Freddy's three thoughts of the game:
1. Different team: This is a much different MSU team than the one that lost 6-1 at Denver on Nov. 13. The tie put the Mavericks at 8-2-1 since that night. They played toe to toe with the high-powered Pioneers, outshooting them 30-28 and holding leads (some brief) of 1-0, 3-2 and 4-3. Denver led 2-1 for just 24 seconds late in the second period. Denver slipped a spot to a tie for No. 5 in the Pairwise Rankings. MSU bumped up to a tie for 21st. Said MSU captain Rylan Galiardi: "Looking at that game, it's tough to tell who's No. 4 and who's No. 22 (referring to the PWR before the game). But maybe that was the difference in the end. They found a way to tie it, and we didn't find a way to shut them down."
2. So close: Justin Jokinen's goal with 1:47 to play put the Mavericks up 4-3. Denver immediately called timeout and found a way to get goalie Sam Brittain off for an extra attacker shortly after the ensuing faceoff. Denver threw the kitchen sink at Phil Cook, and Kyle Ostrow knotted the game just 33 seconds after Jokinen's goal. The Mavericks simply couldn't clear the zone when they had the chance, and Anthony Maiani got the puck to Ostrow, who took a couple of whacks at the puck before finally putting it in.
3. Getting in on the action: The Mavericks' defensemen have been doing so much scoring lately that it was finally Channing Boe's turn to get in on the action. Boe scored from the top of the left circle at 9:04 of the third period to give MSU a 3-2 lead. It was his first goal of the season and first since Jan. 9, 2010. The senior now has four career goals. But Boe might have had his best defensive game of the season, too. "He's a big kid, and he played big and played solid," coach Troy Jutting said. Chase Grant and Eli Zuck were the other goal scorers for the Mavs. Zuck tied the game at 2-all with 1:48 left in the second period, just 24 seconds after Jason Zucker scored for Denver.
Read the box score here.
10 comments:
Hockeyfan...
What say you?
"Over played and inconsistent". Of course we want them to win, but you hardly played the D man that has been suggested - "most improved player this season"???
Tonight is about fresh legs and desire.
GO MAVS...
We played all three lines. All lines played a great defensive game. Not sure who else or what your talking about. We played same guys same way. The top four matched up against their top and did a great job. Same pairs tonight.
Kind reply to the hockeyfan post-
"We played all three lines." - Not to split hairs but the first two lines played +80% and the third very, very sparingly which gassed our top 4.
"All lines played a great defensive game." - A game is a complete 60 minutes. How can you say that when the starting D were on the ice for both the final DU tying goals. Where forwards responsible for not clearing the puck?
"We played same guys same way." - Perhaps that is the problem. I've mentioned this before that the same D guys are gassed and look at the outcome. Any 4 guys playing that amount of time are bound to be gasses. I have never questioned their paying ability, rather when you are gassed in this game, you can not recharge as quickly. For some reason you and others will not accept this fact.
"Same pairs tonight." - That's fine, but at least work 5 D including what many are claiming to be the most improved player this season. If we keep gassing our top 4 D, then it will be a short season. The mind may say "yes", but the "legs" do not buy-in at times. Why can you or other critics not see or admit to this?
Our seats face the benches and you could see the tired faces late in the 3rd.
Of course we want it and hope to see it play out better tonight.
GO MAVS...
First of all. I haven't heard anyone talking about who is the most improved player. But that is irrelevant. A player can be the most improved but that doesn't mean he is as good as other players. It only means he has improved the most relative how he played in the past ( and I don't really disagree. If I had to pick most improved it would be one of three players, Cook , Dorr, Cooper). But that doesn't mean any certain player is ready to take on the top lines every shift. And are you kidding me blaming the last goal on only the D. Denver is one of the best teams in the country and they threw the kitchen sink and we got scored on. No one players fault. And if your going to blame that player lets see the first line D ( and it doesn't matter first or second, its all the same given they get thirty second shifts) broke up two on ones. Blocked far more shots. On the ice for one full strength goal. Played against their top lines of which seven are draft picks and stayed with if not outplayed them. And no from what I saw none of the players looked tired other than what you would normally be at the end of a game. I guess we will have to agree to disagree.
Joe Schiller is the person that could not clear the puck on the last goal. I love the way that Joe plays because it is all out. It was clear that he had a chance to get the puck out on the last goal and failed to do so. Even so I don't pin the tie on him. You win, lose, and tie as a team. A team is only as strong as it's weakest player.
Nation - who's man was standing ALL alone in front? That missed coverage should be tied for the weakest player along with the guys running the bench the previous 60 minutes. The 2 of the 4 D playing 80% of the game time this weekend cost the team 3 more huge points. Stats do not lie.
A lot took place to force it to OT.
But it is obvious that know one wants to admit nor address those fixable things causing "weak links".
It's tough to win as a team when you don't play the team and your best players in a way that gives you a chance to win. That includes special teams as well as equal strength...
PS. hockeyfan is right on one point - we do agree to disagree. Unless he saw the light last night before he went drinking his kool aide...
I really think that there is a talented group of skaters playing this year but I'm not a fan of the management. It was the standing joke in our section with the season ticket holders that UNO and Bemidji would be two more teams to finish ahead of the Mav's, and now they seemed to be doing just that.
Food for thought:
Line changes, Our guys must really be tired skating out and back to the bench and climbing over the boards, I couldn't believe the difference in congestion between the two benches
Dumping a puck into the zone, and not controlling it on a power play, MSU does the best at killing their own PP’s.
Two forwards working the corners, and absolutely no one in front of the net. That should be a great lesson learned after Denver.
A WCHA game, with 3600 - 3900 attendees, that has to be down from last year’s average
Division I is about winning, the equivalent to revenue of a business. If the business isn't performing, its time to look closely at the reason why. MSU and the AD really need to figure that out.
Indeed someone is willing to note the obvious.
They have the players who can play, yet you have to know how to play them, which certainty starts at the management level.
We were down in the Blue Line Club talking about this very thing on Saturday. Why certain players get all the ice when it is obvious by their inconsistent play, that they are gassed. And you have others on the bench seeing maybe 4 shifts max a period? And in the stands watching? Poor management...
Between our ticket, club and other costs at the games, MSU fans deserve better.
Wishing for a better remaining finish to the season. PLEASE.
GO MAVS...
Remember the good ole days when the UNO Mav's would come to town and the MSU Mavericks would play them (Steer Fest?).
Then UNO had to go and wreck everything by investing in their program and hiring the Fighting Sioux coach. Now we can't play with them any more on a competitive basis.
Talk about investing in a CEO....
UNO delivered a clear message Friday by hiring Dean Blais as hockey coach, said the man who runs a powerful league the Mavericks are thinking about joining.
UNO is shooting for the stars. And it just landed one of the biggest stars in college hockey.
"You can talk about things, about doing this and doing that, but it all comes down to the actions you take in the end," said Bruce McLeod, commissioner of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. "They're not just talking, they're doing something. These people are darn serious."
Blais, who led North Dakota to two national championships and a runner-up finish in the span of five seasons, was introduced Friday as the Mavericks' second-ever head coach
Enough said.
yep...
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