Disclaimer: i'm kinda drunk right now, so please excuse the way i might come off here.
The winged helmets on ice are going into what seems like the most important series of the regular season. They're coming into it pretty pumped up from winning their second straight GLI with Inside College Hockey's new hidden Hobey Louie Caporusso. Judging from that and the "Hobey Baker" chants i heard at the Joe after the death of the Spartans it wouldn't surprise me if he got some consideration for the hockey version of the Heisman trophy.
The Wolverines are hoping to capitalize off a win two weeks ago against a team that was limping through their season. Miami is hoping to recover from a loss to a team that hadn't won in 56 days. Ironically, or perhaps fittingly Michigan ended that team's season last year in the game that sent them to the frozen four.
There are many factors in this game, not the least of which is vengance. Last year that was a big enough factor in getting the Wolverines over the Redhawks in Miami with three hard earned points, especially considering how crazy that second game was.
Other than that there are the scorers. Michigan boasts two 25 point getters in Aaron Palushaj (who played in the World Junior Championship) and Louie Caporusso (who did not). Miami has the leading scorer in the CCHA in Carter Camper with 27 points 12 of them from goals. Louie trails him in points but is considered more deadly with his shooting as 18 of his points come from goals. He will probably start and he will probably get the old Bobby Hull treatment, wherever he goes, the Redhawk defenders go with him. With him and probably Camper being constantly trailed both teams will have to look to other options that are more likely to be open.
Special teams will also be a factor, Miami has a decided advantage in that department with three of the top seven power play goal getters in the CCHA. Staying out of the box will be absolutely crucial for the Wolverines if they want to win. They have to be able to play the type of disciplined hockey that Red Berenson has been preaching since he came back to Ann Arbor from the pro ranks in 1984. They need to play like they are ready to give their coach a championship in his last season. In order to execute that latter statement they have to get at least two points out of this series in order for them to be taken seriously by the selection committee, and that will also go a long way to get the team to make a first round bye in the CCHA tournament for the umpteenth year. They need all the help they can get they can get it from everybody who's available.
ahhhhhhhhhhh
c-ya
Showing posts with label Redhawks.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Redhawks.. Show all posts
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Saturday, September 6, 2008
It wasn't pretty but we won.
Last week, the Rich Rodriguez era of Michigan football got off on the wrong foot as the maize and blue lost their first game of the season to Utah. Many people wondered if the offense was worth noting, as Utah gave us several drives via penalties and our defense seemed to only shut down the Utes when they were taking their foot off the pedal.
Make no mistake about it, Miami is nowhere near as good a team as Utah, but hey a win is a win, no matter how you play it. Today was a day in which Wisconsin and that school in Columbus both trailed a Conference USA opponent and a MAC team respectively by at least eight points at some point in the game. Michigan however did not trail at any point during the game, and while our defense gave up a couple of big pass plays, we kept Bo's alma mater out of the end zone all afternoon. Our line was particularly impressive with it's speed and ability to put pressure on the quarterback.
Going into the Notre Dame weekend let's look at some of the pros and cons so far.
Pros:
Defensive line; if Brandon Graham continues to have the season he's having this year so far, he might be a contender for all-American. The best part about that is, while opposing lines are trying to focus on stopping him they might let loose one of his equally capable, yet less heralded teammates.
Steve Threet can run the ball when he needs to. Granted the defensive ends for the Redhawks are nowhere near as fast as the DE's for Utah, Threet really executed the zone read extremely well today. Everybody was surprised by that, most of us came into the season expecting Steve Threet to be like John Navarre at very best, but he's quick, he's made some good decisions and, for right now, he's our man at Quarterback. I don't care what anybody else says, he's our guy right now.
Our O-line this year, is nowhere near as bad as Notre Dame's was last year. While that might not be saying much they are practicing against the same line that molested Jimmy Clausen last year so badly he saw yellow wings in his sleep. While Mark Ortmann's injury is a HUGE loss that can't be understated, due to our lack of depth on the line, at least we can keep the opponents our long enough for a play to develop, sometimes.
