Can't disagree that a once united student section has become a one sided free for all. I hope the COY bring more into the know instead of having the echoing, off beat 2.5 "ugly goalie" chant sound high school-ish.
Great write up Brian.... and good job with the preview along with Spath on TKA.
Rutledge and Racine will be okay. Racine is older and seems more comfortable. Both are raw and fundamentally flawed, so it will take time.
Trouba is a great talent, but if he doesn't start protecting his defensive partner better, he'll get a load of Red. Too many odd man rushes b/c of his solo efforts.
Michigan fans are going to like the freshmen. Milne played both games, strong on the boards. Selman and Copp are physical and possess some skill, although both are out hurt. Nieves can fly and can see the ice real well.
Andrew Sinelli, a sophomore, got his first collegiate goal, a top shelf snipe that would have made Kevin Porter proud. Plus he laid out two big hits, and hit a post on a SH breakaway.
RIT is a good team, similar to a mid pack CCHA team. Young defense and goalies too. Not enough depth to keep up for 60 minutes. They took the momentum away on Thursday after a couple of poor goals deflated Michigan.
This team will be okay if they can play sound defense and have the goaltending make the stops they should. They'll have plenty of offense.
that Cornell was the team that Michigan faced that began their 22 year NCAA streak and that the roots of the chants heard at Yost were brought by Cornell. Michigan won that playoff series 2-1 (back in those days, it was campus sites for first round, best of three.)
Michigan went to Boston to play BU the following weekend and got hammered, but at least they were in the NCAA's after suffering through many years of not being there- including Berenson's first five years.
Michigan has played Cornell six times in their history going 3-2-1 against them, including those two wins and a loss in the 1990 NCAA tournament. Their last game vs Cornell was played at Yost in the 1996-97 season and they tied. Michigan has played every team in the ECAC in their history since they met Union this season for the first time.
There are only three current division I teams (not including the Atlantic Hockey Association) that Michigan has never played in their history: U-Mass and Vermont from Hockey East and Minnesota State from the WCHA. The AHA has seven teams Michigan has yet to see action against, mostly due to their elevation to a division I program in the past ten or so years: RIT, Robert Morris, Canisius, American International, Sacred Heart and, probably the most surprising since they both have had a long hockey history- is Holy Cross and Army.
if you were being serious about the "Moffie" tag, but the man in the slot is actually the other "Moff", Luke. He deftly tipped the incoming bomb from Merrill last Friday against tDtnasty.
Oh, and gotta love the three high embrella PP scheme that they ran. Much improved.
glad that snackyx mentioned high school because this jackwagon can't even officiate Division III games. Heard worse things from Adrian fans about him, with one prominent fan I know who is a Ferris State grad- like Sergott.
One Yost off ice official also told me that the commish, Fred Pletsch, is majorly over his head. That shouldn't stop an experienced head of CCHA officials like Steve Piotrowski from taking command of his minions. These guys all suck and it has nothing to do with the fact that the athletes they are officiating are bigger and faster than them. Assertiveness should be a major criteria for becoming an offficial. That, and the ability to tell twerps like Blasi to suck it when the calls don't go his way.
Well, considering you are residing in Ohio, it lends to no one's surprise that your care level for hockey is duly exceeded by your blood alcohol level.
They do it in basketball... trim down to 65 teams with the same crappy RPI SoS system. They cut 58 teams to 16 for the Hockey tourney with the same crappy RPI/SoS/PWR system.
Don't they use the same formulas to determine the two teams in the NC game? So now it will "better" if we expand it to say eight teams so we can all feel good about the match-up because it went through a "playoff"? /sarcasm
Seems that he gets the odd chance now, but his offense has dried up. Whatever Sparks has, it must be spreading because Treais has been no better.
Props to Moffatt and Sinelli, though. Gotta give Janny love, also.
LOL at Minnesota, but not at Duluth. They are the new arrogance.
Good point on the CCHA cannibalization. 7 teams right now in, only 3-4 probable. Suck it, WCHA. Even you Daloot.
Yes- both Hunwick & Guptill took head shots-with Guptill's even called a slash. The "C" word is not allowed to be printed according to various media sources. Coach is frowning upon it. Let the misdirection of information begin. At least he gave some indication that both players should be back at practice and may play this weekend.
Powerplay: headslap. Even Red is making jokes at it. Decline.
Shootouts should be reserved for the English Premier League.
Merrill jumps in and the defense suddenly looks tight. Two assists, and other huge breakups on friday night.
Serville sits and waits now because Clare has found his NCAA playoff type confidence again and Chiasson is one of the top +/- d-men on the team. Bennett, Moffie and Pateryn are not coming out of the lineup.
Sparks: an enigma at best. Speed, hands... no grit. Sinelli is playing because..well.. he has developed into a solid two way player with a nose for the corners and chemistry with his line mates. Sparks doesn't stick his nose into anything and frankly stinks at back checking.
Biggest concern now is Hunwick's health... yanked in the third period last night for an undisclosed injury or illness. Boys are mum about it. Janny is a nice kid but looks like he's been taped to the goalposts one too many times. We'll be in trouble without Hunwick.
Post Karsch (tremendous) and into the Fithian/DeFran/ Wickett era...
Karsch left for the obvious career growth opportunity. Fithian got shoved out, but his talent landed him at least part time at first and now a less desirable but more lucrative night gig at 97.1 with Caputo. TKA is a training ground, so what do you expect?
DeFran bounced around doing news at WWJ and then landed back at TKA after the Shand debacle. I just remember the epic on-air slapfests he'd have with his co-host (Wickett) who was an insufferable kid. (I ran into him at Yost a few times and still asked him what the hell he was doing there with a press pass.) He "left" to take a job in Milwaukee. Good f'n riddance.
