Thursday, December 2, 2010

You want answers (Gopher week edition)

From Sam: 1) Will Austin Lee get another shot in goal this weekend? 2) Was the Mavericks' sweep of UMass-Lowell a results of improved play on their part or simply because they played a terrible Redhawks team?

Sam, 1) I'm not sure on Lee. Jutting was non-committal on his goalies on Wednesday. If Cook is considered the No. 1 guy, which he was pretty much throughout the road trip, I'm guessing he'll start on Friday night, with Saturday's starter dependent on Friday's performance. However, they did score their first series sweep a week ago by going with Lee Friday and Cook Saturday. We'll likely have to wait until Friday to find out. ... 2) It was probably a combination of both, but you have to be encouraged by the 11 goals the Mavericks scored and the one even-strength goal allowed. Also, getting two wins on the road at the end of a long road swing is huge, as is beating up on a team that was struggling. I'm sure each teams looked at the other's record and recent performance and said, "We need to take care of business against these guys." MSU did that.

From Alex: Will Mike Louwerse be back in the lineup? Will Jutting play both goalies this weekend? Any injuries heading into the weekend?

Alex, I don't know on Louwerse. He's been practicing on the "teal" line all week, which usually means he won't be in the lineup on Friday night. Perhaps there will be a late lineup change, but after getting scratched in both games at Lowell (when he originally was supposed to be in the lineup), it's obvious that more is expected out of the junior forward. Louwerse has two goals (none on the power play), three assists and eight penalty minutes in 11 games. He's certainly got the talent to do more, that's for sure. ... On the goalies, see my answer above. ... Right now, it looks like the Mavericks are completely healthy -- at least no one's out due to injury this week.

From hockey25: What is with the white "Maverick" hardhat some of the players wear after games for interviews? Cook did it after the win against UAA and Lehrke did the same after the win Saturday at Lowell.

hockey25, I'll have to look into this. I haven't seen the hardhat. Then again, I've only witnessed on MSU win in person this year.

From LetsGoMavs: What's the status of Ben Youds? Any feedback on why Leiverman isn't playing lately?

LetsGoMavs, Youds will be in the lineup on Friday night. That is huge for the Mavericks; they need him. In my opinion, he was the Mavericks' MVP last season and he's starting to come on this year. Friday night at Denver, I thought he was really good. He also said all the right things after the Saturday-night loss at DU. He's really becoming a strong leader for this team. ... As for Leivermann, he practiced on the "gold" line this week, so I expect to see him in the lineup on Friday. I think there are a few freshmen who are interchangeable right now, so their ice time will depend on how they're playing in practice/when they get their opportunities in games. John McInnis was in the lineup at Lowell, and going home to the Boston area was one reason for that. Leivermann took McInnis' spot this week.

From MSUMaverickFan: Any idea what the ticket availability is for the weekend? Can we expect sellouts? Troy mentioned that there would be some changes made to the power play systems. Any specifics that you can elaborate on? Different systems, different personnel or both? 

MSUMaverickFan, Last I checked there are still seats available. Not sure how many. I'd guess both games will be official sellouts with standing-room-only tickets available. ... I don't have a lot of details on any system changes. I hope to understand more seeing them in action this weekend. I know there was some different personnel on the power play last weekend, although the one goal they scored came from regulars: Dorr from Youds and Hayes. Cooper and Nelson got some power-play time last week, as did Jokinen. Also, Youds and Davis were together on Friday night (Youds was hurt Saturday); in the past those two each ran a power play.

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