First Half Report Cards

[dannyk]

Coaches- C, Paulch and the staff seem to be saying the same thing each week. We ran inot a hot goalie, or if we could have got a bounce. You can only say these things a few times a year because they arent true everytime that you lose.

Forwards- A- Good amount of scoring chances, lower lines need to step up. Pilkington looks lost out their some of the time.

Defense- C- Too many odd man rushes

Goalies- D+ I was going to give a C becuase of the last game but these guys have let in way too many soft goals. In the Clarkson game Spratt let in a wrist shot with no screen from just inside the blueline. If the tending doesnt pick up I think anythin more than 10 wins will be a stretch.

Home ice is still very attainable with a couple 3 and 4 pt weekends

[Dayons_Den]

First half rookie of the year= Brandon Svendson

[BGDrew]

My disappointment thus far has been the play of Spratt. At moments he seems to be a good, solid goalie. Other times he seems very out-of-place. Hopefully he can shore it up for the 2nd half, because it appears that Pooch is doing the 2 goalie system.

[CrazytrainBG]

You were pretty generous to the forwards giving them an "A". More like a "C" with Foster, Matsumoto and Falk earning "A's". Too many missed breakaways, scoring chances, lack of production from the other three lines, and games where the forwards couldn't win a faceoff if their lives depended on it.
Coaches: B, Scotty is still doing a fine job despite the lack of success this season. He's made adjustments in games when needed and has had success putting together good plans on Saturdays after what happens on Friday. Just need to find some good combinations and a way to put things together for a whole weekend. He's gone nowhere but up each season he has been here and though this season may not be a top 5 season, they're still right in the thick of getting home ice in the first round (5-8 this season, top 4 get byes). He's still got young talent in key positions and this team is a year or two away from competing for another regular season CCHA title. Awesome recruiting class coming next season with some studs up front and a U.S. Under 17 team goalie on the way in the next few seasons.
Defense: D, there is no reason the defensmen on this team shouldn't be scoring at least two goals a weekend. Hodgson, Morrison and Nesdill need to start scoring from the point and not turning the puck over so much. Bronson has done a good job on defense, but Sitko needs to be substited for Sinkewich more.
Goalies: D, Horrell and Spratt have had their ups and downs, but if you're going to be a CCHA goalie you need to be consistent every weekend. Horrell came up big against St. Lawrence, Spratt against MSU.....can't afford anymore 7 to 9 goal nights though with this talented of a group.

Forecast: I see BG having a better second half of the season, Foster and Matsumoto getting around 50 points each. Team will finish around 6-7th getting home ice for first round which they'll win in 3 games. Then in the second round they'll have to play at one of the higher seeds in a 3-game set and lose in two games.

[Freddie]

I just can't bring myself to 'grade' the team on the '4 point' scale all you 'college' types seem to be hung up on...but I'm only too happy to offer my $0.02 worth.

OFFENSE: Averaging 3.47 (4th in CCHA) per game OUGHT to be enough to win 60-70% of our games...and I'd sure be happy with that. We're averaging 31.29 shots per game (4th in CCHA). That said, I'd still like to see us shoot the puck sooner and more often. I've watched enough practices to know that the coaches would also like to see more shooting. We have a couple of forwards (OK, I'll name names...Unger and Pilkington) who tend to skate around with the puck too much. At this level, if you carry the puck around long enough, someone will take it away from you. It's got to happen QUICKER...pass, move, pass, move, SHOOT and crash the net. Passes often look tentative, and the man receiving the pass is not moving to the puck. It drives me crazy to see all three forwards down behind the goal line...when the puck pops out from back there it creates an odd man rush the other way.

DEFENSE: When does scoring 3.47 per game still translate to a 5-11-1 record?...when you allow 4.59 per game (dead last in CCHA and certainly among the worst in all of D1). Shaky goaltending alone cannot account for this. It's takes an entire team to play defense this poorly. At least two or three times a game we get caught 'running around' in our zone. Sometimes this is a result of good work on the part of the other team, but it also is a result of forwards not understanding (or not accepting) their defensive obligations. I know the crowd gets all worked up when Sitko lays somebody out with one of his ferocious body checks, but how many times does that check also take HIM out of position.