One of the more worthy flops to mention was that character Ryan Maguire they hired from K-zoo I think. Total Notre Dame slappy that thought he was JT the Brick. Then there was the Huge experiment and now the current afternoon rotating chair.
Today, I use TKA as a substitute for the 2-6 time slot (for obvious reasons) but it is still slappy radio. DeFran and his host of call in guests jumped the shark a long time ago, but at least it is not MSU propaganda.
Ira has some work to do, but basically has little budget and advertising to do it with. The morning show is stable, but seeing him do both will be hard.
I can't wait until Detroit has another FM sports station to compete with the arrogance at 97.1
this edition was chock full of gems. True, he had to mine them by picking through the stench that Sharpe and Rexrode wrote with their poison pens, but gold was spun from the straw.
I bet he had to listen to Valenti and Caputo just for good measure.
Hard to tell who is really deserving in all this. Boise, Baylor, Arkansas, South Carolina, Georgia, FYS and KSU are have flaws in their argument, too. Honestly didn't see VT coming, as fraudulent as they seem. I say let it come down to the coolest helmets. And dreads. We win, again.
WMU has not played Miami yet this season-they were swept by Lake State at home last weekend and by FSU the previous week. In conference play WMU swept NMU last weekend at home, beat and tied/won a shootout @ Alaska. In n/c play they tied future Michigan opponent Union twice away and swept Alabama-Huntsville at home. They are more formidable than the average WMU team from the past (sans last season) and have more balance than Michigan's opponent last weekend (FSU.) Michigan will have to play much better defensively (last saturday's shutout was not Hunwicks best effort) and dent the net first, like against the Bulldogs. I think the biggest key is staying out of the penalty box. Our special teams are nominal so far.
Michigan will travel to play tDynasty next weekend.
the group dance session during the second intermission for the sudden lack of Yost karma. Totally has jumped the shark to me. Nothing like watching the yellow jackets become disabled after six minutes of "dancing with the oldies". Bring back Superfan to dance and leave the canned music at Munn and JLA, too.
On the ice, gotta love the freshmen energy. Gotta hate a little on Kevin Lynch for less play and more penalty.
And kudos to the Banana, too. The Gorilla didn't eat you. Ugly Gorilla.
To our NASCAR impaired viewers, it simply meant that Borges has been handed the keys to the best and most consistent ownership/tools in racing and has a choice of driving it like the five time champ (JJ) or like the guy who had trouble driving out of his garage.
If you think that hockey fans only go to watch hitting , fighting and violence (seems to be one of the bigger points you are making about the CHL) you are wrong. Yes, a well timed hit and physical play is central to entertaining hockey- but so is up and down action, skating, excellent goaltending and playmaking. The CHL has the edge in certain catergories depending on what team you are watching (for instance Windsor or London vs. Missisauga or Brampton.) Same difference in the NCAA. We have been fortunate to see NHL caliber players at Michigan. We still strive to see that and based on the recruiting product Berenson chases, I don't see why we can't. I agree, the OHL is different, but in many ways the hockey (as you describe as very fast and seriously violent with big time hitting) is nothing more than pond shinny at times with useless scrums and cheapshots. To each his own.
If a player chooses the CHL over the NCAA just from the fighting aspect, then it doesn't sound like he is a college candidate to begin with. Domi's biggest point at looking at the NCAA was to avoid the noteriety his name brings and the challenges the CHL hacks would provide. It sounds like a good angle for a talented, non-fighter. Not much validity otherwise, but an interesting twist to the usual CHL vs. NCAA argument. I hope the kid makes the best choice for both parties.
In 1996, Michigan got a first round bye (only 12 teams back then made the tournament, top four seeds in each region got 1st round byes.)
They were the 2nd seed in the west. They beat 3rd seed Minnesota 4-3 (Mike Legg goal) at Munn. Minnesota had beaten #6 seed Providence. Sparty #4 got bombed on home ice by U-Mass Lowell #5. #1 seed CC beat UM-Lowell.
#2 west seed Michigan shut out #1 east seed BU. #1west seed CC beat #2 east seed Vermont.
Michigan (Brendan Morrison OT) beat CC, 3-2 to win the NC.
So Michigan beat Minnesota, BU and CC in the tourney- but only two of those teams were ranked higher than them.
Ben is a disciolined player (7 pen/ 14 min coming into the weekend) that probably got cheesed off at the chippy play both firday and saturday. BG plays an edgy/borderline dirty style. There is no love lost between the teams and Winnett had enough of their dooshery, especially when the game was basically decided.
Besides, whether we biased fans look at Wohlberg's injury on friday night as a dirty hit or not, it was enough to nerve up the guys.
I have Michigan able to climb as high as 3rd overall with two wins and fall as low as a 10th seed with two losses.
Several things have to play right for a 3rd seed: BC must lose to UNH and Miami has to lose to Notre Dame. Still, the prospects of playing either Denver, Notre Dame or Miami in the regional final would be high in many scenarios I ran.
If all the other top conference seeds win out, the best Michigan can do is the 4th overall seed. Michigan has to first hope for a Notre Dame win over Miami to eliminate them for overtaking MIchigan for the last #1 regional seed. MIchigan just has to beat WMU to secure that, if ND wins. Even if ND beats Michigan in the final, and Miami beats WMU, with all the other conference top seeds winning, Michigan would be 4th overall, having the last #1 regional seed. (Miami would be 5th, ND 6th, Merrimack 7th, Denver 8th.)
