Sorry for the delay in getting this up and out there. Shortly after the end of the hockey game, I elected to go watch the Nanooks volleyball team narrowly lose to UAA in a very close 5 set match. But I suppose that's not a valid excuse, is it? Anyway, I was really proud of the way the 'Nooks rallied to come back against Ferris State in the second game. They responded well to Friday and kept pressing in the 3rd period to get the win. And for Tyler Morley to get that goal in the final minute was great, not just for the goal but more for Morley to get rewarded for his hard work last night was good to see.
I think I speak for a lot of people when I say how fun its going to be to watch him develop over the next few years. I go back to an email from a gentlemen in British Colombia who told me that Morley was worth the price of admission alone. And that statement gains more and more truth every week.
Personally, I think the cost of the internet stream yesterday was justified listening to Ferris State's play-by-play guy drop the F-bomb during a break in the first period. But that's just me...
But anyway, Morley didn't win it alone last night. I thought the offense did a great job getting their scoring chances. CJ Motte is a great goaltender for Ferris, whom I think is a little underrated. He faced 82 shots this weekend and allowed 6 goals for a .927 save percentage. He's big, and he's mobile with a quick glove. It's not an easy task to beat goalies like that, and to get 6 goals in says a lot. He stood on his head for a while there last night, and even a bit on Friday to keep the Bulldogs ahead.
I still think goaltending is still a bit questionable on our side, but all three of these guys will improve and get better as they get more game experience. Wylie Rogers has been around with the team, and helping to coach and mentor these guys and share his experiences. Most of the issues at the moment just seem to be nerves. At the start of the game Friday, Thompson just had the looks like he was just shaky. Cahill had some questionable moments too but on the other side of the coin, he made some fantastic saves to keep the game close. It's certainly going to be a battle between the three of them. I'd like to see Keeney get worked into the lineup as well after having been hung out to dry back in Anchorage during the Kendall tournament. I was pretty excited to see him coming in this season, as he's got some great potential too.
As coach Ferguson said, you want to win your games at home and split on the road, and so far, the 3-2-1 Nanooks are doing just that. Next weekend, the Lakers from LSSU come to town off of a home split versus Michigan State. Should be an interesting series, but I'll be missing the Saturday game unfortunately due to travel. I'll do my best to keep everyone apprised though.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Friday, October 26, 2012
Four Unanswered Goals Propel Ferris State
My oh my how a game can change. The 'Nooks started off with a great first period, going up 2-0 in relatively quick fashion as they seemed pick up right from where they left off after sweeping the tournament last weekend. Striking first, Trevor Campbell set up a beautiful play chipping the puck off of the half-wall on the entry after getting tied up on the blue line. Skating the puck down low behind the net, Campbell surveyed the ice and caught Odegard streaking in from the bench to the high slot. Kaare ripped it and drove the puck through traffic into the back of the net for the early lead just 1:17 into the 1st period.
Colton Beck followed up a bit later with a gritty goal in front of the net, as strong puck control and great movement around the ice had Ferris chasing. Beck was left alone on the side of the crease with nobody in sight, and some quick dangles had CJ Motte in desperation mode who got a pad on Beck's first shot. But the Nanooks cycled the puck well down low and Beck got it back and buried it into an open net.
But later on, a quick score followed sharply by a power play allowed FSU to tie it with two goals less than 60 seconds apart. A clutch goal in the final 30 seconds of the 1st period by Andy Taranto batting one out of the air would be the last time the 'Nooks ever would light the lamp.
But for Ferris State, they just got started as they rallied off four unanswered goals in a complete shift from the first period. I don't know what happened, but the Nanooks did not look the same after coming out of the locker room to start the second period. It was just a different team in the same Nanooks sweaters for the last 40 minutes. Especially after Ferris State officially took the lead, the 'Nooks just started throwing pucks on net, not really generating a lot of scoring chances.
Was Steve Thompson to blame for allowing 6 goals? Sort of. Once the Bulldogs sniffed blood, they had no trouble scoring on him upstairs. But the defense also fell short on their end of the deal and left Thompson alone at times. Granted, the 5th goal by Alexander was about 20 feet offsides, but I don't think they can review that anyway. That said, the Nanooks (yes, as a team) still allowed 6 goals. Does that mean we will see Cahill in net tomorrow? Probably, but there are more issues than just the goaltender.
