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Irish hockey: Straight Inta the Off-Season

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  • #16
    Re: Irish hockey: Straight Inta the Off-Season

    Originally posted by IrishHockeyFan View Post
    Well you guys are adding a pretty impressive one from earlier in the month. Belated congratulations on the Mason Cup. With your top scorers returning, Slubowski between the pipes, and none of the dysfunction I see in my program, I think Western is in better shape than Notre Dame. Murray did a good job this season, and I think he'll probably be a little better next year.
    Alright, I get that you're upset about the season. But really man, isn't it time to end this overt negativity? We have a good team coming back and our goaltending situation will improve, in my opinion, with Summerhays being the number one guy (that was the problem, after all). I don't see any reason to go on and on about how crappy we are and how the sky is falling and how our program stinks, etc.
    Last edited by NotreDameFan27; 04-02-2012, 12:15 PM.

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    • #17
      Re: Irish hockey: Straight Inta the Off-Season

      Just an FYI, it was just retweeted out, but ex-NU goalie commit Jon Gillies is at Notre Dame today.
      Monty

      2011-2012 NCAA Tournament Participants
      2012-2013 Hockey East Regular Season Champions, Hockey East Tournament Champions, and Frozen Four Participants
      2013-2014 Hockey East Tournament Champions and NCAA Tournament Participants
      2015-2016 NCAA Tournament Participants
      2016-2017 Hockey East Regular Season Co-Champions, Hockey East Tournament Champions and NCAA Tournament Participants

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      • #18
        Re: Irish hockey: Straight Inta the Off-Season

        Originally posted by NotreDameFan27 View Post
        Alright, I get that you're upset about the season. But really man, isn't it time to end this overt negativity? We have a good team coming back and our goaltending situation will improve, in my opinion, with Summerhays being the number one guy (that was the problem, after all). I don't see any reason to go on and on about how crappy we are and how the sky is falling and how our program stinks, etc.
        IHF is by far not the most negative on here. I think you meant to direct this at me...

        And what's wrong with nitpicking? Don't we all expect perfection? Because if we don't, why keep score? If we don't expect perfection, what the hell do we expect in its place? Isn't it better to come on here and complain than to wait outside the CFIA and accost the team? This team this past season is like owning a Porsche and having it spew white smoke everytime you get it on the open road and try to go faster than 55. That's not the way a Porsche is supposed to function.
        "Hockey is the only tribe I belong to." --Jack Falla

        "Why, as a matter of fact, I suggested starting a hockey program to Father Callahan, our president. He was downright interested until we came to the use of sticks, and then he threw up his hands. He said, 'No, that game is not for our University. Notre Dame will never endorse any game that puts a club in the hands of an Irishman.' " -- Knute Rockne: All American

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        • #19
          Re: Irish hockey: Straight Inta the Off-Season

          Originally posted by NotreDameFan27 View Post
          Alright, I get that you're upset about the season. But really man, isn't it time to end this overt negativity? We have a good team coming back and our goaltending situation will improve, in my opinion, with Summerhays being the number one guy (that was the problem, after all). I don't see any reason to go on and on about how crappy we are and how the sky is falling and how our program stinks, etc.
          I don't see the post you are referring to as overtly negative to the extent you must. Understandable, since I wrote it and understood where I was coming from. But to defend myself I'll offer the following arguments:

          I see no evidence that our goaltending situation has solidified. Nothing that happened last season led me to believe Jackson knows who his starter is going forward. I base this on the fact that Jackson, rather obviously as the very last regular season game can attest to, had yet to figure it out after a season's worth of evidence. I'm betting you couldn't find two fans who wanted Johnson to start, and I believe the players --who do have opinions on this by the way -- also felt much more comfortable in front of Summerhays. So by using both goalies at that juncture in the season I don't think it is safe OR reasonable to just assume we have the goalie situation figured out. By contrast, Western has certainly got a number one goalie, and that goalie is certainly capable of leading his team to a better regular season finish than Notre Dame and of winning a Mason Cup. Why do I think that? Because both just happened. And for better or worse, goaltending has become the one position in hockey at most elite levels that your ultimate success rises and falls on. Even a modest repeat of the revolving door of the completed season will make success nearly impossible. As we get further and further away from 2006-2009 I think it's becoming more and more obvious just how big a role David Brown and Jordan Pearce played in the success we saw.

          As for scoring, Western not only returns most of their offense, but they did not see the extremes we saw in production. No one on their team was expected to produce like an Anders Lee or many of our other sophomores and then failed miserably. What are the expectations for the soon-to-be Juniors? The 80 goals they scored as Freshmen, or the 52 they scored as Sophomores? The "Sophomore slump" is largely a myth not born out by historical statistics, but ours struggled so much as to lend credence to it. We have been led to believe by Jackson for the last few seasons we will become a more elite team offensively as we are able to upgrade our recruiting as time goes by. Yet in his 7 seasons the team's offense has been wildly inconsistent. (ETA: It has been worse than I originally thought when I posted this and figured the actual numbers would not be as inconsistent as I feared. Year-to-year scoring since the 05/06 season: 2.47, 3.40, 2.89, 3.38, 2.37, 3.43, 2.52. That's quite the roller coaster. Makes no sense when we have been assured a more offensive team was being recruited and especially makes no sense when one figures the vast majority of minutes skated from one season to a next is by the same players.) So couple consistent scoring with Slubowski and you've got a formula for success that has been absent here.