GOALTENDING: Both Horrell and Spratt have shown flashes of brilliance. Jon was outstanding at OSU (2-2 tie), at MSU (3-0 loss) and in the 6-4 win over St Lawrence. Jimmy was solid in both wins over UNO, and looked real good in the 4-2 win over MSU. When they've been...shall we say NOT so sharp, it's been ugly. We seem to give up goals in bunches. I've noticed a LOT of improvement in Spratt's technical approach and positioning. He's covering up his rebounds better, is more squarely facing the shooter, and is staying on his feet longer. I'm sure he'd like to have that 5th goal against Clarkson back, but the game doesn't work that way.

TRANSITION: This is where we're getting scorched. The 7-2 loss to OSU was one of the ugliest games I've ever seen. From my memory, 3-4 of their goals came off sloppy passes in our offensive zone creating breakaways the other way. To the team's (and COACHS') credit, the problem was corrected before the second game of the series, but it still happens too often...especially when we're on the power play. We've given up EIGHT shorthanded goals already this year...no other team in the CCHA has given up more than 5, and seven of the 12 teams have given up just one or two. We've also had 5 "unassisted" goals scored against us...that's a LOT, and those are (by definition) goals scored off of turnovers. I'm not wild about using 4 (and sometimes 5) forwards when we're on the power play, I think having forwards on the point is asking for trouble.

CHEMESTRY: Something's just not clicking. This year's seniors are the last class recruited by BP (altho they never played for him). I get the sense that there are players who have still not 'bought in' to Pooch's system, management style and/or game plan. If this continues, I'd expect to see alot of 'healthy scratches' amoung the upperclassmen as the season continues. Is that why there were no assistant captains named?...which is cause, and which is effect?

PROGNOSIS: There's enough talent here to turn this around, and it all needs to start with a couple of wins at the UConn tourney. We've got 18 games left before the CCHA tournament...eleven or twelve wins from those remaining games would be an attainable goal.

[BGFan]

Great analysis, Freddie. I've said early on that there is a problem with leadership in the senior class. Given the top down hierarchy of college programs it can cause a huge problem in the chemistry of the rest of the team. I've seen some improvements in that area since the beginning of the season, perhaps due to the coach sitting some of the worst offenders. Let's hope it continues to improve. THAT, in my mind, is the biggest problem on this team. Once that gets "fixed", I think the rest of the problems will correct themselves.

[Freddie]

BGFan, I couldn't agree more. We're thinking so much alike, it's almost frightening. You and I have been following college hockey for a long time, and have seen these types of issues before.

Some of the earlier posts on this thread have missed the REAL issues...it's only natural for novice or casual fans to fail to see the big picture. When a team's giving up 4.59 a game it means that the goalies suck, right? Well, let's face it...Jordan Sigalet is a tough act to follow...neither Horrell or Spratt are up to that standard, but no reasonable person expected them to be. Even against the best goaltending, breakaways and two-on-ones will score nearly 30% of the time, and if we continue to give every opponent two or three chances like that every period...well you do the math...it adds up to 2-3 goals a game. Bottom line, it's just too easy (and wrong) to blame it all on the goalies.

