Not more than a week ago, Techsuperstar Chris Conner took his second shot at NHL play with the Dallas Stars, scoring his first goal in only his third game. Conner was interviewed for theStars vs. Sharksmorning skate here under the multimedia section in the middle of the homepage. As long as Stars standouts Mike Modano, Eric Lindros and Brenden Morrow remain injured, it appears Conner has a solid spot on the lineup.
The big [no pun intended] news today, though came from Minneapolis. The Minnesota Wild have signed 6 foot-7 inch defenseman John Scott to an NHL contract, after playing 20 games with their AHL affiliate, the Houston Aeros. Scott had one assist and 28 penalty minutes in those 20 games, and will continue to play for the Aeros. Official press releases can be found here and here.
So, it seems the Huskies have found a spot in #4, once again taking the bottom rung of the GLI ladder. After giving up a game to the over-talked Michigan Wolverines, they faced off against the Harvard Crimson for a rare WCHA-ECACHL matchup. Unfortunately, the Huskies didn't show up until about halftime, allowing the Crimson to take a hard-fought 3-2 victory back to Massachusettes.
Why did this happen, you ask? Personally, I feel the NCAA embarassed themselves with the officiating in this game, with some crazy calls, and a lot of no-calls on both ends. The worst of the gafes was the recalling of Alex Lord's second period goal, shoved in allegedly right after the referee blew his whistle, amidst a pile of Crimson and Huskies. Brian Aaron's premature blowing showed up many times, once even calling play dead when the puck was 10 feet above Crimson goaltender Kyle Richter's head.
One cannot blame the entire mess on the officals, though, as Aaron was successful in ending the after-the-whistle scrums that polluted the early stages of the game. One of the biggest reasons for the loss was poor defensive play by the Huskies. In a play similar to a few seen in the Minnesota series, Mike Taylor was able to get a goal on an odd man rush where the Husky defenseman was unable to stop the pass across to center. The second and third goals were lucky breaks that caught Michael-Lee Teslak off guard, mostly because of poor turnovers and players out of position. Another major issue was the Husky powerplay, which ended up converting for the second consecutive night, but the overall performance of the man-advantage was the typical sub-par play. Goals don't get in without shots, and the puck spends way too much time circling around the fringes of the offensive zone.
In all honesty, this game should have gone to the Huskies. Harvard lowest-quality hockey games I've witnessed in a long time. Two of their goals were scored on lucky shots, while the rest ofplayed one of the the time was spent coughing up the puck. The game had no flow, mostly due to the fact that the Joe Louis Arena began to sink toward Rob Nolan's end, causing the puck to incessantly slide down the ice unaccompanied. I've seen less icing on three-foot tall wedding cakes. Maybe it was a Harvard tactic to kill all flow in the game by continually icing the puck, but no one was able to get any momentum going until the Huskies took over in the third period. I was very impressed with the final minutes, and wish that Richter would have coughed up a goal, as he played a sub-par game as well, though he is only a freshman.
I think we can take three good words out of this game: Bunger, Lord and Gwilliam. These three young guys may not have the numbers of some of the other Huskies, but their work ethic is something to be envied. Ryan Bunger has not seen as much action this year as many other skaters, but every time he hits the ice, he is moving at full speed, hittting hard and making plays. Alex Lord has a similar style. He can always be found in front of the net ready to strike, and even the FSD analysts were impressed with the hard hits he took tonight. Finally, Malcolm Gwilliam, when he wasn't redecorating the penalty box for the first 10 minutes of the second, showed prowess with his forechecking, scoring the second [or third, depending on your interpretation] goal for the Huskies and coming close many other times.
So, now that another GLI has passed what should be expected for the rest of the year? The final months of the Huskies' run are going to be tough. It is imperative that they gain momentum in these next three weekends. Minnesota-Duluth, on a serious slide, is their first opponent. The two games should not be too difficult to gain points in, provided they play smart and do not get too zealous. After UMD, the Bemidji State Beavers visit Houghton, for a series that should be relatively interesting, as the Beavers have overthrown several WCHA opponents, including Colorado College last night. The Huskies will then go to Anchorage to fight the Seawolves, in games that should be very different than the two in Houghton, as the Seawolves are on a hot streak. After this, they face Colorado College, Minnesota State, Denver, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Hopefully our Huskies can pull off some upsets, and finish with a respectable record in a WCHA that is anything but stable at this time.
