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The University of Notre Dame Hockey: 09-10. Let's Live It Up!

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  • Re: The University of Notre Dame Hockey: 09-10. Let's Live It Up!

    Originally posted by Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres. View Post
    Things I'm happy about: Calle Ridderwall scores the hat trick.

    Things I'm annoyed at: Not one fan threw a hat onto the ice.

    Things I'm happy about: Ryan Thang finally got back on the scoresheet.

    Things I'm annoyed at: He had to score to send the game (against BG) to OT.

    Things I'm happy about: ND didn't give up a PPG.

    Things I'm annoyed at: They sure gave BG lots of opportunities, though.

    Things I'm happy about: ND scored more than 3 goals.

    Things I'm annoyed at: Brad Phillips allowed more than 3 goals.

    Things I'm happy about: ND scored 5 x 5.

    Things I'm annoyed at: BG scored 5 x 5...four times.

    Things I'm happy about, and yet also annoyed at: I think Coach Jackson found his starting goaltender.

    Get ready for Miami, boys.

    Couldn't have said it more clearly!
    Notre Dame Hockey, its a way of life! ...ML

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    • Re: The University of Notre Dame Hockey: 09-10. Let's Live It Up!

      Originally posted by Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres. View Post

      ...I think Coach Jackson found his starting goaltender.
      I hate trying to post about Jackson's goaltending intentions, because unless I actually know something, my speculation has more often than not been proven wrong, going back to his first season here and the battle between David Brown and Jordan Pearce. This has been the area where Jackson has been hardest to read. I don't disagree at all who I think SHOULD be starting, but I just don't believe we are yet to that point with the guy who matters most.

      I also hate how all too often when a goalie gives up a number of bad goals, coaches especially, but also fans, tend to give the netminder too much of a pass with observations that his defense let him down, or they walked in 3-on-1, or other similar remarks. But after the game Jackson appeared to try to put his comments somewhere in the middle of that road last night. I think if you read between the lines though, it is clear where he put much of the blame for last night's outcome being worse than Friday's. You don't even have to read between the lines to see where he puts much of the credit for Friday's win. Will this lead him to finally decide on a clear number 1? Who knows? In Alaska he started Johnson both nights, unexpectedly, and Johnson responded with a loss the second night, although he didn't play particularly poorly. But it seems clear to me that his play warrants an extended chance to be the starter, as has the fact that he simply has not let in the number of bad goals that, unfortunately, Brad Philips has.

      Sadly, the problems this team has faced in winning consistently this year go way beyond who is between the pipes. The struggles breaking out the puck from their own end; the continued lack of physical play in the neutral zone and along their own blueline; the backwards or totally out of whack approach to SOG (shoot when the shot isn't there, hold the puck or pass it once again when it is, or try to make that last extra move to shake a defender when you're already to the bottom of the faceoff circles); the completely out of character of a Jeff Jackson coached team of selfishness displayed by a couple of their more highly regarded players; the list is long.

      I guess on the one hand, there was similar gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands (and of wanting to wring a few necks) 5 years ago when this team was 4-8-4 after 16 games. We were all trying to figure out why a team coming off a 20 win season and its first NCAA trip could struggle that much. While no one probably expected the crash and burn that followed -- 1 more win in the final 22 games -- by that time I also don't know how many expected a miracle turnaround for a second trip to the NCAAs. My how expectations have changed. Because while I'm not sure what to expect this season, I know I believe THIS team still CAN be great.

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      • Re: The University of Notre Dame Hockey: 09-10. Let's Live It Up!

        Originally posted by IrishHockeyFan View Post

        I guess on the one hand, there was similar gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands (and of wanting to wring a few necks) 5 years ago when this team was 4-8-4 after 16 games. We were all trying to figure out why a team coming off a 20 win season and its first NCAA trip could struggle that much. While no one probably expected the crash and burn that followed -- 1 more win in the final 22 games -- by that time I also don't know how many expected a miracle turnaround for a second trip to the NCAAs. My how expectations have changed. Because while I'm not sure what to expect this season, I know I believe THIS team still CAN be great.
        I just commented the other day about the old Florida football coach Doug Dickey, who said "I'd rather be 7-3 than 9-1. When you're 7-3 they talk about the 7 you won, but when you're 9-1 they talk about the 1 you lost." Expectations can be a bear.

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        • Re: The University of Notre Dame Hockey: 09-10. Let's Live It Up!

          A nice little bit of local recognition for the hockey players and coaches.

          Comment


          • Re: The University of Notre Dame Hockey: 09-10. Let's Live It Up!

            This weekend should be gut check time for the Irish. Miami is en fuego this season as they've experienced no lull from playing for the NC.

            The Redhawks are 9-2-5 overall. They are 3-1-4 in November. ND is 7-5-4 overall and nearly identical to Miami in the month of November, going 3-2-3. Top scorers for both teams are pretty interchangeable, with one PPG-scorer exception.

            Miami is led by Andy Miele with 16 points. He's followed by Jarod Palmer (14 points), Carter Camper (13), Curtis McKenzie (12) and Tommy Wingels (11). Palmer, Camper and Wingels are their PPG leaders with 2 each.