I concur, though- root against Merrimack and BC and root for UNH in the HEA; root for UND in the WCHA and/or for Denver to lose; Quietly root for the Irish next friday against Miami and for Michigan to obviously win. I'll get greedy and even ask WMU to upset Miami on saturday- to avoid a 4-5 match-up with Michigan (that would probably set up a rematch with ND.)
To Brian's non-bullet points:
* Losing Wohlberg really sucks. He was getting hot, 4 goals in 4 games.
* Cappy will be back. Skated hard at practice on Monday, even won a race according to MIchigan Daily reporters. Of course, it would be nice if he brought his offense with him.
* Forward candidate next season: Lee Moffie, good shot, potential to get "physically bigger". I think Bennett's defensive upside is slightly better and so is his speed. Reminds me of Langlais. Of course, this ship will sail if Burlon or Merrill bolt.
* Agree on sitting the 4th line, but then again depth is suddenly an issue in a physical game or one in which Michigan takes a boatload of penalties. The bigger question becomes, who do you sit: Rohrkemper or DeBlois? My bet is the smaller Rohrkemper.
* No guesses on the line combos- expect to see Brown-Capo-Hagelin at some point, though. Agree that Rust will stay in the middle, probably the second line with Vaughn and Glendening... who may be banged up- he and Langlais sat out of practice on Monday. I liked Sparks-Treais-Moffatt, but their down side is their defensive liabilities.
I think by having Lynch center the fourth line, Red is spreading the offensive potential. Lynch has been snakebit this season but can interchange as a third line center or wing.
that set up some pretty rare loopholes. I don't know all of the particulars, but IIRC, Notre Dame wouldn't have qualified for the NCAA playoffs in 2008 had they not LOST in OT to Miami in the CCHA semi finals that year. Of course, they would have played Michigan in the final had they won and anything could have happened to earn the autobid, but just the same, the Irish got in as a 4th seed in the NCAA's (like 14th overall) buzzed their way through the tourney and eventually did beat Michigan in the national semi-finals in OT.
I think there was also a case in the past where Wisconsin was better off losing a series in the WCHA than winning in three games to also qualify for the NCAA playoffs due to the make up of the PWR/TUC etc.
These are the loopholes the NCAA is trying to close, although the recent tweak to the TUC cliff is intended to level the playing field for teams in conferences that don't have the benefit of playing as robust a schedule (with as many TUC win opportunities) as say the WCHA or HEA.
The WCHA fans are howling about how unfair the PWR is, especially when one of their teams gets screwed out of the NCAA's in favor of say a mediocre ECACHL team because of the anomalies the PWR criteria has. I think Brian isn't a proponent of this system for many of the same reasons... you want the best 15 + the Atlantic Hockey League Rep in the tourney. But, in a small measure of justice for their arrogance, anytime I see a WCHA team get screwed, it makes me smile.
last week, saying that he could care less about his basketball team since they are a folding tent. Expect a persona non grata glaze over if he shows up.
Oh- and a juicy tweet from MSU AD Hollis, suggesting that if he had a choice between a great program and a great season, he'd take the program. #Spartan Pride
What a jackbag... I guess being punched around for forty years on the football field didn't teach Sparty anything about what a program really is... and to have their pride and joy program swept by Big Brother on the hardcourt? Nice swipe... and a quick backpedal about not offending anyone with that tweet...
was saying that the officiating is always biased towards Michigan and that (paraphrase) little schools like NMU always get shafted playing U-M. It's a tired bit, I hear it all the time-must have gotten their grapes from UNO fans, too. They are just bitter about U-M success. Keep in mind they are 0 for JLA against Michigan also. Hard to justify the officiating bias in this series... game one, NMU had more PP's- for a team with the most PIM's in the CCHA. Game two had two waived off goals on Michigan. Yep, bias.
The kicker was when NMU bush announcer guy started up on Scooter, making fun of his nickname. Then Scooter sent Rust in on his breakaway and scored. The timing was beautiful. The Michigan Daily writers were sitting next to these clowns in the press box and were commenting about it on their live blog.
Fallon has much to do to get back into good graces. Didn't do much with the chance he did have, so I wouldn't count on him especially with Guptill etc. coming in. We'll have plenty of options, like mentioned.
Am I concerned about our offense next year? Yes. Is it my #1 concern? No.
I am most concerned about Merrill and Burlon coming back. Both have shown terrific talent, but have both been off their game recently. The Devils may sweet talk them into moving into the AHL to increase their learning. I hope they don't bite. Merrill could probably handle it, but Burlon is not ready. JMHO, but Merrill seems to be fatigued/distracted lately.
Keep in mind our defense has accounted for a ton of our points this season. This would be a huge blow to our offense next year.
Oh- and doesn't Bennett remind you of Langlais? We'll be getting another addition on the blue line lext season, too.
seeing a score-o hat trick. In 15 years at Yost, I've only seen a handful. Well done, without the silly ice sliding, please.
Re: Pateryn- & defense
I noticed in friday's game that the defense was jumping up into the rush more aggressively which cost them several odd man rushes. Not as bad on saturday, but the SHG was more indecision on the part of Burlon then anything. Bennett and Langlais are like clones and are just missing on their chances, especially the back door PP chances. Merrill looks fatigued and, even in his most unspectacular play, he is a relief to have back there. OSU completely took him away on the PP. The Daliy is reporting that Pateryn is being paired w/ Burlon now, leaving the Moffie/Bennett/Clare combo for the third pairing. As good as our GA is, the defense has been porous at times- mostly due to mental errors and poor turnovers.
Also: Chris Brown- more good than bad. Consider the official (Wilkins) made the call from OUR blueline, some 100+ feet away. The hit may have been a boarding penalty, but certainly not a five minute major. Still, the fact is, it can't happen. Still not as dumb or blatant as Wohlberg at Miami doing his #34 imitation. Especially not good when you're a top six forward and NOT scoring or being defensively responsible in your own end.
push for more Lindsay Sparks cowbell, but we don't play our home games at JLA.