There were some pretty intersting results in the hockey world this weekend, so I'll bring you all up to speed on some of those later. Enough hockey for one weekend, but at least the FSD guys get to call another MSU-UM game.
As I sit here sipping on Dr. McGillicuddy's Menthol Mint Schnapps from the bottle, I'd like to give a special thanks to whoever is too lazy to reset the scoreboard after the MSU-Harvard game. At least there was a moment where the Huskies lead the Wolverines on the scoreboard, though it wasn't really happening.
So Friday's GLI recap... We'll start with the first game. Harvard should have won! They fired an amazing 47 shots on goal and dominated play for most of the game. Such a Tech story though. The underdog who outplays the ranked team comes away empty handed.
This blogger was nearly dead by the time the MTU-UM game came around because of using all her energy to root for the Crimson against the Spartans. And as usual, the team who played harder, with more heart on the ice, gets nothing.
So... for the evening game... I should've known what the outcome was going to be before the game was played. Whenever I am very optimistic about a game, that's when Tech loses it. Optimism isn't always the best idea for me. The Huskies definitely did NOT bring their best game tonight. I was hoping they'd be a little more ready than they were. The little mistakes that they make hurt them. I think another thing that should be worked on is the attitude. Worry less about getting feisty with the other team and worry more about finding the back of the net.
There were a couple of bright points for the Huskies... Finally, we scored on the power play! We were 1 for 4 on the night. Also, the Huskies were perfect on their penalty kill, leaving the Wolverines at 0 for 5 on their power play. Luckily, we were able to kill Sauer's would've-been shut out with less than two minutes left in the game.
Just as Harvard deserved to win their game, the Huskies also deserved to win theirs. Not for their superior play, however. But for their fans. The Michigan Tech fans were the most energetic fans of the night. They made the most noise (excluding goal celebrations). They cheered for their team unconditionally, regardless of the score or time left in the lost cause game. The Husky fans deserved the win. But as GLI after GLI goes for them, they get nothing.
This blogger has a theory on what is happening. It seems that GLI is the time of year where Tech REALLY steps up their play and begins playing well, which leads to better things for the second half of the season. However, this season, the play has already been great. Maybe it's backwards this year. Perhaps GLI marks the decline of the Michigan Tech Huskies. For those who are unaware, the Huskies already have one more win this season they had all of last season, with a full half season of games left to be played. Although, I hope I'm wrong. I hope I'm very wrong.
So, to all of the hockey players of the Michigan Tech Huskies, I have just one request. Please beat Harvard. Please get your first GLI win in YEARS. Do it for the fans--YOUR fans. The fans that showed up ALL the other fan groups yesterday at the Joe Louis Arena. YOUR fans, who are SO hungry for a GLI win. The fans that support you through thick, thin, and even thinner. MAKE THIS ONE FOR THE FANS. We made you proud yesterday. Now it's YOUR turn to make US proud.
When Dallas Stars captain Brenden Morrow was injured by a Chicago Blackhawk skate, forcing him to have surgery on tendons in his wrist, the Stars went to their Iowa franchise and called up Conner, who had previously played 2 games with the greater Stars this season.
The Stars headed to Denver tonight for a match against the Avalanche. Lou Erikson started the scoring for Dallas, followed by two Av goals, scored by Wojtek Wolski and Joe Sakic. With less than 2 minutes remaining in the first, Chris Conner evened the score for the Stars, with assists by Trevor Daley and Stu Barnes. The Stars would move on to win the game 5-4.
As of right now, both the Stars and Avalanche websites have not posted photos or highlights. I will pick apart the results once they are uploaded, but for now we're stuck with the knowledge that Conner was able to find the back of the net in only his third game as a NHL level pro. This goal came after another shorthander for the Iowa Stars, and three more assists since December 22. Instead of making remarks as to the height of Conner, I propose that is more of an accomplishment for him to prove himself through hard work from one of the lowest-ranked WCHA teams to one of the NHL's best. Hopefully his recent performances will be able to convince the Stars' coaching staff that he's a keeper. Stay tuned for further updates.