            ND is led by Billy Maday with 15 points. He's followed by Calle Ridderwall with 14 points, Ben Ryan (13), Kyle Lawson and Kevin Deeth (each with 11) and Riley Sheahan (10). Ridderwall leads the team in PPG's with 6. He is on a pace to handily beat his totals from last season.

            Miami is +64 as a team. They average 3.0 GF and give up 2.0 GA/game. Their PP and PK are both decent at 16.9% and 86.8%, respectively. They have 11 players who've registered PPG's. They average just under a PPG for (14 total) and against (12 total)/game. Miami's best O by far occurs in the 2nd period. Exactly half of their goals have come in the middle stanza. It's also their weakest D, as their opponents have scored more than half of their goals during the 2nd.

            ND is -23 (giving up four 5 x 5 goals in a game can do that to you...). They average 2.38 GF, while giving up a scant 1.88 GA/game. ND's PP is good at 21.2%. Their PK is great at 91.2%. ND has 8 players who've scored PPG's. They've scored 18 PPG's for, which is better than one a game. They've given up just 6 PPG's against, for less than a half a PPG/game. ND's O is pretty steady throughout the game, as is their D, believe it or not.

            I believe Coach Jackson will go with Mike Johnson for both games (unless he stinks Friday...). Johnson is 4-2-2 with a nation-leading GA of 1.35 and also a nation-leading save % of .947.

            Miami's goaltenders have basically split time in net, save for a brief stint in the middle of their young season. Cody Reichard usually is in net Fridays. He's 8-1-2 with a GA of 1.59 and a save % of .927. Connor Knapp is 1-1-3 with a GA of 2.58 and a save % of .900. I assume they will both play this weekend.

            Aside from the +/- and the overall record, ND matches up pretty well with Miami. Here's to a successful trip to Ohio.

            There's no such thing as failure...only early attempts at success.
            "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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            • Re: The University of Notre Dame Hockey: 09-10. Let's Live It Up!

              I wonder if the team will feel more settled if Jackson decides he's seen enough to name a clear #1 goalie. I certainly feel for Brad Philips because he's worked so hard in his rehab, and he's truly a good kid, got a great heart, and is at Notre Dame for all the right reasons. But at the end of the day, everyone connected to the team has an obligation to do what they can to win, and its obvious, at least right now, that Johnson is giving the team the best chance to win.

              I'm still worried about this team a little in the third period. They've gotten away a little bit from giving away the points in the last period (the last 4 games they've failed to win the outcome wasn't decided against them in the third), but they are still not the dominant last period team they had become known as. I think a lot of that had to do with Teddy Ruth being absent, and now that he's fully back into the swing of things, they are not running just 4 D-men out there at the end. Last weekend, all 6 guys saw the ice regularly in the last period, even Eric Ringel. That has helped.

              If we can get the goalie situation a little more settled, and see some more improvement in scoring 5-on-5, things will start to come around. That will be a tall order this weekend, as MU is likely to be the most talented team -- top to bottom -- we'll see for sure all year. I know the boys are chomping at the bit to show the college hockey world they deserve to be considered among the elite. No one is satisfied with what they've displayed so far and a good showing this weekend would do a lot to show the world just that. Tall order, but I believe they'll at least split.

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              • Re: The University of Notre Dame Hockey: 09-10. Let's Live It Up!

                With the little bit of consternation that has surfaced as the team has struggled somewhat this year, I remind myself once again that as a hockey program, Notre Dame has traveled a great distance in a very short amount of time.

                Was it really just 5 years ago we were witnesses to the worst season in college hockey anyone could have possibly imagined? I find it interesting to relive this thread and note the number of people wondering if the hiring of Jeff Jackson was likely to bring any positive results. Most of the negativity came from people who no longer post (or at least not under their "original" handles), but a fair bit of it came from people who make it a habit to post articulate and intelligent thoughts. Some even felt the hiring marked a turning point in the balance of power in the CCHA and predicted Jackson's arrival at Notre Dame signaled an era of top-4 finishes. A number of times I believe I invited the naysayers to return in 2 or 3 years and feel free to tell some of us "I told you so!" Wonder what they think now?

                No matter what happens this year, I believe everything is still moving in the proper direction. If the struggles continue, I believe at the end of the year we will be able to chalk it up to the simple notion that you cannot succeed at the absolute highest levels (national title game appearances, conference championships, 30 win seasons) every single year. Sometimes injuries derail you. Sometimes chemistry derails you. Sometimes plain old dumb luck knocks you right off the tracks. But just remember this: For the first 35 years of this program, the team rarely even left the station.

                Comment


                • Re: The University of Notre Dame Hockey: 09-10. Let's Live It Up!

                  You put that quite nicely, IHF. I like that my expectations are high. I like being able to complain about tying BG because 5 years ago, we would have been dancing a jig after that game. Prior to Coach Jackson's arrival, my measuring stick for a successful season was John Schmidt's senior year when the team finished 2 games above .500. No matter what your expectations are, they'll likely be met, so why not start high up in the atmosphere?

