@ St. Thomas (11/21-22)

[mbenecke]

1-1 after the first.

[jpfalcon09]

2-1 UST after 2. Both goals the result of mismanaging the puck in the defensive zone.

[unfalconbelievable]

That was a fun 5 minutes. 1 step forward 2 steps back.

[pdt1081]

One team playing to "stay out of the box," while the other is playing knowing they aren't going to get called.

[jpfalcon09]

Growing pains. Long road trip with half the roster still adjusting to playing back to back weekend games. BG was a step slow both mentally and physically for most of the game.

[pdt1081]

Willy talked in the weekly presser about bringing a boring game on the road. Basically saying they were going to go through the motions and come home, hopefully with success. There's not enough games at this level to be successful doing that.

[unfalconbelievable]

Willy talked in the weekly presser about bringing a boring game on the road. Basically saying they were going to go through the motions and come home, hopefully with success. There's not enough games at this level to be successful doing that.

That's twice this year he's referenced losing or just going after Ws. Seasons is 1/3 over, results so far is we are not good. Can lose to anyone and have streaks where we play well. I'm still waiting for this #1 recruiting class to show up.

[mbenecke]

We’re sitting 2nd in the CCHA and have taken points in 9 of our first 10 league games. I don’t think we’re a bad team. We’re a team that’s still building chemistry and improving. I’m looking for us to push for 20 wins, host a home playoff series, and peak at the right time - next year is the year for the jump.

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

As frustrating as this weekend was, at least we aren’t Tech. They dropped 3 points to us on head-to-head matchups.

[mbenecke]

As frustrating as this weekend was, at least we aren’t Tech.

Evergreen way of thinking.

[unfalconbelievable]

We’re sitting 2nd in the CCHA and have taken points in 9 of our first 10 league games. I don’t think we’re a bad team. We’re a team that’s still building chemistry and improving. I’m looking for us to push for 20 wins, host a home playoff series, and peak at the right time - next year is the year for the jump.

That's a very optimistic way of looking at things. We've played more games then Tesc and Minnesota State. After this weekend we could and should expect to be in fourth. Unless either of them have wheels fall off weekends. My point was with all the hype and Williams second year expectations should be higher. We'll be our normal 4th, outside of few crappy years and the few times we've finished higher. Seasons to short to figure out how to learn to win.

[jpfalcon09]

Willy talked in the weekly presser about bringing a boring game on the road. Basically saying they were going to go through the motions and come home, hopefully with success. There's not enough games at this level to be successful doing that.

That's twice this year he's referenced losing or just going after Ws. Seasons is 1/3 over, results so far is we are not good. Can lose to anyone and have streaks where we play well. I'm still waiting for this #1 recruiting class to show up.

Saying they're not good is simply hyperbole. 22nd in NPI after a horrendous opening series vs. Niagara. Earned a points split with a good Minnesota State team in their barn. They've played 8 of the first 12 on the road. Positioned well to challenge for the top seed for the postseason tournament. If anything they should be 3-4 points better in conference play given the leads they've blown to Bemidji and UST. I think they've played rather well given the influx of new faces.

[mbenecke]

I think my 2nd year expectations for Willy are appropriate. We almost complete turned over the entire roster from the Eigner era holdovers, so the relatively slow/alright start is about what I expected with an extirely new team. I don't think it's fair to expect a bunch of freshmen to immediately be a war machine, but I do think it's fair to be expecting growth over the course of the season and to think they should be playing their best hockey in February and March. We'll see if that happens.

The reason I would elevate expectations next year is because these guys will have experienced a full season of college hockey and should then be able to elevate off of that. But to expect them to jump in and just immediately get it isn't fair. I know it's Year 2 for Willy, but it's really only Year 1 of "his" program. Last year was Willy squeezing everything he could out of Eigner's guys (and he took over a roster that had gone 13-22-1 and turned it into a 5 win jump, swept the team that had swept them in the first round the previous year, and got to the semifinals for the first time since before COVID). This year is where Willy was able to hit reset on the roster, and next year, assuming a bunch of guys come back, will be the year I'd expect a jump.

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

We didn't play well on Saturday. That sorta sh!t happens. Still, we picked up 2 points on Friday, though it should have been 3. That sorta sh!t happens. The team has improved significantly since the Niagara series with a lot of upside still out there. We played the Mavs even up for the entire weekend - Tech couldn't come close to that. We've swept 6 points each from two of the bottom three teams in the league -- like we should. We're not in a bad spot right now.

At the beginning of the year none of us were expecting to win the MacNaughton and I don't get the sense anyone has changed their thinking here. We do, however, expect to have some home ice for the playoffs and as of now we're still on track for that. I'm not sure how exactly to phrase this next part so give me some leeway here, but from what Willy was saying at the beginning of the season to how he's been running game-day lineups to how he managed last year's team I personally think his approach is on getting this team to peak in March. If that means he drops some games in the interim, then so be it. Not sure I love it as I want to kick the friendly asses of Tech and Mankato, but if he gets us to the Mason Cup final it'll be a big win.

I agree with mbenecke, next year it's contend for the MacNaughton or bust. This year, it's contend for the Mason Cup.

[pdt1081]

We didn't play well on Saturday. That sorta sh!t happens. Still, we picked up 2 points on Friday, though it should have been 3. That sorta sh!t happens. The team has improved significantly since the Niagara series with a lot of upside still out there. We played the Mavs even up for the entire weekend - Tech couldn't come close to that. We've swept 6 points each from two of the bottom three teams in the league -- like we should. We're not in a bad spot right now.

The line chart Saturday had 4 scratches, with 2 listed as injured (Gus and Scott). This past weekend lacked the physical game BG has been playing. That was the "boring" part Willy was referring to. With the implementation of roster limits, expect more of that at times from teams moving forward.

Looking back to last season, we didn't see Willy's system implemented until after New Year's. It was almost a completely different team, and that hot streak showed it. We have only seen glimpses of it so far this season. With 50% turnover, that's not really surprising. It's easier to integrate 3 or 4 new players into the system, because the returners are well versed and able to lead it, and cover for mistakes. When half are new, it happens slowly.

There's also a large question mark on the blueline. The one that nobody seems to know (or willing to say) what's going on with. Rather high caliber player to not be playing anywhere.