Edit: Dallas posted their video on their main page here. Conner's goal is the first one in. For those of you who have slow computers, Conner and Barnes were behind the net, and Barnes took the puck around, firing it to Daley at the point. Daley fired a hard slapshot at Theodore, which fluttered out to his open left, and Conner tapped the rebound in.
Finally, the present and future are looking brighter for the Huskies Hockey program and their fans.
This writer's personal favorite from the question and answer session:
Paula (Duluth): Hey, Jamie, we really enjoy (and hate) the big following you get on the road from the Misfits. A tech alum friend said that he listens to the games on the internet and heard more Tech fans in Denver than Pioneer fans. How does the team react to having Tech fans turn up on the road? Jamie Russell: Tech fans and alums have been so supportive through the hard times and so loyal. As a program, we're working as hard as we can to make everyone who follows Tech hockey extremely proud. The players feed off the energy from the Misfits whether we're at home or on the road, and their support has been amazing.
A message to all Michigan Tech fans: keep up your support! Both on the road and at home, it truly does help.
Before I get started, I would just like to thank Boosh for being a jerk and setting all of you faithful THB readers up for disappointment. This entry is extremely dry, but at least very educational. Alright, let's get right into it...
Finally... the Great Lakes Invitational is right around the corner. And what a great holiday tradition it is. Hopefully this year will turn out a bit differently than in recent years past, and I have a feeling that it just might.
To jump right into the overview of the games and the teams...
Friday, December 29th, GLI will kick off with the Michigan State Spartans taking on the Harvard Crimson. The fun will start at 4:05. What makes this interesting is that usually Michigan Tech will take the first game on Friday, as Coach Russell likes to give his guys a lot of time to rest before their game the next day. For whatever reason though, this year MSU and the fourth team, Harvard, will be taking the early Friday game.
Harvard might have their hands full at this year's GLI. They will be bringing with them a record of 4-9-0 overall (3-7-0 ECAC [aka... EZAC]). Their first win, and a fluky one at that, was against Boston College, shutting them out 4-0. The Crimson's other wins come against Dartmouth, Quinnipiac, and Colgate. The most impressive part of their resume for this series will be their power play. Harvard ranks 14th in the nation, capitalizing on 20.7% of their power plays. If Michigan State doesn't want to be embarrassed by Harvard on Friday night, they better stay out of the penalty box.
Leading the Crimson is scoring is freshman forward Doug Rogers, 3-7--10. The offense is pretty well scattered about, with no one Harvard player standing out too far from the rest. Other point getters for the Crimson include senior center Kevin Du (2-8--10), freshman defenseman Alex Biega (4-5--9), junior forward Jon Pelle (3-6--9), and senior right wing Ryan Maki (5-3--8).
For crease duty, we will likely be seeing senior Justin Tobe. He has played in 9 games this season and has a .893 save percentage. Tobe has only had one shutout in his career, which came last year. One thing that is interesting to note is that he played 7 games as a freshman for the Spartans in the 2002-2003 season. After Tobe is lit up, enter freshman Kyle Richter, who already has posted one shut out this season and has a .891 save percentage in 6 games.
Taking on, and unfortunately probably defeating, Harvard, we have the MSU Spartans. MSU is 9-7-1 overall and 7-5-1 CCHA. Leading the way for the Spartans is sophomore forward Ted Kennedy (11-8--19), junior forward Bryan Lerg (9-5--14), and junior forward Chris Mueller (7-6--13). In goal for MSU we have sophomore shorty Jeff Lerg, who only stands at 5'6". In his 17 GP this season, he earned himself 9-7-1, with 2.78 GAA and .895 save percentage. He's already put up two shut outs this season, making it a total of five career shutouts. Now, while I hate everything about MSU, I think any team with a 5'6" first string goaltender is kind of cool. Lerg is DEFINETELY way cooler than Dominic Vicari, whose cheapness I certainly will not miss. Though J. Lerg may be kind of cool, MSU still sucks and I will be rooting against them nearly as much as I will be rooting for MTU.
And for Friday's evening game at 8:05 EST, we'll see Michigan Tech and Michigan going at it. Michigan, who is 12-7-0 overall (8-5-0 CCHA) is looking to win their first GLI championship in quite some time. Dangerous players to watch: senior forward TJ Hensick (7-26--33), junior forward Kevin Porter (14-17--31), and junior forward Chad Kolarik (12-13--25). UM will be losing two of their top players, Cogliano and Johnson, to World Juniors. Aw, darn.
