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WCHA Thread III

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Re: WCHA Thread III

pgb-ohio said:
I'm still baffled by the scores from a couple of weeks ago at UND. But whatever happened in Grand Forks...
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This week I was going through some of the Brian Idalski press conferences archived on FightingSioux.com, and he addressed that the week after that series. I'd encourage you to go back and watch it at some point if interested, but his main conclusion was to not make too much of those games, as he felt UND could do no wrong and got some bounces as well. UND weekly coverage is the best in the league, I'd say.
 
Re: WCHA Thread III

Appreciate the tip; I'll check it out.

From afar, it does seem plausible that UND simply had the Midas touch for one weekend, and there's not much more too it. OSU was very competitive in this weekend's games against Wisconsin, which would be consistent with the theory that the UND games were mostly an abberration.

Be all that as it may, it will be extremely interesting to see what happens when the Sioux come to Columbus later in the season...
 
Re: WCHA Thread III

Final From Saturday, November 5th
Wisconsin 2
Ohio State 0

The Badgers completed the sweep Saturday night, and certainly deserved both wins. And yet with just a break or two, the Buckeyes could have earned points this weekend. But ultimately the Badgers' top guns made the decisive plays.

Recently I've made generous use of Honorable Mentions, and this post is no exception. That category is probably best suited for unsung heroes. Still, I went with two established stars. I probably do that too often. It's not exactly a news flash that these players are contributors. But as happens with some frequency, it made for the best way to tell tonight's story.

3 Stars of the Game: Decidedly Unofficial and Just For Fun ​

Ohio State Honorable Mention: Laura McIntosh
By definition, no one earns scoring points when you're shut out. But Mac was a tireless worker on offense, particularly on the PP. She's constantly creating, dangling, dodging, weaving, dishing and shooting. Again, none of that's a news flash. But Laura certainly kept the Badger defense busy tonight, putting eight shots on the Visitors' net. Unfortunately for the home team, nothing found the mesh. But it definitely wasn't for lack of effort.

Wisconsin Honorable Mention: Hilary Knight
Hilary's laser sharp pass sprung Brooke Ammerman on the initial (and game winning) goal. The play started harmlessly enough. During a Badger PP, the Buckeyes sent the puck the length of the ice. Migrating into a corner behind the end line, Goalie Alex Rigsby collected the puck, and pushed it few feet forward to Knight. Knight then surprised most of the building by whipping the puck to the far blue line. The deadly accurate, perfectly timed feed sent Brooke in alone on the Buckeye net.


#3 Star: Brittany Carlson, Ohio State
The Buckeyes first D pair -- Carlson and Kelly Wild -- had a fine game, finishing without a blemish. Yesterday I recognized the Buckeye forwards for disrupting the Badgers' attack. Certainly that disruption was a full team effort both nights. So tonight I'll recognize the defenders, and let Carlson take the bow. Brittany in particular seemed to bring a special intensity to the rink this evening.

#2 Star: Brooke Ammerman, Wisconsin
When you score both goals in a 2-0 shutout, you've earned your place on the list. Attacking the net off the Knight feed, Brooke found the inside of the right post, about half way up the ladder. On the second goal, she kept the possession alive by beating two Buckeye defenders just outside the blue line. Later in the play she finished the job, converting a rebound of a Brianna Decker shot.

#1 Star: Alex Rigsby, Wisconsin
The Buckeyes actually outshot the Badgers 30-26 for the game, so Alex faced quite a bit of rubber. Yet she was calm and in control throughout the match. I wouldn't point to any particular save as decisive. Rather I'd say she refused to the let Buckeyes gain a foothold, time after time. Looks like the Badgers have found another stalwart goalie.

Credit must also go to the Badger D, who blocked 19 shots, and kept a good percentage of the rest out on the perimeter.


Up Next: Bye Week, followed by the Syracuse Road Trip.


P.S. Don't post during a time change. I tried to preview a first draft of this post during the switch-over. As a result, my computer screen participated in that proud hockey tradition known as the white out. My first draft is apparently lost in some sort of Daylight Savings Twilight Zone.:eek:;)
 
Re: WCHA Thread III

I think if the sioux get their "depth" to produce (not just their first line) an limit their turnovers, this team could be a dark horse the second half
 
Re: WCHA Thread III

northhockey said:
I think if the sioux get their "depth" to produce (not just their first line) an limit their turnovers, this team could be a dark horse the second half
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Could be. They're gonna need to come up with some wins when they get UW and UMD at The Ralph...considering how the first rounds went against those foes on the road.
 
