The Official Thread of the Mercyhurst Lakers

[sk8happy]

Mic- On the current UNH Wildcat thread, the discussion came around to relative strength of schedules, etc. Clearly the Lakers have played as tough a slate as any team in the country.
I'm wondering though ( especially given the R Morris coaches comments about the Badgers vs Lakers ) if the WCHA isn't currently in trouble as a league because of their extremely weak out of conference schedule.
I ran the numbers in my last post on that thread and I'd be curious if LakersFan could comment here or in the Wildcat thread about the potential fallout for the WCHA because their top teams have either played a ridiculously weak non league schedule and/or the league as a whole hasn't had but a couple of quality wins. The only contests to date that any team in that loop have played versus top ten teams- they've lost.
Thoughts?

[camman15]

OK so I just found the radio station and the Robert Morris Coach just said he think Wisconsin is more skilled and deeper than Mercyhurst basically saying Wisconsin is better. Interesting comments from the coach. Also said Robert Morris is closing the gap on Mercyhurst. Um, lets see. Mercyhurst put 60 shots on Robert Morris today and only gave up 6 shots yesterday. Very interesting. Actually, I am glad he said it. I think Mercyhurst will only get better if they feel they are being disrespected. Keep rolling Lakers!!!!

MIC, talk is cheap, and I don't think comments made by the coach of a team that just got tattooed this past weekend will mean much to anybody involved in the Mercyhurst program,.....I have to think the Lakers just want to (quietly) continue to get better and let all the "experts" figure out just who the best teams are/will be come March,.....some team(s) will continue to improve, regardless of the schedule, and if Mercyhurst is one of these teams, look out!!!,.....

[MICZamboni]

Saw an unfamiliar face today by herself, with a hockey stick in her hand. She had an Alaskan accent with a splash of Dakotan in it.

I figured out who the young lady walking around campus was. Ex-North Dakota player Melissa Dianoski from Alaska. She has been skating with the team so I will assume we will see her in a Mercyhurst uniform soon enough. She was the 3rd leading scorer for North Dakota 2 years ago and didn't play last year.

[ARM]

I'm guessing that you knew all along. IMO, she is a very good player and would be a solid contributor for any team.

[yadayada]

melissa is a good player ....... the wcha league schedule is the toughest in the country ...... remember each team in the wcha plays every league team 4 times in 2 game home and away series ... then league play offs is best of 3 and then a 4 team play off... get the picture, a team coming out of the wcha could have well over 20 games against top 10 wcha opponents alone .... any other conference with this challenge... let me know

[dave1381]

Well over 20? Even if the WCHA had four top 10 teams (which doesn't happen on a regular basis, although it's true right now), then a team like North Dakota would probably play 4*4 (regular season) + 2 (swept in 1st round of playoffs) = 18 games out of 36 game schedule. And as the WCHA more often than not has 3 top 10 teams, we're talking 14 out of 36. Since about 1/3 of the teams in Division I are top 10, 14 games against top 10 teams is probably only slightly above average.

So I don't believe North Dakota has not been playing a tougher schedule than, say, Mercyhurst in recent years.

[ARM]

So I don't believe North Dakota has not been playing a tougher schedule than, say, Mercyhurst in recent years.But the poster said "league schedule", where we would never mention Mercyhurst. Most of the top level teams, like the Lakers, attempt to put together a tough schedule. I believe that the point pertains more to someone at the bottom of the league -- by the time someone like UND or BSU (when they had their very young teams) are done with their games against the top 3 of the WCHA, the 12 to 14 losses can make them look like they are a much worse team than they really are. Even if we say the top 5 teams in the ECAC are of the same quality, that is only 10 games against equivalent competition for Union or Cornell.

[Hurster07]

Nice writeup in the USA Today in today's issue (Wednesday) located at http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/hockey/2006-12-19-mercyhurst_x.htm

Was located on page C7 in the sports if you have the print edition handy. Nice to see Mercyhurst getting more national recognition for such a strong program. :D

[quixote]

Nice writeup in the USA Today in today's issue (Wednesday) located at http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/hockey/2006-12-19-mercyhurst_x.htm

Was located on page C7 in the sports if you have the print edition handy. Nice to see Mercyhurst getting more national recognition for such a strong program. :D

It is a great story. Congratulations players, coaches and Hurst students.

