Re: Michigan Tech 2013-2014: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Realignment
Quiet place on here! I wonder what the impact of getting Sova back sometime soon will be. Overall our D hasn't been too bad.
Mel Pearson show summary for 10-28:
Good to have a home game, our fans were fantastic on Saturday
Dirk - Spoke with Rix pregame Saturday, confident the guys were ready
Our guys were excited, when guys were out for warmup and the student section was already packed
We've had a tough go, being on the road against tough teams, learned a lot about this team through the 5 games
On Friday:
NMU was ready, fine line between winning/loseing, they had a little bit of an edge on us
We weren't playing poorly, but took advantage of a good oppotunity early, we got on our heels
We did a poor job on our first few PKs, sagging in towards goal, allowed NMU room/space to score their 2nd goal
We didn't do a good job of adjusting to olympic sheet, can't say we've done great on Olympic ice since Mel's been here, morem suited for NHL size
We created enough scoring opportunities, just could not finish
They've got a nice core of upperclassmen, maybe only 1 freshmen at forward and none on defense? not sure
Copley nice save on a short 3-0 after Leibinger lost an edge, he read the play, NHL save
31 saves, he's making the tough saves look easy, big step from last year
Copley/Phillips both playing better, guys are more focused, could be because Wintjes is here, but probably natural step by being sophmores
On Saturday:
3,944 attendance
Neville penalty 24 seconds into the game, kill it early, get some confidence, good job on PK all night
Had not led in previous 5 games, killing penalty was huge
Hietila from Vallis - we made some changes, can't be afraid to change lineup, put in 3 fresh skaters, Vallis real nice play and good game overall
Goal helped building get into it and gave the team a lift
Furne, J. Johnstone and Baltus sat for Vallis, Holmberg (18 wins 3 losses in faceoff), and Hietila?
Holmberg has been practicing on defense the last few weeks, because we're so short, he's looked pretty good
Holmberg hasn't played in 1st 5 games but never stopped working, got there early/stayed late, continued to work, told him that in front nof the team, take advantage of opportunity and he did
Holmberg/Hietila haven't played PP in game, but have in practice, Blake has some skill and patience, we haven't created a good net front presence, put Holmberg in that position
After 1st goal, guys going hard and drew penalty, scored again, big thing is to keep pressing
Early 2nd period goal, Petan from Neville, hustle goal, loose puck gotten to by Neville and threw it to the front of the net
Turnover by defensmen, NMU puts pressure on and NMU goal, 3-1
D. Johnstone from Hanna & Neville, great shot by Hanna, quick, D. Johnstone all alone to put it in
We did not score on some of our better chances, a bit concerning
Took timeout 4 mins into 3rd, didn't like how we started, told guys there are certain things to do with lead, no turnovers between top circles/blueline
Got a little careless, a freshmen D tried to go through 4 NMU guys, so took TO
From that point on played much better
Atmosphere great, video board good, Mel missed introduction with the old hockey footage, will watch it, Band and the canned music interacting well
Any suggestions for the videoboard, songs etc, email coach Pearson
Holmberg/Hietila/Vallis line looked good
Heinonen/Kero/Pietila, not bad, have to get Blake and Tanner going, Blake fighting through some injuries, not 100% but a warrior, affecting his play, Mel/Blake serious talk to see if he needs time to get healthy
Tanner skating well, points will come, Tyler also doing a good job
Rix/Sturos/Eick - Rix/Eick always play well together, Sturos has size and can skate, still learning, but with experience/confidence that line can play against any line
Thanks to the Library and Continental for their support of MTU Hockey with the pregame tailgate Saturday, putting that on/supporting hockey adds to whole atmosphere
They discussed other college scores
On the Michigan series:
It'll be fun going back, but we need to find a way to get a win or two
Resine started in goal this year, started strong, but lower body injury, freshmen got in, Nagelfort, we recruited him, but decided on MI and has played well, .947 save percentage
They've got a good team infront of him, they're a momentum team and once they get 1 they'll get a few more, play fast/strong
Motta has 4 goals, great stick, good with the puck, played USNTDP, 3 of the freshmen from USNTDP are playing on the same line
Like the matchup, we'll have to play our best, we have speed/strength, we matchup well
Have to get off to a good start get that first goal, need to try and play in their zone more, defense could be their weakness, get to their young goaltender
The freshmen have added excitement and playing better team game since we beat them 4-0 last year, much improved team, confidence level better
Huge challenge, but we beat them last year, feed from that, we played with Notre Dame friday night, we can play with good teams
We'll get together as coaches, about who to take to Ann Arbor, we have some depth
Questions for Mel:
Are we getting the type of recruits we need to be competative? How's it going?
Like our recruiting, when we come in as staff 2-3 years behind in process. But we've caught up. Like some young men in BC junior league leading the league in scoring, some mobile defensmen.
We've got some speed, but that'll continue to improve. Also need some character/grit, like our recruiting, encouraged for future.
Dirk have you ever done a game at Yost?
No Dirk has not been to Yost, looking forward to it.
Mel - great building, nice renovation 2 years ago. Redesigned it to look like it originally, windows aren't boarded up etc. Fun place to play
Will Mel go with a faster lineup?
Michiagn is much more offensive, quicker than NOtre Dame, less defense oriented than Notre Dame. We still have to play physical and slow them down a bhit.
BU and Lowell did a good job of interrupting Michigan's speed, can't give them PP or odd man rushes.
Michigan is coming back to Houghton next year. Very excited. Our fans will see a very good hockey team here.
We're tryign to play good teams in the non-conference. Michigan State will be here in 2 weeks. Get tickets soon.
We've played MI and MSU more than any other programs in college hockey, good to get them back on the schedule and back to Houghton.
We will take a year absence from MSU and head to East Lansing in 2 seasons.
Injuries:
Sova has an injury that's not healing, a few different opinions of can he play. He will need surgery after season, he's gotten green light, we'll talk to Dr.s and trainer to make sure he can resume practice. He should be up to speed in a few weeks.
Davis coming along well, we can be in a playing cast in a week.
Fillion wont be around 1st half of year. We've missed these 3 guys. Freshmen have gotten a good go.
Hanna: make some great stops at blueline. He's got good skills, he'll be a special player at Tech.
Leibinger a warrior, nursing an injury that others may not play with
Watson, steady guy, these three guys played well with this schedule
Stebner, Sweeney, Hyland all looked good Saturday, some tweaking needs to be done, minimize mistakes
