LSSU Lakers

[eddo]

Well, my dad happened to be in the ticket office when I called so when the girl hung up he asked where she put us. "In the student section" she said. He then informed her that while yes we were students, we were NMU pep band students. "OH! OHHHH!!!!!" she she exclaimed. We were then promptly moved to section L.

In a way, i'm not surpised.. sometimes i give them too much credit... Just another example of how lake state truely is great, i guess..

Also, i talked with Mattie V. today. He said that he was going out for practice, and as soon as he hit the ice, he decided it'd be better if he sat out this weekend. He said that it was a strain, and possibly a slight tear, but he thought that'd he'd suit up for the following weekend.

I also talked to willie Ciccone.. i asked him if he was going to play D.. he said that he was thinking about it, but hasn't decided quite yet.. ;)

[Lakerblue]

All good stuff. With the Lakers breaking in some "rusty" players on the blue-line and Matt-V banged up, BSU couldn't be coming into town at a better time (no offense, Beaver People, but we'd rather be playing BSU this weekend than Michigan State).

Some old-new faces will be in the line-up. And the team will hopefully bring that hard-hitting, nasty, attacking style they showed against NMU last Friday. If they can find a way to play that sort of game every night -- play with that intensity and execution -- then they will become a very tough team to beat.

[Millsy]

No offense taken, LakerBlue. We understand the pecking order in the hockey world and it is a non-conference series.

Leaving for the Soo here in a bit. Hopefully we make it the whole way today/tonight, but if not, we will be there tomorrow night!

GO GREEN!

[michiganmidge]

Do any of our student 'snitches' know if Scoran and Adamek are playing tonight?

[LSSU57]

More then likely, nobody will know until the team comes on the ice for warm-ups. Even if the players say someone is or isn't playing, Frank has a tendency to change things up at the last minute. Or, possibly, they could both warm-up and see if they can go. I would say no considering it is a non-conference game and the younger players will need the playing time. But, who knows with Frank!

[Proud2baLaker]

Close one there. Had to fight from behind several times. Eves and Restoule with strong nights. Congrats on the win guys!

[Laker Hockey Girl2]

Eves, #1 Star, and for GOOD REASON. That guy plays sooo hard, and it pays off. He had 2 GREAT goals. I honestly thought after the 2nd the Lakers were out of the game (their usual 3rd period slump), that there was no way they could tie it up, with their shots 1/2 that of Bemidji, but they surprised us all. I was very impressed that they kept the score as close as they did the entire game. CONGRATULATIONS LAKERS!! Hoping for another great game tomorrow night!!

[eddo]

i was amazed too.. after three or four terrible no calls (call me crazy, but when you throw a guy into the net, knocking its off its moorings, then dive on him, i'd think that would draw a penalty..), and the quick goal over halfway into the third, i figured we were done. esp. since the refs missed another call or two a little later on (i am pretty sure that only the goalie can freeze the puck in the crease.. which should have been another penalty when there were three bevers diving into the net to stop the goal).

But they came through when it mattered, and finished the night with two awesome goals.

how about that tho? coming back from a deficit twice, and beating a team 5-4.. dare i say that franks team is for real this year?

[sm3pk]

Does anyone know whats going on with Osman this year? Last year he was the leading scorer on the team and this year he cant get a goal. Any clues?

[Laker Hockey Girl2]

I've got nothing on Osman, he had a couple of opportunities last night, and didn't do anything with them. He boarded a couple guys, but other than that he didn't have anything to show his talent. The best explanation I can come up with is that he's sufferring Sophomore Slump...but who knows. I was hoping he'd take a couple shots last night when had the puck, but was very disappointed.

[Bill]

Does anyone know whats going on with Osman this year? Last year he was the leading scorer on the team and this year he cant get a goal. Any clues?

Neither Osman nor Cheesman have done much offensively this year. Coming into this season, they were two of the guys the Lakers were really looking towards to provide some spark on offense by scoring some goals.

