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NCAA Hockey - 2023/24 **Insert Witty Tagline**

FadeToBlack&Gold said:
The speed of Western's Top 6 and winning a majority of the faceoffs seemed to be the difference for you. But we played from behind the entire night and I could see after tying it up and forcing OT that Tech looked tired.
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Yeah though years of conditioning has taught me to not take things for granted - heh. It did feel like WMU was outplaying, but MTU got a nice bounce off the back glass and made it a 1 goal game. It wasn't all lucky bounces, ofc. They were doing some nice high-low stuff from the point in the third and the WMU defenders didn't clear the net as well as they would like. Mostly because MTU was physical. WMU hasn't seen a team as physical this season IMO. Good luck the rest of the season (unless we meet again!).
 
Bronco said:
I turned it off when MSU scored their first. Should be an excellent game tomorrow.
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Ended up being a decent game. Oullette was great in net for NMU, though he did go out with an injury in the last five minutes after he saved a puck off his shoulder, so I’m not sure if he’s available against Tech today.

Especially once it got to 2-0 it felt like the game was in hand because of their scoring woes, but as their coach said talking about how they’ve been in 13 games where they pulled the goalie with a chance to tie. They don’t really get blown out often, they just can’t score.
 
Spartanforlife4 said:
Especially once it got to 2-0 it felt like the game was in hand because of their scoring woes, but as their coach said talking about how they’ve been in 13 games where they pulled the goalie with a chance to tie. They don’t really get blown out often, they just can’t score.
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Yup. Can't score in a whore house with a roll of $50s. The defense has been good and just smothers the opposing team. Goaltending has been excellent with Ouellette; second in the nation with saves on the season, zero blowout losses, and zero national recognition thanks to the dismal team's record.

Twenty eight piano movers, and not one single piano player between them. When this team finds the back of the net, they're going to play spoiler for the rest of the season.
 
I can only guess Tech threw in the new goalie thinking the game was over? That nearly backfired. It did in a way, since an OT win isn’t worth a regulation in the Pairwise.
 
I assume the thinking was that it'd be better to let Manzella shake off the nerves of playing his first college minutes against the #63 team in the Pairwise. That way he's not totally green in case something happens with Mullahy and he has to play next weekend in Palm Springs. But yeah, could've had some egg on his face if that had ended up an L.
 
FadeToBlack&Gold said:
I assume the thinking was that it'd be better to let Manzella shake off the nerves of playing his first college minutes against the #63 team in the Pairwise. That way he's not totally green in case something happens with Mullahy and he has to play next weekend in Palm Springs. But yeah, could've had some egg on his face if that had ended up an L.
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It made sense the way the game was going, but at least one of those goals was his own doing. And Northern got a spark those last ten minutes and started controlling the game.
 
Spartanforlife4 said:
Northern got a spark those last ten minutes and started controlling the game.
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Honestly not surprised, I thought they came out very chippy against MSU - finishing every check and asserting themselves in front of both nets. My dad and I only stayed for the first period of the NMU-MSU game, but we agreed they look like a team that has nothing to lose at this point. I was worried that they were going to figure it out offensively tonight and get the bounces. I would not want to be Mankato or Bemidji the next few weeks, and I think it's going to be a tough back half of the season series 1/24-25.
 
Wisconsin has jumped around 20 spots in the Pairwise the last three game weeks. They were ~44 when they started the series against MSU and have jumped up to 22nd after going 4-2 with both losses in OT. A couple more chances to move up with a road/neutral series against MSU this week. Hopefully they don't, but Hastings looks to have righted the ship.
 
MSU gets the come from behind win against Wisconsin. Down 3-1 before tying it at 3 early in the third. Then got the game winner from former UW transfer Stramel with five minutes left to take it 4-3.
 
Well, the ice at Wrigley wasn't really meant for four games in two days. Especially the two games yesterday got very rough in the last ten minutes of each period. But, you can't say that it wasn't a good weekend of hockey. OSU-UM was 4-3 with OSU scoring in the last 30 seconds of regulation, PSU-ND was 3-3 and went to a shootout with ND winning, OSU-UW women was 3-3 and went to a shootout with OSU winning, and MSU scored with one second left in OT to beat Wisconsin 4-3 after Wisconsin tied it up in the last minute of regulation.
 
Spartanforlife4 said:
Well, the ice at Wrigley wasn't really meant for four games in two days. Especially the two games yesterday got very rough in the last ten minutes of each period. But, you can't say that it wasn't a good weekend of hockey. OSU-UM was 4-3 with OSU scoring in the last 30 seconds of regulation, PSU-ND was 3-3 and went to a shootout with ND winning, OSU-UW women was 3-3 and went to a shootout with OSU winning, and MSU scored with one second left in OT to beat Wisconsin 4-3 after Wisconsin tied it up in the last minute of regulation.
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And the Blackhawks lost so it really was something for everybody.
 
Also, while Wisconsin has turned it around the last month, I didn't realize how painfully close they are from having an outstanding season.

9-12-1 overall record and 5-9-0 in conference. Of those 12 losses, 9 are by one goal and 6 (SIX!) are in OT, and all six of those are conference games so they could theoretically be in first if OT went the other way in those. In fact, they've gone to OT nine times this season. If you change those to ties (six losses, two wins, and one already a tie) they would be up at 17th in the Pairwise from their current 23rd. Heck, if you just put last night as a tie since they were literally one second away, that would bump them up three spots to 20th.
 
Keep in mind that while they're four points back, they also have four extra games played already compared to MSU and UMN. They're still in a pretty big hole.
 
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