Proud of our guys, they put in a real good effort
Got a good spread of scoring, strength of the team is our forwards, led by our upperclassmen
We have competition, which is healthy, we had a couple players that couldn't travel due to limit, like Evan Anderson that's had some injuries, but he's looked good
Baltus has looked good too, real good shape
Blacklock missed quite a bit of the summer with knee issues, but he's looked good lately too
Makes our jobs as coaches tougher, but it's a good thing
We controlled play for the most part, not a real good start 1st night, they're playing at home, so they were fired up, didn't like our 1st period and last period of weekend
Sunday 3rd period, had a big lead got comfortable, just weathered the storm yesterday
Penalties were an issue, got us in trouble both nights, especially 3rd period of Sat game
We had a real good start Sunday, until penalties started, we have to learn from that, strength of our team will be playing 4 lines all night
On Saturday game:
LSSU 1-0, our D zone coverage needs to be better, we didn't pick up coverage, all 5 guys were watching puck
1-1, Sturos from Johnstone/Petan - Good movement on PP, 1st unit is real good, we had a good 1st period, important to tie it up
Didn't change our PP at all with 1st group, LSSU did a real good job, Damon knew what was going on, but we got movement and created confusion
LSSU 2-1, over Jamie's shoulder, good shot, think Jamie would like it back, got caught deep in net, Jamie dropped before the player made a move, bad turnover though, Dman tried to do too much
2-2, Petan from Kero, Gillies made a real nice play, has poise and sees ice, Kero used speed, Petan went to the net and buried it
Tech 3-2, Gould rebound goal, stopped in front of net, stressed to our players, easy to take a loop and skate by net, another play by Gillies, let play develop
LSSU 3-3, Hietila just got out of box, so pretty much a PP goal, we had a player in the lane but didn't block shot
We took 4 penalties in 3rd period in a tight game, wont get away with that in future
Tech 4-3, Kero from Petan/Heinonen, expecting big things out of Tanner, experience at MN Wild camp was great, learned how hard you have to compete, play made by Petan staying with puck
Huge goal 30 seconds after LSSU goal, good bounce back
Pietila ENG, PP 1-3, LSSU PP 0-7, huge PK, we took 2 penalties after 4-3 lead, need to play smarter, good job by PKers and Jamie
Dzone coverage we talked about Sunday morning, and neutral zone offense, LSSU bottled us up in neutral zone, didn't use speed as much as we could've, much better Sunday
On Sunday game:
Different week, long week, we gave team Thursday off, it helped us going into Sunday
Little out of routine with a 5PM game, skate/meals etc, not much of a routine being so early in season
We were all over them 1st 10 mins, but penalties set in
LSSU gets 1st goal, 5 seconds left in 1st period, over Jamie's shoulder, would like it back, poor change by a Tech Dman, 2x1, caught Jamie short side up top, has to get out of his net, Shawhan will work on that with Jamie, one of 5 penalties in 1st period
Down 1-0, no panic in locker room, have junior/seniors that have been through it, calming effect
1-1, Hietila, nice play by Neville he was good on faceoffs, Hietila made a nice move on goalie, wanted to get the freshmen goalie moving, we were plaing well with nothing to show so big goal
2-1, Pietila, great 2nd effort by Reid on backcheck, Johnstone in traffic gets it to Pietila, Blake wired it, big goal
3-1, Steman redirect, Watson shot it in, doing a great job, talked to our Defense want more offense from our Dmen, Dylan had a real strong game, improved from 1st to 2nd game huge step, had other great opportunities
4-1, Johnstone PPG, made a little adjustment on that PP, put Alex on blueline, moved Hanna more in the middle, that goalie had no chance
26 shots in 2nd period, we could've had 8 goals, our guys got after the puck, forecheck pressure and good sound defense
5-1, Hietila in 3rd, Gould made some great plays, last year Gould ended the season well, he's in much better shape, a little extra step, part of Shelast working with our program
Can see same thing in Heinonen and Baltus too, Gould got a goal, nice assist, did a lot of good things
On goaltending:
Did you think about Jamie vs. Kero for Sunday?
Not really, Jamie has experience, has won big games. This early in the season felt it was good for Jamie to play and he won Saturday.
Jamie was stronger Sunday, not that he had a bad game Saturday.
Devin is doing well, pushing Jamie, he could play, but good to get Jamie involved early.
Gillies, Steman, L'Esperance, Auk, Roy all freshmen that played:
They played well, Steman scored, strong on faceoffs, Roy calming presence, +2 in each game
L'Esperance had a good game, may need to learn to give up puck and get to the net, but good scoring opportunities
AUk showed his skating ability, calm and patient, really pleased with our freshmen, credit to Billy
Who is next on doorstep to get in there?
Evan Anderson big strong player, has gotten better as we've been on the ice with them in limited time, intrasquad game will be big on Saturday
Blacklock continues to get better, he was a bit behind due to injuries, conditioning not quite there has speed and good shot
Joe Schuldt big strong kid, a little behind in conditioning, stay at home Dman, has continued to get better
Will use next 2 weeks to evaluate, have individual meetings to see where kids are at
WCHA Polls:
Mankato/Ferris should be 1/2, they return good players, well coached, have had success, definitely 2 favorites
After that we'll be in a dogfight with other teams, UAA, UAF, BGSU, NMU
Think we'll have a good rivalry with Ferris, almost wish we played them 4 times this year, starting to form rivalries
Intrasquad game at 6PM Saturday, donations welcome for raising funds for junior hockey.
It'll be a great night for our players, get in community learning to give back.
We'll sign autographs, team photo given out
It'll be big for players, it'll be fast paced intense game, have 2 weeks we aren't playing while Ferris will be. Don't mind 1 week off, but 2 is different.
It'll be 2 25 min halves.
Good possibility it might be streamed video wise.
Our web page has been real good job. Good video highlights, interviews are up from after the games. A lot of info on our webpage.
Copley did well in exhibition games moved down to AHL. Started an exhibition game, was 1st star.
JJ got sent down to AHL, one of last cuts by Edmonton.
Olson had a real good camp with Panthers, just sent to AHL.
Last night we had 12-15 NHL scouts at the game, sometimes talk to some after the game, they're interested in a number of our players. Good for our team.
How aware are you before the game that they're there? Some will call some wont, talked to Buffalo/Columbus/Winnipeg before the game. Chicago, Rangers, etc were there that Mel saw.
Good/Bad, don't want distractions for players. If you haven't been drafted, Sturos/Hanna, now you could have several teams talking to them. Can become distracting. We'll talk about it this week. We want to help our players have a future in hockey, but need to focus on Tech right now.
Questions for Mel:
At what point do you decide who will play Friday?
Usually have an idea going into the week for most part. Have to get lines/D pairs in order for practice. Don't put it on the board until Thur. This weekend was Saturday morning at pregame skate.
Matt Roy looks impressive as freshmen. What's status of Dane Birks?
Matt was solid this weekend. Dane is ineligible for the year. Dane got a raw deal. It's more of a technicality. Did all core work, SAT work, just a technicality he got caught up on. He's with us, stay here for the year. Penguins are okay with that. He's in a good place and can still develop.
Can't practice 1st half of year. But can practice 2nd half, redshirt year for him. It happens, tough on him. He's committed to Tech, good for him. Good decision.
Does not lose a year of eligibility. Pittsburgh just called the other day, he can do things off the ice.
( best shot at humor today, I'm down with the crud )
