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WCHA Thread III

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Re: WCHA Thread III

ManBehindTheCurtain said:
I am contemplating purchasing the video UofM GoldZone package to enable me to watch these games. Can anyone provide a preview/recommendation concerning the quality of the Ohio State video feed please?
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I have suscribed to "Buckeyevision" a couple times in the past to watch the Gophers in Columbus. Experienced the usual problems at the time...nothing wrong with the feed, but camera work was not so great with a failure to follow the puck...or seemingly cameraperson being unaware that the little black disc is the object they should follow. This was not uncommon for many webcasts back in the day...not so long ago. Most have improved in that aspect. I'll be taking the chance again this weekend...hoping for the best.
 
Re: WCHA Thread III

Final From Friday, January 21st
Minnesota 4
Ohio State 2

The series opener had a little bit everything. Slick offensive plays. Hard-nosed defensive stops. Quality goaltending. In short, it was fine college hockey game.

After leading for much of the game, the Buckeyes almost snared the win. But in the third period, a three goal outburst in a span of 2:40 won the game for the Gophers.

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

Honorable Mention: Lisa Steffes, Ohio State; and Noora Raty, Minnesota
Ultimately offense prevailed. But both goalies were consistently solid and occasionally brilliant. Both faced a lot of rubber. Steffes had 39 saves; Raty had 33. In Raty's case, it was enough. Without the fine play of each goalie, this might have turned into a rather high scoring affair.

#3 Star: Ally Tarr, Ohio State
Ally played a pivotal role on both Buckeye goals. Just 21 seconds into the game, she fed Melissa Feste, who beat Raty to the near post. That was the only tally for almost two periods.

Then, early in the third, Tarr and Natalie Spooner teamed up to take the puck the length of the ice, with Tarr finishing the job. At the time, it was a huge go ahead goal. And after all of Ally's hard work this year, it was great to see the freshman earn two prominent points.

#2 Star: Megan Bozek, Minnesota
Bethany Brausen won a neutral zone draw, and Megan did the rest. Carrying the puck up the right wing boards, Bozek simply refused to be separated from the puck. After fending off every challenge, she moved off the boards toward the slot. Zipping a shot that appeared to catch the Buckeyes slightly off guard, she bagged the GWG.

Megan's play on the defensive end also deserves a mention. Her attributes include size, speed and skill. Based on one night's viewing, I'd describe Bozek and Anne Schleper as the leaders of the Gophers' D-corps.

#1 Star: Amanda Kessel, Minnesota
Amanda was the Gophers' sparkplug tonight. Whether springing teammates with sharp passes or launching crafty little shots on goal, Kessel was a consistently dangerous force.

In the waning moments of the second period, Kessel got the Gophers on the board. A 4x4 situation allowed her just enough extra time and space to finish off a feed from Jen Schoullis. The tally was vital to the visitors' effort. Up until that point, it looked there was a real possibility the Buckeyes' 1-0 lead might hold up. But Kessel's goal erased the lead and changed the tone of the game.

Then in the third period, Amanda had the primary assist on both the second and fourth Minnesota goals. Now I won't go so far as to dismiss the goals themselves as mere tap-ins. (See conversation a few posts earlier in this thread.) But it was the feeds from Kessel that created the very high quality scoring chances. In the end, Kessel was the only player on the ice with a three point night.

Next Up: Rematch with Minnesota. See you at the Ice Rink at 4:07 Saturday!
 
Re: WCHA Thread III

Final From Saturday, January 22nd
Minnesota 8
Ohio State 1

Well, that wasn't much fun. Not much fun at all.

Certainly Buckeyes made some nice individual plays. But as a team, Ohio State just couldn't gain any traction.

Meanwhile, the Gophers got offensive production from up and down the line-up. As it happened, the second line of Davis, Kelly & Kortum scored at the key moments. All had +3 nights.


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

Honorable Mention: Sarah Davis, Minnesota
Friday night, Sarah had a hat trick of penalties. I wouldn't go so far as to call her a liability. After all, none of the power plays matured into goals. But Saturday Davis turned things around very nicely, producing 4 assists.

#3 Star: Paige Semenza, Ohio State
Situation: A 5 on 3 PK. Paige charges up the ice with the puck. For several moments, she holds three opposing players at bay. She even launches a couple of shots at the Gopher net before heading to the bench. It was everything you want from a penalty killer. Then, later in the kill, the puck winds up in the Buckeye net. This frustrating sequence of events more or less symbolized OSU's night.

#2 Star: Terry Kelly, Minnesota
Terry opened the scoring with a brilliant individual effort. Blocking a shot from the point, she carried the puck the length of the ice and converted the solo dash. Kelly's goal set the tone for that which was to come.