The McGuffie sweep works. I'd be surprised if we don't use it more often, Wham bam Sam might not have the reputation of Noel Devine or Steve Slaton yet, but he's getting there.
And last but certainly not least, our defense has not missed any tackles. Last year the biggest problem for our team's defense was letting guys slip through our fingers. Now while we haven't played anybody like Travis Beckum or Beanie Wells just yet, the fact that nobody's pulled out of the polygrip so far has been, in my opinion the most impressive thing about this team so far this year.
Cons:
The secondary still has problems. Morgan Trent was a projected pre-season all-American this year, but he's shown that he is probably the only player that has trouble making tackles. Donovan Warren has been good, making crushing hits and breaking up key passes, Brendan Harrison broke up a sure touchdown against Miami. But Stevie Brown continues to set a bad example for the secondary by letting sure pick sixes slip through his fingertips.
The return game has not improved. Granted we don't have Steve Breaston, but it would be nice if we had somebody who could get us out of the bad field position Miami had us pinned in all day long.
McGuffie sometimes zigs when he should zag. This is a typical freshman running back mistake, probably every running back, including Barry Sanders, has probably made a mistake like that at some point in his career. I'm not asking McGuffie to be Barry, clearly he isn't, but what i am saying is he needs to learn how to move better when his O-line lets him down. It's clear that he can break tackles and is one tough mo, but he needs to be able to shake and bake with some more consistency if he's to be carrying the mail for this team.
Finally, the passing game. To say it's been lackluster, save a few big plays would be a gross understatement. Sheridan's problem is that he's under throwing too much, Threet's problem is that he's overthrowing too much. Thankfully for us Threet's overthrows have trouble staying on the field so far, so no INT's. We haven't seen very much good execution on the bubble screen which was so dear to the success of West Virginia the last couple of years. But hey, what did you expect, Pat White?
Speaking of which, i think both guys are glad not to be Pat White this weekend, i'm not even sure he'd want to be.
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
c-ya
Make no mistake about it, Miami is nowhere near as good a team as Utah, but hey a win is a win, no matter how you play it. Today was a day in which Wisconsin and that school in Columbus both trailed a Conference USA opponent and a MAC team respectively by at least eight points at some point in the game. Michigan however did not trail at any point during the game, and while our defense gave up a couple of big pass plays, we kept Bo's alma mater out of the end zone all afternoon. Our line was particularly impressive with it's speed and ability to put pressure on the quarterback.
Going into the Notre Dame weekend let's look at some of the pros and cons so far.
Pros:
Defensive line; if Brandon Graham continues to have the season he's having this year so far, he might be a contender for all-American. The best part about that is, while opposing lines are trying to focus on stopping him they might let loose one of his equally capable, yet less heralded teammates.
Steve Threet can run the ball when he needs to. Granted the defensive ends for the Redhawks are nowhere near as fast as the DE's for Utah, Threet really executed the zone read extremely well today. Everybody was surprised by that, most of us came into the season expecting Steve Threet to be like John Navarre at very best, but he's quick, he's made some good decisions and, for right now, he's our man at Quarterback. I don't care what anybody else says, he's our guy right now.
Our O-line this year, is nowhere near as bad as Notre Dame's was last year. While that might not be saying much they are practicing against the same line that molested Jimmy Clausen last year so badly he saw yellow wings in his sleep. While Mark Ortmann's injury is a HUGE loss that can't be understated, due to our lack of depth on the line, at least we can keep the opponents our long enough for a play to develop, sometimes.
The McGuffie sweep works. I'd be surprised if we don't use it more often, Wham bam Sam might not have the reputation of Noel Devine or Steve Slaton yet, but he's getting there.
And last but certainly not least, our defense has not missed any tackles. Last year the biggest problem for our team's defense was letting guys slip through our fingers. Now while we haven't played anybody like Travis Beckum or Beanie Wells just yet, the fact that nobody's pulled out of the polygrip so far has been, in my opinion the most impressive thing about this team so far this year.
