First half surprises??

[sec12fan]

Thought this thread might be fun . . . what games, teams, players, coaches have proven to be the (good) surprise for you in the first half of this season??

For starters, never would I have said UMD would only have one loss by this point in the season. IMO, a huge surprise.

[brookyone]

For starters, never would I have said UMD would only have one loss by this point in the season. IMO, a huge surprise.
Which has to be at least in part credited to the surprisingly improved play of Riitta I would think. Her play has been a surprise to me. I've been very pleasantly surprised by the play of Gopher rookie Bobbi Ross. In the first half I've also been surprised at the number of goals Wisconsin has been scoring...not sure if that's a "good" surprise or not. ;) Just a few of a number of surprises for me.

[arborman65]

This is not really a big surprise, but the outstanding play by Boston College freshman Sarah Feldman and Deb Spillane. It is no wonder they were two of the top recruits last year. Boston College is very lucky to have them both.

[ARM]

I've been very pleasantly surprised by the play of Gopher rookie Bobbi Ross.
Yes, she was kind of an unknown quantity in these parts before the season. Other than the standard signing blurb: "<insert player's name here> is a talented player who works hard on both ends of the ice, is dilligent in the classroom, and will mesh well with her teammates.", all I knew about her was the one poster who said Minnesota got a good player. Since anonymous posters could be anybody from an NHL talent scout to the players' uncle, who knows? But when we got to Grand Forks and she debuted on the #1 PP unit, it was a good sign that she'd played the game before.

[OlePuck10]

I've been pleasantly surprised by the strong return of Dartmouth's Cheryl Muranko after more than a full season's absence. While she might be a step slower than her last appearance, she has complimented her linemates well and burried some big goals so far. I've also been surprised by Harvard's six losses! Sure, we all know they lost Angela, but they still have Banfield, Boe, Chu, Cahow, Corrierro, and Vallaincourt.

[brookyone]

Yes, she was kind of an unknown quantity in these parts before the season. All I knew about her was the one poster who said Minnesota got a good player.
Yessir, I think we're talking 'bout owlbob. Haven't heard from him in awhile but I'm guessing owlbob isn't too surprised...ditto the Wooster twins at UND.

[Collegehockeynut]

A couple of surprises for me are:

1) Surprised that Mankato, St. Cloud are not more competitive. I really thought the race for 4th spot in the WCHA would be closer than it is at the halfway point in the season. OSU seems to have separated themselves from the bottom half of the WCHA and is ‘nudging” into the upper half.

2) Surprised that Harvard is only 7-6-1 at the break. At the beginning of the year I thought they were a lock for one of the 8 spots in the championship. I am surprised that I am even starting to entertain the thought they will not be there.

[ARM]

It looks to me that Ohio St. is still in the exact same place that they always have been. The fact that only four teams have ever made the WCHA semis in five seasons shows just how much "balance" there is in the league. The Buckeyes try to support the notion of parity, by beating Wisconsin while losing to St. Cloud and North Dakota. But I don't see a big shakeup in the WCHA standings until the Sioux get to a full boat of scholarships.

[Reggie]

This maybe shows how important Ruggerio was to Harvard not only offensively but more importantly,defensively.

[dave1381]

Anyone blaming Harvard's recent 1-5 stretch entirely on the absence of Ruggiero is creating a cop out. Two of those losses, the GWG in the Wisconsin game and the game-tying goal in the second UMD loss, were just the result of some mind-numbingly bad mental errors, the kind that that the team just didn't make last season no matter who was on the ice, or during the 6-1-1 start. The roster they have has shown they can do better, and I think the break will help them bury the ugliness in the past. In between winter break and exam break, Harvard plays Colgate, Cornell and Brown, three teams they beat fairly comfortably early in the season. Obviously they've drastically reduced their margin for error in the past couple weeks, so bouncing back in those three games is critical.

[Slapper]

Arm,
Parity in the WCHA and the rest of college hockey will come when Darwitz, Wendell, Stephens and Ouellette from UMD graduate from the league.

[brookyone]

Parity in the WCHA and the rest of college hockey will come when Darwitz, Wendell, Stephens and Ouellette from UMD graduate from the league.
Those of us fortunate enough to watch these players on a regular basis should consider ourselves very lucky...I do personally. You're right in that the WCHA "landscape" will be vastly changed when those four are gone. It's why I try to never miss a game...the opportunity will be gone all too soon. Of course I'd much prefer the WCHA talent level rise to the height of the four players you mention on a more widespread basis than achieve parity through the loss of gifted players.

[ARM]

Slapper, I agree that the stars of the league have been difference makers in many games. However, I do think the difference between UMD/UM/UW and the other WCHA teams goes deeper than that. For example, in the last Olympic year, 2001-2002, most of the players of that caliber were gone, and the top three in the league were the same. Wisconsin does not have anyone in your list, but they still consistantly finish above OSU and the rest. Granted, they do graduate players who have meant a lot to their success in MacLeod, Engstrom, and Uliasz, but they always manage to fill in the holes and keep moving forward.