Michigan brings the most shameful PK of all the tourney participants in the GLI this year. Their PK is ranked 47th in the nation at 79.9%. The worst PK of the tournament will be matched up with the worst power play, MTU's, on the first night of GLI.
Michigan Tech (8-8-2 overall, 5-7-2 WCHA) is not looking like much of a threat on their power plays. They have only scored on 6 of 98 power play opportunities this season, good for 59th place out of 59 Division I hockey teams, at 6.1%. A brighter spot for discussion however is the Huskies' penalty kill, which is at an impressive 88.1%, 6th in the nation.
The Huskies have had an amazing season so far, doing things this year that haven't been done in the Tech hockey program in MANY years. Hopefully that trend will continue at the GLI this year... and the Huskies can make things happen that haven't been done by them lately.
It appears that MTU will be starting with sophomore goaltender Robby Nolan on Friday. The starter on Saturday will depend largely upon Robby's Friday performance.
GLI is usually the time of year where the Huskies start to bring their A game, though they don't normally get results until later on in the season. However, for this year, they started bringing their A game from day 1. Hopefully this year we'll get the GLI results that us Tech fans have been longing for... for many years now. If we want those results though, we're going to need the Huskies to get something together for their power play. Scoring 6 times out of 98 power plays is not going to cut it.
The losers of the two Friday games will meet during the consolation game at 4:35 on Saturday, while the championship game is at 8:05.
It's ChristmasEve today, and my sources are telling me that MeanEgirl might actually return to THB and grace us with a wonderful Boxing Day gift, a GLI Preview! MEg has been working on it for a little while so far, so make sure you set your expectations high, especially since I've done the last 5+ entries while she was busy with "school."
For those of you who are new to the Great Lakes Invitational, this annual tournament is probably the best showcase of D-1 hockey over the Christmas (holiday, for those of you who are overly PC) break. MTU and U of M host this exciting tourney, with MSU as a permanent guest, since the boring Wolverines are afraid of inviting some real competition. The fourth team making an appearance this year at the Joe Louis Arena will be the silly nannies from Hahvahd, who look to be in trouble with the competition this year.
For those of you who do not wish to travel to beautiful Detroit to witness the GLI in person, it can be seen on Fox Sports Detroit both nights, but the games are subject to a delay, since the Detroit Pistons are apparently more interesting than Michigan playing Michigan Tech. The games are at 4:35 and 8:05 pm EST, MSU vs. Harvard and U of M vs. MTU Friday night. The winners of both games will play at 8:05 Saturday. For those of you who do not wish to gouge your ears out because of the overbearing U of M bias, you can listen to Dirk Hembrof do a wonderful job calling the game for Tech. Links can be found here on the nights of the games.
If you're interested in an analysis of the games, look for MEg's upcoming analysis, as these games will probably be the most exciting in the recent past.
As of a few days ago, the University of Minnesota Advisory Committee Athletics reaffirmed a policy prohibiting the Go-furs from playing schools with Native American mascots in athletic events. You can take a peek at the article here.
This "hostile and abusive" moniker seems to keep biting UND in the arse, but apparently the Native Americans so furious at the school have given the U of M permission to still play Division I ice hockey against the Sioux. I don't know if I'm just a dumb Husky, but it seems kind of, I don't know, hypocritical that the Go-farts, as well as the BADgers, who also have a policy similar to this one, would continue to compete in D-1 hockey against a team that they apparently feel is being "hostile and abusive." Don't get me wrong, I cringe at the idea of a mess like that in the WCHA, but how can we be so two-faced in this stupid argument?
Personally, I'm having a hard time even writing this entry (except for the fact that its helping to keep me from studying Thermodynamics) because of the hostility that logo oozes [sarcasm]. Come on, the whole "home of the Sioux" (yes, I know other schools do similar things) shouldn't piss off the ENTIRE COUNTRY, but this logo is so offensive to so many people that we need to continue to give me reason to write petty, boring entries like this.