Cons:
The secondary still has problems. Morgan Trent was a projected pre-season all-American this year, but he's shown that he is probably the only player that has trouble making tackles. Donovan Warren has been good, making crushing hits and breaking up key passes, Brendan Harrison broke up a sure touchdown against Miami. But Stevie Brown continues to set a bad example for the secondary by letting sure pick sixes slip through his fingertips.
The return game has not improved. Granted we don't have Steve Breaston, but it would be nice if we had somebody who could get us out of the bad field position Miami had us pinned in all day long.
McGuffie sometimes zigs when he should zag. This is a typical freshman running back mistake, probably every running back, including Barry Sanders, has probably made a mistake like that at some point in his career. I'm not asking McGuffie to be Barry, clearly he isn't, but what i am saying is he needs to learn how to move better when his O-line lets him down. It's clear that he can break tackles and is one tough mo, but he needs to be able to shake and bake with some more consistency if he's to be carrying the mail for this team.
Finally, the passing game. To say it's been lackluster, save a few big plays would be a gross understatement. Sheridan's problem is that he's under throwing too much, Threet's problem is that he's overthrowing too much. Thankfully for us Threet's overthrows have trouble staying on the field so far, so no INT's. We haven't seen very much good execution on the bubble screen which was so dear to the success of West Virginia the last couple of years. But hey, what did you expect, Pat White?
Speaking of which, i think both guys are glad not to be Pat White this weekend, i'm not even sure he'd want to be.
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
c-ya
Friday, September 5, 2008
Oh well, it's a new season b/w The battle for Bo (football version)
I tore my Michigan hat to pieces by the end of the third quarter and then demanded that i be photographed holding it "for the state of Michigan." This illustrates how frustrating the first three quarters under Rich Rod were. The fourth was a ray of sunshine amongst dark clouds, but it was very deceptive. We had a one play drive in which Threet threw the bomb to Hemmingway for the score, and the McGuffie touchdown was set up by three penalties. Not only that, we had the ball three times after that, and still couldn't score.
I know that this team is young on offense and that in the second half the defense was impressive, but was that because the Utah receivers had just turned the gas off
or because we had finally adjusted to playing bump and run with them in our secondary. I'm not sure, but i hope to god that the adjustment to what the offense gives us strategy that Scott Schafer (a.k.a. HRG) talks to us about doesn't mean first halves where our secondary gives the receivers as much room as they need to catch the ball and run with it.
Now we go into the Miami game, the battle for Bo, the school he went to vs. the school he made famous. The Redhawks program has lost a lot of it's luster since Bo left, they've only won four MAC titles since 1969 despite dominating the conference in the 50s and 60s under Bo, woody and Ara, who each won conference titles. They haven't been as well known as the cradle of coaches in football since, and they would like an instance of revenge on the school that took their last hall of fame coach.
Michigan for their part are frustrated and ready to prove something to every TV pundit and enemy blogger out there. They will want to make a statement saying, "Here we are world entertain us. We're the team they should be playing highlights of on NBC right after Heroes."
The wolverines are going to try to make it look like their helmets actually give them wings tomorrow, because they want a win, not just for themselves, not just for Coach Rod, but for the whole state of Michigan who is counting on something uplifting to happen out there in the Big House.
P.S. maybe Schafer could put the Kensei symbol on all the players bodies to give them super powers, you never know.
ahhhhhhhhhhhhh
c-ya
I know that this team is young on offense and that in the second half the defense was impressive, but was that because the Utah receivers had just turned the gas off
or because we had finally adjusted to playing bump and run with them in our secondary. I'm not sure, but i hope to god that the adjustment to what the offense gives us strategy that Scott Schafer (a.k.a. HRG) talks to us about doesn't mean first halves where our secondary gives the receivers as much room as they need to catch the ball and run with it.Now we go into the Miami game, the battle for Bo, the school he went to vs. the school he made famous. The Redhawks program has lost a lot of it's luster since Bo left, they've only won four MAC titles since 1969 despite dominating the conference in the 50s and 60s under Bo, woody and Ara, who each won conference titles. They haven't been as well known as the cradle of coaches in football since, and they would like an instance of revenge on the school that took their last hall of fame coach.