Re: WCHA Thread III

Pgb-ohio, tough weekend for our Buckeyes, but they did give Wisconsin all they could handle. A couple of bounces of the puck here or there and the series could have been different. If nothing else, the team and coaching staff comes away from this knowing without any doubt that they can compete with the best teams in the country. It would have been nice to see them rewarded for their hard work this weekend, but that's the nature of playing in the best conference in the country and against the best teams in the country. I believe in our coaching staff and kids, and I think they will win a lot of games this season. Cannot wait to get back to the OSU Ice Rink over Thanksgiving weekend when we welcome in UMD.
 
Re: WCHA Thread III

osualum86 said:
I believe in our coaching staff and kids, and I think they will win a lot of games this season.
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I also believe.:)

Just to make conversation, would you suggest any additions/deletions to the 3 Stars Lists for the Wisconsin games?
 
Re: WCHA Thread III

No, I think you do a great job with that. I was at both games and saw pretty much the same things you did. I like the three stars, along with a couple of honorable mentions. I was amazed at how adept Wisconsin's penalty killers were at blocking shots. I think you alluded to that, how a lot of our power play shots didn't make it to the crease. I would love to make the trek to Syracuse for the games 11/18 and 11/19, but that's quite a haul.
 
Re: WCHA Thread III

If I were to second guess my Saturday list at all, my thought is that I should have given even more credit to the Badger shot blockers. Trouble was, the blocks were distributed all across the line-up. It was a true team effort, if not a team characteristic.

A Bit of Wisconsin Hockey History: The Badger Men won the 1990 National Title with a commitment to shot blocking that I had never seen before -- at any level of our sport. Ever since, IMHO, Wisconsin has been "Shot Block U." By the way, the leader of those shot blockers was a defenseman by the name of Mark Osiecki.;) So maybe shot blocking is soon to become a specialty of our Buckeye teams as well.

Back to Saturday: Hilary Knight led the Badgers with 3 Blocks. For that reason I was tempted to move her up the list a bit. But that would have given the Visitors all 3 of the Stars. I thought the Home team played pretty well too; and certainly well enough to bag the Third Star.
 
Re: WCHA Thread III

pgb-ohio said:
If I were to second guess my Saturday list at all, my thought is that I should have given even more credit to the Badger shot blockers. Trouble was, the blocks were distributed all across the line-up. It was a true team effort, if not a team characteristic.

A Bit of Wisconsin Hockey History: The Badger Men won the 1990 National Title with a commitment to shot blocking that I had never seen before -- at any level of our sport. Ever since, IMHO, Wisconsin has been "Shot Block U." By the way, the leader of those shot blockers was a defenseman by the name of Mark Osiecki.;) So maybe shot blocking is soon to become a specialty of our Buckeye teams as well.

Back to Saturday: Hilary Knight led the Badgers with 3 Blocks. For that reason I was tempted to move her up the list a bit. But that would have given the Visitors all 3 of the Stars. I thought the Home team played pretty well too; and certainly well enough to bag the Third Star.
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Great story about Wisconsin Hockey History ... Mark Osiecki, huh?!? Seems to me he is passing that along. I am seeing more and more shot-blocking from our men's team when they are on the pk. Not to make this a men's thread, but we've been to a couple of the men's games and I think Coach Oz is doing a fantastic job. I cannot wait to see what this year's team becomes, and also down the road when he brings more recruiting classes in here.

As for the women, I agree with you on giving a Buckeye the third star. We played very well. Wisconsin knew they were in a game both nights. Hilary Knight is obviously a very gifted player and she will get plenty of accolades this season. Regarding our team, I pretty much feel the same about them as I do the men ... looking forward to what they become this season, and also looking forward to the coming seasons after Coach Nate gets some more recruiting classes in here.
 
Re: WCHA Thread III

I have now seen the "big 4" of this season's WCHA. WI still seems to be the team to beat but I must say this looks like the strongest Goopher team in the last 5 years or so! Very impressed with them in the game I saw last Saturday against UMD. The positive thing about UMD is that they are "young" in some key positions but I think once they gel they will be a team to reckon with. They stayed right with the U on Saturday and all of that without Irwin. UND on the other hand doesn't seem to have the depth to hang with the top three . . . my 2 cents for now. I think it'll be another hard year for anyone in the East to take down the WCHA!!
 
