Game Thread: Providence vs. Bowling Green

[BGDrew]

Just posted some thoughts and a recap:
http://www.bringbacktheglory.org/the-nest-blog/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[jpfalcon09]

I didn't go to the game, but it sounds like some of the players quit once the Friars took the lead for good. Giving up 15 goals the last 2 games is beyond embarrassing, and it reflects on every aspect of the program right now (coaching, current talent, work ethic). I think we all knew coming into this season that it was going to be a long one, but I believe it's going to be a very painful one as well.

Who knows what a players only meeting will do. If some guys don't care, they don't care and nothing is going to change that. I agree that with the swell of support this summer for the program, losses like this on home ice are going to kill the marginal support some pledged. I hope they can right the ship, because it would be horrific to see this team only win 2-3 games the whole season.

[toddpav]

Good recap, Drew, but you said we tied the game at 2 in the first when we actually led the game 2-1.

[sum1udontknow]

First things first. A players only meeting is something that shows me the leaders of this team have something to say and they aren't happy with the teams play... Hopefully the captains can sink something into these kids heads and get this team going because if what is said by the captains in this meeting isnt taken to heart I dont know what will.

Second of all the 4th line should be playing less than they are right now...they went a combined -4 on the night.... thats not what a 4th line is gonna produce if they expect to play.... they should be even at least or else they are a liability on the ice. We need to shift 2 lines alot and throw in a 3rd line and 4th line for a shift a period.

Third I heard alot of people talk about the bad goaltending we have but it is not all goaltending. We were outshot tonight 45-18. The puck possession for providence was much more and time on attack was completely lopsided. We cant expect our goalies to face that kinda offensive pressure and not give up goals. I believe hammond and eno both played solid tonight but they need to start seeing more action 200 feet away rather than always in their own zone. Our defense tonight looked very suspect and other than Page and Krelove who both played close to 25+ minutes we have no experience and very costly plays being made by our freshman D. At some point these freshman have to step up and quit using the "freshman" excuse. Guys are here to play college hockey for a reason and it looks absolutely embarassing when its a 3-2 for providence and our 2 freshman D skate back and pray to god the shot hits the goalie in the chest.

Some positives. Solway was a spark the ENTIRE night. Whoever said he rusted out is completely oblivious to the game tonight. At times it seemed as if Solway and Dee were our only two forwards wanting to compete. The guy finished checks, battled hard on the boards, and carried the puck more determined than I have ever see him do in his 3 years here so far. I guess being out for the first time in your career can make that happen. Also the first period we attacked hard, battled, and were physical and demanding. However guys seemed after that to think it was gonna continue to come easy and then guys seemed to get way outta position by trying to land body checks at center ice and giving up a 4 on 2.

Overall it was a piss poor performance excluding a few guys and I am completely baffled that this team played like this. Hopefully Page, Dee, and Solway stepped up during the players only meeting and lit a fire under this team because its time to quit being encouraging and start questioning guys if they want to play. I think that the captains need to demand that someone step up and go out and act like they want to win a game.

Tomorrow night should be interesting.

[BGDrew]

Good recap, Drew, but you said we tied the game at 2 in the first when we actually led the game 2-1.

Thanks for the correction. All those goals start to blend together after awhile.

[toddpav]

Good recap, Drew, but you said we tied the game at 2 in the first when we actually led the game 2-1.

Thanks for the correction. All those goals start to blend together after awhile.

I hear ya.

[MACMAN]

First things first. A players only meeting is something that shows me the leaders of this team have something to say and they aren't happy with the teams play... Hopefully the captains can sink something into these kids heads and get this team going because if what is said by the captains in this meeting isnt taken to heart I dont know what will.

Second of all the 4th line should be playing less than they are right now...they went a combined -4 on the night.... thats not what a 4th line is gonna produce if they expect to play.... they should be even at least or else they are a liability on the ice. We need to shift 2 lines alot and throw in a 3rd line and 4th line for a shift a period.

