vs. Ferris State (2/3 & 2/4)

[BGhockeyfan94]

Looks like another first round exit on home ice is in our future.

[Critical Thinker]

At least Bemidji can't win either.

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

I'd be a rich man if I had a dollar every time someone in my immediate area screamed "What are they doing???"

We were not strong on the puck coming out of our end. Wozny does that dipsy do drop back pass to no one, Ferris picks it up, whammo...shorty. He did that backward pass to no one a couple of times. I appreciate his offensive mindedness, but I notice my anxiety level increases whenever he's on the ice.

We retreat into our end with very little pressure. We look like Napoleon retreating from Moscow. Then we stand behind our own net waiting for lord knows what while Ferris has time to make a line change, set their defense and make a recruiting trip to BC. That makes it super easy to cruise through the neutral zone said no coach ever.

Giesbrecht outplayed Stoever who gave up some tasty rebounds this weekend.

I thought they stuck with it and was very surprised they tied it after being down two -- they did not give up. The crowd was fantastic. There, I said something positive.

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

I do want to add that the atmosphere in the Slate this weekend was electric. 3200 people last night, 3700 tonight, nearly 7,000 for the weekend. The student section was in full throat both nights. The outcome sucked, but it was a lot of fun being there in person this weekend.

[BGhockeyfan94]

I do want to add that the atmosphere in the Slate this weekend was electric. 3200 people last night, 3700 tonight, nearly 7,000 for the weekend. The student section was in full throat both nights. The outcome sucked, but it was a lot of fun being there in person this weekend.

The building got very loud. Even though we lost tonight, the game itself was very exciting and the crowd got into it.

[pdt1081]

Eigner is 0/2 on challenges this weekend. That’s rough.

But in the process, he exposes tonight's referees' incompetence. They had to send the linesman over to the bench to clarify what hit BG wanted looked at. How about we look at the one that almost took Barber's head off? If you missed it on the ice, you're a waste of league dollars. Pretty sure Pitters got 2 majors and 2 game misconducts earlier this season for lesser hits than that.

[pdt1081]

I'd be a rich man if I had a dollar every time someone in my immediate area screamed "What are they doing???"

We were not strong on the puck coming out of our end. Wozny does that dipsy do drop back pass to no one, Ferris picks it up, whammo...shorty. He did that backward pass to no one a couple of times. I appreciate his offensive mindedness, but I notice my anxiety level increases whenever he's on the ice.

It's the NHL style breakout on the powerplay. When executed properly, it gives the puck carrier a lot of speed and space entering the zone. But dropping softly, and blindly, is not proper execution. Standing at the offensive blueline and watching it happen, it's not proper execution. You need more than just the puck carrier to have speed entering the zone. Otherwise it's just a wasted dump in.

More frustrating is 13 seconds left, offensive faceoff, and the leading scorer in the league is sitting on the bench. W. T. F? Give yourself the best chance to score. I don't care how due the "0-for" center is, he shouldn't be taking that faceoff.

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

I try to let pdt comment on the refs, but this weekend's crew was abnormally bad. No consistency in the calls, missed calls, screwy makeup calls.

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

I'd be a rich man if I had a dollar every time someone in my immediate area screamed "What are they doing???"

We were not strong on the puck coming out of our end. Wozny does that dipsy do drop back pass to no one, Ferris picks it up, whammo...shorty. He did that backward pass to no one a couple of times. I appreciate his offensive mindedness, but I notice my anxiety level increases whenever he's on the ice.

It's the NHL style breakout on the powerplay. When executed properly, it gives the puck carrier a lot of speed and space entering the zone. But dropping softly, and blindly, is not proper execution. Standing at the offensive blueline and watching it happen, it's not proper execution. You need more than just the puck carrier to have speed entering the zone. Otherwise it's just a wasted dump in.

More frustrating is 13 seconds left, offensive faceoff, and the leading scorer in the league is sitting on the bench. W. T. F? Give yourself the best chance to score. I don't care how due the "0-for" center is, he shouldn't be taking that faceoff.

I get what we're trying to do, we just don't do it very well.

[mbenecke]

I’d just like this program to get back where it was a half decade ago - winning most games against inferior opponents, having a chance to win against good opponents, winning in the playoffs and having home ice, and being close in the PairWise at the end. That’s an exciting program to watch, for better or worse.

Right now, we often lose to bad teams, get killed by good teams, and go on the road for playoff losses while the PWR is in the high 20s. Not close to good enough, and an obvious step backwards.

We just absolutely must figure things out or we’re going to continue our downturn and be at the bottom of the league. 2 consecutive losing seasons is a real possibility now, and that’s unacceptable.

[mbenecke]

CCHA standings:

1. Minnesota State - 45
2. Michigan Tech - 44
3. Bowling Green - 38
4. Bemidji State - 31
5. Ferris State - 30
6. NMU - 24
7. St. Thomas - 23
8. LSSU - 17

Next weekend:
NMU @ St. Thomas
BG @ Tech
Bemidji @ Ferris

2/17-18
Ferris @ NMU
St. Thomas @ LSSU
Minnesota State @ Bemidji

2/24-25
LSSU @ Ferris
NMU @ BG
Tech @ Minnesota State
Bemidji @ St. Thomas

Anyone have a guess how the standings will shake out?

[pdt1081]

I try to let pdt comment on the refs, but this weekend's crew was abnormally bad. No consistency in the calls, missed calls, screwy makeup calls.

The inconsistency has always been a thing. It greatly affects scoring when players have to shoot through slashes, hooks, and holds on almost every shot they take. Sadly, it's what this league believes in. Too many coaches with the attitude of "they won't call everything."

If you're a Swankler type recruit considering a CCHA team and watched this game, you are no longer considering a team CCHA team. It was obvious Ferris was trying to hurt players or draw them into a fight. Why it was allowed to continue is beyond me. Allowing that kind of play will drive talent away from this league. Pretty sure Swankler took a cross-check or slash after every whistle, even when he wasn't close to where the play ended. BG deserves a lot of credit for maintaining their composure as well as they did.

[Bgsu2016]

I get what we're trying to do, we just don't do it very well.

You can say that about a lot of things. This team really needs to play more physical, Ferris absolutely bullied them around this weekend. It’s just too easy to crash the net on us because we play defense like it’s basketball.