Mel Pearson Show summary for 10-27:
Fine line between W/L, bounce here there and we got different fortunes than last year
Told our players they played hard and deserved their fate this weekend
Not to be a downer, but we have a lot of hockey left
Gave our team some confidence to find a way to beat a good team with a great goaltender
You never know on the bench how people are viewing the game, but had a number of NHL scouts come up and say they couldn't believe the pace/intensity of the games, especially Friday
Wasn't sure how we'd start Friday not having played for awhile, give credit to players, they were prepared
Jamie Phillips gets a shutout Friday, not a lot of Grade A chances on Friday, but Jamie was up to the task when they had their chances
Jamie's stepped up and gotten better every game, 5 GAA in 4 games is good, all on the road
1 bad period, maybe slow start Friday, but 2nd period Saturday was our worst period, hit a wall, mentally tired, they came after us hard 2nd game, it takes a lot out of you, credit to Shelast, our team is strong/well conditioned with good 3rd in a tough weekend
Didn't change lineup, Dirk a little surprised, was there a time you second guessed that? Saw a few guys struggling, never like to second guess, but do rethink, maybe should've made a change. But we do say if you play well we reward with more playing time, felt team played well Friday.
On Friday's game:
Shots might've been even, but we out attempted them. They block shots well.
They blocked 27 shots on Friday, to our 15.
2nd period 20-13 shots Tech, got our legs underneath us.
3rd period starts on a short PP, but got puck in their zone, moved puck quick. Caught CJ Motte off-balance and got the puck in the net.
Important to get the lead, hard to play from behind on them.
Created more scoring chances, but CJ Motte was strong in net.
Good hard fought game.
Jamie made a few saves towards the end, they were throwing everything at the net.
Our defense tied people up and cleared pucks.
Kero/Johnstone both with 7 shots. Kero had a real good game.
Going around the room, a lot of players had a solid game. No real weak links Friday.
On Saturday:
We outshot them in 1st, but first 10 mins, shots were mostly FSU. See that often, losing team Saturday usually comes out with more jump.
They came out hard, they know how to win.
1-0 Tech, Gillies. Gillies will be good, great poise/patience this weekend for a young player.
1-1, Robertson. They were coming at us, we had trouble getting puck in their zone, turning it over in neutral zone. Big goal for them.
Tough goal to give up, give that team momentum. We were holding on the rest of the period.
Shots 15-8 FSU in 2nd. Not skating well. Told Billy huge to get through 1-1, we weren't very good. Had a chance to play for 20 mins for a sweep.
PP goal, Johnstone 2-1, not many score goals like that, 90% would've just shot puck, he was all alone with Motte, but fakes, pulls it backhand and puts it over Motte. David can score goals, hard to teach that.
Our PK did great. Our PP was good, 2 goals on the weekend.
We took a few unnecessary penalties this weekend, don't want penalties in offensive zone. The one Joel took when they had 5 min major barely touched FSU but have to be careful.
Red will be on. Red has the passion for the game, still motivating the players to play, he can probably coach another 10 years, he's in such good shape and sharp mentally. Learned from Red need to keep getting better as a coach.
They talked about other WCHA games.
Red joined the show:
Red hasn't seen the rink, played at the DEE when MacInnes was coach
Looking forward to the trip to Michigan
Al Renfew, Tech and UM coach, had a setback and is in the hospital, would've come on the trip if he's better, but doubtful
UM had a few good games out east, puck went in the net for UM, win 8-4
At BU, good game, 2-1 lead into the 3rd, good game, feel UM took a step last weekend
They discussed some of UM players to watch
There's a lot more parity in college hockey, not as stacked offensively as when Mel was there
Both goalies are getting playing time - wont say who's playing, Mel joked that he can say who will be in net for Tech
Looking forward to the trip, Red was talking to Al Renfew's daughter, she said it'd be a great trip to make, his daughter said MTU is such a great hockey school, who wouldn't want to make that trip
Red thought that was neat, when he was playing Tech was a powerhouse, Mel is doing a great job up there, glad UM gets a chance to come up
Mel - Thanks to Red, they'll be 2 great games, they've got 10 NHL draft picks, fans will see fantastic games.
Very happy to announce, this is a project we've been working on & thanks to Suzanne Sanregret and Joel Isaccson. We got the Stanley Cup. Usually it needs to be with a player.
Conn Smythe, Hart trophy, Gibson Cup, McNaughton Cup. Ferris was very willing to let us bring the McNaughton cup home. Public viewing from 9:30-11:30 and 3-5PM and for 1 hour after the game on Friday. Photo Ops. Need a ticket for one of the games to see.
Want to reward our fans that have supported us. It's a great thing, what a weekend. Mel has been with the cup, but can't wait to be around it again. Most recognizable trophy in sport. Who knows when it'll be back in Houghton. There are tickets for Friday, not many for Saturday available.
Need a ticket for Fri/Saturday to see the public viewing on Friday or attend the Friday game to see after the game.
Blueline club luncheon on Friday at 12 - Red will be there at the SDC.
We might have an appearance by the trophies there to. There will be lunch and talking about the series.
Huskies night out is tonight. Mel will be there with other coaches. Mine Shaft at 6 PM.
Wed there will be a live remote from the library, 7th man Tshirt deal, giveaway 100 shirts. Will have some players talk.
There will be plenty of candy at the SDC, don't worry about trick or treating on Friday. There will be a costume contest too. So many things going on.
Questions for Mel?
Did Mel apply for Michigan Tech job earlier?
Yes, Mel did apply earlier than he got the job. The timing wasn't right then, but Mel loves it here.
With a long season and injuries being an issue. How is Blake Pietila skating with his off-season injury?
He's healthy and playing extremely well. May not have as many points as he would like, he's off to a better start. His faceoff percentage is outstanding.
You've had unique opportunity to play for and coach with MacInnes and Berensen, what's similar/different?
Similar in a lot of ways, command respect of players and public. Both are good people. Very calm on the bench, very good at practice.
Differences - Red might be more fiery at time. Talked about pro hockey more with Red, times are different too regarding players.
We did have a huge alumni turnout in Big Rapids. Happy we could give them a victory on Saturday.
When can we expect coach Shawhan to land a recruit?
He's been on the road already, was on the road this weekend. He's doing a good job. He's done an outstanding job with goalies. Jamie's improvement from LSSU to FSU was huge, that's directly on Joe.
we've got some kids for a few years out, he's got a few in the pipeline. The signing date is 2nd wed in Nov.
Mel noted, UM doesn't have to come up here. Mel knows at UM you get a ton of request to play teams. You can be selective, great that UM and MSU are willing to play instate school teams. It's a big draw for us and other MI schools. We have to go down there and play too, great for our fans down there.
Great to get them up, hope to talk to Red about the next time we can get them back up.
How is non-conference scheduling?
Good, have UW, UMD, MSU down the road. Have to go back to UM. There's a few teams, Mel would like to get up to Houghotn. If you have a team you'd like to see, email Mel.
We're talking to UND and Minnesota, trying to work something out.
Next 4 at home. Go easy on guys this week? We'll go easy today, it was a physical series, need to be ready for Friday. Tough trip, got home at 6/7AM Sunday.
Really looking forwards to the week, a lot going on. It was a 5 month process to get the cup set up and finally found out a week and a half ago it was going to happen, very excited.