Not a real stretch here to say that if the persona non grata forward banished from the team this season would have stuck to hockey and not tomfoolery, he may have had the chance to play, also. Depth scoring options are thin.
GBFS- I like your comments on Rust. Ditto for Lynch, too. Maybe a move to center will actually give him a chance to shoot more- as long as they don't take a cue from our d-men and shoot the puck into opponents shin guards.
Brian does a good job after football ends and as long as nothing else is going on. Hockey isn't exactly that popular- but appreciate your comments. Lots of knowledgable posters here.
Only Union and Yale have a better PP than Miami in the country, and those two teams play in the weakest conference of the "big four".
Playing against the two top scorers in college hockey, too- just think Tambellini/Hensick/Porter/Kolarik good.
Combine that with the lowest PK a Michigan team has had in years, and gah!
Can't say the officiating was tainted- it was bad for both teams, but when your PP can't muster a SOG on some of those chances, this is the medicine you are handed. Then to have most of our experienced players taking lazy penalties... disastrous. The Wohlberg penalty late in the game was.. Llewellyn-esque.
So much for Caporusso's "gut check" quote, too. He could have iced the game on a breakaway. Give Miami credit, they didn't play well, but 'their" seniors found a way to win with less than 9 minutes to go.
This only adds to Michigan's pattern of coughing up third period leads this season: UNH, Wisconsin, Mercyhurst, Ohio State... to which they went 0-2-3 now.
Today is must win or scratch just to make the NCAA again. Basically this is pretty much how they have played all season on friday, though.
I agree, he played really well in the playoffs last spring and was a +8 going into last week's games. Of course, he did have that deadhead moment up at FYS which sprung an unsuccessful breakaway chance for them. Will not miss his dumb penalties, though.
Fallon has been a trainwreck since his days at the USNDT. If it wasn't for the fact that we don't have a can't miss type recruiting class to replace our offense next season, he'd already be on to his next team.
I don't even want to think about the possibility of Burlon and Merrill bolting, either.
The NHL and their little puppeteering of the minor league systems (predominantly the Major Junior systems) have done a better job of keeping talent in Canada (and some poaching in the US) and away from US colleges. Recruiting pipelines are considerably narrower than in the mid 90's so it is taking more skill to find the high end player now and convince them to come to Michigan versus UND, Minnesota, Wisconsin, BC, BU etc. Today's player wants the best and fastest route to the NHL, and unfortunately aren't buying into the notion that playing Div I hockey is the way to go. And if they do, they are only sticking around for a couple years.
Still, there is enough good talent out there where programs like Michigan can stockpile 10-12 draft choice worthy players and hope that they blossom. Like Brian mentioned, this is not a vintage Michigan team that has one or two "go to" snipers and an NHL ready hulking defenseman. They need to compete on every shift, every period- and the last two years has proven that they haven't done that- but they have the capability to play with just about any team when they do.
but the point was... Campbell was the prized American recruit that played Michigan. I added Lessio as an example of another recruit that rescinded for the OHL. Sorry for the confusion.
of course they'll remind all of us that they won the NC in 2007, also. Too bad only about 500 of their fans saw it and that they sold out Munn for the welcome home party. Bandwagontastic.
The real culprit is the NHL and their blood sucking ties to the Canadian Major Junior hockey leagues. Michigan and other national powers are being squeezed out of the best recruits in Canada due to the CHL's stronghold on Canadian talent. To add insult to injury, top American talent is now jumping ship after making commitments (Campbell, Lessio etc.) which is leaving gaping roster holes. Early departures only widen that gap- and guys like Palushaj are drifting around in the AHL instead of finishing their degree.
that the Gator bowl may not get Florida, anyway. The Outback bowl is thinking of matching Fla and PSU.
That leaves Michigan with Georgia or Tennessee.. time for some payback for that Vol lynching in the Citrus. Brandon's comments are pretty telling that the Insight may not be the bowl of choice.
Give me the graphs showing defensive improvement. Special teams improvement.
I don't see the jump to a 10-3, 12-2 year next season with the status of those key areas of the team.
I want RR to succeed, but he didn't give me anything to hang onto as far as the defensive fundamentals, special teams and offensive execution against the better teams. Sell me on how those area will improve by him doing the same things he is doing now.
Mr. Brandon may utilize fancy statistical analysis in his review, but my gut tells me that he will require fundamental philosophical changes as well that RR may not agree to. All the data in the world won't matter.
Recent Comments
Can't disagree that a once united student section has become a one sided free for all. I hope the COY bring more into the know instead of having the echoing, off beat 2.5 "ugly goalie" chant sound high school-ish.
Great write up Brian.... and good job with the preview along with Spath on TKA.
Rutledge and Racine will be okay. Racine is older and seems more comfortable. Both are raw and fundamentally flawed, so it will take time.
Trouba is a great talent, but if he doesn't start protecting his defensive partner better, he'll get a load of Red. Too many odd man rushes b/c of his solo efforts.
Michigan fans are going to like the freshmen. Milne played both games, strong on the boards. Selman and Copp are physical and possess some skill, although both are out hurt. Nieves can fly and can see the ice real well.
Andrew Sinelli, a sophomore, got his first collegiate goal, a top shelf snipe that would have made Kevin Porter proud. Plus he laid out two big hits, and hit a post on a SH breakaway.
RIT is a good team, similar to a mid pack CCHA team. Young defense and goalies too. Not enough depth to keep up for 60 minutes. They took the momentum away on Thursday after a couple of poor goals deflated Michigan.
