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University of Michigan, 2017-2018, a new era starts

Re: University of Michigan, 2017-2018, a new era starts

umichjim said:
Five players with letters on the sweaters! Captain Tony Calderone and four Alternates - Sam Piazza, Joe Ceccconi, Griffin Luce and Jake Slaker.
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That seems odd but it isn't. The Blue Jackets have 4. So do the Maple Leafs, Blues, and Canadians. The Oilers have five! And the Predators do not have any Alternate Captains. Maybe it's just me but I find for Alternate Captains excessive, doesn't really matter though.

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_NHL_captains_and_alternate_captains
 
Re: University of Michigan, 2017-2018, a new era starts

alfablue said:
And a very gutsy come from behind win to sweep the weekend.

That Slaker, Norris, Lockwood line is sure exciting to have on the ice. Man....
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I went to the Friday game but not the Saturday game, thankfully they came back and won Saturday. To me Vermont looked competent. Yes they gave up a lot of shots although you can't take the scorekeepers at Yost (Red Berenson rink) for their word. Our shot-totals are always inflated at home. Vermont was scrappy but small. I'm curious how we'll do against B1G TEN teams, Minnesota and Wisconsin scare me with their size. The lone goal for Vermont on Saturday was very weak. LaFontaine let in a soft wrist shot through the 5-hole. He knew that it was a bad goal though so I'm sure the he learned from it. Im curious, how did Lavigne look Saturday? He faced more shots but also gave up 2 goals. Was the defense not as up to snuff Saturday? Will there be a 2-goalie rotation throughout the year? Or will Mel pick one by the time that we get to B1G play?
 
Re: University of Michigan, 2017-2018, a new era starts

For most of the game, I thought LaFontaine looked better Friday than Lavigne Saturday. Not that the goals were his fault- he just didn't look as comfortable. But he came around and played well.

I saw a quote from Mel that he's going to alternate goalies for a few weeks to see what we have, and see if one takes the net, so to speak.

As for the D- they didn't change nearly as much as Vermont did- they kept distances really close to Michigan players all night. That was the big reason the game was a lot closer. We could not establish the forecheck, and they forechecked harder. Some D mistakes were made- the one that was the worst was Hughes' turn over when on the PP. If he passed back to the other D, that first goal would not have happened- he needs to learn to pass at better times. And we know he can pass well- since he was making some killer ones.
 
Re: University of Michigan, 2017-2018, a new era starts

Let's discuss the upcoming series. Penn State, there is a very small sample size but it seems apparent that what we need to do is stay out of the box. Easier said than done though, especially because you know the Penn State players will be running their mouths. Do our guys have the self-control not to retaliate? We never have in the past, but this is a new day with Mel so we'll see.
 
Re: University of Michigan, 2017-2018, a new era starts

UMICH said:
Let's discuss the upcoming series. Penn State, there is a very small sample size but it seems apparent that what we need to do is stay out of the box. Easier said than done though, especially because you know the Penn State players will be running their mouths. Do our guys have the self-control not to retaliate? We never have in the past, but this is a new day with Mel so we'll see.
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Speaking of small sample size. Umm...AIC beat Penn State last week. If we do not sweep I will consider it a failure
 
Re: University of Michigan, 2017-2018, a new era starts

wolverineTrumpet said:
Speaking of small sample size. Umm...AIC beat Penn State last week. If we do not sweep I will consider it a failure
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I watched a little of the Thursday Penn State game, they do not look like last years Penn State. I'm choosing to believe that Penn State didn't take AIC seriously. PSU beat Minnesota in Minnesota in their 1st game. PSU isn't that bad, neither is AIC (comparatively speaking).
 
Re: University of Michigan, 2017-2018, a new era starts

UMICH said:
I watched a little of the Thursday Penn State game, they do not look like last years Penn State. I'm choosing to believe that Penn State didn't take AIC seriously. PSU beat Minnesota in Minnesota in their 1st game. PSU isn't that bad, neither is AIC (comparatively speaking).
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Correction. Yes AIC looks bad...
 
Re: University of Michigan, 2017-2018, a new era starts

Would have loved to have a sweep, but they did at least improve from Friday to Saturday- and Friday's game was very winnable. I'll take it as a net positive.
 
Re: University of Michigan, 2017-2018, a new era starts

Quick reminder that this "weekend" series with Ferris St is actually Thursday and Friday. So don't miss the Thurs game.
 
