First off, Bowling Green is just an awful awful hockey team.
But we did what we needed to do against a team that bad. We showed up, jumped on them early (even if we didn't put the puck in the net on all our chances), then stepped on their throat and never really gave them life.
Sauer made the saves he needed to make--had a couple of really nice ones actually. The toe save at the start of the third by the left goal post was particularly good.
Hensick was just toying with them tonight. That little back-and-forth with Porter on the third goal was about as pretty as you'll ever see. And by the same token, Rohlfs' knuckleball from the blueline on the second goal is about as bad as you'll ever see--though it might have been touched.
I wrote this before, and I'm getting more and more convinced every game I see...They need to reward TJ Hensick by slapping a C on his jersey. They don't need to take it away from Hunwick--even though our senior captain REALLY needs to be more disciplined--but you can't ask any more of a player than Hensick has provided this year. He was absolutely OUTSTANDING in all aspects of the game tonight. His passing was incredible, he was great on the penalty kill, he was back-checking like an absolute DEMON. I love seeing it and I think they should reward him for the constant effort he's shown this year. Definitely a Hobey Finalist, and if the team has some success in the second half, he'll probably win it.
I'm not sure when Sergott became a referee but he needs to go away quick. I just don't understand...if you're going to crack down on the hooking and holding, then wouldn't it follow that the team whose entire game is clutch, grab, hook, hold would take more penalties? I would've thought so too. But the penalties had to be something like 37-5 tonight. At least it helped out our god-awful penalty kill percentage. For example, the hooking penalty late in the game against us was a legit call. Our guy tugged him. But if that's the standard you're going to hold the players to, then I'm pretty sure we should've had 3 penalty shots tonight.
(Interlude....HOLY CRAP DID DATSYUK REALLY DO WHAT I THINK HE JUST DID ON OUR GOAL????? I need to see that one again. Wow, the Wings have taken 6 in a row and 20 out of 26 from the Avs? Never would've believed that....Nothing like coming home from a hockey game only to watch Wings/Avs.)
Even though this ref was calling an awful lot, we REALLY need to do better about staying out of the box. When your PK is 75% you can't be taking penalties left and right like we were tonight. PK did a nice job tonight though, even though the enthusiasm has to be tempered by the fact that BGSU is a horrible hockey team. They did a nice job on Matsumoto...he was quiet tonight.
I'm not sure why they moved Rohlfs down to Miller and Naurato's line. He's shown that he's VERY effective when they've got someone on his line that can get him the puck. He was lights out with Hensick earlier this year. I'm not sure what the point of basically making him a grinder is. Then again, he had two tonight on that line, so maybe they know what they're doing a little bit more than I do. It seems that it could make the third line a little more effective, but again, you have to take into account that BGSUcks. If it starts working against some better teams, then I'm all in favor of it, but Rohlfs has been incredible on the top line.
That's all I got...Those games are fun once in awhile, but I'm really happy we're not playing them back to back. The back-end would have very high "We think we're going to win just by showing up and we lose 2-1" potential. Though BGSU might be bad enough that it wouldn't have mattered.
Lastly, Zetterberg's goal in the shootout was gross. 7 in a row, 21 of 27. We own you, Colorado.
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Hunwick is this year's Tim Cook. He's good for a couple of shitty passes, getting burned at least once to the outside per game and one stupid penalty. No matter who we're playing. And he's our captain.
Still, I was pretty happy with the game. Billy could have given up a couple of flaky goals and didn't and generally looked pretty solid. He's still no Montoya with the stickhandling. Those scrums in front of the net will get put away by better teams, though, and I think that clearing the goalmouth has been a pretty consistent problem the entire year.
TJ should win the Hobey. I don't know shit about the other potential finalists, but right now, he's an end to end monster that cannot be stopped.
Story time.
My name is Jeremy Bronson. In a routine self-googling in 2003 I discovered there's another Jeremy Bronson out there, who plays hockey for BGSU. I was in the UM pep band -- what are the odds that I'd even encounter someone with my name, let alone in a venue where I'm set up to heckle him?
When it came time to play BGSU, I made signs to mark the occasion that were all technically correct: "Jeremy Bronson can't skate", "Jeremy Bronson has poor posture", "Jeremy Bronson needs a haircut." Many people around me didn't understand, but I thought it was hilarious.
I repeated the act in 2004 and 2005, but Jeremy Bronson apparently really WASN'T good, and didn't even dress for the game.
Enter 2007: He's graduated, I'm graduated, Michigan hockey plays Bowling Green on a Tuesday. My friend John in the hockey band has the rest:
"We didn't have a sign tonight, but I decided to carry on this tradition by shouting it verbally. Near the end of the 2nd period, I shouted at a player on the ice, "Are you Jeremy Bronson? You can't skate." Well, much to my surprise, the Hockey players who weren't dressed for the game were sitting right next to the band. One of them comes next to me and says "Oh yeah? Well your eyes are too close together!"
I, in awe, asked, "Are you Jeremy Bronson?!?!" He responded with "Yeah, and you'd better shut the Fuck up!" I proceeded to try and tell him the story, however, I was cut off by "Let's Go Blue." When we ended, Jeremy Bronson was not in the mood to talk, and apparently stared me down for the rest of the night.
In the end, we met Jeremy Bronson, and he hates us."
I can think of no better ending to this saga. It has all come full circle.
I am sure, years from now, when Michigan plays Bowling Green, some trombone player in the hockey band will shout out that Jeremy Bronson can't skate and have no idea why he says it or even to whom it refers. This is why the band still screams "go to Subway" and the fans chant they want Shegos, and why there will be references to Mrs. Cockburn if Northern scores on us this weekend.
And that's the Michigan Difference.
Sauer did look at least capable handling the puck in that game. Last year he would've turned it over a half dozen times. He's no Montoya, but as long as he doesn't kill us when he comes out, I'm cool with it.
Jeremy, that story is absolutely HILARIOUS. It seriously made my day when I read that. I think there's going to have to be another story time coming up, with my experience with Scott Titus's "mother".
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