          Murray was very impressive in his first year at Western. He took a team with expectations and they were met or exceeded. Hard to do at any time, even harder for a first year coach. Much like a football team that improves most between its first and second games, I think a coach has the most potential for improvement between his first and second seasons. I think Murray will do a better job next season. I only HOPE Jackson does a better job. For one thing, his time at Notre Dame has already exceeded the time he spent at any of his previous jobs, all of which were at a similarly high level (top college assistant, pro assistant, or head coach at 3 other stops). I know how well he does when his players overachieve. In my opinion the jury is out when they underachieve, but it looks like jurors #1-8 and #12 want to convict.

          Comments made following the season by those within the program mirrored in some ways comments following the 2009-10 season. Comments that reveal a failure on the part of the leaders of the team (both coaching staff and players) to properly motivate the players and steer them back to the correct path when the wheels started to bump the curb. A failure in leadership is the epitome of dysfunction regarding the framework of a team.

          I didn't say we were gonna suck. Maybe Western takes home another Mason Cup and a regular season title and we finish third and lose to them in Detroit. We wouldn't suck in that scenario but Western would certainly have had a better season. But I do think the completely out of the blue bad seasons in two of the last three years say more about the situation than the one in the middle. So many freshmen who performed so well was the main reason that year finished in St. Paul when no one fairly would have expected that the previous October. But right now, I have no real reason to believe we are more likely to finish next season in Pittsburgh than we are to again finish it in Ann Arbor.
          Last edited by IrishHockeyFan; 04-02-2012, 07:56 PM.

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          • #20
            Re: Irish hockey: Straight Inta the Off-Season

            Originally posted by UMLFan View Post
            Just an FYI, it was just retweeted out, but ex-NU goalie commit Jon Gillies is at Notre Dame today.
            Source? Gillies and his team are playing a game next week at the CFIA, so maybe that helps to explain his presence on campus?

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            • #21
              Re: Irish hockey: Straight Inta the Off-Season

              Originally posted by IrishHockeyFan View Post
              Source? Gillies and his team are playing a game next week at the CFIA, so maybe that helps to explain his presence on campus?
              It's actually a RT from Gillies himself, by Nathan Fournier (@jrhockeywriter).
              RT @jgillies32: off to Notre Dame for the day. first college visit in almost two years and first one without my dad #growingup
              Monty

              2011-2012 NCAA Tournament Participants
              2012-2013 Hockey East Regular Season Champions, Hockey East Tournament Champions, and Frozen Four Participants
              2013-2014 Hockey East Tournament Champions and NCAA Tournament Participants
              2015-2016 NCAA Tournament Participants
              2016-2017 Hockey East Regular Season Co-Champions, Hockey East Tournament Champions and NCAA Tournament Participants

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              • #22
                Re: Irish hockey: Straight Inta the Off-Season

                I know the issue that led Gillies to look elsewhere from NU was there being no room there this fall (due in part to the unexpected announcement by incumbent starter Rawlings that he would be returning for his senior season). If he were coming to ND, would it be this fall or next?
                Northeastern Huskies Class of 1998 / BS Chemical Engineering
                Notre Dame Fighting Irish Class of 2011 / PhD Chemical Engineering

                But then again, isn't holding forth on an extreme opinion from a position of complete ignorance what these boards are all about? -- from a BigSoccer post by kerrunch

                Britney can't sing. At all. She sounds like a cross between a crackhead chipmunk that had more than a couple beers and a drowning cat. -- DHG on the MTV VMAs

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                • #23
                  Re: Irish hockey: Straight Inta the Off-Season

                  Originally posted by Craig P. View Post
                  I know the issue that led Gillies to look elsewhere from NU was there being no room there this fall (due in part to the unexpected announcement by incumbent starter Rawlings that he would be returning for his senior season). If he were coming to ND, would it be this fall or next?
                  I believe it would be this year because he's already 18 and will graduate this year. He has said, though, that he's 50-50 about going the major Junior route. I think he's just keeping his options open. I doubt he comes to Notre Dame.

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                  • #24
                    Re: Irish hockey: Straight Inta the Off-Season

                    Riley Sheahan was signed by the Wings to a three year deal entry level deal.


                    Originally posted by Craig P. View Post
                    I know the issue that led Gillies to look elsewhere from NU was there being no room there this fall (due in part to the unexpected announcement by incumbent starter Rawlings that he would be returning for his senior season). If he were coming to ND, would it be this fall or next?
                    His chances of playing next season would be small barring some real difficulties form both incumbent netminders. The following season his odds would improve a great deal, since we'll need to have a backup committed for 2013-14. He's young but has played 2 seasons in the USHL. They have an age limit to be drafted, but do they have a limit on games or seasons?