Honestly, how much harm does a school's mascot really cause to people completely uninvolved with the program? You can accuse me of being closed-minded about this, but do you really lose sleep over the fact that UND uses a well drawn image of a man's head as their logo? If you've been under a rock and haven't heard about this issue yet, please, inform yourself because things like this are the things that make this country a real mess, when we could be confronting real issues.
I think U of M athletic director Joel Maturi said it best with "I understand the policy, and I understand the procedure...I feel bad because I think the kids are the ones who will be negatively affected."
[Editors note: I added a tear beneath the eye of our Siouxfriend in reference to the 1970's commercial with a Native American who shed a tear when a piece of trash was tossed at his feet. Brownie points to those who noticed.]
So, its come my attention that a lot of readers are still thinking that most of the posts are being done by MeanEgirl, especially if you don't check who's writing it. I thought for the sake of being lazy and not wanting to study for my finals on Wednesday, I'd introduce myself to you all, since I'm going to be doing a lot more of the writing for THB until MEg decides to not be lazy.
First of all, my alias is Boosh, but my given name is Tyler Bushelle, hence the "Boosh" coming from the last name. I'm a native of Appleton, Wisconsin, and I get way too much crap for it. All the inferior Michiganders up here just can't accept that fact, so I get to deal with way too much crap. If you can't tell from the picture, I'm relatively young. I'll be 20 on January 20th, so I spend a lot of my time dealing with school as opposed to devoting my life to this blog as MEg would desire. I haven't been a hockey fan forever, and only started being obsessed with the game my sophomore year in high school. I get a lot of abuse for not being an expert on everything hockey as well, but I don't have the time or desire to spend all day making sure every aspect of my entries is perfect.
If you want to know a little more about me, I just started playing hockey last year as well. I'm pretty much obsessed with the game, and another thing that brings me much tormet is the fact that I'm a crazy Edmonton Oilers fan as well. All the Red Wings bias here has made me even crazier.My opening pic was me with my favorite Matt Greene this weekend at the Ralph, who some of you may remember from the Sioux of years past. I may bring up Mister Greene and my Oilers from time to time, as it gives me joy and apparently a lot of people hate him, so it only makes me feel better. Just for fun, this goal (Greener's first) earned me $20 from MEg this past Thursday, which I promptly spent to get her car towed out of a ditch I put it in on our way to Grand Forks.
I haven't decided yet if I want to cover more than just weekend series, or if I'll expand my writing beyond just the Huskies. I guess you'll have to wait and see.My writing style is going to be somewhat cynical and biased, though, so if you want straight facts, I guess you can go to the AP. Despite my inklings at Badger-fanness, I'm a proud Husky fan, and will maintain as such here. No team is safe from my attempts at wit, so don't take anything too personally. I guess I've written quite a bit about myself, and this is a bad sign as it appears I'm getting my bloggerness back. Any comments and suggestions with my writing are appreciated, and I'll try to be better at browsing around and seeing what others are up to, since to this point I haven't really cared about this except when I got bitched at to write an article.
What a weekend indeed. Our Huskies came to Grand Forks having been shut down by the #1 Gophersand losing two heartbreakers to SCSU, and the Sioux series was one to be decided by hard work and dedication. After taking the first night in convincing fashion, the second night was to be another nail-biter.
Rob Nolan started in net for the second consecutive night, after a dominating performance on Friday. For the Sioux, though, Anthony Grieco was placed in goal after Phillipe Lamoureux's 3 goal game. Once again, the first period went by with little activity, few penalties, and no scoring. After a night of less-than-stellar performance, The Oshie was able to convert on the powerplay, 49 seconds into the second. Ironically, this happened immediately after I warned the neighboring Sioux fans to avert their eyes for fear of the brilliance.
It seemed as if the Sioux had a foothold in the game, until 12 minutes in when Alex Gange was able to scoot a puck past Grieco. Less than a minute passed, and Jimmy Kerr fired a convincing shot straight past Grieco putting the Huskies up. This prompted UND coach Dave Hakstol to pull Grieco in favor of Lamoureux. Luckily for Lammy, the UND fans serenaded him with a chorus of boos, surely giving him and the Sioux team a good feeling of confidence. The Sioux were unphased by their fans' feelings, though, when The Oshie fired a shot from the side off of Nolan's glove and into the net.