[sm3pk]

How does the teams moral seem to be with the problems that they had to contend with the last couple of weeks? Anyone been talking to the players and gotten a feel on how the players are handling the changes? You know we are counting on you folks who have access to the players.

[Laker Hockey Girl2]

Well I don't know the moral of the players based on the events of the past weeks, but I do think that because they have gotten out there and played and won 2/3 games since the incidents they are taking it fairly well. I talked to one of the guys that was dismissed and he was grateful for my courtesy in asking how he was doing and that I respected his privacy. He basically said that he hoped things settled down really quick.

I have to give credit to Barney...He attended last night's game dressed in his suit and sat with the other scratches...to me this shows a lot of class and respect for the team. It seems to me that the team is not shutting these guys out, but continuing the brotherly-like friendship they have developed.

Today the guys were in the best moods I have ever seen them in. They were playing practical jokes on each other the entire time they were at the cafeteria eating, poor Eves took the most, but he kept a smile on his face the entire time. I hope this high spirit will keep them motivated, even when things get tough tonight. GO LAKERS...SHOW THOSE BEAVERS WHOSE ICE THEY ARE ON!!!! WE WANT A SWEEP!!!

[sm3pk]

The guys just didnt seem to have it tonight...seems like they play hard on Fridays and mush weaker on Saturdays..oh well...lets hope as season progresses they will start putting back to back good games together.

[Proud2baLaker]

The guys just didnt seem to have it tonight...seems like they play hard on Fridays and mush weaker on Saturdays..oh well...lets hope as season progresses they will start putting back to back good games together.

I think when this happens (win then loss) the other team is stepping it up quite a bit and although the Lakers tend to step it up too...its just not enough. Tonight they played much better than the previous night (though the score doenst show it).

[Millsy]

I really thought the Lakers played better than the Beavers tonight, while last night was the opposite. Strange game sometimes, I guess.

Great little town you have up here. If BSU ends up here again in the future, another road trip may be in order. Just wish attendence would have been better.

Good luck to you guys the rest of the year! And KICK UAH's *** when they come up here. They may be from our league, but we can't stand them.....

[sm3pk]

Is Frank turing down holiday tournaments or is Lake State not just getting the invites? Anyone know?

[LSSU57]

Frank doesn't like Holiday tournaments. And I don't blame him at all. Unless your playing in the GLI or Mariucci (Minneapolis) Tournament, playing in a holiday tournament is tough. You basically take the holiday break away from your team. By not playing a tournament, you give your team time to rest and enjoy the holiday season while Michigan, Michigan State, etc. are getting banged up playing in a holiday tourney somewhere.

[Lakerblue]

An exciting finish to a sloppy game friday, followed by a disheartening finish to a sharp game saturday.

The third period on Saturday, you could just feel the collapse. BSU was hitting everything that moved. Every time a Laker got the puck, a BSU player was on him.

But it all comes down to scoring. As Bill has been saying for, oh, about 5 years now -- we need somebody to step up and finish. Osman and Cheesman need to wake up and get that puck in the net. The Lakers had some great chances to make it 2-0 in the 2nd. I thought to myself, based on the quality of BSU's play, if the Lakers don't make it 2-0, they're going to lose this game. They needed to finish one of the many decent chances in the 2nd -- and they didn't convert. Consequently, in the 3rd period the team was playing to hold on -- and BSU was just coming too hard and working too hard for that to work over 20 minutes.

I don't want to speak ill of Coach Anzalone, and he knows more about hockey and his team certainly than I do, but why fall into the 1-2-2 trap when you're tied 1-1, or worse down 2-1? This is not a team that can score on a counter-attack. This team needs to work the zone and crash the net. Its tough to work the zone with one forechecker. I figure he must have been trying to protect his thin blue-line -- but its frustrating to watch nontheless.

[eddo]

hey, its my birthday!!! YAY!!!