I'm also getting a bit annoyed with some of the 'fans' who criticise the coaching staff for being positive and consistent. With the exception of the 7-2 thumping the Buckeyes laid on us back in October, we've been IN every game we've played. Merrimack's goalie played out of his head, stopped 43 of 45 shots...is that normal? (in his conference he's 9th in save% and 10th in gaa...10 team league...he gave up 5 goals on 14 shots the following night at Michigan). We clawed our way back to 6-6 against BC before running out of gas midway through the 3rd period. Played a SOLID defensive game at OSU, took them to OT...Matsumoto hit the crossbar in OT before we settled for a tie. Another solid defensive effort at Ferris...a shaky penalty, two shots off pipes and we lose 2-1. We played like champions behind Spratt (while Horrell was hurt) and swept a high-flying offensive UNO team in two well played games. The 9-4 loss at Notre Dame was not as ugly as the score would indicate...we gave up 3 goals (off turnovers) in five minutes at the start of the 3rd period, turning what had been a close game into a rout. Both teams made adjustments for the 2nd game, and the Irish played top-notch (Jeff Jackson style) defense to dominate, but we fought to the end, getting to 3-2 in the middle of the 3rd period. We were soundly dominated by a good NMU team effort in the first 1-1/2 periods, falling behind 5-0, but fought back to make it a game, then made fantastic adjustments to blow them out (8-4) the following night. I don't see any reason to hang our heads over being swept at Miami...let's face it, they're in first place (and #2 in the country) for a reason...once again, however, we were IN both games, if not for a rocky stretch where we gave up 3 goals in five minutes. We played with MSU, but turned over the puck twice and took a tough penalty that turned the game around... Sparty's goalie was OUTSTANDING...imagine that. Made adjustments for Saturday's MSU game, and played a great game to win 4-2. We were up on Clarkson (at top 15 team) 3-0 before they woke up...their goalie turned it around with several big saves and they kept working to steal the win...(by the way, that was one of the worst officiated games I've seen in my 35 years of following college hockey). The boys showed a lot of heart in the win over St Lawrence (another top 15 team)...we kept the defensive mistakes to a minimum, and took advantage of their errors...it would have been real easy to let that game get away from us, especially after what had happened the previous night.

The coaches SHOULD keep positive, and have every reason keep repeating their mantra...we can beat anybody. Anyone who doubts that this ship can be righted needs to look no further than last year's Alaska-Fairbanks team. They were 6-11-1 after being swept on back-to-back weekends in January at BG and Ann Arbor. They went 11-5-3 the rest of the way, and took Michigan to the edge in the conference semi-finals at JLA. Scott is not going to pull a 'Crazy Frank' and rip the players in public...that's not his style (and if it was, he wouldn't be here). Praise in public, criticise in private. Those who are 'on board' with his vision and game plan will continue to get ice time, even at the expense of more experienced (and possibly more skilled) players. Hockey's a TEAM game. We need four lines and three defensive pairs...all understanding and accepting their roles. Once we get past that hurdle, the rest will take care of itself.

E.O.R. (end of rant)

[pdt1081]

The coaches SHOULD keep positive, and have every reason keep repeating their mantra...we can beat anybody. Anyone who doubts that this ship can be righted needs to look no further than last year's Alaska-Fairbanks team. They were 6-11-1 after being swept on back-to-back weekends in January at BG and Ann Arbor. They went 11-5-3 the rest of the way, and took Michigan to the edge in the conference semi-finals at JLA. Scott is not going to pull a 'Crazy Frank' and rip the players in public...that's not his style (and if it was, he wouldn't be here). Praise in public, criticise in private. Those who are 'on board' with his vision and game plan will continue to get ice time, even at the expense of more experienced (and possibly more skilled) players. Hockey's a TEAM game. We need four lines and three defensive pairs...all understanding and accepting their roles. Once we get past that hurdle, the rest will take care of itself.

E.O.R. (end of rant)

I don't think the first half of this season could be put any better. Very well said. Openly criticizing players does nothing but brew disrepect. A coach without respect from his players is a coach without a job (see Notre Dame last year).

[transfer2BGSU]

Bottom line, it's just too easy (and wrong) to blame it all on the goalies.

That's right. If the puck gets the past the goalie, then it's gotten past five others as well.

[Falconfreak90]

Great analysis, Freddie. I've said early on that there is a problem with leadership in the senior class. Given the top down hierarchy of college programs it can cause a huge problem in the chemistry of the rest of the team. .

Sounds very similar to the football team this year.