betterREDthandead 58 Report post Posted March 14, 2008 Way too many injuries this year for Michigan, not to mention guys getting kicked off the team for stealing teammates' identities or whatever the hell sleazy stuff Kevin Quick was up to. Jeez, here's hoping they can just survive a simple first-round series. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bliz 0 Report post Posted March 14, 2008 Watching NMU handle OSU was a lot of fun--although hey, whenever any Ohio state team loses it's great fun. Can't say that I like the Wildcats' chances against MSU, though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Packer487 3 Report post Posted March 14, 2008 Watching NMU handle OSU was a lot of fun--although hey, whenever any Ohio state team loses it's great fun. Can't say that I like the Wildcats' chances against MSU, though. I actually think that's going to be a pretty good series. NMU just swept MSU not too long ago. Granted it was in Marquette and this is at Munn, but don't sell the Wildcats short. I don't know how they managed to get swept by Wayne State, but they swept Sparty, gave Michigan all they could handle, split with Ferris, split with Notre Dame. I picked MSU to win that series, but I'd be pretty surprised if they aren't close games. I've got that one pegged to go 3. Actually, Miami/Bowling Green is the only series this weekend that I don't think will be competitive. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Packer487 3 Report post Posted March 15, 2008 (edited) Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitch! Holy crap. 10-1? I only saw the first two periods. I wasn't expecting that. I thought it would be pretty close if Marshall played and maybe not so much if he didn't (he didn't) but geezus. Have some pride. BTW, that Jeramie Dupont is like the worst goalie ever. Hopefully we don't go Michigan and lose tomorrow. Seems to always be the case when we blow someone out. I remember beating Alaska about 8-0 my freshman year and then losing 5-2 the next night. Then we beat ND 10-1 in the playoffs a couple years back and had to go to OT to win 1-0 the next night. Edited March 15, 2008 by Packer487 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Swede40 0 Report post Posted March 17, 2008 Michigan is the best team in the country and it's not even close. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bliz 0 Report post Posted March 17, 2008 Wow, the 'Cats won their series vs. MSU. I'm shocked. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mannysBETTER3434 1 Report post Posted March 17, 2008 Shocked MSU lost to NMU, but the Wildcats have been a thorn in the Sparties side all season long. Really thought FSU had ND in the bag because of their success this year against them, but I guess not. I don't think U-M will have much trouble with ND even with U-M's recent injury bug. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Packer487 3 Report post Posted March 17, 2008 Shocked MSU lost to NMU, but the Wildcats have been a thorn in the Sparties side all season long. Really thought FSU had ND in the bag because of their success this year against them, but I guess not. I don't think U-M will have much trouble with ND even with U-M's recent injury bug. They reseed so we're playing Northern. I'm pretty confident any coach in the world would rather play Notre Dame at this point, but we'll deal with it. And due to attendance concerns with MSU not being there, Michigan has to play the late game Friday, even though they're supposed to get the early game as the #1 seed. Last night was a happy night for Miami hockey. Dynasty. I would imagine that Vaughan will be back this weekend. Someone posted that they heard Rust is probable, which would shock me if it's true. Pacioretty is out for Friday night due to a fighting DQ. If Michigan loses to NMU, I want the Wildcats to win the CCHA title, have Notre Dame beat Miami, and then have Michigan beat Notre Dame in the consolation game. 5 CCHA teams in the tournament. 5 WCHA teams in the tournament. It'd be hilarious after all that talk about conference superiority coming from west of Michigan. It's looking more and more likely that Michigan will be the #1 seed in the Madison regional and the Badgers will not be in the tournament. Good news for me! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mannysBETTER3434 1 Report post Posted March 17, 2008 Last night was a happy night for Miami hockey. Dynasty. I would imagine that Vaughan will be back this weekend. Someone posted that they heard Rust is probable, which would shock me if it's true. Pacioretty is out for Friday night due to a fighting DQ. It's looking more and more likely that Michigan will be the #1 seed in the Madison regional and the Badgers will not be in the tournament. Good news for me! I hate Miami, and that Italian they got behind the bench. I think they will exit early. I hope the Badgers don't end up making it either, that would be nice. