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

pdt1081 said:
Call it what you want. I saw lots of Tech elbows go very high. The guy that hit DeSalvo in OT clearly left his feet, and made contact to the head. Of course, the 2 minute boarding call where he took two hands to the back of the head into the glass was hiim gooning it up too?

Tech is good. I'm not afraid to admit that. But if you were there and don't think the refs played a HUGE roll in the outcome of that game, well, we're just going to have to agree to disagree. What could have been a great game to watch Saturday turned into another Kevin Hall ****-show.
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No one disagrees with the fact that Kevin Hall lost control of that game, or that he ever had it in the first place. But to say that the officiating decided that game is terribly mistaken. There were awful calls and no calls all over the place, notably against Tech in the first half of the game. BG took advantage of those opportunities. In the end, Tech out battled BG and willed themselves to a win by tough work and capitalizing on rebounds out in front of your goaltender that was consistently left out to dry by his team.

When your team has just received a 5 minute major, and you deliver a blow or a retaliation out in direct view with everyone watching it, you deserve the next 5 for how stupid of a play that is. Why would you put your team in that situation to have a call made like that?

Considering the play in OT that cost Tech a scoring chance was what drew the penalty call, and rightly so, I'm curious to know why you believe the hit on DeSalvo was so different from any other play? Guys were running at each other high all night. He didn't call it then, sure isn't going to call it in OT, especially in the context of where it was on the ice.
 
Re: Michigan Tech 2013-2014: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Realignment

I'd like to add something as well. Fridays nights game was not like this. Only saturday. what made the difference.? Tech is not normally a run you, elbows, etc team. They prefer to go up and down. I think the difference was, BGSU could not go up and down with them which they figured out after friday night.
I think the decision was made to purposefully make the game more physical, and thus slow things down and maybe get a few retaliation calls which would make it at the minimum 4 on 4. Again neutralizing the Tech advantage in skating.
 
Re: Michigan Tech 2013-2014: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Realignment

To stop beating a dead horse about bad reffing changing the outcome of a game...I took a look at the WCHA standings. If you remove games played against UAH, Michigan Tech would be 3rd in Winning Percentage...Pretty crazy how much the # of games you get against UAH will play into where you finish in the WCHA this season.
 
Re: Michigan Tech 2013-2014: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Realignment

HuskyNation said:
No one disagrees with the fact that Kevin Hall lost control of that game, or that he ever had it in the first place. But to say that the officiating decided that game is terribly mistaken. There were awful calls and no calls all over the place, notably against Tech in the first half of the game. BG took advantage of those opportunities. In the end, Tech out battled BG and willed themselves to a win by tough work and capitalizing on rebounds out in front of your goaltender that was consistently left out to dry by his team.

When your team has just received a 5 minute major, and you deliver a blow or a retaliation out in direct view with everyone watching it, you deserve the next 5 for how stupid of a play that is. Why would you put your team in that situation to have a call made like that?

Considering the play in OT that cost Tech a scoring chance was what drew the penalty call, and rightly so, I'm curious to know why you believe the hit on DeSalvo was so different from any other play? Guys were running at each other high all night. He didn't call it then, sure isn't going to call it in OT, especially in the context of where it was on the ice.
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Calling the second 5 left BG with 4 defensemen for the last half of the game. Two of them were low minute guys. The mistakes at the end were a direct reflection of that. Hall knew exactly who he was throwing out. Had he thrown both guys, it'd be solely on the player at that point. It doesn't make sense to toss the one without the other, unless you're trying to affect the outcome of the game.

manurespreader said:
I'd like to add something as well. Fridays nights game was not like this. Only saturday. what made the difference.? Tech is not normally a run you, elbows, etc team. They prefer to go up and down. I think the difference was, BGSU could not go up and down with them which they figured out after friday night.
I think the decision was made to purposefully make the game more physical, and thus slow things down and maybe get a few retaliation calls which would make it at the minimum 4 on 4. Again neutralizing the Tech advantage in skating.
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BG does not play a physical game. Teams that come at them with a physical game usually win. LSSU did that the Friday of their series and BG had a horrible effort. Saturday, LSSU wasn't as physical and BG just outskated them. That's the way BG has played all year. There's a lot of talent on the team, but they don't respond well to physical teams.
 
