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<> Michigan Tech Huskies 2021-22: STILL Our 100th Anniversary <>

I always wait a day or two before sharing final thoughts on our last game of the season so here goes...
  1. To advance in the NCAA Tourney, you need to play three solid periods from the opening whistle to the final horn. Every team you face will be a top team. Tech struggled to beat below average teams down the stretch (Ferris, St Thomas, etc) so a loss to Duluth is not shocking. In my opinion, Tech wasn't ready to go at the opening faceoff. They played well enough to win in the 2nd and 3rd, but 2/3 of a good game doesn't cut it this time of year.
  2. Tech does not have the offensive skill on the roster to overcome errors. If Tech had a chance to win this game it was going to be a 2-1 game with Blake standing on his head as others have mentioned. As it turns out, Tech lost their biggest offensive weapon less than four minutes into the game and didn't even score one goal. So how many Blake gave up doesn't even matter. You would have hoped he could have made a HUGE save on the second goal when his team needed it but it didn't happen. Again if you don't score any goals, it doesn't matter what happens in net, you will lose EVERY time.
  3. To advance in the NCAA Tourney, you cannot have unforced errors. The second goal falls squarely in this category and then see point #2 about no scoring.
  4. I think Tech's biggest weakness is that they do not yet have a true winning mentality. They do not expect to win. They seem to hope they will win if they play hard. They seem to play to the level of their opponent. How else can you play Mankato to a pair of one goal games one weekend and stink up the rink against teams like Ferris, St Thomas, Michigan State, etc. You need to bury those teams in the first period every time you play them and don't give them even a sniff that they are in the game. Especially when... (see point #2)
  5. What does Tech need to improve on next year? See point #2.
North Dakota has already signed their first player out of the portal for next season. There is no off-season for the top programs, so let's hope we're already working towards being better for opening night 2022-23.
 
FadeToBlack&Gold said:
A thoroughly underwhelming finish to what started as a very promising second half of the season. I give Joe two more years to figure out player development and the mental game, or else I'll be ready to go coach shopping.
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Compared to last season, this year was pretty decent. We were the best men's hockey team in the UP, we were consistently ranked in the top 20, and we made the tournament. It was tough luck drawing UMD in the first round. Our season was similar to North Dakota's. We probably ended up being the 14th best team in the country. So, will the trend continue upward next year?
 
Burnt Orange Husky said:
Compared to last season, this year was pretty decent. We were the best men's hockey team in the UP, we were consistently ranked in the top 20, and we made the tournament. It was tough luck drawing UMD in the first round. Our season was similar to North Dakota's. We probably ended up being the 14th best team in the country. So, will the trend continue upward next year?
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Agreed. There are many programs in much worse shape.
 
You know what was absent from the joe show this week? any talk of future players, portal, anything like that. I do like our returning players a lot and I think several guys who have been on the edges are ready to be major contributors, however replacing all those lost goals will be a challenge. I'd like to see us be a bit more offensive from a systems point of view. I think our system hurts us sometimes.
 
manurespreader said:
You know what was absent from the joe show this week? any talk of future players, portal, anything like that. I do like our returning players a lot and I think several guys who have been on the edges are ready to be major contributors, however replacing all those lost goals will be a challenge. I'd like to see us be a bit more offensive from a systems point of view. I think our system hurts us sometimes.
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I'm not a hockey X's and O's guy, but outside of parking a big body in front of the net and getting more natural centers, what more can scheme do? Tech has been getting shots/scoring chances. I suspect their conversion rate on scoring chances wasn't very good. What does Joe say, he expects goalies to let in 1 out of 7 scoring chances and the team to convert on 1 out of 5? I wouldn't be surprised to see the team averaging converting 1 out of every 9 or 10. Tech has had a history of making average goalies look like Richter candidates. Tech needs more players who hit their passes and can consistently beat a goalie.
 
manurespreader said:
You know what was absent from the joe show this week? any talk of future players, portal, anything like that. I do like our returning players a lot and I think several guys who have been on the edges are ready to be major contributors, however replacing all those lost goals will be a challenge. I'd like to see us be a bit more offensive from a systems point of view. I think our system hurts us sometimes.
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With the restrictions on what Joe can comment on, it's hard to talk about specific players. A general comment isn't really going to tell us much (we're looking for more size, we're looking for more skill. etc.) but maybe WHERE they're recruiting would be insightful. Tyler Shelast was supposed to have much more of an influence with western Canada, is that paying off? Has southern Ontario dried up for abundant D-1 talent like it used to produce?
 