This team will be okay if they can play sound defense and have the goaltending make the stops they should. They'll have plenty of offense.
that Cornell was the team that Michigan faced that began their 22 year NCAA streak and that the roots of the chants heard at Yost were brought by Cornell. Michigan won that playoff series 2-1 (back in those days, it was campus sites for first round, best of three.)
Michigan went to Boston to play BU the following weekend and got hammered, but at least they were in the NCAA's after suffering through many years of not being there- including Berenson's first five years.
Michigan has played Cornell six times in their history going 3-2-1 against them, including those two wins and a loss in the 1990 NCAA tournament. Their last game vs Cornell was played at Yost in the 1996-97 season and they tied. Michigan has played every team in the ECAC in their history since they met Union this season for the first time.
There are only three current division I teams (not including the Atlantic Hockey Association) that Michigan has never played in their history: U-Mass and Vermont from Hockey East and Minnesota State from the WCHA. The AHA has seven teams Michigan has yet to see action against, mostly due to their elevation to a division I program in the past ten or so years: RIT, Robert Morris, Canisius, American International, Sacred Heart and, probably the most surprising since they both have had a long hockey history- is Holy Cross and Army.
if you were being serious about the "Moffie" tag, but the man in the slot is actually the other "Moff", Luke. He deftly tipped the incoming bomb from Merrill last Friday against tDtnasty.
Oh, and gotta love the three high embrella PP scheme that they ran. Much improved.
bush league. No smart COY would admit to it. Already been chastised on the twitters.
glad that snackyx mentioned high school because this jackwagon can't even officiate Division III games. Heard worse things from Adrian fans about him, with one prominent fan I know who is a Ferris State grad- like Sergott.
One Yost off ice official also told me that the commish, Fred Pletsch, is majorly over his head. That shouldn't stop an experienced head of CCHA officials like Steve Piotrowski from taking command of his minions. These guys all suck and it has nothing to do with the fact that the athletes they are officiating are bigger and faster than them. Assertiveness should be a major criteria for becoming an offficial. That, and the ability to tell twerps like Blasi to suck it when the calls don't go his way.
Well, considering you are residing in Ohio, it lends to no one's surprise that your care level for hockey is duly exceeded by your blood alcohol level.
the only thing that Alaska has ever gotten right in the CCHA.
They are the only team in the conference to have never won a regular season or CCHA tournament title.
Miami + Blasi= goons.
every time.
Or, it could be the stack of indignant letters he has received. Keep em coming MgoBloggers.
Pure gold.
And yes, this Mgofan will be in Pasadena or Miami come next Jan 1st. At least, that is my desire for team #133.
They do it in basketball... trim down to 65 teams with the same crappy RPI SoS system. They cut 58 teams to 16 for the Hockey tourney with the same crappy RPI/SoS/PWR system.
Don't they use the same formulas to determine the two teams in the NC game? So now it will "better" if we expand it to say eight teams so we can all feel good about the match-up because it went through a "playoff"? /sarcasm
Seems that he gets the odd chance now, but his offense has dried up. Whatever Sparks has, it must be spreading because Treais has been no better.
Props to Moffatt and Sinelli, though. Gotta give Janny love, also.
LOL at Minnesota, but not at Duluth. They are the new arrogance.
Good point on the CCHA cannibalization. 7 teams right now in, only 3-4 probable. Suck it, WCHA. Even you Daloot.
Yes- both Hunwick & Guptill took head shots-with Guptill's even called a slash. The "C" word is not allowed to be printed according to various media sources. Coach is frowning upon it. Let the misdirection of information begin. At least he gave some indication that both players should be back at practice and may play this weekend.
Powerplay: headslap. Even Red is making jokes at it. Decline.
Shootouts should be reserved for the English Premier League.
Merrill jumps in and the defense suddenly looks tight. Two assists, and other huge breakups on friday night.
Serville sits and waits now because Clare has found his NCAA playoff type confidence again and Chiasson is one of the top +/- d-men on the team. Bennett, Moffie and Pateryn are not coming out of the lineup.
Sparks: an enigma at best. Speed, hands... no grit. Sinelli is playing because..well.. he has developed into a solid two way player with a nose for the corners and chemistry with his line mates. Sparks doesn't stick his nose into anything and frankly stinks at back checking.
Biggest concern now is Hunwick's health... yanked in the third period last night for an undisclosed injury or illness. Boys are mum about it. Janny is a nice kid but looks like he's been taped to the goalposts one too many times. We'll be in trouble without Hunwick.
1901, 1902, 1903, 1905 (12)
Modern era:
1971, 1986, 1997 (12), 2006 & 2011.
Hurrah for the Yellow & Blue.
Kudos sir.
Oh, and my son's graduation banner at home read:
Hail! To The Graduate
Brian 2010
Leaders & Best
I hope your son's years at Michigan will be just as rewarding!
Post Karsch (tremendous) and into the Fithian/DeFran/ Wickett era...
Karsch left for the obvious career growth opportunity. Fithian got shoved out, but his talent landed him at least part time at first and now a less desirable but more lucrative night gig at 97.1 with Caputo. TKA is a training ground, so what do you expect?
DeFran bounced around doing news at WWJ and then landed back at TKA after the Shand debacle. I just remember the epic on-air slapfests he'd have with his co-host (Wickett) who was an insufferable kid. (I ran into him at Yost a few times and still asked him what the hell he was doing there with a press pass.) He "left" to take a job in Milwaukee. Good f'n riddance.
One of the more worthy flops to mention was that character Ryan Maguire they hired from K-zoo I think. Total Notre Dame slappy that thought he was JT the Brick. Then there was the Huge experiment and now the current afternoon rotating chair.
