Saturday, December 3, 2011

Nanooks Drop a Heartbreaker to Michigan 1-0 in OT



The Nanooks came out seemingly content to play containment and try to wait for their chances. Unfortunately, a bad breakout coupled with bad outlet passing led to Michigan maintaining possession during the forecheck and skating it right back in. Fortunately, Greenham stayed very sharp. Unfortunately, it seemed to be Greenham hunting season out there for Michigan. Time after time, Greenham was getting knocked around, or otherwise hit. I guess the refs just didn't see it.

The non-calls continued in the 2nd, but the Nanooks stayed strong and played hard. Penalties kept getting called on UA, but not the other way, despite clear offenses occurring. The clear advantage going to UM. I'm not saying the calls that were made were bad, it's the no calls that created an imbalance. In Michigans favor. All I wish for is a fair game.

Obviously as a result, Michigan had some great chances, but Greenham being on his A game is gonna need a bit more than a good chance. Greenham just kept the door shut.

The 3rd went the same way, but the calls were at least balanced. A couple of calls to Michigan helped get the Nanooks going, especially with the late power play after Justin Filzen took a hard hit into the boards. He appeared alright, but always a nail buyer when someone goes down.

Overtime was a buzz kill though. Just 57 seconds in, Alex Guptill takes the puck away, and gets the shot off what appeared to be Scott Enders and in the net.

A bit of a tough loss, but all I was saying at the very end of the game was you can't be afraid to lose. The guys seemed to shell up and play a bit frazzled. Greenham played a fantastic game, should have been the first star with 40+ saves. The Nanooks had some good chances thought the game, but continued to miss the second and third chances as Michigan collapsed down. A great hockey game, but I hate to see them miss this one given their run. But ya can't win them all. Coming away with 12 of the last 18 points is still a good run.

Now, we get to settle in for a good break, get some of the guys that are a little banged up back and on the ice. I'm gonna take a little time off, but I'll be sure to get you a recruit update, and some looks at former Nanooks in the pros.

1 comment:

Merlin said...

Great game but this loss is clearly on the coaching staff. I just don't understand how you do a line change when Michigan has the puck at center ice. It happened 3 times tonight and the last time cost them the game. I can see the mistake happening once, but not 3 times in the same game. You just can't do that in that close of a game.