LSSU Lakers

[eddo]

haha.. well, if two of us say so, it HAS to be true!

[LakerFan24]

Eddo - that is one heck of an article - WOW.

That should make this weekend even more interesting. The BG website says nothing of any suspensions, but I am sure that by the time the weekend rolls around we will be hearing much more. IF the article is correct, two seniors, four juniors and one sophomore are the ones who were suspended - that is a MAJOR blow to their Upperclassmen.

It will be interesting to see how this one develops.

By the way, whats the deal with the petition I have been hearing about going around the LSSU campus regarding our own suspended/reinstated player?

[Laker Hockey]

This suspension at BG is going to be a joke when all is said and done. You can't play missing 7 players. They will have 2 or 3 sit out each game and then the suspension will be over.

Great to see the Compass back on-line, there are always two sides to every story.

[michiganmidge]

This suspension at BG is going to be a joke when all is said and done. You can't play missing 7 players. They will have 2 or 3 sit out each game and then the suspension will be over.
Anyone have any ideas how this is going to be handled this weekend???

[Laker Hockey]

from what it sounds like this morning all 7 players are out indefinately. Hopefully this means that LSSU wins some games this weekend. Also, hopefully the folks in the Soo have had a picture burning party sometime this past week. ;)

[bgbill1]

fyi:
http://www.bgnews.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/10/28/418228e8817ca

[Bill]

On the CCHA prediction thread, a lot of folks are starting to predict a Lakers sweep becasue of the BG suspensions. But you gotta score to win, and the Lakers had trouble doing that against Sigalet last season. Plus a little adversity sometimes has a way of getting a team up, so as much as I'd like to see a Laker sweep, I think it will be tough to do. If they don't get at least one win this weekend, it will certainly be a disappointment. It's time to see if the Lakers can score enough on the road against a conference team to pick up a win or two.

[Fan in Florida]

This suspension at BG is going to be a joke when all is said and done. You can't play missing 7 players. They will have 2 or 3 sit out each game and then the suspension will be over.

Don't count on 2 or 3 sitting out each game. All 7 are out tonight and I would imagine will be tomorrow night too.

[Bill]

During the 2-3 period intermission, Bill C said the Lakers have a recruit out of southern Ontario who has commited for next season. Will release his name in a couple of weeks during early signing period. I kind of caught the tail end of his comments, and didn't hear if he mentioned what position he plays.

[michiganmidge]

No, I don't think he mentioned what position he plays. He did mention, however, that he was at the game (against BG) along with his brother.

[Bill]

Probably either a forward or a goalie. They are set fairly well on defense, although if they find a d-man they really like, I'm sure they won't pass him by. Crawford seems to think a lot of Nogatch and Smith, the freshmen d-men. I'm going to the game tomorrow afternoon and am anxious to see the Lakers play.

[michiganmidge]

I'm going to the game tomorrow afternoon and am anxious to see the Lakers play.
Glad to hear you changed your mind ... have a good time! GO LAKERS!!!!

[sm3pk]

Good to hear the Lakers won and I will be at the game today ....sounds like buying a ticket at the door will work....didnt sound as if they had too many in there last night..

[lakersparty]

I'll be at this afternoon's game. Go Lakers!

[michiganmidge]

Bill, did the Sox pass their curse onto you???!?!?!

[sm3pk]

What a wasted chance to sweep this weekend..The lakers just didnt seem to want to win the game today .You could even hera parents of some of the Lakers yelling ...shoot the puck...shoot the puck.5 on 3 power plays and they couldnt even set up. If I was Anzalone...I would be steaming..Bowling Green was hurting with so many players out and Lake State should have jumped all over them.I have been following the Lakers since the 60s and if it seems I am a bit frustrated you bet.This weekend should have been a sweep and a big confidence builder but they fell flat today. I am glad they dont play next weekend. Gives Anzalone more time to work with them again.