#1 Star: Becky Kortum, Minnesota
As the second period started, the game was still in doubt. The Buckeyes came out of the room with positive energy. A quick goal, and who knows? But 6:09 into the session, Becky's goal blunted the Buckeye push. Both linemates got helpers by digging the puck out from behind the net. Receiving the puck in the slot, Kortum made no mistake.

The sequel came 10 seconds into the third period. Again getting assists from both linemates, Kortum slammed the door shut. For her clutch two goal performance, Becky gets the #1 Star.


Up Next Up: Burn the game film; on to St. Cloud.
 
Re: WCHA Thread III

Well, SCSU did what SCSU does this year and lost by identical 5-0 scores on both Friday and Saturday. Saturday they actually played much better than on Friday. After two periods the Huskies were only down 2-0 on Saturday and where actually getting a decent(for them) amount of shots on goal and playing with UND for the most part. Then the wheels feel off and UND's superior talent took over.

This SCSU team is in serious danger of going 0fer this season. Sad to see. I know Giesen just got extended after last years team finished 3rd, but if they go winless it might be the end for him as coach. If not, he should be on a extremely short leash next year.

Oh well, on to next week when Ohio State comes in to what has basically become a bye week with points for the rest of the WCHA.
 
Re: WCHA Thread III

Just a quick thank you this time. I've recently received several nice chunks of rep for my "Three Stars" posts. The accompanying messages were all much appreciated. Especially the really cool one that arrived around noon on Sunday.;) Again, thanks.
 
Re: WCHA Thread III

Pgb-ohio, sounds like it was a tough weekend for our Buckeyes. Mrs 86 and I were in Toronto over the weekend to check out another CWHL game (been to four this season) and the former Buckeye women playing there. We will be at the series against UND in a couple weekends. It's been a tough season for the Buckeyes. It's great that we have players on their national teams, but we are 0-4 on those weekends. I was just checking the standings. It will be a challenge to get any higher than that sixth spot at this point with UMD in the fifth spot, eleven points ahead of us. Maybe we will be able to pull off a first round upset like we did last season. It's tough when the big three are in the same league and only eight teams make the NCAA Tournament.
 
Re: WCHA Thread III

osualum86 said:
Pgb-ohio, sounds like it was a tough weekend for our Buckeyes. Mrs 86 and I were in Toronto over the weekend to check out another CWHL game (been to four this season) and the former Buckeye women playing there. We will be at the series against UND in a couple weekends. It's been a tough season for the Buckeyes. It's great that we have players on their national teams, but we are 0-4 on those weekends. I was just checking the standings. It will be a challenge to get any higher than that sixth spot at this point with UMD in the fifth spot, eleven points ahead of us. Maybe we will be able to pull off a first round upset like we did last season. It's tough when the big three are in the same league and only eight teams make the NCAA Tournament.
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but are the Buckeyes 0-6 (against quality opponents) with those players? just wondering......
 
Re: WCHA Thread III

osualum86 said:
Pgb-ohio, sounds like it was a tough weekend for our Buckeyes.
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Yup, although the games couldn't have been more different. The team played well Friday, and could easily have won. Being overtaken at the end must have been tough to take. Maybe there was a little bit of an emotional hangover the next day, I'm not sure. But Saturday was one those days you just wash your hands of and move on.

Mrs 86 and I were in Toronto over the weekend to check out another CWHL game (been to four this season) and the former Buckeye women playing there. We will be at the series against UND in a couple weekends.
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All good!

It's been a tough season for the Buckeyes. It's great that we have players on their national teams, but we are 0-4 on those weekends.
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I'll admit I'm kind of stunned by our position in the standings. I thought we'd be up higher at this point. I'm still proud of this team. In so many games they've played really well. At a few key junctures we just haven't quite been able to get over the top. And, of course, this league is truly tough.

As for the national team absences, that impacts many teams. But yes, it seems to have hit us particularly hard this year.

I was just checking the standings. It will be a challenge to get any higher than that sixth spot at this point with UMD in the fifth spot, eleven points ahead of us. Maybe we will be able to pull off a first round upset like we did last season. It's tough when the big three are in the same league and only eight teams make the NCAA Tournament.
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Remember that regulation wins are now worth three points, so it's a little easier to make up numerical ground than in the past. But no question, we've got an uphill climb on our hands.

First round playoff upset? That's a good goal. I'll say this. I wouldn't be hoping to draw the Buckeyes in the first round if I was one of the other teams! But we're getting a little ahead of ourselves. Let's see what the rest of the regular season brings and work from there.
 
Re: WCHA Thread III

leafsfan said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but are the Buckeyes 0-6 (against quality opponents) with those players? just wondering......
Click to expand...

