WCHA Thread V

[pokechecker]

Re: WCHA Thread V

So what is the Brooky BOLD prediction for this week?

Here are my Bold predictions for the week:

John Mariucci will not drop a ceremonial puck this weekend at Ridder.

Blake Shelton & Miranda Lambert will not be signing the national anthem as a duet at Ridder this weekend.

The concession stand at Ridder will not be giving free beer & pizza to everyone in costume Friday.

[brookyone]

Re: WCHA Thread V

So what is the Brooky BOLD prediction for this week?

Here are my Bold predictions for the week:

John Mariucci will not drop a ceremonial puck this weekend at Ridder.

Blake Shelton & Miranda Lambert will not be signing the national anthem as a duet at Ridder this weekend.

The concession stand at Ridder will not be giving free beer & pizza to everyone in costume Friday.

Bold prediction #1: CrazyDave will be prominently featured not once, but twice during the BTN Plus GWH intro video this weekend.

[brookyone]

Re: WCHA Thread V

http://www.wcha.com/women/pres1415/201410/oct30wcw.php

S'pose head coaches will be having a nice friendly dinner together up there in Duluth eh?

[CrazyDave]

Re: WCHA Thread V

Bold prediction #1: CrazyDave will be prominently featured not once, but twice during the BTN Plus GWH intro video this weekend.

Just wait... I'm having some fun tomorrow (Happy Halloween).

[CrankIt]

Re: WCHA Thread V

http://www.wcha.com/women/pres1415/201410/oct30wcw.php

S'pose head coaches will be having a nice friendly dinner together up there in Duluth eh?

Bold Prediction #2

[brookyone]

Re: WCHA Thread V

Bold Prediction #2

Truthfully I'm fairly skeptical 'bout this one.

[brookyone]

Re: WCHA Thread V

Just wait... I'm having some fun tomorrow (Happy Halloween).

CD with a Ridder Spooktacular eh!

[kiphockey]

Re: WCHA Thread V

Wow what a night

[pgb-ohio]

Re: WCHA Thread V

Final Score From Friday, October 31st
St. Cloud State 4
Ohio State 2

Individual Huskie Tricks Earn The Treat

The Buckeye Defense largely shut the Huskies down, limiting St. Cloud to 15 shots on goal. There was little sustained pressure on the Buckeye net; but some outstanding individual plays did the trick for the dogged visitors. The Huskie fans who traveled to Columbus certainly enjoyed the treat. Three unassisted goals is not the usual fare.

Being that the game was played on Halloween, you might think St. Cloud employed some black magic to get the win. Instead they left the usual black jerseys home, unveiling a classy new red design. Congrats to the visitors, both for the win and the sharp new look.

The 3 Stars of the Game: Decidedly Unofficial and Just For Fun

St. Cloud Honorable Mention: Audrey Hanmer
The Senior blueliner was strong on 'D', as she has been all 4 seasons. No surprise there. But Audrey also bagged one of the more interesting empty netters you'll ever see. For one thing it was long. Shooting from deep in her own zone, the shot must have been close to 200 feet. Lobbing the puck out trouble, it landed in the Buckeye end near the wing boards, then magically turned toward the net. So maybe there was just a little Halloween hocus pocus involved.

Ohio State Honorable Mention: Julia McKinnon
Julia has always been a persistent player, but this season she's been absolutely relentless. It paid off again on the Buckeyes' first goal. On a play when most everyone relaxed, thinking the sequence was over, McKinnon found the still-loose puck and jabbed it into the net.


#3 Star: Melani Moylan, Ohio State
Melani was a forechecking demon Friday night, but this was no Halloween costume. Moylan has become increasingly effective putting pressure on opponents' breakouts. Fittingly she was rewarded an opportunity to tap in her first goal of the season, this time with linemates Katie Matheny and Danielle Gagne doing the set-up work.

#2 Star: Julie Friend, St. Cloud State
As I'm sure Julie would be the first to acknowledge, she was a little shaky on the two first period goals. But when the good ones face a little adversity, they come back twice as strong. That was certainly Friend's method of operation, as she shut down the Buckeye shooters the rest of the way. Julie finished with 43 saves on 45 shots, giving her to team the opportunity for the comeback win. Oh, that new logo on the goalie's jersey? Could be that the SCSU team manager had to stay up a little late Friday doing a few repairs. The well-positioned Friend made sure her crest got in the way of plenty of pucks. There's not a lot to shoot at when Julie's on.

#1 Star: Molly Illikainen, St. Cloud State
Pretty easy choice; Molly both started the Huskie comeback and netted the GWG. On the initial goal, she slammed home the puck from the slot. Doesn't sound that hard you say? Jenna Redford started the play with a centering pass from behind the net. Complicating matters, the puck appeared to glance off the skate of Mackenzie Johnson. (power forward from Monticello, MN) Illikainen reacted instantly to the change in direction, making a challenging play look easy.

The winning goal was all Molly, coming on the PK. Defending up high, she stole the puck and split the two Buckeyes at the point. From there she rushed the length of the ice, finishing the play with a nice little backhand move. Certainly the whole SCSU Penalty Kill Unit deserves a ton a credit, successfully killing off 4 minors and a major. But as a CBJ fan would put it, it was Illikainen who carried the flag.