[michiganmidge]

Maybe it's purely psychological. Maybe they need the help of a sports psychologist. They need SOMETHING for sure! :confused:

[Bill]

What can you say? The offense still isn't there, at least not on a consistent basis. Although the Lakers put on some pressure at times, it was mostly from hard work along the boards, and not from any offensive flow. They just continue to struggle trying to score goals. Sigalet played well for BG, but the Lakers didn't make it too hard on him. A lot of close in junk shots with not a lot on them, although their one goal was a garbage goal from a scramble out front. They did have a number of decent scoring chances from the slot, but always seemed to shoot it right into Sigalet rather than being able to hit the corners of the net. Part of that was good positioning from Sigalet, who is an excellent goalie, and part of it is just a lack of scoring touch from the Lakers.

The difference in the game was specialty teams. BG was able to get a pp goal, the Lakers weren't. The Lakers pp was very poor. They were very tentative, and has been pointed out, no one wanted to shoot. No one on the ice for the Laker's pp wanted to take charge. At least for the first few pps, they were able to control the puck in the BG zone, but on the last few they struggled just to get the puck into the BG end, let alone get any decent scoring chances. With the increased number of penalties being called this season, it is critical that the Laker pp improve.

The 2nd BG goal was Jakaitis' fault. He gave up a soft rebound on a long shot. The rebound was just to his front and left, and he had to dive to poke it away from a rushing BG player. The puck wound up behind the net, and another BG player was able to get control and wrap it around the far side before Jakaitis could ever get completely back in position. If he didn't give up the soft rebound, there is no goal for BG.

Both shooting (especially) and passing, the Lakers were often just a tad too slow and as a result BG blocked a lot of Laker shots and passes. I can't say a whole lot from only seeing them play once, but I still didn't see any d-men on the Lakers who can really wind it up and shoot it from the blue-line. One thing the team as a whole needs to work on is being able to one time the puck regardless of whether it's a pp or not. I didn't see any of that today from the Lakers, and that gave BG players time to block shots and gave Sigalet time to get set.

Overall, they only gave up 2 goals which is good for a road game, so you can't blame the loss on poor defensive play or poor goaltending

I thought Hall called a lot of cheap penalties, although it evened out both ways. He called very few of the interference penalties that supposedly are a point of emphasis. He called a lot of stuff that was just guys following through on a check. I didn't like the game he called. If college hockey wants to cut down on interference, fine start enforcing that, but let the guys still play a game where they can check each other.

I agree with sm3pk that it was very frustrating to watch the Lakers today. They had a golden opportunity to sweep a shorthanded BG team, thereby building some confidence, and they failed to take advatnge of the opportunity.

Some of the guys just need to elevate their game now that they have a year or two (or three) of experience. Offense is a weakness, and we only have one freshmnen forward this season (Eves), so we need to get increased scoring from the upperclassmen if we expect to move up the standings much. Is the team as a whole getting better? Yes! But it won't translate into a lot more victories until they can start putting the puck in the net more consistently. It really all boils down to just that.

[sm3pk]

Read the recap on Saturdays game and the Bowling Green coach says it was a huge victory for them being out 7 players and toughing it out to beat the Lakers and Anzalone says we are not going to win when we have players who cant score goals.So it goes back to what Bill and I said.It was very frustrating to sit there and watch the Lakers lose to a team who had so many not playing and the Lakers should have had their first sweep in 3 years.Do fans have a right to complain? Absolutely we do. If we have the right to cheer them on,we also have the same right to be frustrated with the team as well and after the last 8 years that frustration has hit alot of fans.Will most of us on this thread root and support the team ...absolutely..but at times we also will vent our frustration with the team.I think the new recruit is a forward because it was mentioned the other week on a broadcast..but dont quote me

[michiganmidge]

I am pretty frustrated from time to time as well, however, I choose to focus on the positive things that the team has accomplished. I do agree that it is difficult to sit in the stands and watch players who aren't scoring - whether it's because they're behaving tenatively, or whether they lack skill, or whether they're just making stupid mistakes. But, I'm not the coach. And I wouldn't want that job if it paid a million bucks. I have to put my faith in Coach Anzalone and the recruiting efforts of Jim Roque and Tim Christian. And I will hang in there week after week.

GO LAKERS!!!