU continue to be part of the GLI? I understand the possible need from the point of revenue, to get seats filled. They have been a part of it for 37 out of the 45 yrs (41 yrs UM) but there have been other teams.

Just too hard of a sell in D-twa? A really fickle area for college hockey in my experience. Probably can't expand it to get more people in. Are the dollars split evenly between all the teams? Any concern of this arrangement being dropped in a few years? Inquiring minds want to know.
Click to expand...

In the early years there were tons of Tech fans at the games, and either michigan or MSU in alternating years. The place was packed pretty much and Tech fans were more than 30% of the attendance.It was very loud just as the Dee was. After a while they figured out that when both MSU and U of M were included attendance was better and of course Tech started to drop off. I like that they include an eastern team and this year's GLI promises to be a real barn burner what with BC coming in. Last year with CC it just wasn't that good. The eastern schools have alumni here that use it as a chance for an alumni meeting and social, and they help attendance, cc didn't do that and I had already seen them in Houghton anyway. I don't know about the arrangement, but maybe the troll knows.
 
Re: Michigan Tech '11-'12 Season Thread I: Hope Springs Eternal

manurespreader said:
In the early years there were tons of Tech fans at the games, and either michigan or MSU in alternating years. The place was packed pretty much and Tech fans were more than 30% of the attendance.It was very loud just as the Dee was. After a while they figured out that when both MSU and U of M were included attendance was better and of course Tech started to drop off. I like that they include an eastern team and this year's GLI promises to be a real barn burner what with BC coming in. Last year with CC it just wasn't that good. The eastern schools have alumni here that use it as a chance for an alumni meeting and social, and they help attendance, cc didn't do that and I had already seen them in Houghton anyway. I don't know about the arrangement, but maybe the troll knows.
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If you recall, it was actually supposed to be BU, but they backed out sometime in August or September. The committee needed someone quick, so CC agreed to add it to their schedule because they had the extra games, and didn't have anything scheduled over the holidays.
 
Re: Michigan Tech '11-'12 Season Thread I: Hope Springs Eternal

SG has scooped Heisenberg on our two newest recruits:

Chris Leibinger

The other is Walker Hyland, but I can't figure out where he is playing this year. He spent last year in the NAHL, splitting time between Texas and Fresno.

MLive Article on Leibinger from Summer 2010.
 
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Re: Michigan Tech '11-'12 Season Thread I: Hope Springs Eternal

Flashy Man said:
The athletic department has a Facebook page just for hockey now.
http://www.facebook.com/michigantechhockey
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I'm keeping an eye on it... my son said someone had a video camera when Coach Pearson, Josh Robinson and Carl Neilson came to visit his classroom today ("coaches kids"). He also said, "When Josh Robinson puts on all his gear and spreads out his arms he's as big as a smartboard." :)
 
Re: Michigan Tech '11-'12 Season Thread I: Hope Springs Eternal

geezer said:
I'm keeping an eye on it... my son said someone had a video camera when Coach Pearson, Josh Robinson and Carl Neilson came to visit his classroom today ("coaches kids"). He also said, "When Josh Robinson puts on all his gear and spreads out his arms he's as big as a smartboard." :)
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Hopefully this is the kid we're reprogramming.
 
Re: Michigan Tech '11-'12 Season Thread I: Hope Springs Eternal

Flashy Man said:
Hopefully this is the kid we're reprogramming.
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oh, it's a done deal after DU slunk out of town. All he wants for Christmas is a Tech jersey, unfortunately he wants "a real one, not a cheap one." I think he's out of luck, I told him Santa doesn't like to spend that much. :D
 
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