Re: SCSU vs. Bye Jan. 11 & 12
First, I would say the same thing about Faragher (the part about his *** from a whole in the ground). I've been to games where Faragher has been OK and I've been to games where he's flat out sucked. Sure the defense has been partially to blame too, but he's let in more than his fair share of soft goals. Faragher has had 6 games this year where's let in 4 or more goals. Motzko may believe that he's the goalie that's going to lead you guys to a national champion, but I don't even think he's going to lead you guys to a tournament bid. Wilcox on the other hand has let in 4 or more goals just once this year. Oh...and he's a FRESHMAN. Want some other stats? Faragher: GAA-2.38 with a .907 save % Wilcox: GAA-1.6 (6th in NCAA) with a .929 save %. Not even many of the current SCSU fans think he's much to proud of.
Second, sure I agree Jensen can be a good player. But what are you basing your statement off of? I don't remember being blown away by his play-making ability or his overabundance of hits or his shot-blocking skills. In fact, if you compare Jensen's stats with those of Schmidt you find pretty much identical numbers. Both players are a +7, both take a lot of shots on net (advantage Schmidt slightly) and both have 16 points for their team this season. Schmidt actually has 3 goals to Jensen's 1 and I expect him to net a couple points this weekend. Jensen did have a better start to his college career than Nate did, but Nate turned his game up at least a few notches last season and has greatly helped his team both offensively and defensively.
You have seen Faragher play in some games where he has played poorly? Congrats, so have I. I've also seen him play out of his mind. In WCHA play (common opponents) Faragher has the edge in .915 to .906 sv%, Wilcox has the GAA 2.13 to 2.23. That's pretty pick 'em to me. I've seen both play a number of times, I said, I bet more people would rather have Wilcox in net, and that's fine, but to act like its "Hands-down, OMG, not even CLOSE!!!!" is ridiculous. And also to go he's a freshman proves he's been great so far... but also says its a small sample size. Remember how good Kangas looked in his first half a season?
As far as Jensen being better than Schmidt, they're both juniors so Jensen is still beating him offensively, 12-59-71 to 6-52-58. So while in half a season Schmidt is up by two goals, Jensen still has him by double the goals and 13 points. They're both plus seven this year? Doesn't it help that as a team Minnesota is plus 37 and SCSU is plus 12? I think Schmidt is helped out by a better D-corps and more depth around him than Jensen has.
And its not all numbers. I think Jensen is just a more complete player... the breakout pass, playing the point on the PP, killing penalties (something he and the Huskies have been phenomenal at this season), his physical play, yet he doesn't take dumb penalties, he has less than half the penalty minutes Schmidt has, in fact, he has only had 4 in the last year and a half... which is a combination of great athleticism, good positioning, discipline, and hockey smarts. I'm sorry, but all that adds up to the best two-way defenseman in the WCHA. And I have the feeling if he were in maroon and gold you'd be saying the same thing.