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Packer487 3 Report post Posted March 21, 2008 Porter won CCHA Player of the Year. Red won Coach of the Year. Pacioretty won Rookie of the Year. And Porter was named a Hobey Finalist (shocker there). Pretty good night if you're a Wolverine. I really can't believe Jeff Lerg was one of the ten finalists for the Hobey. I appreciate that he had an amazing season last year and was basically the reason they won it all, but he hasn't been all that great this year. MSU was projected to be 1st in the CCHA in one poll, 2nd in the other (by 1 point). They finished 3rd and got beat in their first playoff series at home. Lerg was 3-3-2 out of conference and didn't beat a team worth a damn in their OOC schedule. He was like 17th in goals against and 11th in save percentage. But somehow he's one of the top 10 players in the country and one of the top 3 goalies? I don't have a problem with him being First Team All CCHA in net because they only take conference stats into account. But if you look at the whole season, you could make a pretty convincing argument that he was only the third best goalie in the conference (Zatkoff and Sauer). Absolutely no way he should've gotten the nod over Zatkoff (2nd in goals against and 2nd in save percentage nationally). If you're only taking 3 goalies, it's absurd that Lerg was named over Bachman from CC, who was the WCHA Player of the Year (and only the second rookie to win that award and the Rookie of the Year in the same season---Curtis Joseph was the other) and was 3rd in the country in goals against and tops in save percentage as a freshman. The most glaring omission in my eyes was Chad Kolarik. FIRST IN THE COUNTRY in goals per game, 3rd in goals, 6th in points, 7th in points per game, 1st in game winning goals, and he's arguably Michigan's best defensive forward (though Porter got the nomination) and penalty killer. How you leave him off in favor of TJ Oshie (25th in the country in points, 28th in points per game, 37th in goals per game) is beyond me. Then again, these are the same people that left TJ Hensick out of the Hobey Hat Trick last year when he was the nation's leading scorer by a fairly wide margin and gave the award to a guy who was the third best player on his own line.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mannysBETTER3434 1 Report post Posted March 23, 2008 CCHA PLAYOFF CHAMPS!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
betterREDthandead 58 Report post Posted March 25, 2008 CCHA champs is nice. The tourney draw is nicer. Pillow-soft opposition for the first two rounds. Plus a potential matchup against New Hampshire (not even Hockey East champs) instead of UND, in the Frozen Four, should U-M get that far. Meanwhile, Sparty is stuck in Colorado, playing Colorado College. And apparently that's an Olympic-size rink? I did not know that interesting little factoid. Hopefully the championship will stay in the state of Michigan this year! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mannysBETTER3434 1 Report post Posted March 25, 2008 CCHA champs is nice. The tourney draw is nicer. Pillow-soft opposition for the first two rounds. Plus a potential matchup against New Hampshire (not even Hockey East champs) instead of UND, in the Frozen Four, should U-M get that far. Meanwhile, Sparty is stuck in Colorado, playing Colorado College. And apparently that's an Olympic-size rink? I did not know that interesting little factoid. Hopefully the championship will stay in the state of Michigan this year! I agree, although I've read that New Hampshire has a very good goalie. MSU/Miami got some really tough match-ups, but I'm not complaining for now Not only is it a olympic size rink, but it's in Colorado....big time disadvantages there. Also, if U-M gets screwed again on the Hobey Baker I am going to stop paying attention to those kind of awards in college hockey.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
betterREDthandead 58 Report post Posted March 27, 2008 By the way, Packer, clearly I'm slow as hell at putting two and two together because I just now figured it out, but how are we supposed to read your blog if you don't pimp it any? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Packer487 3 Report post Posted March 27, 2008 What's worse for MSU is that if they get past Colorado College somehow, they likely get UNH, who also plays their home games on the Olympic-sized rink. It's a lot harder to play that B****-A** trap with so much extra space. UNH's goalie is very good. He's a Hobey Finalist. Kind of crazy, in one regional, you've got 2 Hobey Finalist goalies, another goalie that was the WCHA Player of the Year as a freshman (Cujo is the only other person who has done that), and the fourth won the CCHA goaltending title if I'm not mistaken. I wouldn't look past Niagara. In the last 3 years, there have been six games between a one-seed and one of these "weaker" opponents from College Hockey America or Atlantic Hockey. In those six games, five have been decided by a single goal, three went to OT, and Holy Cross beat Minnesota in one of those overtime games. I'm happy we aren't playing Air Force. I like Miami as a team, but I think Air Force has a real shot at winning that one. By the way, Packer, clearly I'm slow as hell at putting two and two together because I just now figured it out, but how are we supposed to read your blog if you don't pimp it any? Good question! I suppose a link would be pretty appropriate in this thread. If anyone else is reading and would like to check out my Michigan Hockey blog, it's: http://yostbuilt.blogspot.com Also, if U-M gets screwed again on the Hobey Baker I am going to stop paying attention to those kind of awards in college hockey.... You and me both, buddy. It's bad enough that they left Kolarik out of the final ten....if they find a way to not give it to Kevin Porter, I'm done with that award. