Weekend Recap
by WCHBlog on Oct 4, 2010 10:50 AM PDT
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In bullet form...
-There was one real game over the weekend. Michigan blew a 4-0 lead at home and ended up tying Mercyhurst. Giving up three straight even strength goals in the third period highlights one of my bigger concerns about the team. Their defense is packed with talented, fluid skaters, but doesn't really have a shut down defensive presence they can rely on late, and they don't have the goaltending capable of bailing them out. Jon Merrill is perhaps potentially that guy, but he was a -2 in the third period on Saturday.
-One of the few teams to lose this weekend to a CIS school was Ferris State, who lost for the second consecutive year to a Canadian school. They lost 3-2 to Ontario Institute of Technology, despite outshooting the Fighting Tech Support 53-24. This year's loss was a little different in that it wasn't a third-string-never-gonna-play goalie giving up key goals. But the Bulldogs goaltending duo of Pat Nagle and Taylor Nelson should be fine. The bigger concern was replacing the scoring they lost to graduation from last season, and two goals on 53 shots seems concerning.
-Denver Post writer Mike Chambers learned from last year's mistake of declaring Denver the greatest team ever before they stepped on the ice, and made it all the way until after their first exhibition, a cakewalk against the NTDP team, to declare that all concerns were alleviated, and cast his Hobey vote for Jason Zucker. In a fate befitting that sort of hubris, the Pioneers were dominated the following night by Lethbridge--a team that managed just 11 shots the night before in a 5-1 drubbing against Colorado College.
-If you really want to draw comparisons between two rivals based on how they did against bad teams on back-to-back nights, Michigan Tech beat Nipissing in a relatively close 5-3 game, and then Nipissing lost 11-0 the next night to Northern Michigan. Alaska beat Windsor 9-0 on Thursday, including a second period where they outshot Windsor 20-0. Alaska-Anchorage needed an empty-net goal for a 4-1 win, though Windsor managed just nine shots total. I wouldn't draw too much from those, other than that the Canadian schools are pretty bad.
-One of the only interesting things about playing these terrible Canadian schools is seeing some familiar names--familiar in that we were told college hockey could not possibly exist without them--show up on the rosters of said terrible teams. Ontario IT's Steve Spade, Western Ontario's Josh Unice, Windsor's Christian Steingraber, Wilfrid Laurier's Ryan Bellows; all kids that were supposedly crushing losses for college hockey, and now here they are, younger than many US college hockey players, and their competitive hockey careers are essentially over. What's even sadder is that these kids are probably among the winners of the group, being in the roughly 30% that actually collects on their education package, since the majority of CHL players get neither a sustained NHL career nor their college education paid for.
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Your bitterness at all things Canadian and especially CHL shines through once again Chris. Yes some of those CIS teams are truly bad but I cannot remember a time when CIS teams won 5 games against NCAA competition in single weekend nor can I remember a time when many of the games were so competitive. Is this a case of a deteriorating talent base in the NCAA or an increase in skill for the CIS? I believe that it is a little of both.
Consider that UNB has a winning record , by a wide margin, against NCAA D-1 competition. Other teams from their conference also found success over the weekend. CIS teams based in Ontario are the weak sisters of Canadian University hockey but even some of them are showing that they can play with D-teams. I had the pleasure of watching Western Ontario take on Lake Superior State. They were a very quick and opportunistic team who shocked the Lakers with a 5-4 victory. They also showed well against the highly regarded Michigan Wolverines the very next night, losing by only a 4-2 margin. This is a team that was 1-3 in CIS play…not your powerhouse by any stretch of the imagination!
I have to take issue with your erroneous statement about CIS players competitive careers being over. Players such as Spade, Bellows and Steingraber were never going to see the NHL but they still have a great shot at pro careers as many CIS players go on to Europe or the AHL and ECHL once their schooling is completed. They certainly did not make the wrong decision in deciding to play Major Junior and then the CIS.
It was a classic Ferris loss
Double the shots on goal of the opponent and still lose. No big deal, a lot of freshmen were playing. Nelson let in one really soft goal, but this is the type of thing they can fix.
Unfortunately, the university is trying to weaken the FSU student section by basically not allowing us to do anything. Hopefully that resolves itself otherwise that will suck.
The world's biggest BCS hater and damn proud of it!
Proud Colts fan boycotting StampedeBlue.com since 7/17/2010
The opinions of Brad Wells (BigBlueShoe) do NOT speak for all Colts fans. Most Colts fans are well informed fans and good-hearted people. Most Colts fans are not egotistical douchebags.
This has been a public service announcement.
What gives you the idea that every CHL player should play in the NHL?
Nobody expects that every Double AA baseball player should make the major leagues or every Final Four basketball player get to the NBA. And the fact that they’re playing on a Canadian college team certainly doesn’t make them bad players, simply not good enough for the NHL. The CHL is still the best route to professional hockey and the numbers prove it.
Best of Both Worlds in Action!!
UNB is undefeated in two years of competition with NCAA schools. With more and more CHL kids using their education packages, the CIS continues to get stronger and stronger and the evidence is in the results. Spade, Unice, Steingraber and Bellows just got a free education and are continuing their competitive hockey careers. Next, you’ll see them in the minors or in Europe. This is evidence that there is a safety net in place for kids who go the CHL route and want to get a college degree. Thanks for the PR! Best of Both Worlds!
