Who is not excited about this weekend, and the Minnesota State men’s hockey opener at the Alltel Center?
After two weeks of practice and three weekends on the road, Maverick fans will finally get their first look at the Mavs in person.
First things first… A very nice weekend for MSU against Alabama-Huntsville. The Mavericks were able to get their offense on track, as well as the team’s best offensive player — Jon Kalinski.
MSU’s power play also scored three times — all in Friday’s 7-0 win.
Troy Jutting said he was very pleased with his team’s effort this weekend, saying that if he could have scripted the weekend, he couldn't have done a better job — at least for the first five periods.
He said he wasn’t upset about the Mavericks play in the final period Saturday, just that it appeared the Mavericks appeared to take their collective feet off the proverbial gas pedal.
“But when you’re up 11-1 through five periods and you’re on the road for three straight weekends…” Jutting said.
You might also want to give UAH some credit. This weekend was their home opener. They had their heads bashed in for the first 100 minutes of the series.
People may dwell on the strength of this opponent. Don’t forget, Alabama-Huntsville brought Minnesota to the brink in the Dodge Holiday Classic last season en route to a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Obviously, they aren’t one of the nation’s top teams. But Huntsville is not always the easiest place to win — especially when you have spent the previous two weekends on the road.
Mike Zacharias continued his outstanding play in net. A save percentage of .943? A goals against of 1.47? Not stats usually synonymous with Maverick goaltenders. He should get his stiffest test of the season this weekend against a Minnesota team that is traditionally one of the most potent offensively in the country. The Gophers have struggled so far this season, however. More on this in Thursday’s column.
What did everybody think of the decision to start Dan Tormey on Saturday? What should Jutting do this weekend? Feel free to leave your feedback.
On the injury front, Jutting said his team is in pretty good shape. "A few bumps and bruises," Jutting said. Freshman Mike Louwerse was back skating Monday in practice and is questionable for this weekend. Everyone else is healthy enough to play.
• What is going on in Minneapolis?
Granted, Denver is a very good team. But the Gophers got completely shut down at home. Their power play can’t score and their penalty kill is having trouble stopping people. The Gophers seem to be lacking a true identity thus far. Minnesota is 0-4-0 in the WCHA for the first time in school history, which begs the question; which team does Minnesota State get this weekend? A Gopher team struggling to find its way? Or a determined bunch looking to crack the win column for the first time?
• Told ya so…
North Dakota rolled to a win on Friday. Colorado College returned the favor on Saturday. Both offenses are very good, and Richard Bachman came to play on Saturday. For some reason, UND has struggled in Ralph Engelstad Arena the past few seasons, especially during the season’s opening months. Two splits in two weeks for the Fighting Sioux… not saying people have figured them out. But maybe this team isn’t as invincible as some (me) thought?
• Told ya so, part deux…
I predicted a Michigan Tech win on Friday and a Wisconsin win on Saturday. Michael-Lee Teslak may not be the best goalie in the conference, but he is playing the best right now. Is there any chance MTU head coach Jamie Russell decides to give Teslak a weekend to himself, just once to see what happens? Or will he continue sharing time with Rob Nolan? Wisconsin defenseman Kyle Klubertanz continues his stellar rebound campaign. The senior scored a pair of goals this weekend and added an assist. This season, he has four goals and four assists.
• SCSU gets three…
It wasn’t a sweep, but three points isn’t bad. Heck, after tying the Under-18 team the weekend before, it’s a full-blown improvement. Now that the Huskies have figured out how to score (at least for one weekend), can they get consistent goaltending from Jase Weslosky?
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8 comments:
You should look at the lineup SCSU put out against the U18 team. They sat their three captains, played their third-string goalie, and rotated through all four lines and 7 defenseman equally all night.
They seemed way more interested in getting some ice time for the guys that weren't playing much than they were with the result of the game. So I wouldn't read much into the tie.
It's nice to see the Mavs take care of business in Huntsville (like they were supposed to). The offense found the back of the net quite a few times (which was needed for confidence/chemistry purposes). Zacharias continued his solid play in net on Friday, and I think it was a good move to start Tormey on Saturday. He's needs to get back in "game shape". As Tormey knows first hand, you're only one Gopher crashing the net skates first from needing your backup netminder. Like all series for the young Mavs this season, the key will be to stay away from shorthanded situations all night, and keeping this struggling Gopher team from finding any extra confidence.
By the way, I hate these home & home series. I'm not going to waste the gas to drive down to Mankato for one night and then pack up and head back to the TC for game two. It's just not going to happen. They need to fix this.
GO MAVS!!!
Joe... The reason they do the home and home series is so every market will get a better chance of seeing more teams. Because this is the only meeting this season, had the home and home not been scheduled, Mankato may not have seen the Gophers at all this season.
It is an arrangement made by the coaches of the school. I know MSU does it with St. Cloud and the U. Minnesota also does it with SCSU.
It does make it hard to make a weekend of it, however. I'd like to see a revamping of how they create the schedule... but that's for a another day.
Jase wasn't even in goal both nights this weekend. Dunn was in Saturday night.
You really need to do your research before posting and writing your articles. It's painfully obvious that you work for the "distorter".
Hello anonymous... First of all, feel free to come in here and be critical. I'm all about discussion, that's what this blog is all about.
I have two requests if you're gonna come on here and rip me, however; one, leave your name. Don't be a coward and hide behind some anonymous name. Two, get your facts straight. I'm wrong often and I will admit it. I'm well aware of the fact Dunn played Saturday night in St. Cloud.
Read my post. I was making a simple blanket statement about the Huskies offense. Now the question is, I said, can they get consistent goaltending from Jase Weslosky? It was a question I was asking the reader for their opinion about the future, not breaking down the previous weekend.
Figure it out...
I understand why they use the home & home series, but I still don't agree with it. In my opinion that's fine that Gophers wouldn't travel to Mankato this year. That's where the fun of a roadtrip comes into play. The college hockey roadtrip is a tradition me and my fellow Maverick alumni treasure and look forward to each year.
Rumor is Matt Tyree is going to be the latest victim of the Jutting bad penalty rule. Is there any truth to that?
Heh, I think I started that "rumor". It was just an educated guess since he took a pretty unnecessary penalty at a pretty critical time on Saturday.
I'm thinking it's pretty unlikely that Tyree will dress in any game on big ice this year.
Hey Chris and Joe,
haven't heard definitively, but I haven't asked... I will be at practice this afternoon at Alltel Center and will ask Troy.
Check back later this afternoon/evening for an answer...
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