Third I heard alot of people talk about the bad goaltending we have but it is not all goaltending. We were outshot tonight 45-18. The puck possession for providence was much more and time on attack was completely lopsided. We cant expect our goalies to face that kinda offensive pressure and not give up goals. I believe hammond and eno both played solid tonight but they need to start seeing more action 200 feet away rather than always in their own zone. Our defense tonight looked very suspect and other than Page and Krelove who both played close to 25+ minutes we have no experience and very costly plays being made by our freshman D. At some point these freshman have to step up and quit using the "freshman" excuse. Guys are here to play college hockey for a reason and it looks absolutely embarassing when its a 3-2 for providence and our 2 freshman D skate back and pray to god the shot hits the goalie in the chest.

Some positives. Solway was a spark the ENTIRE night. Whoever said he rusted out is completely oblivious to the game tonight. At times it seemed as if Solway and Dee were our only two forwards wanting to compete. The guy finished checks, battled hard on the boards, and carried the puck more determined than I have ever see him do in his 3 years here so far. I guess being out for the first time in your career can make that happen. Also the first period we attacked hard, battled, and were physical and demanding. However guys seemed after that to think it was gonna continue to come easy and then guys seemed to get way outta position by trying to land body checks at center ice and giving up a 4 on 2.

Overall it was a piss poor performance excluding a few guys and I am completely baffled that this team played like this. Hopefully Page, Dee, and Solway stepped up during the players only meeting and lit a fire under this team because its time to quit being encouraging and start questioning guys if they want to play. I think that the captains need to demand that someone step up and go out and act like they want to win a game.

Tomorrow night should be interesting.

I agree with what your saying here, and I will say Eno is not at all to blame, nor is Hammond, think about being a quarter back and every time you go to pass your weak side lets you down and you get blind sided by a Tory P from Pittsburgh. It sucks, it rattles you and your focus gets off. When the 4th goal went in Coach was spot on pulling Eno, his head was out of the game he knew he should have had it, and he turned his back grabed his water and checked out. I would have liked to see him roll him back in for the 3rd, but Im sure he has his reasons.
They ran Eno, 3-5 times before he folded, they ran Hammond twice in the 2nd.
I commend our guys for keeping their composure...did you see KAntola not punch the guy ran Hammond..and back away..that to me shows composure. I fully expected to see him go to the box, but we got the call and a pp is better than 4-4 any day.
I am not a hack or cheap guy by any measure, but I am going to say it, our guys need run their goalie at every chance....when driving they show no consideration what so ever, and at times it was clear exactly what they were doing...I am not saying to be cheap or stupid, but take opportunity when it presents its self as they did blow that SOB up and lay him out, he ought to be used to it the way his hacks skate.
Solway was out standing, While I dont think it was all him, but a combination of how having him back adjusts the lines, his leadership and the rest are clearly there as well, but the fact is, we are short veterans. Our guys skated so much better at the start of this game and looked like a D1 hockey team, they looked good in the second and I wont say they gave up, so much as they viewed the deficit insurmountable, and that is purely from the fact that are young. I was proud of the bounce back we had, these guys clearly busted thier buts week getting ready for this game and it showed, in even play, on the pp and pk. We are building a foundation, the wins will come.
I still believe having McIlrath back in the line would be a huge benefit, I know its not a real possibility, And I shouldnt say it but man, he would make a differnce. The flip side is the reality that our guys are getting experience, they are developing and based on the improvements made this week, I would not count us for tomorrow, I would guess its going to be a better battle.
s

[factman]

Before everyone starts blaming coaches and players, lets put the BLAME where it belongs, and that is squarely in the lap of Greg Christopher, and the way the whole hockey situation was handled. BG hockey was not in good shape previous to the rumors and inuendos that were flying about dropping the program, BUT it only made things MUCH worse, letting it dangle in the wind for quite some period of time with no decisions being made. This indecision basically GUTTED the program, and now they expect to rebuild it, but it is my guess that before the year is over, they won't be averaging 1000 fans per game, and much of the hype and joyous feeling of Dr. Cartright's decision to continue the program will vanish.
The players that left might have been the smart ones, and certainly can't be blamed, for leaving with all of the indecision. Unless BG can hire a BIG NAME coach, that can immediately bring recognition, players and excitement to the Ice Arena, the program will stuggle for a very long time. This is certainly nothing against Willy, because he is doing the best possible with the hand he was dealt.
Now Mr. Christopher is starting to GUT many other successful programs we have by cutting scholarships, budgets etc. If the AD were judged like he judges coaches, with wins and losses, budgets, etc, he would have been gone before this. Look at our athletic teams records over his tenure and see the trend.......straight downhill. About the only program that has shown any improvement in his tenure is men's basketball, and the final decision is a year or two away with that. Women's basketball and baseball have led the way, but those programs were going well long before he got here. The morale in the department is at it's lowest point in history and we are 0-8 against Toledo so far in 2009!