Enter stalemate, once again. The Huskies and Sioux played hard for the next 20 minutes, with Lamoureux making some brilliant saves, showing up the crowd, not to be unmatched by Robby Nolan's continued hot streak. Lammy would be the first to break, though, when John Schwarz fired a shot at the net, and Malcolm Gwilliam sent it soaring straight past the goaltender's glove. 11 minutes to go, and the Huskies up one, and so it would remain. Gwilliam's beautiful game winner settled the match, and after some stellar defensive play and continued offensive pressure, the Huskies took their second consecutive win at the Ralph and first sweep of UND in ages.
So how did this win happen, you ask. Two words: Matt Greene. MeanEgirl had bet me that Matt Greene, former Sioux captain and Edmonton Oilers defenseman would not score a goal before 2007. Greene made MEg eat her words, though, with a brilliant offensive play totally unlike him on Thursday night, beating Manny Fernandez for his first goal. A dejected MEg settled on a Sioux sweep, and traveled to Grand Forks expecting the worst. All the negative energy from Greene's goal and MEg's negativity likely combined with the lack of atmosphere in the Ralph, disabling The Oshie and allowing the Huskies to win. Honestly, how else would a team like Michigan Tech be able to sweep in the Ralph?
In all seriousness, though, the play this weekend was reminiscent of the play we saw opening the season. Our guys faced some tough opponents in the past weeks, as evidenced by the current WCHA standings. If Denver takes the series vs. UAA tonight, though, Tech will be tied for 5th. The guys will get a short break before the annual GLI, and then face UMD once again before returning home against the CHA Bemidji State Beavers.
As an analysis by the editor, I'd like to take a moment to thank all the Huskies and their parents for making this weekend awesome. It would be so easy to cheer for a team like the Gophers, who win week after week, but making a 9 hour trip to watch our guys play a team like the Sioux, where no win is ever certain, and then be treated to such good play game in and game out, and have the parents treat us so nicely as well is just awesome. The guys showed their class after the game as well, when a team of kids from the Twin Cities waited for them to come out and got autographs.
I would also like to thank MEg and Mitch's Misfits for making home series the way they are as well. I don't mean any offense to fans of the Sioux, but the atmosphere in the Ralph is non-existent. I was awestruck by the grandeur of the building, but no one seemed to care about cheering the team on. They booed their goaltender, one guy threw a beer on the ice after the Saturday game, and my personal least favorite aspect, the "home of the Sioux" during our national anthem. I think we can learn the most from the children present though. We sat in front of a group of boy and girl scouts there for a scout night, and the kids were awesome. They knew nothing about hockey, but every time we would shout something or cheer for the Huskies, they would be interjecting their "let's go Sioux" etc. The girl scouts were even able to get the entire building on their feet egging the team on with a minute to go. Here's to the kids, the good hockey fans, the players and their families. This weekend was perfect, and stay tuned for some analysis from the midget.
Oh, and Dirty did buy Hot Pockets, and they were amazing.
The recently sliding Michigan Tech Huskies made their trip to Grand Forks, North Dakota this weekend to fight the Fighting Sioux for a series in the $100+ million dollar Ralph Engelstad Arena. After night one, though, it appears that the Huskies have regained the play that they exhibited early on in the season.
Friday night started out very slowly, the most entertainment coming from one of the skating cheerleaders trying to skate on her skate guards, to no avail. The dueling Zambonis also provided much entertainment, as well as the fabled TJ Oshie injuring himself by falling into his own net.
Play went slowly through the first period, with little eventful occuring. The Oshie continued to suck, and neither team showed a real advantage. The second period opened as the first, with little to brag about, save the Oshie's continued lack of greatness. After nearly 16 minutes of stalemate, Alex Lord shoved a puck in past Lamoreux after a puck had gone in and bounced out less than 5 seconds prior. The few Husky fans in attendance did quite the job of showing up the fans in the Ralph noisewise, and the momentum paid off when Lars Helminen lightly lobbed a puck in from the blueline on the powerplay, and after a deflection (off a high stick) from Peter Rouleau, Lamoreux opened his 5-hole wide, letting an easy save slide right through.