Michigan for their part are frustrated and ready to prove something to every TV pundit and enemy blogger out there. They will want to make a statement saying, "Here we are world entertain us. We're the team they should be playing highlights of on NBC right after Heroes."
The wolverines are going to try to make it look like their helmets actually give them wings tomorrow, because they want a win, not just for themselves, not just for Coach Rod, but for the whole state of Michigan who is counting on something uplifting to happen out there in the Big House.
P.S. maybe Schafer could put the Kensei symbol on all the players bodies to give them super powers, you never know.
ahhhhhhhhhhhhh
c-ya
Sunday, February 3, 2008
A tied up weekend
Michigan came up with two out of a possible four points at their series against Northern Michigan, and it couldn't have felt more disappointing for the Wolverines. I was covering Saturday's game for WOLV tv (highlights will be available on monday from youtube, courtesy of Sullivti) and let me tell you, the defense seem to really struggle without Kevin Quick.
I think it's weird that a guy who's only scored two goals despite playing the whole season, could have such an impact on the team. But hockey is often times like soccer in the fact that the real statistics aren't always the ones invovlving scoring, with Quick around the Wolverines rarely ever gave up breakaway chances or odd man rush goals, they seem to have done this in the past two games of the series, which is unacceptable and is probably making Coach Berenson a little "Red" in the face.
The other thing that's kind of weird about this situation is how Kevin Quick got kicked off the team in the first place. I've talked to both members of the Michigan Daily and my collegues at WOLV and it seems that Berenson and co. are keeping as airtight a lid as you can find on a potential sports scandal as you can find on this campus. More on this developing story as the information becomes available. BTW there are a few rumors that i heard with absolutely no proof or sources so i figured that as a good journalist i shouldn't print them.
To cut to the point Michigan can ill afford to play like this against a team as good as Miami next weekend. That being said i am looking forward to seeing a very good game on FSN this weekend. If Michigan can look at what they did wrong in the past four games and figure out a way to fix it, they will be reaping some benefits of at least two points against the Redhawks, however two points against the Redhawks will probably be less satisfactory to the Wolverines than two points against the Wildcats from this weekend. What Michigan needs to do to get out of this slump is to not think that they can win the game, KNOW THAT THEY WILL WIN THE GAME.
As Yoda once said, "Do or do not, there is no try!"
I think it's weird that a guy who's only scored two goals despite playing the whole season, could have such an impact on the team. But hockey is often times like soccer in the fact that the real statistics aren't always the ones invovlving scoring, with Quick around the Wolverines rarely ever gave up breakaway chances or odd man rush goals, they seem to have done this in the past two games of the series, which is unacceptable and is probably making Coach Berenson a little "Red" in the face.
The other thing that's kind of weird about this situation is how Kevin Quick got kicked off the team in the first place. I've talked to both members of the Michigan Daily and my collegues at WOLV and it seems that Berenson and co. are keeping as airtight a lid as you can find on a potential sports scandal as you can find on this campus. More on this developing story as the information becomes available. BTW there are a few rumors that i heard with absolutely no proof or sources so i figured that as a good journalist i shouldn't print them.
To cut to the point Michigan can ill afford to play like this against a team as good as Miami next weekend. That being said i am looking forward to seeing a very good game on FSN this weekend. If Michigan can look at what they did wrong in the past four games and figure out a way to fix it, they will be reaping some benefits of at least two points against the Redhawks, however two points against the Redhawks will probably be less satisfactory to the Wolverines than two points against the Wildcats from this weekend. What Michigan needs to do to get out of this slump is to not think that they can win the game, KNOW THAT THEY WILL WIN THE GAME.
As Yoda once said, "Do or do not, there is no try!"
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