The Nanooks had the Bulldogs on the ropes to start the game before they let the momentum shift away from them. Adjustments to be made, and tomorrow I'm hoping for a different result.
Go 'Nooks!
Colton Beck followed up a bit later with a gritty goal in front of the net, as strong puck control and great movement around the ice had Ferris chasing. Beck was left alone on the side of the crease with nobody in sight, and some quick dangles had CJ Motte in desperation mode who got a pad on Beck's first shot. But the Nanooks cycled the puck well down low and Beck got it back and buried it into an open net.
But later on, a quick score followed sharply by a power play allowed FSU to tie it with two goals less than 60 seconds apart. A clutch goal in the final 30 seconds of the 1st period by Andy Taranto batting one out of the air would be the last time the 'Nooks ever would light the lamp.
But for Ferris State, they just got started as they rallied off four unanswered goals in a complete shift from the first period. I don't know what happened, but the Nanooks did not look the same after coming out of the locker room to start the second period. It was just a different team in the same Nanooks sweaters for the last 40 minutes. Especially after Ferris State officially took the lead, the 'Nooks just started throwing pucks on net, not really generating a lot of scoring chances.
Was Steve Thompson to blame for allowing 6 goals? Sort of. Once the Bulldogs sniffed blood, they had no trouble scoring on him upstairs. But the defense also fell short on their end of the deal and left Thompson alone at times. Granted, the 5th goal by Alexander was about 20 feet offsides, but I don't think they can review that anyway. That said, the Nanooks (yes, as a team) still allowed 6 goals. Does that mean we will see Cahill in net tomorrow? Probably, but there are more issues than just the goaltender.
The Nanooks had the Bulldogs on the ropes to start the game before they let the momentum shift away from them. Adjustments to be made, and tomorrow I'm hoping for a different result.
Go 'Nooks!
Nanooks Open CCHA Play Against Defending Champ FSU
Last week, the Nanooks took out a good Hockey East team, along with the number 2 team in the country from the WCHA, and now the Nanooks open CCHA conference play against last season's defending champions. After the sweep last weekend, I hope the 'Nooks are still hungry to go in for seconds!
Ferris State is always a tough place to play. The arena is small, the ceilings are really low, and the crowd makes it really loud. And the FSU players don't make it any easier to play their either. The Bulldogs were 15-4-2 at home last season, with one of those ties coming to the Nanooks this past January.
After Ferris State's big National Championship run last season, a lot of people wondered about their goaltending situation (sound familiar?) with the departure of senior Taylor Nelson. CJ Motte saw action in 12 games last year, with an impressive .925 save percentage and a 1.98GAA, but just barely over .500 at 5-5-2. Seems that the start of this season isn't much different for him as the Bulldogs have yet to really get going after a loss and a tie to RPI, and a win and a tie against Mercyhurst.
The Bulldogs did lose two key players from last year to graduation, in Jordie Johnston team leader in goals and points (20-16-36). As well as Chad Billins, the big defensive leader who was no stranger to the stat sheet either with a 7-22-29 line. But now in his senior year, Kyle Bonis is picking right back up where he left off in a tie for first in scoring with 4 points.
The Nanooks really do have a lot going for them coming into this weekend. Not a lot of hype around the 'Nooks nationally despite the victory over North Dakota last weekend. Ferris State remains ranked at #18 with a 1-1-2 record (Nanooks are 2-1-1 & unranked). Steve Thompson will get his 3rd consecutive start this weekend, which he has rightly earned.
The interesting part though to the Nanooks goaltending... It's the Nanooks scoring. The top scorers currently on the Nanooks roster are two defensemen, Trevor Campbell and Josh Atkinson each are 1-3-4. Good for them, but I think that also tells that our forwards aren't getting on the scoreboard yet. And with Taranto and Beck still without a point, it could get interesting.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Nanooks Defeat #2 North Dakota 2-1
Efforts like we saw tonight show exactly what the Nanooks are capable of. Tonight they outskated, and outworked a good North Dakota team. It's amazing the number of excuses that are out there online that the only reason that the Nanooks won was because of the suspensions to North Dakota players. My answer: those players made the choice to have the party, and getting caught was part of the risk and you have to live with those consequences. But that excuse can't be used to cope with the loss, nor take away anything from this victory for Alaska. The fact is UND was outplayed by the Nanooks tonight.