After exhibiting great sieveness, Lamoreux once again opened his 5-hole wide as Ryan Bunger built on his goal total, weaving up to the net and sliding a backhander in. Though the great Oshie and UND seemed to be shut down and Rob Nolan would get a shutout, Brad Miller was able to scoot a puck by near the end of the third with an extra attacker. This came to no avail, as the arena was emptying with nearly 2 minutes remaining, and the Huskies took their first game at the Ralph since 2003.
What can be learned from this series? Disrespecting Native Americans may get your hockey team a $100 million dollar arena, but the angry spirits will eventually curse your hockey team (don't tell Tyler Hirsch), causing them to continually lose [sarcasm]. Perhaps it was the rude replacement of "home of the brave" to "home of the Sioux" in the nation's national anthem. Or maybe it was the ugly drunk preppy kids displaying signs of affection with their middle fingers during the third period, or the exploitation of attractive women with glowing wands dancing on the ice for us. No, maybe it was just good hockey vs. bad hockey. Stay tuned for more updates regarding the rest of the series.
So, MEg is a lazy midget, and I get to do this again. Well, number 1 came and went, and reactions are mixed. There were times when it looked like the Mighty Mites were left on the ice (See Game 1, period 2), and times where you could almost feel a Husky comeback, but wait, the Gophers scored again.
All in all, it was a well fought series with little to complain about other than the lack of points. In all honesty, this weekend could have been a murdering, but Michael-Lee Teslak, Rob Nolan, and a (mostly) stellar defense kept the Gophers to under 30 shots, continuing a long streak. There wasn't really much of anything exciting to take out of the weekend, save seeing some absolutely amazing displays of passing and teamwork from #1.
Probably the highlight of the week for the Husky faithful, though, was Evan Kaufman getting a crash course in "heads up hockey" from Mike Batovanja, except for the fact that another Gopher goal was scored a few seconds later.
On a positive note, though, the Huskies didn't commit many major farces. Our lovely zebra this weekend tried his best to destroy any chance of offensive play for the Huskies (including Eli Vlaisavlejvich using his magical mind powers to trip Kyle Okposo on a breakaway from beyond his reach and Jordan Foote cross-checking himself in the facemask), but nothing could stop Kellen Briggs (see picture above) from being a sieve, coming out of his Gopher hole as a penalty expired and falling, allowing Jake Wilkens to find the only goal Friday.
This weekend will be a difficult one to predict, as the Huskies travel to Grand Forks to confront the Fighting Sioux, obviously too wrapped up in fighting the NCAA in the courtroom to bother with hockey. They gave up two games to the Badgers, and haven't been playing very well in general.
Chris Conner continued his NHL play with his second game, this time a 4-3 ot win vs. the Phoenix Coyotes. Conner had a few good opportunites in the second and third periods, but registered only 5 shots on goal. His status is uncertain for the Tuesday game vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets, as Stars stars Brendan Morrow, Mike Modano and Eric Lindros's injuries are on a day-to-day basis. Hopefully he will continue to show his worth to the Dallas coaching staff and have the opporunity to continue playing for the Stars.
Well, its been a long weekend, and only one to go before the Huskies get a short break prior to the Great Lakes Invitational. I think its safe to say despite the losses, at least we didn't lose to Holy Cross.
So, Tech gave up a hard game to the Go-farts tonight, but we're going to ignore that for now. As of yesterday morning, word was passed up that four year Michigan Tech standout, Chris Conner, would be making his NHL debut for the Dallas Stars against the Edmonton Oilers.
5'-8" Conner is seen here next to 6'-4" Oiler Jean-Francois Jacques. Much noise was made about Conner's size in the tidbits covering his recall.
As with his play at Tech, though, Conner did not let size matter. He played a total of 10:48 on the ice, included in that a 0:53 powerplay stint. He had 2 good hits, one missed shot, as well as 3 shots on goal, one of which was taken alone in front of the net, but Dwayne Roloson was able to stop Conner's best attempt to get his first goal in his first game. The Stars play again tonight vs. the Phoenix Coyotes. The official game review by the Stars listed his performace as "spirited" and he spent more time on the ice than the 2 other first timers of this week, so Chris may very well be given the opportunity to play again tonight and Monday vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets. Stay tuned for more updates.
The real action in Houghton this weekend wasn't on the ice, but off. We all remember the Part I of our love saga between MEg and CaseyBorer, seen here, and discussed here. The conclusion to this epic love story, which continued last year in St. Cloud, was much anticipated this weekend, and let me say, it turned out to be much better than the hockey, especially Friday's.