Re: University of Michigan, 2017-2018, a new era starts

alfablue said:
Quick reminder that this "weekend" series with Ferris St is actually Thursday and Friday. So don't miss the Thurs game.
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Oh, I won't. Unfortunately, I signed up for some training in Mount Pleasant that day. It means I will be leaving Ann Arbor at 6am, train until 3:30, then drive back to Ann Arbor just in time to go to Yost. When I signed up for this training, I did not realize that the games were Thursday/Friday.
 
Re: University of Michigan, 2017-2018, a new era starts

bluevox said:
Oh, I won't. Unfortunately, I signed up for some training in Mount Pleasant that day. It means I will be leaving Ann Arbor at 6am, train until 3:30, then drive back to Ann Arbor just in time to go to Yost. When I signed up for this training, I did not realize that the games were Thursday/Friday.
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I forgot that I signed up for some evening training... oops.
 
Re: University of Michigan, 2017-2018, a new era starts

Tough split- you can see growing pains for the team as they transition to what Mel wants them to to. The D looked shaky at times, and that caused a lot of problems. And the O could not really maintain a long attack, to take pressure off the D zone play Saturday. Other than the one period, Ferris was able to push us around a lot.

How they react and play next week against the Gophers will be interesting.

BTW, I thought I saw a dot in the net before contact....
 
Re: University of Michigan, 2017-2018, a new era starts

My thoughts. They're good, but just not quite there yet. Michigan needs that upperclassman who just dominates. Don't get me wrong: Piazza, Calderone, Marody, Cecconi, and Dancs are all outstanding players but not in the same sense as a Porter, Hensick, Tambellini, etc. (although the Porter comparison really isn't fair). It can still happen this year as the team continues to gel.

As far as goalie goes that's a tough one as well and maybe this is the Berenson in me but we should stick with LaFontaine. I'm sure Mel knows who he likes as the #1 already but it just waiting until we get deeper into the season before he goes with a #1.
 
Re: University of Michigan, 2017-2018, a new era starts

Games vs. the squashed M team this weekend. Will we continue to earn weekend splits? I think a split vs. a good Minnesota team would be acceptable.
Do we continue to see the goalie rotation?
 
Re: University of Michigan, 2017-2018, a new era starts

Hey guys. Hoping for a great series this weekend. On the Gophers, watch for Casey Mittelstadt and Rem Pitlick. Mittelstadt is a freshman, but his skills are off the charts when he puts them on display. Best raw talent we've had since Mike Riley and in terms of a freshman, he's probably got as much raw talent as Thomas Vanek or maybe even more. Should be fun. Who's to watch on MI this year?
 
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Re: University of Michigan, 2017-2018, a new era starts

5mn_Major said:
Hey guys. Hoping for a great series this weekend. On the Gophers, watch for Casey Mittelstadt and Rem Pitlick. Mittelstadt is a freshman, but his skills are off the charts when he puts them on display. Best raw talent we've had since Mike Riley and in terms of a freshman, he's probably got as much raw talent as Thomas Vanek or maybe even more. Should be fun. Who's to watch on MI this year?
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We have two main lines- which seem to work best as a unit vs. individuals....

Marody, Calderone, and Dancs- these are upper classmen who work well together.

Norris, Slaker, Lockwood- one freshman and two soph- these guys are super creative with the puck. They can be very mezmorizing on the powerplay, too.

Of those 6, you would see more highlight stick handling from Norris and Lockwood. But Cooper Marody is the top scorer, and there's a 3 way tie for # between Tony Calderone, Dekter Dancs, and Jake Slaker are our two leading scorers right now.

The other real stand out in terms of carrying the puck is Quinn Hughes. Really good skating freshman defenseman, but he sometimes carries the puck one or two seconds too long. He's quickly figuring out the college game in terms of speed and skill, so I think his play will adjust quickly.

Otherwise, everyone is pretty solid.
 
Re: University of Michigan, 2017-2018, a new era starts

You guys feel like Pearson is doing anything significantly different in terms of strategy than Red? I said in the other thread that it looks like they push the pace (based on the stats) and play a faster game but I haven't really watched any of their games.
 
Re: University of Michigan, 2017-2018, a new era starts

trixR4kids said:
You guys feel like Pearson is doing anything significantly different in terms of strategy than Red? I said in the other thread that it looks like they push the pace (based on the stats) and play a faster game but I haven't really watched any of their games.
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yes. Especially since many of the teething problems are being binned as learning a new system.
 
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