Re: Michigan Tech 2013-2014: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Realignment

manurespreader said:
Meh,

since we have a BGSU fan here: the biggest question mark coming in to the year was goaltending. are you all happy with the goaltending?
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Goaltending hasnt been an issue. Fridays have been the issue. Both goaltenders are capable of making a positive difference in games. Even the best goalie in the world isn't going to make up for the mistakes being made in front of them.
 
Re: Michigan Tech 2013-2014: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Realignment

pdt1081 said:
Calling the second 5 left BG with 4 defensemen for the last half of the game. Two of them were low minute guys. The mistakes at the end were a direct reflection of that. Hall knew exactly who he was throwing out. Had he thrown both guys, it'd be solely on the player at that point. It doesn't make sense to toss the one without the other, unless you're trying to affect the outcome of the game.
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That is a pretty steep accusation. It is sad that you actually believe it.
 
Re: Michigan Tech 2013-2014: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Realignment

bigblue_dl said:
That is a pretty steep accusation. It is sad that you actually believe it.
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Yeah, we all know refs make mistakes or miss things but to say they are trying to affect the outcome of the game is pretty crazy.
 
Re: Michigan Tech 2013-2014: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Realignment

Mel Pearson show summary for 2-3:
Good weekend, bottomline is winning, two huge wins for program, couldn't be prouder and more happy for our players
BG came at us hard Saturday, our guys weathered the storm, and found a way to win, all of work through year starting to show dividends
Hockey can be a tough game at times, don't always get breaks you deserve, credit to the guys, they've believed in themselves, getting some breaks
Good defense Friday, credit to Pheonix, haven't played for 3 weeks, thrown in on the road against a good team, he made 2 saves right away, changed complection of the game, strong game


On Friday:
D. Johnstone on PP, nice play from Hanna drew BG guy to him, nice pass to David for quick one-time
we really missed David, he makes a difference when he touches the puck
Gould makes it 2-0 on a rush and pass from Eick, Gould chipped puck up neutral zone to CJ, after that he hustled straight to the net with stick on ice, good weekend for Malcomb
Only 4 saves for Copley, didn't give up much, good defensive posture
In 2nd, D. Johnstone makes it 3-0, good goal before net knocked off, credit to refs for reviewing
Kero from Furne/Watson, 4-0, been telling Tanner to use his speed up the side, nice play, gives yourself a chance at rebound, importance of getting it on net, their Dman should've taken Tanner out, but BG guy looked for puck, Tanner got rebound and scores
BG scores, 4-1, we gaveaway puck in neutral zone, had guys in right position but played a little soft, Pheonix might want that back, caught him in a soft spot
We took a penalty after that, 4-1 and needing a kill, momentum can change, quickly, Mel wasn't at ease in this game, big PK
Stats can be misleading sometimes, not concerned with PP%, it's what we do going forward, we have 3 PPG, it's what you're doing now/going forward
J. Johnstone scores, 5-1, 5 seconds left in 2nd, big goal
BG probably got message they need to play harder during 2nd intermission, more physical in 3rd
BG scores during 4x3 PP late, bounces off Neville into net, don't want to give BG momentum for next night
Good strong defensive effort, gave up only 21 shots to BG at home, they outshoot their opponentn 85% of time this year
A lot of guys played hard/well, Gould/J. Johnstone get goals, secondary scoring, important for our team

