Back At It - Big Roadie, and a Good Cause

Before I jump into anything, I wanted to bring up a story that former Nanook and current Bakersfield Condors (ECHL) goaltender Scott Greenham has teamed up with League of Dreams as they pay a tribute to Olympic gold medalist wrestler Jake Varner. A Bakersfield native and 2-time NCAA wrestling champion, Jake went on to win Olympic gold last year in London. As a tribute, the Bakersfield Condors designed a new jersey modeled after Jake's Team USA singlet (muscle definition and all), and are auctioning them off to support League of Dreams, a charity dedicated to helping kids suffering with disabilities to be able to play competitive sports. The jersey is signed by both Greenham and Varner, and is up for bid on eBay, which is currently at $400 at the time of this writing. A pretty cool cause if you ask me. A little over 2 and a half days remain on the auction, so certainly not much time left.

OK on to Michigan, a team that seems to be riding the same roller coaster the Nanooks are. One of us is bound to get off the ride at some point and start winning some games.

But with the 5-1 beating that the Wolverines took at home against Bowling Green, it might not be their turn just yet. And Bowling Green was in complete control of that game. A few opportunities arose for the boys in the fugly helmets, but the Falcons had them dominated for 60 minutes this past Tuesday

Back on the 4th of January, Michigan dropped a 5-3 loss to the US U-18 team with Jared Rutledge in goal. Seems that they have mostly stuck with freshman Steve Racine in goal so far in 10 games this season, who has a 4-5-2 record with a 2.94 GAA and a .897 save percentage. Not quite John Keeney's numbers, but Racine has a better winning percentage. 

A lot of that has to do with issues on the other side of the ice, as the 'Nooks have been somewhat stuck offensively. But when you look at the last 7 games (0-5-2 in this period), of the 5 losses, 3 of them have been by one goal. In two of those 3 games, the 'Nooks jumped out to 2-0 leads in the first period and let it slip away; seemingly stepping off of the gas pedal. And that can't happen going forward. That 6-1 win against Western wasn't a joke, the Nanooks are capable of destroying teams when they bring their game. Unfortunately, that was the last night its been on the ice. If they can get that fire burning again, these next two weeks will get some hype going before that first home series of 2013 against Northern Michigan.

These next two weeks are not going to be easy either. Michigan might be running through the same slump the 'Nooks are, but there are really two opponents at hand; the Wolverine hockey team and that God-forsaken crowd. Yost is not an easy place to play. I've been in that arena, and its not friendly.

Some other good news, the 'Nooks are back with a complete roster. Freshman defenseman JD Peterson who has been out with injury since the Blue/Gold exhibition is healthy and back in the lineup. Also Richard Coyne, the freshman defenseman is also eligible to rejoin the team, and both travelled.

This series with Michigan will be interesting to say the least. Both teams have ridden the roller coaster of wins this year, and are currently tied with each other at 7th in the CCHA league standings with 16 points each, 5 points behind LSSU who sits in 6th. At this point, it doesn't look as if the game will be watchable at all. I'm seeing no video coverage on Michigan's site, BTN.com, or any TV sources carrying the game which is rather disappointing. But Bruce Cech will be calling the games live this weekend on 820AM and online at 820sports.com, so be sure to tune in! I won't be able to make a game day post tomorrow, but catch my Twitter feed for updates!