What's new
By:
USCHO Fan Forum

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • The USCHO Fan Forum has migrated to a new plaform, xenForo. Most of the function of the forum should work in familiar ways. Please note that you can switch between light and dark modes by clicking on the gear icon in the upper right of the main menu bar. We are hoping that this new platform will prove to be faster and more reliable. Please feel free to explore its features.

Michigan Tech 2013-2014: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Realignment

Re: Michigan Tech 2013-2014: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Realignment

I was sure Tech would come away from the weekend with more than one point. I'm off the kool-aid now.
 
Last edited:
Re: Michigan Tech 2013-2014: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Realignment

bigblue_dl said:
If they can't beat Anchorage, no way they can beat the team from Alaska that is actually good next weekend.
Click to expand...

You mean the team that is in 9th place? Tech can beat them!
 
Re: Michigan Tech 2013-2014: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Realignment

FadeToBlack&Gold said:
With all due respect, expectations for Tech were high this year, and they're underachieving thus far. When you pay a coach $275,000/year, and when he's got a two-year headstart on recruiting over the coach on the opposite bench, you expect winning results.

That said, I'll agree that no one should be overlooking UAA. But that doesn't excuse the fact that Tech's effort last night was not anywhere near good enough.
Click to expand...
$275K is a great salary, more than I thought he was getting. Mel's in his third year so we need to start seeing some results in recruiting and wins. The new WCHA is looking a lot like the old WCHA. Take away last year's GLI win and there's not much to get excited about.

I did notice that UAA is winless on the road so in that regard, there's not much difference between us. I think starting the season with all those non-conference road trips was a mistake for a young team.
 
Last edited:
Re: Michigan Tech 2013-2014: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Realignment

I think we're getting the results on the recruiting front, but we're not seeing it pay off in the wins column yet. This is where the older players are supposed to step up and lead the way, but I feel some of our seniors might simply be at their ceiling in Mel's systems.

And all of those tough, early roadtrips should pay dividends for the younger players over the next couple of seasons.
 
Re: Michigan Tech 2013-2014: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Realignment

Burnt Orange Husky said:
$275K is a great salary, more than I thought he was getting. Mel's in his third year so we need to start seeing some results in recruiting and wins. The new WCHA is looking a lot like the old WCHA. Take away last year's GLI win and there's not much to get excited about.

I did notice that UAA is winless on the road so it that regard, there's not much difference between us. I think starting the season with all those non-conference road trips was a mistake for a young team.
Click to expand...

I'd echo what F2B&G said, I think we're seeing results in recruiting, it just takes time to get them to school and see the results of that.

The different styles from Jamie recruits to Mel can make it hard for the old recruits to fit into the system.

I also still question the non-conference schedule. It was difficult and to add on to that, so many on the road made it very difficult. Not sure how much it helped right now. Good experience yes, but it tough to not get that confidence and feel like you're playing well heading into conference play.
 
Re: Michigan Tech 2013-2014: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Realignment

Agree that confidence is a big deal, But I'm in favor of playing the toughest teams you can. I think it is a recruiting tool as well as making you better.

I think as time goes by we are getting faster and going forward we will continue to improve in that area.. I love the style of play and looking at the stats what jumps out to me is: one, special teams. we can't take so many penalties and we have to draw more of them.
two. We have to be better at cashing in the great chances. pp or not.
3. we have to learn to play airtight with the lead late in games.
I think these are all things that come with experience.

I think our guys are developing and sooner than we think a corner will be turned. It's one of the best things about mel, that players develop under him. look at Khaira for instance. I really wish we had more wins, but i'm not discouraged for the future at all.
 
Re: Michigan Tech 2013-2014: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Realignment

You can see the senior effect with all 3 Freshmen D staying in the lineup this weekend. The close games were
Encouraging, but now we have laid 3 WCHA eggs already.

By now we should have 12 forwards defined to
Remain in the lineup and gain the synergy to win games.
I look at what UMD did to Minnesota and what Maine did to BC and continue to wonder when us Tech fans can finally be happy with our hockey team. I too am off the Kool Aid.
 
Last edited:
Re: Michigan Tech 2013-2014: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Realignment

Another recruit. From twitter Tech got a commitment from Cooper Watson. @cooper_watson A Dman from Appleton. He was drafted in the USHL byWaterloo but he's still playing at High School. He got a C grade in the latest NHL Central Scouting List.
 
Re: Michigan Tech 2013-2014: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Realignment

mtu_huskies said:
Another recruit. From twitter Tech got a commitment from Cooper Watson. @cooper_watson A Dman from Appleton. He was drafted in the USHL byWaterloo but he's still playing at High School. He got a C grade in the latest NHL Central Scouting List.
Click to expand...
I believe that's Cliff's little brother.
 
Re: Michigan Tech 2013-2014: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Realignment

Michigan Tech Lands 6-2 Senior Defenseman Cooper Watson - sbn.to/1bR2xiH

I watched the kid throughout the Elite League. He's a solid defenseman. Good grab for Mel, he's a great addition to Tech's future d-core.
 