On Saturday:
They came out harder, that's what usually happens, these are big games for points, they pushed back hard, much more physical
Tyler Shelast has done a great job, our team is strong, we wont be intimidated going on the road, we've been at UMD, Mich, ND
I missed a few minutes with Internet issues
Petan crosschecked into their goalie, Mel should've had them review that, might've said no goal if Petan bumped into goalie, BG ripped Petan's helmet off gets major
In following faceoff, BG spears Sweeney, Bergeron prob not happy about that, nothing going on
D. Johnstone on 5x3 PP, we had movement on PP, big goal
In 3rd, J. Johnstone ties it at 3-3, great patience, they're a top 10 faceoff team like us, Jacob stripped the puck and walked in across the crease, waited out goalie
BG scores second laters, had guys in position, just didn't pick up sticks, Jamie couldn't corral it, they put it in, we'll talk about that today with the team
J. Johnstone again, 4-4, he skated well all weekend, we'll need seniors to step up like that, good for Jake, changed forecheck going into 3rd, it produced this goal, Vallis does a real nice job, Neville shows patience and gets it to Jake
Told team after 2nd, Mel had a good feeling, it's rough/physical, fans into it, we want to walk in steal one and leave town, team played really hard
We started to take over the game, they had 2 Dmen out, we did a good job, put a lot of emphasis on getting puck deep, force them to skate the whole rink
Even before that, when BG leading 4-3, we took a penalty, our PKers did a good job, great job all weekend, huge kill
Big save by Jamie late in 3rd, Jamie will make that save most of the time
We get OT PP, hustle by Petan, dman trips him, good call,
Pietila PPG, win 5-4, great pass, PP came through with 3 huge goals, it'll only continue to get better, could be a season changing win on the road

On Standings:
Tied for 5th
Have to find a way to get points, standings are so tight
Can go from home ice to not making playoffs, can't worry about others, only oursleves, need good efforts ready to compete
Next 5 games at home, need to take care of home ice and be ready to play
One game at a time, ready for Friday, only played 2 home games since the break
We'll need fans to help, can help if team is a little flat or things aren't going well

Are we a better road team at this point?
Much better, figured some tings out, scoring some goals, 5 at LSSU, 10 this weekend.
We're a .500 team in league play. There's method behind the madness. The tough early schedule, Mel knew we wouldn't go to tougher buildings than Yost, ND etc, it'll help us be prepared if we're on the road for playoffs, but Mel is planning on being at home.


Questions for Mel:

How do you guard against letdown after road wins and playing a last place team?
Biggest thing is, it's about us. It's not about who/where we're playing. We have a standard of play. Our team knows standings, playoff race. They'll be ready to play. We've got things to prove to ourselves. It'll be spirited practices, we've got good competition on this team.
We'll address what/how we need to do, we'll be fine.

Does Mel anticipated keeping line up same?
We always look at it. Not afraid to make changes.
We had a lot of guys play very well. Not sure it'll be the same, we've got good compeition.

Goaltending, what will you do with both getting wins?
Not sure we'll continue to just rotate them. Told Pheonix he'd play Friday befoe we even left on trip. Wnated to get him back in. Told Jamie he'd play Saturday, told them to focus on 1 game, and we'd go from there.

Coach seems a little non-committal on if he was happy with goaltending?
It was good enough to get 2 wins. Can't give up 4 goals on road and expect to win. It's on our team too. Continue to press to be better.

Thoughts on Vallis' play?
real nice job, he played very well on Friday. Good stick, real patience with the upck. Really liked he threw his body around. Didn't play as well Saturday, but big play on tieing goal at 4-4.

From Dirk - Johnstone brothers 6 goals.
David is proven, nice to have back. Just starting to get in hockey shape. Jacob has played really well most of the season, he's poised to have a really good run here. We'll need that secondary scoring.

Really excited for winter carinval, Great time for students/community. Great to showcase our university and hockey program. Players are itching and can't wait to get going. It'll be great weekend.

All guys want to play, hardest part is telling a guy he's not playing or traveling. Most guys have confidence in themselves and want to play.
 
