Mel Pearson Show summary for 1-12:
Well played games, entertaining, the 1 goal games are going against us now, UW, MI, UMD, Mankato, we're in them, but we're not winning or finding a way to lose them
We're not playing different, outshooting teams, carrying play, but goals against are rising, and PK has not been good last 6 games, kind of go hand in hand
Early in year we were blocking shots, OT winner for NMU, we were in position but nobody wanted to block shot
Starts from net out, correct those things and we'll win again
On Phillips: Did not like either Sat goal, we're giving up goals from far out, not near the net, 4 on Sat were well out on top of circles
There's no goalie controversy, he's played well, we just need to get refocused
It's not broken, wont get rid of your car for a flat tire, will fix it and back on the road cruising soon
NMU leading goal scorer gets 2 on us, from well outside Grade A scoring chance, we have some drills to see who can get in front of a puck and block it
You know when you have a good team, we need to correct some things, we knew there'd be some bounces/breaks that go against us, we know how to win, we'll correct it and get ready for BGSU
On Friday:
0-1, NMU PPG, until the penalty we were best team by far, weak penalty, Heinonen, very incidental contact, ref had said they'd call contact, they trying to establish presence in game
1-1, Kero from Petan, good bounce back less than 1 min later, perfect pass to Kero, can't say enough about Kero, fabulous year, Petan a really good year too
1-2, NMU goal with 9 secs left in 1st, poor puck management, we don't get it deep, they rush back the other way
Overall 2nd period, not a lot going on, have to work harder to get to the net on olympic sheet, we had the puck a lot, they defend well, have people back so no rushes etc
1-3, backdoor play, CJ Eick dropped stick, went to pick it up, opened up a passing lane for NMU, good read by them, one of 2 goals all weekend we gave up a close in goal, no chance for Jamie
NMU goes on 5 min major, Watson out, Pietila 10 min game misconduct, Neville out with injury - find out a lot about our team
Re: Watson major, the head of refs was at the game, thought it was a good hit, linesman made the call, have to make sure as a ref you saw it, it's a judgment
Have to be careful and be sure you saw what you saw, both refs saw the play, neither called a penalty, the only reason play stopped is NMU guys is hurt, called hit to the head, but NMU guy hurt his hip, was key to kill 5 min major
NMU gets 5 min major, he had kneed 2 other guys, 1st shift of game, then they called trip, then kneeing
2-3, Heinonen from Petan,Heinonen not afraid to stand in front of net, that's where he's getting goals
3-3 on 5x3, Hanna from Petan, Petan/Kero playing exceptionally well
Hanna is elusive on blueline, want him to get puck on net more, a little like last year, took off in 2nd half last year
Sturos had a great chance to win it, he's been a little snake bitten, last year he'd tap it in and game over, didn't get all of it on his stick, credit though he drove net etc, just didn't finish
On Saturday:
Fantastic crowd, they do make a difference and get energy into our team
These 2 games coming up might be the biggest games with WCHA standing and PWR, will need a good crowd
The 2nd period was a lot of fun, scoring 4 goals helps, made goaltending change, didn't like the goals and we needed a shot of something, Matt made a huge save early to help get us going
0-1, Payne, over top of circle, good shot/bad goal
0-2, late in 1st, sting going into intermission, for most part we carried play, momentum/our team deflated
1-2, Heinonen, same spot as Friday, in front of the net, he can score, good around the net
2-2, Steman from Eick, Steman drove to the net, he's got great speed, he'll continue to play well for us and pick up big goals
3-2, Gould PPG, one-timer, big time shot, good puck movement, Petan puts the puck in perfect spot for Gould
Could've used Gould Friday, but no Leibinger, Johnstone, Neville on Saturday, need to get guys healthy, hopefully full line up this weekend
3-3, NMU PPG, poor coverage, got lead, then take penalty right after that, Steman roughing, basically for following through on a shot
4-3, Baltus, they can review if it was an off-sides, liensman said he wasn't sure if he blew it by not calling off-sides, so that is what was reviewed, letting linesman get too involved in the game
Look where we're getting goals, right in front, Baltus, Heinonen, Kero, Steman, working hard, getting to gritty area, but we're giving up goals from perimeter, needs to change, have to force teams to earn goals
4-4, NMU PPG, Eick off for weak cross-check, good PK until last 20 secs, Neville out, Steman/Eick in penalty box, top PKers out, should've blocked shot, played too soft on top guy
It was a soft shot, had a guy out on point, but not lining himself up between stick and net
4-5 NMU OT goal, it might've gone off Kero foot, have to block that shot, we'll work on shot blocking this week, we had chances, Eick all alone, Petan great chance too from Baltus but Dahlstrom huge save
Thought we played pretty dang well, did a lot of good things, worked hard for our goals, one of those nights, anytime you give up 5 it'll be hard to win, have to tighten it up, PK, goaltending, block shots etc
Have to be careful, took penalties just after we scored, hard to get momentum, we're beating ourselves, that's fixable, making crtical mistakes
Like this team, 5 1 goals losses, 1 2 goal excluding ENG, we've been in every game
On BGSU:
7:07 Friday, 5:07 Saturday due to the bridge closing at 9PM
These might be 2 of most entertaining games, close games last year, they're good, top 5 in PWR, have not lost since Nov 14
They're 1 pt behind in standing, and this is only series this year
We have 8 home games, great crowd, need to finish these games, up 4-3 need to learn how to finish, part is penalties, take advantage of opportunities too
Live from Econo foods Wed, thanks to them, 500 youth tickets available starting at noon for a giveaway
Questions for Mel:
How does a goalie change spark a team?
Good question, watched MN/MI game, all 4 goalies got to play in that game. Sends a message to a team, not happy with how things are.
Would you support a policy to allow refs to consult video for 5 min major/misconduct penalties?
Don't want to ref by vide and slow game down. Sometimes video isn't that clear. So no.
Mel likes guys with speed. Are incoming recruits guys that can burry it?
Boeing is playing well. Jake Jackson is putting up numbers. He was out a bit with concussion, was in top 10 in BCHL scoring.
Another young man can't be talked about having a good year in BCHL.
We want that speed, but need guys that know what to do with the puck.
What percentage of Grade A chances should a team score on?
Mel would say all, but good question, it's more of how many you're creating. Shows you if you're getting to the scoring areas, then can see what you're doing once you're in the scoring areas.
NMU put heavy pressure on the points & aggressive on forecheck, can you do that in your system?
NMU does a good job on PK Fri, they weren't as aggressive Sat, we like to play aggressive.
Last 3 games on Olympic you can't be as aggressive might've affected us, especially Sat, need to be more aggressive.
Do you have drills to practice clearing puck when outlet passes are not available?
Yes, either on faceoff or break out. In game it's puck management. Got a little sloppy with puck, even on winning goal we threw it around boards right to NMU dman.
Do you have evidence of calling a timeout game early in game is correct call?
We've used quite a few of those this year. Sometimes you get a sense of how tired those players are and don't like matchup. Once you have a long shift, it's hard to recover from that.
So that's why Mel uses it early.
Dirk used to question it but noted, if you don't use it, you might not ever use it.
Like to save it, but have to read situation. If you call TO, you can change players.
We haven't gained momentum by our home games, now we have back to back home games. Can gain momentum and get on a roll.
Shout out to Red at MI, 800th win.
Thanks to the fans for all their support.