[Falcon Frenzy]

Just posted some thoughts and a recap:
http://www.bringbacktheglory.org/the-nest-blog/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Great job, BGDrew. You are doing good work with your blog and I love the Presser videos. I appreciate you doing all of this for the games.

I liked Williams' comments about how the team thinks they should do more when maybe less is better. I hope it translates to more shots on the net!

[toddpav]

Before we jump to point the finger of blame at anyone we can name lets remember a few things:

1. This was our third game of the season. Still lots of games left.
2. Our team is young. Very young. We have a lot of growing up to do. That will translate into a lot of missed plays, inexperience on the ice, etc.
3. Coach Williams is doing a great job, all things considered.

And finally, our team does lack the overall leadership in the seniors (as in, there are not enough of them). I think the season might be hard to watch, but its still Falcon hockey, and it will be good to be there.

[DWhite21]

It's hard to come up with positives after getting completely manhandled two games in a row and losing four straight. The only thing that I can see is the fact that the program is still going to be here after this year and the administration seems to be showing that they care about hockey.

I figured we'd finish last place in the CCHA this year but even I didn't think we'd be this bad. I know it's still early, but when you get outplayed like we have the last few games, it's not bad, it's flat out embarrassing. Keep in mind, it's also early for everyone else too. All of these teams are going to be improving as well. Say what you will, we just don't have the players and talent to compete with these teams. When you get outshot 45-18 after getting manhandled the week before it's pretty clear you are playing well above your level. Those are shot totals that you would see when a good high school varsity team plays a JV team. At this point I'm just hoping we can pull off around 6-7 wins this year.

[BGDrew]

Just posted some thoughts and a recap:
http://www.bringbacktheglory.org/the-nest-blog/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Great job, BGDrew. You are doing good work with your blog and I love the Presser videos. I appreciate you doing all of this for the games.

I liked Williams' comments about how the team thinks they should do more when maybe less is better. I hope it translates to more shots on the net!

You're welcome and thanks for reading. I wouldn't do it if I didn't enjoy it and so far it's been a fun learning experience. Hopefully as things go on the quality gets better.

Here's your pre-game updates for the Saturday game:
- Hammond will start in net again for BG*.
- The only BG line that didn't change is the D1 line of Page and Rushing.
- PC will go with Justin Gates in net. in 22GP he's 7-11-4 with a 3.18 GAA and .897 SV%
- PC sticking with virtually all of the same lines except for their F4: 1 Sophomore and 2 freshmen who are making their first collegiate starts.
- Pooch is in the building and looking good.

* Last minute change.

[BGDrew]

And we're live for the LiveBlog!

http://www.bringbacktheglory.org/liveblog/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mobile: http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?o ... 2669d314ab" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[sum1udontknow]

I am not going to make this long because it isnt needed. Guys played very well tonight. Sometimes pucks dont bounce our way and they scored through a screen. It happens but tonight was a complete turnaround from the previous two games. Very happy with the performance tonight from our boys. They battled for pucks, outhustled providence, and won puck battles. Got many more pucks to the blue tonight and we had good scoring opportunities. Hopefully we can carry this play into next weekend.

Good night tonight unfortunately we couldnt pull out the W.

[BGDrew]

Just a couple notes while the video pulls:
- BG dominated this game. As Coach Williams said in the presser "We deserved more than a loss."
- Hammond was a stud in net. 30 saves on 32 shots is excellent for a senior goalie let alone a freshman. Assuming we can keep him here for the 4 years he's going to special and may make a run at some records. Tonight should act as a great challenge for Nick and will help to push them both to keep getting better.
- I was real happy to see Perkin get rewarded for his work in the 1st period. The guy was bouncing around hitting anything that moved and played great D.
- We never let up the pressure on our forecheck and made Providence work for every shot. Sometimes the puck bounces your way, sometimes it doesn't.

"This one hurts way more than last night." - Coach Williams