We lost all four games against Minnesota with the full roster, and we split with UND and UMD on the road with our full roster, so yes, you could say we are 0-6, but I'll take a split on the road at UMD and UND anyday. As Pgb-ohio alluded to, our team has played well in many of their losses, despite being 6th in the standings.
 
Re: WCHA Thread III

pgb-ohio said:
Yup, although the games couldn't have been more different. The team played well Friday, and could easily have won. Being overtaken at the end must have been tough to take. Maybe there was a little bit of an emotional hangover the next day, I'm not sure. But Saturday was one those days you just wash your hands of and move on.

I'll admit I'm kind of stunned by our position in the standings. I thought we'd be up higher at this point. I'm still proud of this team. In so many games they've played really well. At a few key junctures we just haven't quite been able to get over the top. And, of course, this league is truly tough.

As for the national team absences, that impacts many teams. But yes, it seems to have hit us particularly hard this year.

Remember that regulation wins are now worth three points, so it's a little easier to make up numerical ground than in the past. But no question, we've got an uphill climb on our hands.

First round playoff upset? That's a good goal. I'll say this. I wouldn't be hoping to draw the Buckeyes in the first round if I was one of the other teams! But we're getting a little ahead of ourselves. Let's see what the rest of the regular season brings and work from there.
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Pgb-ohio, thanks for the thoughts. I agree, let's see how the rest of the regular season plays out. I had forgotten that the regulation wins were worth three points, so we could erase that deficit fairly quickly if we can get some wins. We had a great time in Canada over the weekend. It was Mrs 86's b-day and that's what she wanted to do for it. I found a card and had all the players sign it for her. Saturday we had dinner at a pub called Philthy McNasty's in Oakville. I am hoping to get up there one more time before the CWHL season ends.
 
Re: WCHA Thread III

SCSU was very fiesty today, and their goalie -- not Nixon -- played very well, particularly with her glove. She flashed some nice, very quick leather on shots that were labeled for the corner. OSU let them stay in the game and the longer it stayed close, the more they hustled.

I saw something today that I've never seen before. A two assist goal was called unassisted. The goal was scored from the slot on a perfect tape-to-tape pass by a skater coming out of the corner who had received a pass from behind the net. It, for description sake, was definition of a perfect set-up. Maybe four zebras aren't enough.
 
Re: WCHA Thread III

CrazyDave said:
Well, they're still sitting in Futilityville after today's loss to Ohio State. That had to hurt, with the Buckeyes scoring with only 51 seconds left in regulation.
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Trust me, it hurt. This has been a rough season to say the least. SCSU just can not seem to find a way to win a game even when they are in the game. I came to the game late(about 4 minutes left in the second period thank you work!) so I missed a good chunk of the game, but **** it, they clearly could have won that game. And this isn't the first game I have been to this horrible year that I feel I can say they could have won but for whatever reasons, they just don't. Its annoying. Its almost down right painful for a fan. You would think they could catch a break here or there, catch a team napping, etc but they can't/don't. Sadly, to this point in the season, the highlight, HIGHLIGHT, of the season is a tie. A TIE IS THE BEST THING THIS TEAM HAS DONE. Its a shame. Its not a good thing for women's college hockey to have a team that can't win a single game and that is what SCSU might do this season.

I could come up with a million reasons as to why this team is what it is. There is a lack of scoring talent and they have had a tough schedule(they have played Mercyhurst three times this year out of conference so its not like they scheduled cupcakes to get wins) but those are no excuses for this. Giesen has to be on the hot seat if this team goes winless even if everyone knew they would struggle. And I don't like to say that since overall I like Goose but I couldn't fault the university for getting rid of him if he manages to not win a single game all year.

Ok, besides me venting a little anger about this year, I have to say, the 3-2 loss tonight had to be one of the worst officiating jobs I have ever seen. No, it didn't favor either team in the outcome and I don't blame them for the loss, but seriously that was horrible on both sides. There were several times I plain out could not believe no penalty was called. There was a check by SCSU that was so clearly a check a blind man three counties over could have seen but the official LOOKING RIGHT AT THE PLAY didn't feel deserved a whistle! Not to mention a takedown of a OSU player by a SCSU player with her hands on the OSU players helmet, and a slash on the SCSU goalie late in the game. I don't care if it was crap both ways. Some of the no calls where *** dangerous plays that NEEDED to be called to protect players. Those are the calls I get the most upset about. Protect the players **** it!
 
Re: WCHA Thread III

How quickly things can change. UMD goes into the weekend in fifth place and if I'm reading the standings correctly, they come out tied for second with the rodents. Nobody's going to catch Wisconsin, of course, but moving up three spots after two games is sweet. It's about time.

P.S. Thank you, Badgers
 
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