The action began early Friday, as MEg attempted to flirt with Caseyas he got ready for the game on the bench. Caseyignored her for roughly 5 minutes while Aaron Brocklehurst got off to his weekend of douchbagginess early by criticizing MEg's undying love for Casey. As Caseyheaded to the locker room, though, he informed MEg that he would be happy to accept her offer of a single red rose after the game.
As warmups began, MEg faithfully waited for Casey, bearing her sign informing the rest of the team of Casey's obvious desire to be with MEg. He couldn't resist continually glancing over in her direction, smiling throughout. Casey's teammates didn't want anyone to know of their captain's weak spot for a real Husky, so they fruitlessly tried to injure MEg with pucks, but were thwarted thanks to the MacInnes's high-strength polycarbonate boards.
Friday came and went without Caseyvisiting MEg in the penalty box, but Saturday night would bring more fun. As MEg entered the arena for the night, she was greeted by Caseyleading the team in running around the building. She offered her rose again, but Caseyran off. She tried hard to resist chasing after him, and felt it would be better to save it for another time. Once again, MEgfaithfully displayed her affection for Caseythroughout the game, but Caseydenied her advances and remained out of the penalty box.
Once the game was complete, MEgstood waiting for Caseyto emerge from the dressing room, and soon enough, he came. Casey, being the shy man he is, tried to avoid MEg, but she soon noticed her love, and ran to meet him. She offered her rose, and finally, he graciously accepted. After the usual pictures, and the Zamboni driver's best efforts to run the couple over, it happened.
Yes, friends, MEggot down on one knee, and despite Casey's attempt to leave, she proposed marriage to her love. Caseywas left breathless, but what would he say...?After what seemed like a lifetime of waiting, what does he utter?
Caseyhas accepted her offer to spend their lives together (click the "Yes" for full details). MEgattempts to put the cheap plastic ring on his finger, and the two will forever share their existence.
Later that night, MEginforms Carly (Casey's "girlfriend") on Facebook of their engagement, hoping to avoid any complications. She even offered to let Carly be a bridesmaid. Carly, obviously knowing of Casey's desire for MEg, replied "I would just love to be a part of both of your happiness." To me, though, it sounds like she wants a threesome more than anything, but its official, MEgand Caseywill be wed. They will announce a date and location soon, but for now, enjoy the sequel to Part I on the MEgand Casey saga here.
Argh. Our undefeated record in the MacInnes for the 06-07 season is gone. All gone.
I don't even want to talk about Friday.
Saturday however! Great hockey abound! Hockey like that is the reason why there are hockey fans. For the second night in a row, the Huskies outshot the Huskies... Ryan Bunger got his first goal as a Husky to bring make the score 1-0 Tech. It continued on that way for over 20 minutes until Marty Mjelleli tied up the game. Unfortunately, Marty struck yet again about 7 minutes later, with about 2 minutes left in the game, to make it 2-1 SCSU. Though Tech was discouraged, they certainly didn't give up. Only 23 seconds later, Ryan Angelow found the back of the net to tie up the score.
Overtime commenced.
Enter: Heartbreak. With only 11 seconds left in overtime SCSU somehow got one right by Robby Nolan. Crap.
As disappointing as the game was, as hard as the guys worked, as much as they have to show for it (nothing, zero conference points), I am VERY pleased with the team. They played EXCELLENT hockey and stood tough with one of the tougher teams in Division I hockey.
Michigan Tech, who is now 6-6-2 (3-5-2 WCHA), will be facing their biggest challenge of the season thus far, #1 Minnesota, 13-1-3 (7-0-3 WCHA). The Huskies are looking forward to handing the Gophers their first conference loss[es] of the season in the MacInnes. I think I can speak for all Tech fans when I say, I hope Don Adam isn't the ref...
Not more than a week ago, Tech superstar Chris Conner took his second shot at NHL play with the Dallas Stars, scoring his first goal in only his third game. Conner was interviewed for the Stars vs. Sharks morning skate here under the multimedia section in the middle of the homepage. As long as Stars standouts Mike Modano, Eric Lindros and Brenden Morrow remain injured, it appears Conner has a solid spot on the lineup. 