Re: Michigan Tech 2013-2014: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Realignment

Huskiefan906 said:
You can see the senior effect with all 3 Freshmen D staying in the lineup this weekend. The close games were
Encouraging, but now we have laid 3 WCHA eggs already.

By now we should have 12 forwards defined to
Remain in the lineup and gain the synergy to win games.
I look at what UMD did to Minnesota and what Maine did to BC and continue to wonder when us Tech fans can finally be happy with our hockey team. I too am off the Kool Aid.
Click to expand...

I agree. Recruiting (as good as it's been) is only part of the equation. At some point you have to start winning with the players you have. Coach them up and develop them. Decades of losing has Tech hockey fans like us in the "wait till this recruit hits campus" mindset. Similar to Michigan football where all they talk about is the past and the future with all the recruits they have coming in. Let's talk about the present. Win now.
 
Last edited:
Re: Michigan Tech 2013-2014: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Realignment

Here are a couple write ups from overtheboards.net on recent recruits.

96 D Cooper Watson commits to Michigan Tech – November 26

November comes to a close as we come up on our 52nd commitment this month – a busy one indeed. This week Cooper Watson, younger brother of current Michigan Tech freshman Cliff Watson, committed to join the Huskies in Houghton by what looks to be the fall of 2015. Watson, one of the big ‘risers’ over the length of the season for his Elite League outfit Team Wisconsin, passed for 7 assists and netted 5 goals in 24 appearances. He projects as an all-around contributor from the back-end who can do a little of everything, so it can be hard to pinpoint one elite trait of his.

While brother Cliff joined the Huskies late this Summer, Cooper’s got a few more years of being a Michigan Tech commit until he gets there, though there’s one Watson left – Carver, and he could end up the best of the three. A slight, younger prospect (1998), Carver skates with Cooper, also as a blue liner for their local high school Appleton’s ‘Appleton United’ outfit. For Team Wisconsin’s U16 team, Carver does nothing but make polished, decisive plays on and off the puck – it could be a nice swing for the Huskies if they can complete the trio.


Very excited to announce that I have committed to play hockey at Michigan Tech University #MTU #Huskies

— Cooper Watson (@cooper_watson) November 26, 2013
Click to expand...


96 F Chris Gerrie commits to Michigan Tech – November 23

Olds Grizzlys young star forward Chris Gerrie, who we highlighted in our top performers round-up earlier this month, committed to Michigan Tech for the fall of 2016 this week after a stellar start to the year. The 17-year-old from Red Deer, Alberta has 27 points in 28 games this season and leads the AJHL’s rookies – good for 11th in the entire league. Gerrie has clearly been a key for Olds’ scoring success this season, and though they haven’t found much traction to pull ahead of .500 this year, with so many young talents driving upward it sounds as though this is going to be a group of D1 recruits to watch moving forward in this one but also seasons to come.

Olds’ press release had some praise for Gerrie as well, “Chris is a player who is extremely talented and plays hard every night. Chris has a great future and we are very excited to have the ability to help him develop into a NCAA hockey player” Head Coach Brett Hopfe said today.”
Click to expand...
 
Re: Michigan Tech 2013-2014: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Realignment

That's all well and good, but let's not forget that it took Mel's mentor, Red Berenson, almost five seasons to get Michigan hockey turned around after 15-20 years of (at best) mediocrity. I'm as impatient and annoyed as anyone else, but the last two decades of being a truly horrid team have taken their toll, and you don't fully recover from that in three years. UAA is enjoying a bit of a revival, kind of like we did with our 16 wins in Mel's first year, but with all due respect to their fans, that's not likely to sustain itself.
 
Re: Michigan Tech 2013-2014: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Realignment

FadeToBlack&Gold said:
That's all well and good, but let's not forget that it took Mel's mentor, Red Berenson, almost five seasons to get Michigan hockey turned around after 15-20 years of (at best) mediocrity. I'm as impatient and annoyed as anyone else, but the last two decades of being a truly horrid team have taken their toll, and you don't fully recover from that in three years. UAA is enjoying a bit of a revival, kind of like we did with our 16 wins in Mel's first year, but with all due respect to their fans, that's not likely to sustain itself.
Click to expand...

UMass Lowell, Union, and Providence have all turned it around in short order. Tech should be able to do it. Let's hope they can start scoring. Looking for a sweep this weekend in Fairbanks.
 
Re: Michigan Tech 2013-2014: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Realignment

Listening to the latest "in the crease", it sounds like the coach was happy with Sturos and Baltus on saturday. I wonder if this means they will play friday night?
 
Re: Michigan Tech 2013-2014: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Realignment

After seeing the team live I would think they would play
Gould, Baltus, Vallis, Sturos, and Heinonen together without this group replacing each other on a nightly basis.

Is David Johnstone on the trip. Is Heinonen on the trip.
Hopefully, the offense can breakout against Alaska.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top