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mannysBETTER3434 1 Report post Posted March 27, 2008 (edited) UNH's goalie is very good. He's a Hobey Finalist. Kind of crazy, in one regional, you've got 2 Hobey Finalist goalies, another goalie that was the WCHA Player of the Year as a freshman (Cujo is the only other person who has done that), and the fourth won the CCHA goaltending title if I'm not mistaken. I'm happy we aren't playing Air Force. I like Miami as a team, but I think Air Force has a real shot at winning that one. I've been kind of getting the feeling as of late that Regan (UNH goalie) is going to be the Jeff Lerg of last year's playoff's. I've never seen him play, but the more I read about him the more I get some concerns for down the road. I actually wanted to play Air Force, because there probably would have been a very good chance I went to Albany. Ian Harper, AF's backup goalie lived at my house while he was playing juniors in Grand Rapids several years ago. I tried getting a hold of him after the NCAA draws, but hasn't gotten back to me...... Edited March 27, 2008 by mannysBETTER3434 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Packer487 3 Report post Posted March 27, 2008 I've been kind of getting the feeling as of late that Regan (UNH goalie) is going to be the Jeff Lerg of last year's playoff's. I've never seen him play, but the more I read about him the more I get some concerns for down the road. I actually wanted to play Air Force, because there probably would have been a very good chance I went to Albany. Ian Harper, AF's backup goalie lived at my house while he was playing juniors in Grand Rapids several years ago. I tried getting a hold of him after the NCAA draws, but hasn't gotten back to me...... That's pretty cool! My best friend used to be a billet family for USA Hockey. I know they hosted Chris Gartman (used to be a backup at Michigan) and ummm...some kid that ended up at Vermont. I think one of his guys ended up in the NHL, but I can't remember who it is. He used to drive Eric Nystrom to school, too. That CC/UNH game (if it happens) would definitely be one to watch. Maybe this is finally the year that UNH sheds the "University of No Hardware" nickname. Apparently the flu is making its way through the Michigan team. Porter didn't practice yesterday. Awesome. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mannysBETTER3434 1 Report post Posted March 27, 2008 That's pretty cool! My best friend used to be a billet family for USA Hockey. I know they hosted Chris Gartman (used to be a backup at Michigan) and ummm...some kid that ended up at Vermont. I think one of his guys ended up in the NHL, but I can't remember who it is. He used to drive Eric Nystrom to school, too. That CC/UNH game (if it happens) would definitely be one to watch. Maybe this is finally the year that UNH sheds the "University of No Hardware" nickname. Apparently the flu is making its way through the Michigan team. Porter didn't practice yesterday. Awesome. Thats shocking the flu is going around. What horrible news! When did Gartman play? Was he Blackburn's backup? After Harper left our house for St. Louis of the NAHL, another player joined our house named Mike Gordon. His older brother (forgot his first name) was Steve Shields backup at U-M. He was not a Red fan at all, but still loved U-M. His opinions towards Red really turned my parents off! And he said he was a way better goalie then Shields, but Shields dad was tight with Red. I doubt most of that story is true though..... Being a billet family is very awkward. It's fun, but can suck. One of our former players is in jail for Cocaine possession in Florida. One of our goalies was offered full ride to WMU, but he turned it down because of he burned out from hockey. He was WMU's No. 1 goalie target, but after he told them the news they signed Gill. A third goalie we had played for Finlandia, but blew out his knee 2 months into his freshmen year, and is finished. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Packer487 3 Report post Posted March 27, 2008 Thats shocking the flu is going around. What horrible news! When did Gartman play? Was he Blackburn's backup? After Harper left our house for St. Louis of the NAHL, another player joined our house named Mike Gordon. His older brother (forgot his first name) was Steve Shields backup at U-M. He was not a Red fan at all, but still loved U-M. His opinions towards Red really turned my parents off! And he said he was a way better goalie then Shields, but Shields dad was tight with Red. I doubt most of that story is true though..... Being a billet family is very awkward. It's fun, but can suck. One of our former players is in jail for Cocaine possession in Florida. One of our goalies was offered full ride to WMU, but he turned it down because of he burned out from hockey. He was WMU's No. 1 goalie target, but after he told them the news they signed Gill. A third goalie