Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...
1. Old demons: The Mavericks played straight up with No. 15 Denver most of the game but a few things came back to haunt them as they lost their third game in a row. 1) They continued to struggle on the power play, going 0 for 7, including failing to score with 72 seconds of 5x3. 2) MSU was pretty disciplined on the penalty front for the first two periods, but Cameron Cooper was called for interference and hooking seven minutes apart in the third period when the Mavericks need to stay out of the box. Denver scored on the second one for the game-winning goal. 3) That goal was a low slap shot from the left point. Unless it hit traffic or the otherwise brilliant Phil Cook (35 saves, some awesome) was screened, that can't go in. "It was a typical WCHA game where a couple of plays decide the hockey game," MSU coach Troy Jutting said. "Tonight, they made them and we didn't."
2. Purple Hayes: Eriah Hayes had as pretty a goal as you'll see to tie the game 2-2 with 38.8 seconds remaining in the second period. Hayes intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and made a beeline toward the Denver net. A right-handed shot, Hayes had to keep the puck on his backhand to protect it from a Pioneers defender who was backchecking hard. But he gave himself enough room to fire a backhander over goalie Sam Brittain's shoulder, just under the crossbar. Last season in Magness Arena, Hayes had another pretty goal. The building's been kind to him. He now leads the Mavericks with four goals. "Eriah, the last four, five games has played well for us," Jutting said. Justin Jokinen scored the Mavericks' first goal, his third of the year.
3. Great plays: One play you don't see too often in college hockey anymore is a fake shot. But Denver stud defenseman Matt Donovan pulled one off for the Pioneers' second goal of the game. Donovan set up a slap shot and started to fire. But when Cook went down to stop the shot, Donovan dished it across the slot to streaking right winger Luke Salazar who had an easy tap-in goal behind Cook. Another great play by the Pioneers came in the final minute when Cook was off the ice for an extra attacker. Denver iced the puck, but with the new hybrid icing rule in effect, DU captain Kyle Ostrow beat the last MSU defensemen to the faceoff dots and the game continued on.
See the game's box score here.
8 comments:
It's getting old. Same guys on the powerplay. Same guys out the last five minutes when we are down one goal. Same guys out when we are four on four. The only time the powerplay even seems to get shots on net is when a big body like Hayes stands in front of the net. Boe and Elbrecht should be moved up front during the powerplay and positioned in front. This forces one D to stay with them and sets a screen. It opens up the whole offensive zone. Not sure about Boe but know Elbrecht played that role on both teams he won National Championships in Jr.s with when the powerplay struggled. We have to try something new!
BIG, last week when I suggested that fatigue led to Omaha's fourth goal on Saturday (which it did) I got ripped for thinking that DI players should ever be tired. I know that wasn't suggested by you, but you can't have it both ways. However, the top defensemen are going to play 24+ minutes/game. That's what's expected of them and what's expected of themselves, especially seniors. I thought all of the D-men played a lot of minutes last night. Cooper played a lot; unfortunately hiss penalties proved costly. On the flip side, Denver's Matt Donovan played a ton of minutes, too. I wish college hockey kept track of TOI (time on ice) like the NHL does.
The word CHANGE is not in Jutting's vocabulary. We've watched the same horrid power play not work for years...yet, heaven forbid he try something new. Same with a lot of the plays, it's the same old stuff year after year and not a lot of adjusting to the opponents or changing what's not working. Instead, just blame the players!
Someone (not "just a fan" either) at the Final Five last year said to me "you do realize your team has never lost a game, right? Their coach loses every game for them."
Time for some new plays, a better attitude for the team and A NEW COACH!
A couple of my buds made the trip to DU. That first goal Friday was a direct result of just what Shane mentioned in his column;
While
MSU’s corps of defenseman is supposed to
be a strength, Jutting said his young forwards
have had some struggles in coverage.
“We had such a strong group of (forwards),
defensively, that left us,” Jutting
said. “We’re getting better there; we have
to get better.”
A forward should have had that lane or player to avoid the break-away.
It's fixable.
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