Today, I use TKA as a substitute for the 2-6 time slot (for obvious reasons) but it is still slappy radio. DeFran and his host of call in guests jumped the shark a long time ago, but at least it is not MSU propaganda.
Ira has some work to do, but basically has little budget and advertising to do it with. The morning show is stable, but seeing him do both will be hard.
I can't wait until Detroit has another FM sports station to compete with the arrogance at 97.1
this edition was chock full of gems. True, he had to mine them by picking through the stench that Sharpe and Rexrode wrote with their poison pens, but gold was spun from the straw.
I bet he had to listen to Valenti and Caputo just for good measure.
Hard to tell who is really deserving in all this. Boise, Baylor, Arkansas, South Carolina, Georgia, FYS and KSU are have flaws in their argument, too. Honestly didn't see VT coming, as fraudulent as they seem. I say let it come down to the coolest helmets. And dreads. We win, again.
WMU has not played Miami yet this season-they were swept by Lake State at home last weekend and by FSU the previous week. In conference play WMU swept NMU last weekend at home, beat and tied/won a shootout @ Alaska. In n/c play they tied future Michigan opponent Union twice away and swept Alabama-Huntsville at home. They are more formidable than the average WMU team from the past (sans last season) and have more balance than Michigan's opponent last weekend (FSU.) Michigan will have to play much better defensively (last saturday's shutout was not Hunwicks best effort) and dent the net first, like against the Bulldogs. I think the biggest key is staying out of the penalty box. Our special teams are nominal so far.
Michigan will travel to play tDynasty next weekend.
the group dance session during the second intermission for the sudden lack of Yost karma. Totally has jumped the shark to me. Nothing like watching the yellow jackets become disabled after six minutes of "dancing with the oldies". Bring back Superfan to dance and leave the canned music at Munn and JLA, too.
On the ice, gotta love the freshmen energy. Gotta hate a little on Kevin Lynch for less play and more penalty.
And kudos to the Banana, too. The Gorilla didn't eat you. Ugly Gorilla.
To our NASCAR impaired viewers, it simply meant that Borges has been handed the keys to the best and most consistent ownership/tools in racing and has a choice of driving it like the five time champ (JJ) or like the guy who had trouble driving out of his garage.
If you think that hockey fans only go to watch hitting , fighting and violence (seems to be one of the bigger points you are making about the CHL) you are wrong. Yes, a well timed hit and physical play is central to entertaining hockey- but so is up and down action, skating, excellent goaltending and playmaking. The CHL has the edge in certain catergories depending on what team you are watching (for instance Windsor or London vs. Missisauga or Brampton.) Same difference in the NCAA. We have been fortunate to see NHL caliber players at Michigan. We still strive to see that and based on the recruiting product Berenson chases, I don't see why we can't. I agree, the OHL is different, but in many ways the hockey (as you describe as very fast and seriously violent with big time hitting) is nothing more than pond shinny at times with useless scrums and cheapshots. To each his own.
If a player chooses the CHL over the NCAA just from the fighting aspect, then it doesn't sound like he is a college candidate to begin with. Domi's biggest point at looking at the NCAA was to avoid the noteriety his name brings and the challenges the CHL hacks would provide. It sounds like a good angle for a talented, non-fighter. Not much validity otherwise, but an interesting twist to the usual CHL vs. NCAA argument. I hope the kid makes the best choice for both parties.
about the 31-2 Women's softball team playing this weekend against Indiana.
Of course, it would be better if they moved the weather up from Tampa at least until the end of May.
Give the ladies their props, they're for real.
In 1996, Michigan got a first round bye (only 12 teams back then made the tournament, top four seeds in each region got 1st round byes.)
They were the 2nd seed in the west. They beat 3rd seed Minnesota 4-3 (Mike Legg goal) at Munn. Minnesota had beaten #6 seed Providence. Sparty #4 got bombed on home ice by U-Mass Lowell #5. #1 seed CC beat UM-Lowell.
#2 west seed Michigan shut out #1 east seed BU. #1west seed CC beat #2 east seed Vermont.
Michigan (Brendan Morrison OT) beat CC, 3-2 to win the NC.
So Michigan beat Minnesota, BU and CC in the tourney- but only two of those teams were ranked higher than them.
Ben is a disciolined player (7 pen/ 14 min coming into the weekend) that probably got cheesed off at the chippy play both firday and saturday. BG plays an edgy/borderline dirty style. There is no love lost between the teams and Winnett had enough of their dooshery, especially when the game was basically decided.
Besides, whether we biased fans look at Wohlberg's injury on friday night as a dirty hit or not, it was enough to nerve up the guys.
I have Michigan able to climb as high as 3rd overall with two wins and fall as low as a 10th seed with two losses.
Several things have to play right for a 3rd seed: BC must lose to UNH and Miami has to lose to Notre Dame. Still, the prospects of playing either Denver, Notre Dame or Miami in the regional final would be high in many scenarios I ran.
If all the other top conference seeds win out, the best Michigan can do is the 4th overall seed. Michigan has to first hope for a Notre Dame win over Miami to eliminate them for overtaking MIchigan for the last #1 regional seed. MIchigan just has to beat WMU to secure that, if ND wins. Even if ND beats Michigan in the final, and Miami beats WMU, with all the other conference top seeds winning, Michigan would be 4th overall, having the last #1 regional seed. (Miami would be 5th, ND 6th, Merrimack 7th, Denver 8th.)
I concur, though- root against Merrimack and BC and root for UNH in the HEA; root for UND in the WCHA and/or for Denver to lose; Quietly root for the Irish next friday against Miami and for Michigan to obviously win. I'll get greedy and even ask WMU to upset Miami on saturday- to avoid a 4-5 match-up with Michigan (that would probably set up a rematch with ND.)