we had played for Finlandia, but blew out his knee 2 months into his freshmen year, and is finished. Gartman signed in the same class as Ruden. He was a transfer from Cornell (I think) so he didn't have as much eligibility. So he played behind Montoya. I think he passed on returning for his senior year and went back to Cornell to finish school. Chris Gordon was the Michigan backup. Some of those guys are delusional about their own abilities. If he was better than Shields, the NHL would've found him whether he played in college or not. And Red wouldn't have started an inferior goalie. Shields made it about 250 games in the NHL. Gordon played 17 games in the AHL and that was the highest level he reached (awesome 4.05 goals against). I'm guessing Shields was better. Plus Shields dated Shiri Appleby, which makes him infinitely cooler. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mannysBETTER3434 1 Report post Posted March 27, 2008 (edited) Gartman signed in the same class as Ruden. He was a transfer from Cornell (I think) so he didn't have as much eligibility. So he played behind Montoya. I think he passed on returning for his senior year and went back to Cornell to finish school. Chris Gordon was the Michigan backup. Some of those guys are delusional about their own abilities. If he was better than Shields, the NHL would've found him whether he played in college or not. And Red wouldn't have started an inferior goalie. Shields made it about 250 games in the NHL. Gordon played 17 games in the AHL and that was the highest level he reached (awesome 4.05 goals against). I'm guessing Shields was better. Plus Shields dated Shiri Appleby, which makes him infinitely cooler. Yup thats his name! Yeah, right off the bat my dad wasn't a fan of him. So right when he says blasphemy about Red, and talks down Shields my dad asks "Then why aren't you in the NHL?" He responded about how he got hurt, and he NEVER let us forgot he was 3-0 against Shields in the minors. Oh well, some will never give up the dream Had no clue Shields had a session with Appleby. I guess hockey players do run the show wherever they go (-: Edited March 27, 2008 by mannysBETTER3434 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eva unit zero 271 Report post Posted March 28, 2008 Gartman signed in the same class as Ruden. He was a transfer from Cornell (I think) so he didn't have as much eligibility. So he played behind Montoya. I think he passed on returning for his senior year and went back to Cornell to finish school. Chris Gordon was the Michigan backup. Some of those guys are delusional about their own abilities. If he was better than Shields, the NHL would've found him whether he played in college or not. And Red wouldn't have started an inferior goalie. Shields made it about 250 games in the NHL. Gordon played 17 games in the AHL and that was the highest level he reached (awesome 4.05 goals against). I'm guessing Shields was better. Plus Shields dated Shiri Appleby, which makes him infinitely cooler. Shields, as of his graduation, was the best goalie the CCHA had ever had. If his backup was better, that's amazing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Packer487 3 Report post Posted March 28, 2008 (edited) Had no clue Shields had a session with Appleby. I guess hockey players do run the show wherever they go (-: Whoa, you know who she is? Very jealous of Shieldsy on that one. She's gorgeous. Shields, as of his graduation, was the best goalie the CCHA had ever had. If his backup was better, that's amazing. Actually, at least in terms of wins, he was the best goalie the NCAA had ever had at the time of his graduation and is still #2 all time to Turco. But his backup was better. Man I'm geeked for tomorrow. SCSU/Clarkson, UNH/Notre Dame, Michigan/Niagara, CC/Spartina. Gonna be a good day. Then 6 games Saturday and 2 more Sunday. I love the NCAA Hockey Tournament (and having a satellite dish so I can watch). Edited March 28, 2008 by Packer487 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skiing - Puck 0 Report post Posted March 28, 2008 My Frozen Four team predictions are Michigan, Colorado College, North Dakota, and Miami. As much as I hate to say this I do not think Michigan State stands a chance against CC. Going into the Frozen Four, Michigan has by far the easiest path. To be honest the West regional looks the toughest, followed by the Mid-West. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mannysBETTER3434 1 Report post Posted March 28, 2008 My Frozen Four team predictions are Michigan, Colorado College, North Dakota, and Miami. As much as I hate to say this I do not think Michigan State stands a chance against CC. Going into the Frozen Four, Michigan has by far the easiest path. To be honest the West regional looks the toughest, followed by the Mid-West. Those are solid picks, but I can't see Miami getting through it. Maybe I'm being biased though because I don't want to see Miami go far....... Whoa, you know who she is? Thanks to google image search! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BlakChamber 8 Report post Posted March 29, 2008 Nice job by the CCHA last night. UM wins the game they're supposed to and MSU and ND get the upsets. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