I find it odd that some teams other than us, can get top players out of Michigan. UMass does it, Blasi does it, it can be done. We get very few except for the Brighton connection. I agree that recruiting is the name of the game. I also wonder if a skill player with great hands is also a hard skill guy joe talks about all the time. It also would be nice to pick up a few more draft picks.
Having said all that Quinnipiac get a lot of guys out of the BCHL and they are doing great.
I will totally admit mel's job got a lot easier when he moved.
 
John J. MacInnes said:
With the restrictions on what Joe can comment on, it's hard to talk about specific players. A general comment isn't really going to tell us much (we're looking for more size, we're looking for more skill. etc.) but maybe WHERE they're recruiting would be insightful. Tyler Shelast was supposed to have much more of an influence with western Canada, is that paying off? Has southern Ontario dried up for abundant D-1 talent like it used to produce?
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I think a lot of the talented players out of southern Ontario go to play in the BCHL these days. There is still some talent in the OJHL, but not as much as there used to be.
 
even within the NAHL there are strong scorers that Tech is not getting. You get experienced 20 year old players that are peaking with more leadership roles with increased playing time. These players have been going to a wide variety of schools and Tech is not active
 
Gotz and Buckley in the portal. It would be good to replace those guys on D with some experienced D men available from the portal to supplement Docter and any other upcoming young Defense. Thorne is terrific, can skate and can move the puck well, but we need more experience on the back end because it don’t look like run and gun is in the cards.
 
Scrum Bucket said:
Gotz and Buckley in the portal. It would be good to replace those guys on D with some experienced D men available from the portal to supplement Docter and any other upcoming young Defense. Thorne is terrific, can skate and can move the puck well, but we need more experience on the back end because it don’t look like run and gun is in the cards.
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Where can one see who is in the transfer portal? I know Schlossman maintained a good list last year.
 
Scrum Bucket said:
Gotz and Buckley in the portal. It would be good to replace those guys on D with some experienced D men available from the portal to supplement Docter and any other upcoming young Defense. Thorne is terrific, can skate and can move the puck well, but we need more experience on the back end because it don’t look like run and gun is in the cards.
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We need another steady, experienced defensive d-man like Michael Karow if next year is going to be competitive and not a full-on rebuilding year. Looking at players who need to be ready to take the next step and backfill the losses on offense - Logan Pietila, Caderoth, Ashbrook, Mosley, and Saretsky will all need to step it up and/or be more consistent. I'm hoping either Bronte or Ganie can become a fixture at 4th line center and it would be good to see at least one of either Nardella or Crespi finally break out a bit (more likely the former, I'm guessing). Misiak is a big leadership loss, not sure who's ready to try and fill his shoes.
 
Lost_Husky said:
The D corp is thinning out. 2 more entered the portal along with back-up goalie Bailey.
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Datema seemed to get looks early on in his time at Tech, but then it appeared he was on the wrong side of Shawhan and got buried.

It's unfortunate about Doctor, he struck me as a potential Lars Helminen lite, someone who could bring it up the ice and provide some opportunities from the back end.

Maybe it was a square peg in a round hole situation, but these departures at D all at once are a bit concerning.
 
There are a couple of great options in the portal that would be a substantial upgrade on the blue line. Simon Kjellberg from RPI is an all-ECAC performer and has two years of eligibility available, and Derek Daschke from Miami intrigues me as a potential breakout candidate also with two years to play. Plus there's Connor Kelley from UMD who played a great game against Tech in the tournament, he's got 3 years left.
 
Reviewing the 2021 portal information, of 265 players (non goalies) who entered, 80 ended up D3 / Canadian college or even on club teams and another 30, assuming that's what a blank "new team" field means, ended up not playing.
 
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