Next Up: Halloween's over; time for some Ghostbusting. The rematch faces off at 1:07 PM.

[Timothy A]

Re: WCHA Thread V

If Bemiji had not brought the B team to OSU, they'd be in the top 8 nationally after this weekend. I guess I undervalued UW's sweep of them at Bemiji last weekend.

It's kind of annoying with an 8 team league that the teams have played such an uneven amount of league games already (4 to 10). It really messes up the standings. The league should really try and balance it out better. UW has a bye next week, so that will help a little.

[ne7minder]

Re: WCHA Thread V

It's kind of annoying with an 8 team league that the teams have played such an uneven amount of league games already (4 to 10). It really messes up the standings. The league should really try and balance it out better. UW has a bye next week, so that will help a little.

Not really as only OSU and MSU play league games next weekend.

[pgb-ohio]

Re: WCHA Thread V

Final Score From Saturday, November 1st
Ohio State 3
St Cloud State 0

Clock Falls Back; Buckeyes Spring Forward

Halloween is over for another year; so is Daylight Savings Time. The demons have been exorcised; the ghosts have been busted. Can't claim the Buckeyes are all saints. But they put together a solid 60 minutes to earn the series split.

Certainly St. Cloud was no easy out. Both teams gave staunch defensive efforts. Battles along the walls were common; odd man rushes were few and far between. To my admittedly biased eye, the Buckeyes were somewhat stronger throughout, and finally broke through in the end.

Special teams played a large role. The Buckeyes completed a perfect weekend on the PK, featuring a 5 minute major kill in the rematch. Saturday's game was essentially settled when OSU netted a 5 on 3 goal with less than 5 minutes remaining in the third.

The 3 Stars of the Game: Decidedly Unofficial and Just For Fun

St. Cloud Honorable Mention: Caroline Markstrom
Kudos to the entire St. Cloud 'D' Corps for a courageous and effective effort. I chose Caroline to represent the group as she finished the game without a ding to her plus/minus stat -- the only Huskie defender to do so.

Ohio State Honorable Mention: Kari Schmitt
Kari's shot from the left point was the primary assist on the opening goal. And as always, Kari stood tall and proud on defense.


#3 Star: Kassidy Sauve, Ohio State
While Kassidy didn't face a constant barrage of shots, St. Cloud certainly created some good chances. In particular, Sauve was calm and strong during a couple of goal mouth scrambles. Perfect is perfect. Congratulations on the shutout, Kassidy!

#2 Star: Sara Schmitt, Ohio State
Sara was magnificent during all the key moments. Killing off the major, she thrilled the crowd with a diving "Superwoman" shot block. On the 5 on 3, her blast from point gave the Buckeyes that valuable insurance goal. At game's end, she won a battle along the boards, executed a give and go with Taylor Kuehl, and deposited the puck in the empty Huskie net.

#1 Star: Lauren Spring, Ohio State
Face-off in the St. Cloud end, to the goalie's right. Lauren wins the draw cleanly. On what appears to be a set play, LW Kayla Sullivan curls through the circle, receiving the puck perfectly in stride. Puck to the left point. Big shot from Kari Schmitt. Beautiful chopping deflection from Spring. Huge moment that broke the ice, set the tone and wound up being the Game Winning Goal.

Oh, and it was Lauren Spring's first goal as a Buckeye. Congratulations Lauren, and Welcome to Columbus!

Next Up: Road Trip to Minnesota State.

[Puckdrop14]

Re: WCHA Thread V

If Bemiji had not brought the B team to OSU, they'd be in the top 8 nationally after this weekend. I guess I undervalued UW's sweep of them at Bemiji last weekend.

It's kind of annoying with an 8 team league that the teams have played such an uneven amount of league games already (4 to 10). It really messes up the standings. The league should really try and balance it out better. UW has a bye next week, so that will help a little.

I would suggest that OSU brought their C game to Wisconsin and that they have bounced back with solid outings since with the exception of period #2 this past Friday evening. Time will tell and we will see how things look at the end of week 22 when the Badgers visit Columbus. The beauty of it all is that we are seeing a competitive conference which is good for the folks sitting in the stands.

[pgb-ohio]

Re: WCHA Thread V

If Bemiji had not brought the B team to OSU, they'd be in the top 8 nationally after this weekend. I guess I undervalued UW's sweep of them at Bemiji last weekend.

The wisdom of the second sentence points out the error in the first. It's way to early to be making such generalizations.

Also, thumbs up to Puckdrop14's rebuttal. Not that there's any proving the 'C' game thing. But the conclusion is rock solid: Let's see some more hockey before we start writing teams off. Or, for that matter, anointing them.

[KTDC]

Re: WCHA Thread V

Bemidji State took 5 of 6 points from Minnesota this weekend, and while Minnesota didn’t play great, maybe they didn’t really play that bad.

Good for them, I hope they are really happy and excited! They obviously made it difficult to score; I think Brittni Mowat had something like a .976 save percentage, stopping 83 out of 85 shots. They worked really hard, poke checking like crazy, getting in the way of passes, blocking shots, and keeping good defensive position in front of the net.

They have a new coach and are off to a good start. I certainly have not written off the Gophers so hats off to them for doing something they have never done before to Minnesota. I just hope they don’t do it in March!