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...and last

http://www.ccha.com/wolverines_take_the ... polls.aspx

At least the media wasn't unanimous like the coaches were. And who the heck picked Michigan State for 1st?!?!

Interesting since Miami(OH) starts the season as #1 in the nation

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/ ... satmen.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

ummm, that would be Michigan ranked number in both polls not MSU.

Spectator wrote:ummm, that would be Michigan ranked number in both polls not MSU.

Well at least they all start with an "M"

After seeing the guys skating, I really think people will be surprised this group, I honestly think we can to that 6th spot, I can wait to see how we play WL this saturday, it will tell a lot about what to expect the next few weeks.

Hammond is selected as top ten goalie recriut for this year. If we look at last years stats and see our shots on goal vs our competitors, Hammond may be the biggest difference maker this year. When we out shoot a team 42-12 and lose 4-2 and we see this consistently last year, Hammond could be a big difference maker.

I am not trying to place blame on last year as much as I am trying to get excited this year.

I can't say I'm surprised. I probably would've voted the same way. We finished last in 08-09 and while we're bringing in a few guys who have potential, namely Hammond, Samuels-Thomas and Pageau, we're probably not going to be able to out-talent too many teams. The fact that we have four freshmen defensemen coming in, none of whom look like they were really dominant players in junior, doesn't help either.

Spectator wrote:ummm, that would be Michigan ranked number in both polls not MSU.

Check the first place votes in parentheses in the media poll.

DWhite21 wrote:I can't say I'm surprised. I probably would've voted the same way. We finished last in 08-09 and while we're bringing in a few guys who have potential, namely Hammond, Samuels-Thomas and Pageau, we're probably not going to be able to out-talent too many teams. The fact that we have four freshmen defensemen coming in, none of whom look like they were really dominant players in junior, doesn't help either.

OK, I can't argue with our last place finish last year. However, when you examine the stats from last year, it is clear that we had more scoring chances then our opponents. That is a fact, the overall talent on this team is good and the recruits will show their resolve when the time comes. I am not predicting a worst to first season, but I am predicting a huge swing in wins this year, barring injury to key players, like Page and Hammond and Krelove. I am just looking a little deeper then the surface. I would not be suprised with atleast a sixth place finish.

As far as this weekend and even next weekends games, I am not putting too much into how we look, mostly because we have so many frosh dmen. The will grow tremendously over the first few games. I am hoping for the best and expecting the average.

This is locker room motivation!! The guys are NOT going to finish last.....PERIOD!! You can take that to the bank!!!!

GO FALCONS!!!
WIN!!!!!

One other thing is last year on tthe way to a last place finish our opponents made over 200 more saves then we did and yet they scored 40 more goals. If we can tighten this up only a little we could create our formula for winning.

Spectator wrote:One other thing is last year on tthe way to a last place finish our opponents made over 200 more saves then we did and yet they scored 40 more goals. If we can tighten this up only a little we could create our formula for winning.

I didn't delve into the stats like that so hopefully you're right about how our fortunes will sway. Good breakdown though for sure. If this particular stat says anything it speaks volumes to how inconsistent our goaltending was. Either that or our shooters were just that bad last year .

Staying healthy and a few lucky bounces will also help.

DWhite21 wrote:

Spectator wrote:One other thing is last year on tthe way to a last place finish our opponents made over 200 more saves then we did and yet they scored 40 more goals. If we can tighten this up only a little we could create our formula for winning.

I didn't delve into the stats like that so hopefully you're right about how our fortunes will sway. Good breakdown though for sure. If this particular stat says anything it speaks volumes to how inconsistent our goaltending was. Either that or our shooters were just that bad last year .

What I saw were too many second and third chances on the shots that we did allow. A goalie can only stop so many consecutive shots, someone needs to be there to clear the puck out of the area. We didn't do that very well. We need some big, strong, defensive defensemen that aren't afraid to get their bodies in their and help out the goalie.

As for the shots that we took there's a big difference between good, quality shots and perimeter shots. Perimeter shots are good for getting the puck in on the goalie but someone needs to be there to clean up the garbage. Too often that wasn't the case last year.