                  I have that mustard seed right here.
                  "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


                  • Re: The University of Notre Dame Hockey: 09-10. Let's Live It Up!

                    Originally posted by IrishHockeyFan View Post
                    Was it really just 5 years ago we were witnesses to the worst season in college hockey anyone could have possibly imagined? I find it interesting to relive this thread and note the number of people wondering if the hiring of Jeff Jackson was likely to bring any positive results. Most of the negativity came from people who no longer post (or at least not under their "original" handles), but a fair bit of it came from people who make it a habit to post articulate and intelligent thoughts.
                    How's this for prescient? "...his LSSU teams were hell to play against and caused more heartbreaking losses for UM in the early 1990's than any other program by far."
                    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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                    • Re: The University of Notre Dame Hockey: 09-10. Let's Live It Up!

                      Originally posted by Craig P. View Post
                      How's this for prescient? "...his LSSU teams were hell to play against and caused more heartbreaking losses for UM in the early 1990's than any other program by far."
                      Your prescience or that of another poster? Either way, so true and so foretelling. I can think of 3 particularly heartbreaking losses for UM at the hands of the Notre Dame era Jeff Jackson

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                      • Re: The University of Notre Dame Hockey: 09-10. Let's Live It Up!

                        So where can a person go and watch tonight's game?

                        Comment


                        • Re: The University of Notre Dame Hockey: 09-10. Let's Live It Up!

                          Originally posted by IrishHockeyFan View Post
                          Your prescience or that of another poster? Either way, so true and so foretelling. I can think of 3 particularly heartbreaking losses for UM at the hands of the Notre Dame era Jeff Jackson
                          Lord Sidious's. He's originally a Michigan fan, and became secondarily an ND fan because he lived in the area and got season tickets for a few seasons.
                          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

                          Comment


                          • Re: The University of Notre Dame Hockey: 09-10. Let's Live It Up!

                            Let's see...where to begin...? I honestly don't know how to answer that without lots of cuss words and question marks. I wonder if Kyle Palmieri and Ian Cole brought some nice suits to Oxford because if it were me, I'd tell them to iron out the wrinkles and have a seat...in the stands.

                            What on earth was Cole doing when he lolligagged it to the puck on the PP in the first, only to be soundly beaten to the puck by a Miami guy. Wasn't anyone on the bench yelling, "One hard!"? Was Mike Johnson yelling, "One hard!"? Wasn't his D partner yelling, "One hard!"? But then again, with the way he dogged it, would that have mattered?

                            And let's not forget the two penalties he took. And while I'm on it, how about those 3 penalties Palmieri took, including the one with under 2 minutes to go when his team was down by a goal?

                            And I gotta ask, "Where was the forecheck after the 10:00 mark of the first?" Miami completely dominated this game from that moment on. ND simply chased the puck. I don't know whether to feel flattered or not at that admission because they looked like me and my team. Maybe we're better than I suspected. Maybe ND is...

                            I can't finish that thought.
                            "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


                            • Re: The University of Notre Dame Hockey: 09-10. Let's Live It Up!

                              For a 1-0 game, it wasn't too hard to tell which team dominated about 90% of this one.

                              The Irish were completely outworked in the first and third periods by MU. This is a game where similarities in the cold hard stats (1-0, only a 2 shot differential over the course of 60 minutes, similar penalty minutes -- minus the 10 minute variety, neither team netting a PP goal despite plenty of minutes of PP time) don't even begin to tell the tale. Mike Johnson played particularly well in this one, but once again a solid effort by the netminder is foiled by the inability (or is it unwillingness, I am finding it harder and harder to tell with each passing week) of this team to put together a 60 minute effort on offense.

                              And I have to concur on Ian Cole tonight. Generally I will be quick to bash the team as a whole, but single out individual players for praise. But he just was not into this game tonight. His disappearing act on the shorty was not befitting of an NHL draft pick, let alone one taken in the first round. It reminded me of a similar play 2 years ago during a woeful performance at Lawson Arena against Western. But he was a day late and a dollar short throughout the contest tonight. Maybe he wasn't worse than anyone else, but when you're blessed with the body, the shot, and the God-given talent like that, it just stands out that much more if you don't honor it with effort.

                              "You are what you are folks" someone said around here once before. And right now you're a 6-5 hockey team (if you add the SOs to the mix). And for this team, even more so than ANY of our recent football teams, that most definitely isn't good enough. And I'd hate to think that's as good as it will get. Time for a gut-check. Are these guys really able to look at each other and say they've given absolutely everything they've got? If so, well then OK. Maybe 6-5 is good enough. But I believe they are better.

                              Comment


                              • Re: The University of Notre Dame Hockey: 09-10. Let's Live It Up!

                                Looks like Johnson has solidified a starting spot...now if they could get some scoring from someone other than Ridderwall??? What exactly did Paleiri do last night? He had his troubles in Jr's, heres hoping Coach Jackson can help him mature.
                                “You know what we were doing? We were on the phone calling Jon Corzine — literally. I literally picked up the phone and called Jon Corzine, and said, ‘Jon, what do you think we should do?'" ~Joe Biden~

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