Sioux Sweep, Huskies Weep

My deepest apologies to my coaching staff and players... but I had a bad feeling about this weekend. The Sioux did not forget about what happened last year in the REA, plus they were due for their first sweep of the year. This weekend was definitely a major disappointment for Michigan Tech. These WCHA points would hold a lot more value coming from a team ranked closely with us than the CC points up for grabs in two weeks. The gap has widened greatly and the team is REALLY going to need to get it together.

Here's a look at the WCHA standings as of today, Sunday 13 January 2008:

1 CC 15-3-0 30
2 DU 12-4-0 24
3 UND 9-7-0 18
4 UMD 6-6-4 16
5 SCSU 6-8-2 14
6 MTU 5-8-1 11
6 UMN 5-8-1 11
6 UW 5-8-1 11
9 MSUM 3-7-4 10
10 UAA 2-9-3 7

A three-way tie for 6th place is probably not where the team had hoped to be at this point. As I mentioned earlier, the Huskies are really going to need to get it together. One observation I made this past weekend is that the team didn't play with... that fire. "That fire" is a certain way they played when Mike Batovanja played for the team. My suggestion is that someone needs to step up on the team and be that motivator. "That fire" is always a noticeable thing, and the team used to be able to play a full sixty minutes with it. Now it isn't uncommon to have it for only about 5 minutes per game. Each game should be played as if they're playing for their lives. The Husky fans definitely enjoy watching the game more and typically the results end up in our favor more often. Jimmy Kerr, Ryan Bunger, and Jordan Baker... I think you three possess that fire and need to bring it out in the rest of your teammates.

All of the above are just my observations and what I think will help the team. This is only my view from the stands. I'm not in the locker room nor on the ice. I could be right, I could be wrong (although that is quite rare). All I know for sure is that the Michigan Tech Huskies are one hard working hockey team and they deserve great things. Many of these guys have been through so much, and it's about time for them to be getting rewarded. First thing is first however... we need to play better than we played against the Sioux.

And my Why We Lost feature: The Sioux were better. Plain and simple. They did what they needed to do to win. Not really much to say here.

And for my last note on this entry... You'll see above that I posted a picture of the Sioux stick salute. Believe it or not, Michigan Tech fans, this is the first time the Sioux fans have been able to see their team's salute this season, as the Sioux ONLY do it after a home sweep (or tie on Friday and win on Saturday). This very example is yet another reason why I am glad to be a Michigan Tech hockey fan. Win, lose, or tie, the fans are rewarded after each and every home game with a stick salute to thank us all for coming out and our support.

Can't we all just get along (or UND Mayhem part Deux)

[ original picture deleted to protect the midget ]

In a little over twenty-four hours from the time I post this, the Huskies of Michigan Technological University will take part in game one of a two game series against the (name removed in order to comply with NCAA wishes) from The University of North Dakota. The last time these two teams met in Houghton, MI, in the early part of the season, there was definitely no love lost from the previous year. A contest where the Huskies ran the (name removed in order to comply with NCAA wishes) out of their own barn in a weekend that included a great showing of sportsmanship as North Dakota goalie (I'll just call him Lammy because I'm not trying to go and figure how to spell it right now) was booed by the home team fans after being brought into the game on Saturday to relieve the poor goalie who had the misfortune to start against the perennial cellar dwellers of the league. This season as the two teams met, the sportmanship was taken to a new level as verbal abuse was handed down by a North Dakota assistant coach to a tech student as well as threats of physical violence by varsity hockey players who were currently scracthed from the (name removed in order to comply with NCAA wishes) line-up. I'm not saying the Tech student wasn't blameless, but you would think the assistant coach and players from a major university would have handled the situation better.

Added to all of this several fans of the (name removed in order to comply with NCAA wishes) men's hockey team took offense to a post made in jest by this very site. (most of these facts still apply to this series by the way). These reactions eventually led to an apology (which also still applies), and more banter followed. After the way both teams and their fans have acted over the last couple meetings I think the name (name removed in order to comply with NCAA wishes) is actually pretty accurate, if of course the North Dakotans were Native American.

So here's my point to this post, okay there isn't a point. I just wanted to put it in writing. Let's go Tech, keep our run in that marble morgue running.

P.S. Dirty you might want to try to punch something softer after the Huskies sweep your (name removed in order to comply with NCAA wishes) this year.