To Brian's non-bullet points:
* Losing Wohlberg really sucks. He was getting hot, 4 goals in 4 games.
* Cappy will be back. Skated hard at practice on Monday, even won a race according to MIchigan Daily reporters. Of course, it would be nice if he brought his offense with him.
* Forward candidate next season: Lee Moffie, good shot, potential to get "physically bigger". I think Bennett's defensive upside is slightly better and so is his speed. Reminds me of Langlais. Of course, this ship will sail if Burlon or Merrill bolt.
* Agree on sitting the 4th line, but then again depth is suddenly an issue in a physical game or one in which Michigan takes a boatload of penalties. The bigger question becomes, who do you sit: Rohrkemper or DeBlois? My bet is the smaller Rohrkemper.
* No guesses on the line combos- expect to see Brown-Capo-Hagelin at some point, though. Agree that Rust will stay in the middle, probably the second line with Vaughn and Glendening... who may be banged up- he and Langlais sat out of practice on Monday. I liked Sparks-Treais-Moffatt, but their down side is their defensive liabilities.
I think by having Lynch center the fourth line, Red is spreading the offensive potential. Lynch has been snakebit this season but can interchange as a third line center or wing.
due to a busted collarbone. BG is thin on talent but loves to hit and offer up the cheap shots.
Yes, tons of slot rebounds, unless he sticks them into the corner. He is Ewok quick, though.
Oh and rooting against Denver and UNO is a sure given, especially the cornholer, er, castrated bovines.
that set up some pretty rare loopholes. I don't know all of the particulars, but IIRC, Notre Dame wouldn't have qualified for the NCAA playoffs in 2008 had they not LOST in OT to Miami in the CCHA semi finals that year. Of course, they would have played Michigan in the final had they won and anything could have happened to earn the autobid, but just the same, the Irish got in as a 4th seed in the NCAA's (like 14th overall) buzzed their way through the tourney and eventually did beat Michigan in the national semi-finals in OT.
I think there was also a case in the past where Wisconsin was better off losing a series in the WCHA than winning in three games to also qualify for the NCAA playoffs due to the make up of the PWR/TUC etc.
These are the loopholes the NCAA is trying to close, although the recent tweak to the TUC cliff is intended to level the playing field for teams in conferences that don't have the benefit of playing as robust a schedule (with as many TUC win opportunities) as say the WCHA or HEA.
The WCHA fans are howling about how unfair the PWR is, especially when one of their teams gets screwed out of the NCAA's in favor of say a mediocre ECACHL team because of the anomalies the PWR criteria has. I think Brian isn't a proponent of this system for many of the same reasons... you want the best 15 + the Atlantic Hockey League Rep in the tourney. But, in a small measure of justice for their arrogance, anytime I see a WCHA team get screwed, it makes me smile.
last week, saying that he could care less about his basketball team since they are a folding tent. Expect a persona non grata glaze over if he shows up.
Oh- and a juicy tweet from MSU AD Hollis, suggesting that if he had a choice between a great program and a great season, he'd take the program. #Spartan Pride
What a jackbag... I guess being punched around for forty years on the football field didn't teach Sparty anything about what a program really is... and to have their pride and joy program swept by Big Brother on the hardcourt? Nice swipe... and a quick backpedal about not offending anyone with that tweet...
Blue is back, baby.
was saying that the officiating is always biased towards Michigan and that (paraphrase) little schools like NMU always get shafted playing U-M. It's a tired bit, I hear it all the time-must have gotten their grapes from UNO fans, too. They are just bitter about U-M success. Keep in mind they are 0 for JLA against Michigan also. Hard to justify the officiating bias in this series... game one, NMU had more PP's- for a team with the most PIM's in the CCHA. Game two had two waived off goals on Michigan. Yep, bias.
The kicker was when NMU bush announcer guy started up on Scooter, making fun of his nickname. Then Scooter sent Rust in on his breakaway and scored. The timing was beautiful. The Michigan Daily writers were sitting next to these clowns in the press box and were commenting about it on their live blog.
Fallon has much to do to get back into good graces. Didn't do much with the chance he did have, so I wouldn't count on him especially with Guptill etc. coming in. We'll have plenty of options, like mentioned.
Am I concerned about our offense next year? Yes. Is it my #1 concern? No.
I am most concerned about Merrill and Burlon coming back. Both have shown terrific talent, but have both been off their game recently. The Devils may sweet talk them into moving into the AHL to increase their learning. I hope they don't bite. Merrill could probably handle it, but Burlon is not ready. JMHO, but Merrill seems to be fatigued/distracted lately.
Keep in mind our defense has accounted for a ton of our points this season. This would be a huge blow to our offense next year.
Oh- and doesn't Bennett remind you of Langlais? We'll be getting another addition on the blue line lext season, too.
You can't be all bad, Matty.
Janny IS a bit taller than Huns!
Welcome to the hockey circle and Go Blue!
The thid line on Friday (Moffatt/Treais/Wohlberg) was not very good defensively.
DeBlois didn't appear to be too bad on the 4th line- but wasn't his usual disruptive self.
Sparks and Rohrkemper hadn't played in like a month- and where I like Sparks, it is a toss up between his speed and Moffatt's scoring ability.
I also would take DeBlois over Rohrkemper from the standpoint of having more offensive upside.
Hunwick tackled Hagelin in the scrum. That was Janecyk off the bench that couldn't make the jump into the moshpit.
seeing a score-o hat trick. In 15 years at Yost, I've only seen a handful. Well done, without the silly ice sliding, please.