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                    • #25
                      Re: Irish hockey: Straight Inta the Off-Season

                      Originally posted by IrishHockeyFan View Post
                      Riley Sheahan was signed by the Wings to a three year deal entry level deal.
                      He's playing (wing) today! First shift he took a 4 minute HS penalty for knocking a few teeth out of Hawks guy Hayes. Hey, if he had to break teeth at least it was a former BC player...

                      Doc Emerick and Eddie Olczyk gave props to the coaching staff here and even referred to Sheahan as an amateur dentist.
                      Last edited by Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.; 04-07-2012, 12:36 PM.
                      "Hockey is the only tribe I belong to." --Jack Falla

                      "Why, as a matter of fact, I suggested starting a hockey program to Father Callahan, our president. He was downright interested until we came to the use of sticks, and then he threw up his hands. He said, 'No, that game is not for our University. Notre Dame will never endorse any game that puts a club in the hands of an Irishman.' " -- Knute Rockne: All American

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                      • #26
                        Re: Irish hockey: Straight Inta the Off-Season

                        Here's a nice story about Mark Van Guilder being not only a good hockey player, but a good guy. smiley. heart.
                        "Hockey is the only tribe I belong to." --Jack Falla

                        "Why, as a matter of fact, I suggested starting a hockey program to Father Callahan, our president. He was downright interested until we came to the use of sticks, and then he threw up his hands. He said, 'No, that game is not for our University. Notre Dame will never endorse any game that puts a club in the hands of an Irishman.' " -- Knute Rockne: All American

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: Irish hockey: Straight Inta the Off-Season

                          More stuff about Gillies, take it for whatever you think it's worth:
                          Nathan Fournier ‏ @jrhockeywriter
                          Just got off the phone with Jon Gillies-He said right now its between Notre Dame and the Quebec Remparts for next season-Things could change
                          Monty

                          2011-2012 NCAA Tournament Participants
                          2012-2013 Hockey East Regular Season Champions, Hockey East Tournament Champions, and Frozen Four Participants
                          2013-2014 Hockey East Tournament Champions and NCAA Tournament Participants
                          2015-2016 NCAA Tournament Participants
                          2016-2017 Hockey East Regular Season Co-Champions, Hockey East Tournament Champions and NCAA Tournament Participants

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Re: Irish hockey: Straight Inta the Off-Season

                            Originally posted by UMLFan View Post
                            More stuff about Gillies, take it for whatever you think it's worth:
                            Nathan Fournier ‏ @jrhockeywriter
                            Just got off the phone with Jon Gillies-He said right now its between Notre Dame and the Quebec Remparts for next season-Things could change
                            I wonder how hard he's being pushed to commit to the Irish? If true, his comments mean Notre Dame has a spot on the team saved for him. NHL Central Scouting has a fairly high opinion of Gillies I believe, so he probably has decent potential. Not that the NHL draft is an accurate predictor of success at any level of course but he's probably going to be an NHL draft pick, something that neither Johnson or Summerhays is. FWIW, drafted goalies don't really want to be "depth" guys.

                            As things stand now he likely wouldn't play next season (2 upperclass incumbent starters in front of him). He hopefully would be a little used back-up as a sophomore (ideally Summerhays would have cemented himself as an everyday guy by his senior year). So he'd have to be willingly realistic about getting little playing time for two years at Notre Dame. Unless something is going on with the current rotation of netminders that we know nothing about.

                            If he does come to Notre Dame I imagine there will have to be some work going on behind the scenes to keep everyone focused on the right things. Like trophies and banners.

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                            • #29
                              Re: Irish hockey: Straight Inta the Off-Season

                              Originally posted by IrishHockeyFan View Post
                              I wonder how hard he's being pushed to commit to the Irish? If true, his comments mean Notre Dame has a spot on the team saved for him. NHL Central Scouting has a fairly high opinion of Gillies I believe, so he probably has decent potential. Not that the NHL draft is an accurate predictor of success at any level of course but he's probably going to be an NHL draft pick, something that neither Johnson or Summerhays is. FWIW, drafted goalies don't really want to be "depth" guys.

                              As things stand now he likely wouldn't play next season (2 upperclass incumbent starters in front of him). He hopefully would be a little used back-up as a sophomore (ideally Summerhays would have cemented himself as an everyday guy by his senior year). So he'd have to be willingly realistic about getting little playing time for two years at Notre Dame. Unless something is going on with the current rotation of netminders that we know nothing about.

                              If he does come to Notre Dame I imagine there will have to be some work going on behind the scenes to keep everyone focused on the right things. Like trophies and banners.
                              If Gillies wants to go to Quebec because of Patrick Roy he'll be making a mistake because Roy will be the head coach for the Montreal Canadiens next year. He'll be stuck in Quebec City with all the frenchies forever ineligible to play college hockey after that.

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                              • #30
                                Re: Irish hockey: Straight Inta the Off-Season

                                Originally posted by NotreDameFan27 View Post
                                If Gillies wants to go to Quebec because of Patrick Roy he'll be making a mistake because Roy will be the head coach for the Montreal Canadiens next year. He'll be stuck in Quebec City with all the frenchies forever ineligible to play college hockey after that.
                                Say what you will about "all the frenchies", they certainly have a history of excellence at his position.

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