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WCHA 2015-16: So here's what we think that we know...

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Re: WCHA 2015-16: So here's what we think that we know...

gfmorris said:
I wonder what's the problem with the WCHA in this particular season. Did we just graduate all the good shooters? Man, UAH's scoring is up and it's still sluggish league-wide.

GFM
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The lower scoring has been an NCAA-wide trend, but it seems to have hit us hard this year. Maybe it's a median vs. average thing this year - the conference is much tighter top to bottom, eliminating the 9-2 games. And the NCHC doesn't seem to be outrageously higher, at 5.6 in league games, not counting any shootout or 3 on 3 goals. But they haven't had a 0-0 tie, and only one 1-1 game. Still, my concern is less with ties, and more with a product where teams could play all night and not score 3 goals.
 
Re: WCHA 2015-16: So here's what we think that we know...

Without digging too much into stats, I'd guess that our goaltending is a big factor in why our offenses struggle so much in league play.
 
Re: WCHA 2015-16: So here's what we think that we know...

Critical Thinker said:
Without digging too much into stats, I'd guess that our goaltending is a big factor in why our offenses struggle so much in league play.
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yeah, for BG and Mankato anyway.

Sat. night's BGSU vs. Mankato game, the Mavs played two forwards at D.
The Falcons again dressed only five D, which was reduced to four when Delgadillo got hurt early in the third. At one point in the third, three of BG's four remaining D were in the box, leaving only one D on the PK. Mankato didn't score.
With reduced and hobbled defenses, neither team could manage more than two goals either night. Amazing.

If somebody had told me before the season that BG would be struggling to score, but have a Top 10 team defense...I would've laughed orange juice out my nose.
 
Re: WCHA 2015-16: So here's what we think that we know...

blackswampboy said:
yeah, for bg and mankato anyway.

Sat. Night's bgsu vs. Mankato game, the mavs played two forwards at d.
The falcons again dressed only five d, which was reduced to four when delgadillo got hurt early in the third. At one point in the third, three of bg's four remaining d were in the box, leaving only one d on the pk. Mankato didn't score.
With reduced and hobbled defenses, neither team could manage more than two goals either night. Amazing.

If somebody had told me before the season that bg would be struggling to score, but have a top 10 team defense...i would've laughed orange and brown juice out my nose.
Click to expand...

fify
 
Re: WCHA 2015-16: So here's what we think that we know...

I'm inclined to think that, in part, it's brazen disregard for calling obstruction. You lay that at the feet of the league. UAH has undoubtedly benefitted from that for the past two seasons as the only way to stay in the game (cue laughter).

BTW, I'm pretty far along with an Elo-style ranking system for the league. It's a darn sight easier to mess with than KRACH and will let me do all the happy simulation stuff that I've wanted to do.

GFM
 
Re: WCHA 2015-16: So here's what we think that we know...

Yeah, a couple of years ago there was going to be this big crackdown on interference, both in NCAA and NHL. The game opened up. Now you seldom see it called.
 
Re: WCHA 2015-16: So here's what we think that we know...

MavsFan said:
Yeah, a couple of years ago there was going to be this big crackdown on interference, both in NCAA and NHL. The game opened up. Now you seldom see it called.
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One thing that I see often — especially by UAH — is an attacker crossing the center line towards the offensive blue line chipping the puck into the corner in front of him to chase it. It feels like, nine times out of ten, the retreating defender will play the body and not the puck. That seems like interference to me, as the skater has (temporarily, he hopes) forfeited possession in the hopes of cleanly entering the zone while having the momentum advantage on the man marking him when it comes to chasing the puck down into the corner and, as such, contact initiated by the defender meets the standard by the rule book:

A player shall not interfere with or impede the progress of an opponent who is not in possession of the puck, ...
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Since the attacker has forfeited possession, impeding him in a manner such as I've described seems to meet the standard.