Re: Pateryn- & defense
I noticed in friday's game that the defense was jumping up into the rush more aggressively which cost them several odd man rushes. Not as bad on saturday, but the SHG was more indecision on the part of Burlon then anything. Bennett and Langlais are like clones and are just missing on their chances, especially the back door PP chances. Merrill looks fatigued and, even in his most unspectacular play, he is a relief to have back there. OSU completely took him away on the PP. The Daliy is reporting that Pateryn is being paired w/ Burlon now, leaving the Moffie/Bennett/Clare combo for the third pairing. As good as our GA is, the defense has been porous at times- mostly due to mental errors and poor turnovers.
Also: Chris Brown- more good than bad. Consider the official (Wilkins) made the call from OUR blueline, some 100+ feet away. The hit may have been a boarding penalty, but certainly not a five minute major. Still, the fact is, it can't happen. Still not as dumb or blatant as Wohlberg at Miami doing his #34 imitation. Especially not good when you're a top six forward and NOT scoring or being defensively responsible in your own end.
push for more Lindsay Sparks cowbell, but we don't play our home games at JLA.
Not a real stretch here to say that if the persona non grata forward banished from the team this season would have stuck to hockey and not tomfoolery, he may have had the chance to play, also. Depth scoring options are thin.
GBFS- I like your comments on Rust. Ditto for Lynch, too. Maybe a move to center will actually give him a chance to shoot more- as long as they don't take a cue from our d-men and shoot the puck into opponents shin guards.
Brian does a good job after football ends and as long as nothing else is going on. Hockey isn't exactly that popular- but appreciate your comments. Lots of knowledgable posters here.
Only Union and Yale have a better PP than Miami in the country, and those two teams play in the weakest conference of the "big four".
Playing against the two top scorers in college hockey, too- just think Tambellini/Hensick/Porter/Kolarik good.
Combine that with the lowest PK a Michigan team has had in years, and gah!
Can't say the officiating was tainted- it was bad for both teams, but when your PP can't muster a SOG on some of those chances, this is the medicine you are handed. Then to have most of our experienced players taking lazy penalties... disastrous. The Wohlberg penalty late in the game was.. Llewellyn-esque.
So much for Caporusso's "gut check" quote, too. He could have iced the game on a breakaway. Give Miami credit, they didn't play well, but 'their" seniors found a way to win with less than 9 minutes to go.
This only adds to Michigan's pattern of coughing up third period leads this season: UNH, Wisconsin, Mercyhurst, Ohio State... to which they went 0-2-3 now.
Today is must win or scratch just to make the NCAA again. Basically this is pretty much how they have played all season on friday, though.
losing to Northwestern at the Breslin. This was couch burnworthy.
He also forgot that their hockey team STILL sucks, too.
is still awesome... (thank you) Your welcome!
I agree, he played really well in the playoffs last spring and was a +8 going into last week's games. Of course, he did have that deadhead moment up at FYS which sprung an unsuccessful breakaway chance for them. Will not miss his dumb penalties, though.
Fallon has been a trainwreck since his days at the USNDT. If it wasn't for the fact that we don't have a can't miss type recruiting class to replace our offense next season, he'd already be on to his next team.
I don't even want to think about the possibility of Burlon and Merrill bolting, either.
The NHL and their little puppeteering of the minor league systems (predominantly the Major Junior systems) have done a better job of keeping talent in Canada (and some poaching in the US) and away from US colleges. Recruiting pipelines are considerably narrower than in the mid 90's so it is taking more skill to find the high end player now and convince them to come to Michigan versus UND, Minnesota, Wisconsin, BC, BU etc. Today's player wants the best and fastest route to the NHL, and unfortunately aren't buying into the notion that playing Div I hockey is the way to go. And if they do, they are only sticking around for a couple years.
Still, there is enough good talent out there where programs like Michigan can stockpile 10-12 draft choice worthy players and hope that they blossom. Like Brian mentioned, this is not a vintage Michigan team that has one or two "go to" snipers and an NHL ready hulking defenseman. They need to compete on every shift, every period- and the last two years has proven that they haven't done that- but they have the capability to play with just about any team when they do.
But do THEY have Heather Tesch? ;)
but the point was... Campbell was the prized American recruit that played Michigan. I added Lessio as an example of another recruit that rescinded for the OHL. Sorry for the confusion.
of course they'll remind all of us that they won the NC in 2007, also. Too bad only about 500 of their fans saw it and that they sold out Munn for the welcome home party. Bandwagontastic.
The real culprit is the NHL and their blood sucking ties to the Canadian Major Junior hockey leagues. Michigan and other national powers are being squeezed out of the best recruits in Canada due to the CHL's stronghold on Canadian talent. To add insult to injury, top American talent is now jumping ship after making commitments (Campbell, Lessio etc.) which is leaving gaping roster holes. Early departures only widen that gap- and guys like Palushaj are drifting around in the AHL instead of finishing their degree.
that the Gator bowl may not get Florida, anyway. The Outback bowl is thinking of matching Fla and PSU.
That leaves Michigan with Georgia or Tennessee.. time for some payback for that Vol lynching in the Citrus. Brandon's comments are pretty telling that the Insight may not be the bowl of choice.
+1 on Florida recruiting.
Give me the graphs showing defensive improvement. Special teams improvement.
I don't see the jump to a 10-3, 12-2 year next season with the status of those key areas of the team.
I want RR to succeed, but he didn't give me anything to hang onto as far as the defensive fundamentals, special teams and offensive execution against the better teams. Sell me on how those area will improve by him doing the same things he is doing now.
Mr. Brandon may utilize fancy statistical analysis in his review, but my gut tells me that he will require fundamental philosophical changes as well that RR may not agree to. All the data in the world won't matter.