Re: UNO vs NODAK. The Sioux and their fans are looking for redemption
UNO did not deserve to win this game.
Let's start with Coach Blais' bizarre goaltender choice for this matinee. Ryan Massa, last night, had what was easily his finest game as a collegian, by far, and his reward for this stellar performance and being one of the three stars of the game? A seat on the bench! Instead, Coach Blais puts true freshman Kirk Thompson out there, who has a junior's resume' that makes one wonder why he was offered a scholarship in the first place, and he promptly scores on himself early in the first and then gives up another equally ridiculous and embarrassing goal at the 6:11 mark of the 2nd period that gets him immediately jerked from the game (Coach Blais could not get him off the ice fast enough) all the while being quite correctly yelled at by our gap-toothed leader as he was making his way to, and, collecting himself on the spot on the bench that he had just earned himself.
So, UNO spotted UND a couple goals that a competent netminder would never have given up in this game. It's really hard to win a game when you are giving aid and comfort to the enemy.
Throw in UNO's total waste of nearly 4 minutes of of 5 on 3 skating in the last 10 minutes of the game, where, not only was UNO never in any danger of scoring, they didn't even really look like they even had a 2 man advantage, or, were even on the power play, and you have a team that pretty much itself shot itself in the foot this evening. I mean, skating 5 on 3 we had a hard time even keeping the puck out of our own end! It was some of the most totally blithering power play(s) that you'll ever see.
On the plus side, the entire weekend (and I know UND was a bit shorthanded) they never looked like they could really skate with us. Kudos to them for exploiting what we utterly gave them and beating us as a result tonight. We got what we deserved. Good teams take what they are given when the door is open even so much as a crack and that is precisely what UND did to UNO today. They said "Thank you very much" and took what was literally handed to them and made hay.
This was a bit of a reversion to prior form for UNO tonight and this is a loss that may haunt them down the road, somewhere, because, this was a game UNO should have won.
I suspect that the next time we play UND they will play a lot better than they did this weekend. It appears that they have some growing pains going on with them, much like we obviously do.
The third period tonight was on the wilder periods of hockey I have seen in a quite while, FWIW. Win or lose, it was very entertaining.
Next up for UNO, the Weasels, at home, who we've not played since the officials screwed us in overtime of our NCAA regional game with them two seasons ago in St Louis. The seniors on our team all played in that game and I hope they all remember it, well.
(with apologies to Bowling Green)