I'll admit that it makes sense for lesser-skilled attackers to do this, as a top-flight attacker is going to be able to elude the defender if he is the lead attacker or make a heady pass to a teammate if not. It just kills me that I rarely (if ever) see it called.

GFM
 
gfmorris said:
One thing that I see often — especially by UAH — is an attacker crossing the center line towards the offensive blue line chipping the puck into the corner in front of him to chase it. It feels like, nine times out of ten, the retreating defender will play the body and not the puck. That seems like interference to me, as the skater has (temporarily, he hopes) forfeited possession in the hopes of cleanly entering the zone while having the momentum advantage on the man marking him when it comes to chasing the puck down into the corner and, as such, contact initiated by the defender meets the standard by the rule book:



Since the attacker has forfeited possession, impeding him in a manner such as I've described seems to meet the standard.

I'll admit that it makes sense for lesser-skilled attackers to do this, as a top-flight attacker is going to be able to elude the defender if he is the lead attacker or make a heady pass to a teammate if not. It just kills me that I rarely (if ever) see it called.

GFM
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100% agree. You'll see the defender ride the guy 20 or 30 feet towards the middle of the ice in that situation with no call. And any skilled player trying to get open near the net is in for a beating. A little jostling for position is to be expected down there, but it's gotten way out of hand. But officials never miss a hand pass!
 
Re: WCHA 2015-16: So here's what we think that we know...

My understanding of interference is that you can also hit the player who last held possession so long as you were within a stick's length or so and finish the check. Dumping the puck off doesn't necessarily protect you from getting hit. Although purpleinnebraska made a good point, a defender who rides the guy 20-30 feet definitely isn't finishing a check, and that should be called.

What I'd really like to see officials call is all the pushing and shoving after the whistle. The refs they send to BG always let it go, and usually lose all control of the players by the second period. The players have no respect for them.
 
Critical Thinker said:
My understanding of interference is that you can also hit the player who last held possession so long as you were within a stick's length or so and finish the check. Dumping the puck off doesn't necessarily protect you from getting hit. Although purpleinnebraska made a good point, a defender who rides the guy 20-30 feet definitely isn't finishing a check, and that should be called.

What I'd really like to see officials call is all the pushing and shoving after the whistle. The refs they send to BG always let it go, and usually lose all control of the players by the second period. The players have no respect for them.
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100% agree with everything you just said. No one wants guys to not be able to finish checks. Call the rule as it is written and you can guarantee scoring goes up.

The pushing after the whistle is my pet peeve. Call the little garbage and the big scrum end for the most part. Nothing bugs me more than those scrums where guys are throwing cross checks and punches and nothing gets called. Or at best they send off a guy from each team. Put the instigator of the scrum in the box and put his team on the penalty kill. Do that and guys are going to quit being stupid and starting that stuff.
 
Re: WCHA 2015-16: So here's what we think that we know...

BGDrew said:
Falcons' Bergeron would like to see ties broken
“I Just don’t see why we wouldn’t want to be just like the league where all of our players want to play.”
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I'll give you two reasons why we don't want to be like the NHL's "change something ever year" circus that it is becoming...
1. Gary
2. Bettman

All this crap has started since he has watched over the league. You play a 60 minute game and then suddenly you can win or lose based on a 5 minute skills competition. The new overtime format is a joke and it has nothing to do with real hockey. You want to watch 3v3 hockey? Then go to the All Star game, excuse me, All Star Tournament and watch John Scott lead his team to victory.

Ryan J
 
Re: WCHA 2015-16: So here's what we think that we know...

Bale said:
The pushing after the whistle is my pet peeve. Call the little garbage and the big scrum end for the most part. Nothing bugs me more than those scrums where guys are throwing cross checks and punches and nothing gets called. Or at best they send off a guy from each team. Put the instigator of the scrum in the box and put his team on the penalty kill. Do that and guys are going to quit being stupid and starting that stuff.
Click to expand...

Ironicly, the same quote works here. Why are there scrums after whistles all the time?
“I Just don’t see why we wouldn’t want to be just like the league where all of our players want to play.”