[MICZamboni]

Here is an article on the team. It is mostly about the backup Goalie Courtney Drennen. Enjoy:

Mercyhurst backup goalie gets call
Key players out; Drennen steps up

By Ron Leonardi
ron.leonardi@timesnews.com

Sophomore Courtney Drennen has yet to lose in her 1½ years as Mercyhurst College's backup goaltender.

This weekend, she knows the biggest challenge of her career awaits. Drennen is expected to make both starts when the No. 1-ranked Lakers (16-1-1) host Cornell (2-12-1) Friday at 3 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Mercyhurst Ice Center.

Mercyhurst has been idle since Dec. 10 and will be missing five key players, including leading scorer Meghan Agosta and starting goalie Laura Hosier, who are competing in the women's under-22 world tournament in Germany.

A native of Fort Collins, Colo., Drennen was 9-0-1 with two shutouts in 2005-06. She has played in just two games this season, tying Clarkson 3-3 on Oct. 14 and shutting out Robert Morris 5-0 Dec. 10. She has a 1.47 goals-against average and an .885 save percentage.

"The team has put a lot of faith in me," Drennen said. "Last year, when I got a chance to play, the team played well for me. Even though I haven't gotten in as much this year, they still support me, and Laura still pushes me to challenge her. It's a big help when you're getting ready to go in to a big weekend like this."

Hosier (15-1-0), a junior, has confidence that her understudy will handle her starting role well this weekend.

"When Courtney came in as a freshman, it was a whole new world for her," Hosier said. "She's adjusted really well and has made great strides this season. It's an entirely different game than what you're used to. I went through the same thing coming in. It's a tough adjustment at first, but she's made it really well."

The Lakers have been ranked No. 1 in the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey NCAA Division I polls since late November.

"We definitely have some great players who are gone, but we have a deep team," Drennen said. "We have a lot of good players on our second and third lines and they're going to have to step up huge for us. We're really confident and ready for this weekend."

Agosta, Hosier, sophomore forward Valerie Chouinard and junior forward Stephanie Jones are playing for Team Canada in the world tournament, while Mercyhurst freshman defender Katariina Soikkanen is playing for Finland. The tournament concludes Sunday.

"The concern is we have players missing, and it's something we're going to have to try to overcome," Mercyhurst coach Michael Sisti said. "We could complain about it or challenge our team that this is another big test. We've had test after test. I think our team would get an A-plus in the first half of the season of taking other teams' best punches and still be standing around and finding ways to win games."

[WHKY blogger]

hope you had a good holiday MIC.

I am assuming that Mercyhurst doesn't expect to be hurt too much with the 5 gone considering they are playing a team that is 2-12? I cant imagine that the poll voters would drop them even with a loss this weekend. I was glad to read that the coach is about as happy as everyone else, having a U-22 Tourney at this point in the season:rolleyes: . For some reason I had forgotten that the hurst only has like 7 Americans on their roster, its a wonder they aren't missing more than 5 (not sure how old the rest are). Does Sisti specifically look more at the international scene when recruiting, or is it just dumb luck they ended up with a roster that has 14 Canadians, 7 Americans, 2 Swedes, and 1 Fin?

[MICZamboni]

hope you had a good holiday MIC.

Does Sisti specifically look more at the international scene when recruiting, or is it just dumb luck they ended up with a roster that has 14 Canadians, 7 Americans, 2 Swedes, and 1 Fin?

My holidays were busy as my boss kept me working the whole time.

Anyway, I can't really tell you how Sisti recruits but I feel it is probably more convienant for him to recruit kids from the Onterio area as it is only 2 hours from Erie and Northwestern Pennsylvania isn't exactly a hotbed for girls hockey. This is the first year Mercyhurst has had any Euro's as the WCHA (mainly Duluth) gobbles them up.

[WHKY blogger]

Anyway, I can't really tell you how Sisti recruits but I feel it is probably more convienant for him to recruit kids from the Onterio area as it is only 2 hours from Erie and Northwestern Pennsylvania isn't exactly a hotbed for girls hockey. This is the first year Mercyhurst has had any Euro's as the WCHA (mainly Duluth) gobbles them up.

I knew there had to be a better explanation than "they get all those foreign kids because they academically cant get in anywhere else". I am sure its harder on some of the Womens programs to compete with the Traditional Hockey powers, and other larger schools that get major national exposer in its other sports. Maybe the last few seasons have been easier as they have seen success in Erie, however I am sure at first its hard to get big time players when your a Smaller Division 2 (In other sports) school from Northern Pennsylvania, trying to compete with Minnesota, Dartmouth, Harvard, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Ohio State, and the like for players. Everyone has to have a niche recruiting somewhere, if anything more successful teams bring up the national standard for womens players.