Over the years, the Buckeyes have had their share of impact players, like Rosen, Halcisak, Laaksonen, Creary, and Harrigan. Perhaps it is a case of these players are decisive against the teams lower in the standings, but they get trumped when they go up against a Ouellette.

[Slapper]

Arm,
I think you have the OSU scenario mixed up.
This year OSU is the only non top 4 team to beat a top 4 ranked team.
The UMD games were much closer that the scores indicated (SOG).
It is confirmed by scores to date that had all teams played 6 games (as OSU has) against the top4 ranked teams , they would all have 6 loses.
That would certainly change the rankings.
OSU however keeps shooting themselves in the foot with loses to UND, St Cloud and a tie with Northeastern and therfore NOT taking advantage of the 5 to 8 teams.
Had OSU not lost to these teams a top 8 ranking would most likely be the case.
Remember-Bemidji beat Mercyhurst,St Cloud beat SLU and the best teams Brown has beaten are Providence and Yale and they are in the top 10?
Bottom line is beat the teams above you and you will move the the appropriate spot.

Best of the season to everyone.

[dave1381]

OSU certainly deserves credit for being the only team to beat a top four team, and yes, you're right that they'd be ranked if they had beaten those teams they're capable of beating. But any team can say that.

I think the right way of looking at these rankings is, if all those top 12-13 teams or so that seem to have a legitimate claim to a top 10 ranking were to play a round-robin tomorrow (yes, this is physically impossible, I know... I'm saying like reverse time and replay the matchups one-by-one) who would do best? Yes, none of those 5th-10th ranked teams have beaten a top four team yet, but on the other hand, how would OSU do against those 5th-10th teams if they played head-to-head? If OSU is splitting St. Cloud and North Dakota, and winning 1 of 6 vs. the top four teams, that doesn't give me a whole lot of confidence that they'd win the majority of those games. Other teams in the 5th and 10th range have played several games against each other and won the majority of them, so at least they're more of a proven quantity. Anyway, OSU still has plenty more chances to prove itself. Good luck to them.

[ARM]

Slapper,
I think we'll need to agree to disagree on Ohio St. You see them as being a big mover in the WCHA; I see them as slotted in as the league's 4th best team, a familiar spot for them. They are only a point behind Wisconsin, but the Badgers have two games in hand. I will concede that they are a good enough team to upset any of the league's teams on any given day. I don't see them as strong enough to finish the regular season in the top three. Maybe you are right and that will change next year. If that is the case, I think it will help make the WCHA a stronger and better league.

[Collegehockeynut]

Like most on this board, I believe that OSU does have a good team and is capable of beating most of the top teams on any given night. Opposing teams need to respect the abilities of players such as Creary, Harrigan, Bonhomme and Mulvaney. They also have very solid goaltending in Glaser and Vanderveer.

Posters talk about the inconsistency of OSU…ie. splitting with Wisconsin but losing to UND, St Cloud etc. Yet many of the top teams will lose a couple of games a year to teams they probably should beat. However, I think the root cause of OSU’s inconsistency is lack of depth in the lineup. And one thing many people are overlooking is the loss of Desson to the OSU lineup. With Desson in the lineup, you can create two solid lines, both capable of scoring.

I know injuries are part of the game, they happen. Yet a team losing one of their core players half way through her college career does not happen all that often and makes it tough for any team.

[hockeyyfan]

Slapper,
I think we'll need to agree to disagree on Ohio St. You see them as being a big mover in the WCHA; I see them as slotted in as the league's 4th best team, a familiar spot for them. They are only a point behind Wisconsin, but the Badgers have two games in hand. I will concede that they are a good enough team to upset any of the league's teams on any given day. I don't see them as strong enough to finish the regular season in the top three. Maybe you are right and that will change next year. If that is the case, I think it will help make the WCHA a stronger and better league.

I agree. Up until recently their recruiting process was a disaster...focus on 10 kids you want ( but won't honestly get) then scramble over Harrington and Polar Bear to try to salvage the recruiting year. They seem to finally have gotten organized at the nuts and bolts level on how to effectively recruit year round, and are/will bring in some winners. This will breed getting one or two of the top 10 down the road. The way you become a top program is by acting like a top program.

[Collegehockeynut]

I agree. Up until recently their recruiting process was a disaster...focus on 10 kids you want ( but won't honestly get) then scramble over Harrington and Polar Bear to try to salvage the recruiting year. They seem to finally have gotten organized at the nuts and bolts level on how to effectively recruit year round, and are/will bring in some winners. This will breed getting one or two of the top 10 down the road. The way you become a top program is by acting like a top program.


I agree with part of your comment and disagree with another part.

Where I disagree is that OSU has been successful in recruiting some of the top talent in past years. As ARM mentioned in an earlier post, these players include Halcisak, Laaksonen, Creary, Harrigan and Bonhomme. All of these players are ones that I believe any D1 program would welcome into their lineup.

Where I agree with you is that they only seem to be able to attract 1 of the top recruits each year. As I eluded to in my previous post, a major issue stopping OSU from moving into the top 10 rankings and pushing for the number three spot (or higher) in the WCHA , is the lack of depth. They need to bring in 2 or even three of the better recruits in one year in order to build the depth and take the next jump into the higher levels of the WCHA and D1 in general.