Ryan J
 
Re: WCHA 2015-16: So here's what we think that we know...

Last night:
Three one-goal games
One two-goal game that featured an ENG
One three-goal game that had 34 shots overall.

Shot counts: BGSU-BSU, 34; UAH-MSU, 41 (UAH with just 9 in a reversion to 2013-14 form); MTU-LSSU, 49; UAF-UAA, 53; FSU-NMU, 60.

Let's all get excited for clutch-and-grab hockey!!!

GFM
 
gfmorris said:
Last night:
Three one-goal games
One two-goal game that featured an ENG
One three-goal game that had 34 shots overall.

Shot counts: BGSU-BSU, 34; UAH-MSU, 41 (UAH with just 9 in a reversion to 2013-14 form); MTU-LSSU, 49; UAF-UAA, 53; FSU-NMU, 60.

Let's all get excited for clutch-and-grab hockey!!!

GFM
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The league has to start looking at this issue. I don't want a return to a whole slew of '80s era 9-7 games, but what we're selling now is not an appealing product.
I don't know if this is good or bad, but the one league that seems to feature scoring right now is the Big 10
 
purpleinnebraska said:
The league has to start looking at this issue. I don't want a return to a whole slew of '80s era 9-7 games, but what we're selling now is not an appealing product.
I don't know if this is good or bad, but the one league that seems to feature scoring right now is the Big 10
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And how are they doing non-conference? Ever since the Trap took over hockey, it's been "defense wins championships." Just look at the forecheck most teams are using. One player across the blueline, one at the red line, and three on their own blueline.

Defending in your zone is easy, give up nothing in the middle. Keep the puck on the boards. Any shot is going to be blocked, deflected by an attacking player, or an easy save because it's from a mile away. You don't need to run interference or clutch and grab to defend. Most interference I see is by the attacking team in the offensive zone.

Want more offense? Devise a system to render the Trap useless. Until that happens, hockey will remain low scoring.
 
Re: WCHA 2015-16: So here's what we think that we know...

pdt1081 said:
And how are they doing non-conference? Ever since the Trap took over hockey, it's been "defense wins championships." Just look at the forecheck most teams are using. One player across the blueline, one at the red line, and three on their own blueline.

Defending in your zone is easy, give up nothing in the middle. Keep the puck on the boards. Any shot is going to be blocked, deflected by an attacking player, or an easy save because it's from a mile away. You don't need to run interference or clutch and grab to defend. Most interference I see is by the attacking team in the offensive zone.

Want more offense? Devise a system to render the Trap useless. Until that happens, hockey will remain low scoring.
Click to expand...

I think that it also has to do with the fact that the league lost a lot of top-end offensive talent that hasn't been replaced.

GFM
 
Re: WCHA 2015-16: So here's what we think that we know...

The no-change icing was introduced to increase scoring. The rule needs to be expanded. How many times has there been a lengthy delay for the officials to sort out who was on the ice because the that can't change tried to anyway? It needs to be a delay of game penalty for anything that delays the faceoff after an icing. Team attempted to change, penalty. Center gets tossed on the faceoff, penalty. To take it even further, don't let the offending team change players after the penalty. They have to start the penalty kill with whoever is left on the ice. That may increase scoring. But if it doesn't, it will still speed up the game.
 
pdt1081 said:
The no-change icing was introduced to increase scoring. The rule needs to be expanded. How many times has there been a lengthy delay for the officials to sort out who was on the ice because the that can't change tried to anyway? It needs to be a delay of game penalty for anything that delays the faceoff after an icing. Team attempted to change, penalty. Center gets tossed on the faceoff, penalty. To take it even further, don't let the offending team change players after the penalty. They have to start the penalty kill with whoever is left on the ice. That may increase scoring. But if it doesn't, it will still speed up the game.
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Good hard hits knock pucks loose. But now good hard hits are penalized. Too much time is spent mucking it up on the wall because no one is worried about getting lit up.
 
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