Re: WCHA Thread III

binnyrus said:
I have now seen the "big 4" of this season's WCHA. WI still seems to be the team to beat but I must say this looks like the strongest Goopher team in the last 5 years or so! Very impressed with them in the game I saw last Saturday against UMD. The positive thing about UMD is that they are "young" in some key positions but I think once they gel they will be a team to reckon with. They stayed right with the U on Saturday and all of that without Irwin. UND on the other hand doesn't seem to have the depth to hang with the top three . . . my 2 cents for now. I think it'll be another hard year for anyone in the East to take down the WCHA!!
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I would concur with both of you points, I think UW is the top team in the WCHA and I think that the West is stronger by comparison to the east this year than last. One of the things I see as a nice surprise for UW has to be the performance by their freshman class. They have 3 fwds and a def that are logging solid minutes giving MJ the ability to roll 3 solid lines and from what I have seem no one else really has that capacity. Minny comes close, but UMD and UND are really only 2 lines deep. Over the course of a game and a season it makes quite a difference. It was a pretty clear factor in the UW vs BU game I saw as well, BU seemed tired and slow as early as mid 2nd period.
 
Re: WCHA Thread III

granddaddyscout said:
...I think UW is the top team in the WCHA and I think that the West is stronger by comparison to the east this year than last.
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I agree on both counts, but with one notable exception: CORNELL! At this point in the season - which is still early and things could still change quite a bit - Cornell appears to be ahead of all other teams in the East, by a pretty good margin. Look at the strength of their roster, the background of their players, their margins of victory so far, and you have to conclude they will be a force to be reckoned with, for any WCHA team, including Wisconsin (unfortunately, Cornell doesn't play any of the WCHA's teams in the regular season, so we won't know for sure how they stack up until the NCAA tournament). Otherwise, I would agree that Wisconsin, and perhaps to a slightly lesser extent the Gophers, look to have an edge over all the other Eastern teams.

But check back in mid-February, and due to injuries and other "intangibles", the landscape could look very different.
 
Re: WCHA Thread III

D2D said:
I agree on both counts, but with one notable exception: CORNELL! At this point in the season - which is still early and things could still change quite a bit - Cornell appears to be ahead of all other teams in the East, by a pretty good margin. Look at the strength of their roster, the background of their players, their margins of victory so far, and you have to conclude they will be a force to be reckoned with, for any WCHA team, including Wisconsin (unfortunately, Cornell doesn't play any of the WCHA's teams in the regular season, so we won't know for sure how they stack up until the NCAA tournament). Otherwise, I would agree that Wisconsin, and perhaps to a slightly lesser extent the Gophers, look to have an edge over all the other Eastern teams.

But check back in mid-February, and due to injuries and other "intangibles", the landscape could look very different.
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Spot on D2D. I think in complete objectivity, anyone would have to acknowledge Cornell as a very real threat to the WCHA stranglehold this season. Fans will likely make mention of their schedule as a potential weakness but I feel they have the roster to make that moot and a circumstance they can overcome. I think most would have made the same reference to a schedule that left them unprepared when they came within a fraction of an inch of winning the title vs. UMD. I'm getting the impression they're even better now than then.
 
Re: WCHA Thread III

granddaddyscout said:
... giving MJ the ability to roll 3 solid lines and from what I have seem no one else really has that capacity. Minny comes close, but UMD and UND are really only 2 lines deep.
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Note that when you saw Minnesota, they had one of their top 9 forwards out with illness (Kortum) and another missing one game and playing injured in the other (Schoullis). The Gophers could play 4 lines this season more than any team in their past if the coaches' elect to go that way. They did skate 4 lines at times in the most recent game against UMD. Where I see the Badgers having an advantage over the Gophers is that UW has more pure scorers in their top 6 forwards than UM does. As for UND, I think over the course of their season we will find they are deeper up front than you indicate.
 
Re: WCHA Thread III

Ohio State defeated Syracuse earlier tonight on the road 6-3. Five different players scored goals for Ohio State. Pgb, this is where you come in with your unofficial three stars and honorable mentions for this one! :)
 
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