[dave1381]

I knew there had to be a better explanation than "they get all those foreign kids because they academically cant get in anywhere else". I am sure its harder on some of the Womens programs to compete with the Traditional Hockey powers, and other larger schools that get major national exposer in its other sports.
When we're talking about American kids, yes, it's harder for them to compete until the programs have developed. When we're talking about Ontario kids, most don't care so much about tradition and exposure of other college sports. Niagara (4 yrs), St. Lawrence (2 yrs in D-I), and eventually Mercyhurst have reached the top four quickly because their geography and population densities are favorable to attracting the kids in the deepest talent pool in the world.

[MICZamboni]

When we're talking about American kids, yes, it's harder for them to compete until the programs have developed. When we're talking about Ontario kids, most don't care so much about tradition and exposure of other college sports. Niagara (4 yrs), St. Lawrence (2 yrs in D-I), and eventually Mercyhurst have reached the top four quickly because their geography and population densities are favorable to attracting the kids in the deepest talent pool in the world.

Dave, everybody knows that parents really want to watch their daughters play hockey. The better kids from Boston, Minneapolis or the state of Wisconsin usually don't go out of region because they don't have to. Maybe this is what you were saying and I didn't understand.

[dave1381]

Dave, everybody knows that parents really want to watch their daughters play hockey. The better kids from Boston, Minneapolis or the state of Wisconsin usually don't go out of region because they don't have to. Maybe this is what you were saying and I didn't understand.
Your last sentence is correct. Your second-to-last sentence is what I too vaguely categorized under "geography." By population density, I was saying that a place like St. Lawrence tends to do a better job attracting athletes from towns similar to Canton, N.Y. Similarly, if you're used to the Toronto metro area, you're probably be more inclined to be near a place like Boston than someone from Newfoundland.

[MICZamboni]

My holidays were busy as my boss kept me working the whole time.

Anyway, I can't really tell you how Sisti recruits but I feel it is probably more convienant for him to recruit kids from the Onterio area as it is only 2 hours from Erie and Northwestern Pennsylvania isn't exactly a hotbed for girls hockey. This is the first year Mercyhurst has had any Euro's as the WCHA (mainly Duluth) gobbles them up.

After rereading this post I don't think I conveyed the message I wanted. I am sure the coaching staff goes after the best girls available, wherever they may live. I am sure they recruit American kids as well as Canadian but probably lose them to schools like UNH, Minn., Wisconsin and the like. Although we had Sara McDnald who was on the US u-22 team, we were still a very young program at that time and we hadn't yet reached the national stage we are on now. I think it may be a matter of once we get a blue chip American, the rest will come a little easier. So, I am sure we recruit americans but bottom line is, the coaches get the best players they can get regardless of where they are from.

[dave1381]

MIC -- I didn't see anything wrong with your initial post. Obviously, when Mercyhurst was building it's program, the team's comparative advantage was going to be in recruiting and attracting kids nearby in Ontario. There is no surprise then that Mercyhurst had only 3 or 4 non-Canadians on the roster as recently as 2 or 3 years ago. No shame in that, in my opinion (though others on this board have disagreed). Now that the program has matured (and I think the 8-team expansion and the NCAA exposure has been a big part of that) Mercyhurst is in better position to attract players from a wider area, and you see the results in a roster that now has 10 non-Canadians, and a team that's ranked No. 1.

[MICZamboni]

Nice win today for the Lady Lakers. They played extremely hard and totally outplayed Cornell even though the score may not have indicated that. Mercyhurst controlled the puck the entire game. Cornell's only goal came off of a face-off after a Laker goal when the defenseman fell and gave the puck to a Cornell skater. She skated in on a 2 on 1 and slipped it past Drennen. I thought Drennen played well as did Lesley McArthur. I love watching her play. She plays with a lot of heart. Her goal was the result of that. She dove forward on a puck sitting in front of the goal and poked it up and past the Cornell goalie. It was also nice to see Payne get her first goal of the year with help from newcomer Dionoski (sp). Mercyhurst shouldn't have a hard time tomorrow as long as they continue to work hard. It was nice to see Quixote at the game. Anyone else there for the weekend?

GO LAKERS!!!!

[quixote]

Thanks MIC, nice to see you too. Sara Kurth said after the game that the Cornell goal was all hers. Unfortuanately, a pass across caught her skate and redirected past Drennen. Tou are right they will have to bring hard work today.