Re: Michigan Tech 2013-2014: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Realignment

lawdoggies said:
pdt1081

Maybe you'll listen to Chris Bergeron, but I'm guessing you won't: http://youtu.be/B4mP8Ue5VoU
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I like coach Bergeron, and I listen to his news conference every week, but the audio volume is so low sometimes it's very hard to hear what he says. He might have more to say about this if asked, but not a lot I'm guessing.
 
manurespreader said:
I like coach Bergeron, and I listen to his news conference every week, but the audio volume is so low sometimes it's very hard to hear what he says. He might have more to say about this if asked, but not a lot I'm guessing.
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The media in BG has enough respect for the man to not ask questions he can't answer. After the performance his former boss put on in our building a couple years ago, he is always in control of himself behind the bench and in the public eye.
 
Shirtless Guy said:
To stop beating a dead horse about bad reffing changing the outcome of a game...I took a look at the WCHA standings. If you remove games played against UAH, Michigan Tech would be 3rd in Winning Percentage...Pretty crazy how much the # of games you get against UAH will play into where you finish in the WCHA this season.
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Just stresses how important 4 pts at Carnival is this year.
 
pdt1081 said:
Calling the second 5 left BG with 4 defensemen for the last half of the game. Two of them were low minute guys. The mistakes at the end were a direct reflection of that. Hall knew exactly who he was throwing out. Had he thrown both guys, it'd be solely on the player at that point. It doesn't make sense to toss the one without the other, unless you're trying to affect the outcome of the game.
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All the more reason not to give the referee the opportunity to call it by reacting the way he did. As a player, you cannot put your team in that position when down a man. He has no one to blame but himself. And I'm sure the coach will let him know that.

In that situation, the responsibility is with the player, not the referee. To say the referee has a responsibility to call what they don't see....well, I can't say much to that lunacy.
 
Re: Michigan Tech 2013-2014: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Realignment

so based on geof's corrected predictions, Michigan Tech is in great shape for hosting a playoff series if they sweep this weekend and split the rest of their series going forward, so the next 2 weeks are huge...getting the sweep against the Chargers and finding a way to repeat what the Huskies did to the Nanooks in Alaska at home could be huge.
 
Re: Michigan Tech 2013-2014: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Realignment

gfmorris said:
UAHStatman wrote a feature about how UAH and Tech share a lot of common threads: http://uahhockey.com/blog/2014/02/04/get-to-know-michigan-tech/ I'd argue that we're the most similar program to Tech academically in the conference (Fairbanks may be the other comp).

GFM
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Carny is a treat! I'm looking forward to seeing my second new team in person this year.
 
Re: Michigan Tech 2013-2014: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Realignment

Shirtless Guy said:
so based on geof's corrected predictions, Michigan Tech is in great shape for hosting a playoff series if they sweep this weekend and split the rest of their series going forward, so the next 2 weeks are huge...getting the sweep against the Chargers and finding a way to repeat what the Huskies did to the Nanooks in Alaska at home could be huge.
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I figure if we sweep hunstville and split the rest of the way we end up with 30 points and beat nmu out by one point for 4th. However if AA sweeps lake state it could get very interesting. I think playing NMU in the playoffs would be great.
 
Re: Michigan Tech 2013-2014: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Realignment

I think the worst of the conference schedule is behind us. 5/8 points on the Alaska jaunt and 2/8 against Ferris, which is par for the course this year. Ended up with 5/8 against Bowling Green, with last weekend's salvage. Mankato is the last team on the schedule that they may not get any points out of, as Bowling Green is the only WCHA team to get a win in their barn thus far this year. But with their next three series being against the worst team in the league, a team they already swept on the road (albeit closely), and their arch-rival whom they've already split with, if Tech can't get at least 8 of the next 12 available points, they deserve whatever their fate is, IMO. There have been plenty of disappointments this season, but none bigger than that two-week home stand against Bemidji and Bowling Green in early December. Instead of nabbing 6/8 points like they arguably should've, they ended up with 3/8 and potentially screwed themselves out of home playoffs (assuming they buckle down and do their part in the next month, rather than crap out, in which case they never deserved playoff hockey in the first place).
 
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