Critics aside, it was a great game all around from both sides. It was very defensive and exciting, and I couldn't be more excited for our guys to get this win tonight. Their hard work, and their effort out there tonight earned the victory and I'm proud of every one of them.
Especially for Steve Thompson, a guy that hasn't gotten any playing time coming into this weekend and after a good showing yesterday, he came up BIG tonight to keep a high powered North Dakota team to 1 goal out of 26 shots. That should serve as a huge boost to his confidence going forward. Great effort on the defense's part as well getting down and blocking shots. Trevor Campbell, Kaare Odegard, Michael Quinn, well... pretty much everybody other there really... but those three really put their bodies on the line out there and get into the shooting lanes and keep pucks out of Thompson's way.
Glad to see Chad Gehon getting rewarded and burying the puck tonight. He's one of those guys that you don't typically see on the scoresheet, but he constantly works hard and never takes a shift off. His last goal was the lone goal in the final 1-4 loss to Miami in last year's CCHA playoffs.
Atkinson also tallied his first career goal tonight on a nice shot from the point during a power play. Morley found him wide open at the point as he was sliding down to the high slot, and the defense just left him alone. Morley passed it, Atkinson slapped it and tied the game up.
Now the big question that came from everybody was why was the first goal from Cody Kunyk disallowed? The answer that I was given was there was an issue with the recording on instant replay, and the officials were unable to review the goal via video and were forced to stick with the call that was on the ice of a good goal. The way that I saw it, Kunyk took a shot that hit the left post and off of the back bar on the inside of the net and bounced straight back out. Some others seemed to agree, others thought that it just hit the post but the fact of it is (and Coach Schmidt summed it up beautifully) "because we didn't need it".
Truly a great win for the Nanooks tonight and they deserved it from their effort. I hope this is the team that we are going to see every weekend, and put forth the same effort because that's what it takes to win. Last year we saw the parity remarks more so than ever that what separates the top teams from the bottom teams is who wants it more. If I recall correctly, all that separated first place and sixth place in the conference was 12 points. Or four wins out of 28 conference games. Every weekend counts, and the Nanooks have to be ready for Ferris State next weekend, who had a 7-3 win and a 3-3 tie against the Mercyhurst Lakers this weekend.
Critics aside, it was a great game all around from both sides. It was very defensive and exciting, and I couldn't be more excited for our guys to get this win tonight. Their hard work, and their effort out there tonight earned the victory and I'm proud of every one of them.
Especially for Steve Thompson, a guy that hasn't gotten any playing time coming into this weekend and after a good showing yesterday, he came up BIG tonight to keep a high powered North Dakota team to 1 goal out of 26 shots. That should serve as a huge boost to his confidence going forward. Great effort on the defense's part as well getting down and blocking shots. Trevor Campbell, Kaare Odegard, Michael Quinn, well... pretty much everybody other there really... but those three really put their bodies on the line out there and get into the shooting lanes and keep pucks out of Thompson's way.
Glad to see Chad Gehon getting rewarded and burying the puck tonight. He's one of those guys that you don't typically see on the scoresheet, but he constantly works hard and never takes a shift off. His last goal was the lone goal in the final 1-4 loss to Miami in last year's CCHA playoffs.
Atkinson also tallied his first career goal tonight on a nice shot from the point during a power play. Morley found him wide open at the point as he was sliding down to the high slot, and the defense just left him alone. Morley passed it, Atkinson slapped it and tied the game up.
Now the big question that came from everybody was why was the first goal from Cody Kunyk disallowed? The answer that I was given was there was an issue with the recording on instant replay, and the officials were unable to review the goal via video and were forced to stick with the call that was on the ice of a good goal. The way that I saw it, Kunyk took a shot that hit the left post and off of the back bar on the inside of the net and bounced straight back out. Some others seemed to agree, others thought that it just hit the post but the fact of it is (and Coach Schmidt summed it up beautifully) "because we didn't need it".
Truly a great win for the Nanooks tonight and they deserved it from their effort. I hope this is the team that we are going to see every weekend, and put forth the same effort because that's what it takes to win. Last year we saw the parity remarks more so than ever that what separates the top teams from the bottom teams is who wants it more. If I recall correctly, all that separated first place and sixth place in the conference was 12 points. Or four wins out of 28 conference games. Every weekend counts, and the Nanooks have to be ready for Ferris State next weekend, who had a 7-3 win and a 3-3 tie against the Mercyhurst Lakers this weekend.
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