Open Thread: NCAA Hockey Early Games (MSU vs Union 3pm) (Ferris vs Denver 5:30pm)
Have at it guys, first game has very little impact unless Michigan meets Union in the National Semi Finals.
The second game starts at 5:30 and the winner advances to face the winner of Michigan/Cornell.
Union vs MSU is on ESPNU but, www.espn3.com has all the coverage
MSU barely misses by sending a puck through the crease, Union comes down and scores to go up 2-0...
Union goal @ 16:40 2nd Period
2-0 Union.
but Union now up 2-0 and I doubt they let Sparty seriously challenge for the lead again.
2--0 Union
with absolutely horrid rebound control on that 2nd union goal
Schenectady is only 150 miles from Bridgeport. I can't believe there aren't more Union fans there.
They only have 2,000 total students? How many do you think actually would come.... half, a quarter thats like 1 section in the stands.
Union should exert their physicality more they are a much bigger team than sparty
So do they wait for dark to start burning couches? Did they ever stop after last night or does this just make them continue longer?
do State fans even care about hockey?
They care about burning couches. There's a 60% chance of precipitation tonight, so they better start early.
Melrose makes a good point, there's nothing happening in front of the Union goalie.
a much easier sport when you don't have immediate need for a goal. Union is playing their hand beautifully, and I don't see Sparty getting back in this.
Hockey's a cool game because weird things happen. All it takes is one fluke goal, for Sparty, and the game may change.
about the sport. That said, Union is playing some very solid defense and probably won't be taking a lot of risks, and Sparty isn't looking like they can get back in it and force the issue.
I agree, and if Union scores on this PP, they'll just play keep-away in the 3rd.
The most important goal in a 2 goal game is the next one.
There's a HUGE difference between 3-0 and 2-1.
Very true. PP over for Union as they take a slashing penalty.
I never realized you played. You went to New Trier, right? Did you play there or did you go the midget route?
I played HS all four years, Sabres from silver mites to bantams.
New Trier Blue 03-04 and 04-05, I was a goalie. White helmet, Navy and Kelly pads and gloves. Played Wilmette before that. Graduated high school in 2005 if you're trying to figure out if we'd played each other
New Trier is a great program. I don't remember playing Wilmette too much when I played club, but maybe in a tournament or something. You're three years ahead of me, though, so I doubt we ever played each other.
Also, you seem surprisingly normal for a goalie. Maybe that's because it's been a few years?
/s or :) or whatever, obviously.
Edit: Realized I didn't say I played for Jacobs High School. We were pretty good my sophomore and junior years, but apparently we're 1-12 this season, so obviously not so good.
And most hockey goalies are only a little different. It's definitely a different mentality, but one that's awesome in my own opinion. Linemen talk about how great it is to dominate another person, I have yet to find a feeling in sports better than stopping someone when he thinks he's scored a goal. He starts to raise his arms, you stop the shot, and just watch the arms come down slowly.
I like to think I'm pretty normal (I'm also a mechanical engineer... so I realize that normal is a relative term) but there definitely is something off with someone volunteering and trying to get hit with a frozen piece of rubber that could do serious damage to you.
Union's band is really bringing the shrill this afternoon.
Nice play by Union, Nice save by Sparty
PP goal Sparty - Look out
after escaping a cluster fuck 3-0 by Union...2-1 Union, MSU PP goal
but he didn't have to act like a douche after he scored. He acted like he never scored before.
Especially after Union wiffed on the 3 on 0 shorthanded.
2-1 Union after 2 periods.
Anybody else notice that Michael Spath over at rivals picked Michigan to go to the national championship AND LOSE TO MINNESOTA-DULUTH!? that will be a bitter grudge match if that matchup actually happens and i would hate Minnesota Duluth forever if Michael Spath were amazingly right in his bracket prediction.
Link: http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1346579
on the other hand, i am salivating at the idea of michigan winning a rematch against duluth and writing the final chapter on what would be the final saga of the hunwick story.
And if I'm being real, I don't think we make the finals and maybe not even the frozen four? Michigan is notoriously bad when being a 1 seed. I think the 3 times we made the title game we were a 2, a 3, and a 2 seed. We play a better giant-killer than a giant
The two most recent times Michigan won the championship, they were in the top 4 of the PWR. They were a 2-seed in 1996, but #2 or #3 (I can't remember) in the committee's PWR selection formula--there were only 2 regions.
In 1998, they were 4th in PWR, but only 3rd in the West Region, so they did not get the bye. So even though they were technically a 2-seed and a 3-seed, they would have received 1-seeds both years if there had been 4 regionals instead of 2.
6 previous 1-seed appearances in the tournament under Red Berenson, they've reached the Frozen Four 4 times, lost in the second round once and lost in the first round once (Air Force). I don't really think that's so horrible. 7 one seeds/22trips = 0.32 4 FF as a one seed/11 FF = 0.36. I'm sure there are a lot of fancy math stuff I'm missing to make this iron clad, but I'm OK with being a 1-seed
However, those stats also tell me we're 0-6 in the last 6 frozen four appearances as a 1 seed
0-4. But Red is only 5-9 overall in Frozen Four games. So he's 5-5 in Frozen Four games as a non-one seed. Which is actually interesting in itself, a little bit, I think, but outside of 1996 and 1998, Red only has one Frozen Four win, so that's just a whole separate mess, I think.
The ice is starting to tilt toward the Union end.
Unions's D looks as good as described but play has been in Union's end a ton this period. I think MSU gets another goal
I dunno, Union is very poised. They're starting to break Sparty's pressure.
I feel like this period has blazed by. Maybe it seems like it's faster when I'm not watching Michigan / being terrified
how are there only 4 minutes left? It's a lot more relaxing to watching non-Michigan hockey
they are gonna tie this game
Wow, big save by Union goalie.
Union is gassed. Reminds me of last year in the game that must not be named
That save by Grosenick was unbelievable. Might have saved the game.
Two minutes left. When does Sparty pull Yanakef?
Sparty gonna Spart.
So, we want Ferris to win, right? Assuming we win tonight, they scare me much less than Denver. We've already beaten them twice, and the only 3 games they've played in the last month have been the 3 against BGSU in the CCHA tournament.
I just want to make sure my rooting interests are aligned with everyone else's.
A team from the CCHA scares me way way less than an equivalent team from any other conference. If we ended up in a frozen four with 3 other CCHA teams, I'd feel fairly confident about our chances. Plus Ferris isn't as offensively deadly as Denver
I'm rooting for Ferris for those reasons. An odd truth: they've only won one game - and that being against BGSU - since February 18th. They aren't exactly rolling into this thing with a lot of momentum.