Juho Olkinora was heroic between the pipes but it wasn't enough to hold off Bemidji.
DU had plenty of offensive opportunities, but ultimately going 0 for 6 on the power play did them in.
DU had plenty of offensive opportunities, but ultimately going 0 for 6 on the power play did them in.
30 comments:
After this weekend it's clear why JZ made Team USA and Shore didn't. JZ plays with grit. Shore is soft.
Gwoz was right this team is on the verge of something special a split with the Beavers is awesome. What a special team we have.
Let's call a spade a spade. This DU team is average this year. Their play shows it and their record shows it. Not much else to say.
Hopefully DU bounces back and gets a couple of wins next weekend. They might need to work on the power play in practice this week.
Very inconsistant.Key injuries may be a factor.Freshman have not had the same impact as of yet this year compared to last.JL on the backend is the exception.Interesting comment regarding Bennett injury by Makininie on the Bennett blog.Whats up with that?
Olkinuora was incredible between the pipes but our lack of capitalizing on the powerplay killed us.
DU's power play is atrocious. Seriously, the coaches can't figure out a solution?? Gimme a break.
DU held a lead for just five minutes this weekend. Congrats to Bemidji for a solid weekend of hockey.
In the 1st period I thought Stickney did a fantastic job of calling "The Teddy Bear Toss" without Mark Rycroft. Few broadcast professionals could switch gears on a whim like that and not miss a single beat.
worst team in years.......
Injuries are part of the game, and DU almost always deals with the loss of star players for extended periods.
The power play problems have been around for a long time, and you can mask them when scoring 3-4 GPG without the PP. This team lacks consistent finishing around the net, and that means losses.
Slow starts kills you, too. They are energy sappers when you can't roll all your lines and keep people fresh,
DU is a one line team right now, and you can't gain ground on anyone with that. Without Sammie and Beau, the team is not elite.
If the Pios get all their guys back, they might get hot at the end of the season as in 2004.
Then again, this might be another underachieving team and not make the NCAAs.
Anon 11:15 Do you have a link to
"Makininie on the Bennett blog."
Anonymous said Makaninie made a comment regarding the Bennett injury on the Bennett Blog .Where do I find this blog.
Found it on this site under B Bennett to miss 6-8 weeks.The wizard said Bennett has played couageously for the last three weeks with a ruptured tendon.Why?
What the puck!Just read it.Who and how did we screw this one up.Feel for the kid and the team.Brutal
Does anyone know our injured player list and timelines for return.Also curious about the Bennett situation .Anybody have any additional info?
Was this the injury they said cut his arm back in practice for the Tech series?
Cant be, you wouldnt let something like that go without getting the proper treatment.That only happens in the beer leagues.That reminds me , our beer league tem sucks.
Did'nt know Beau was hurt.Was just checking post game info.Played with and against him in So-Cal.Don't let his easy going spirit fool you.Always had a smile on his face but would eat you in a game.He took a puck to the head once in a pre game from a slapper.Blew up his eye ,blood everywhere. Left to emerg and came back with a zipper in his head for third period.Couple seasons later he was playing on a broken foot for 4-5weeks.Dont think Ive been around anyone who loved the game as much.Glad he was a teammate , hated playing against!speedy recovery Beau. So-Cal hockey
Time to start playing players for their effort and not their draft status. Same thing goes for the power play just cause your a draft pick should you get the extra ice on PP? I don't think so. Hasn't worked for years now, but still the draft picks get the bye for extra ice. The all freshman line for the second PP isn't working either. Time to make adjustments and reward the players who are playing out there before we don't have a chance to save the season. Reward for effort, you earn ice time not because what pro team your drafted by. Like to know how many goals against for the top lines out there compared to other lines. Seems like they may out way the goals for. We are getting beat because we allow to many goals because of defensive mistakes and we can't score enough to win.
@ 2:09
I do agree that ice time should be awarded based on effort as a component of that choice. But as the sole deciding factor? No way. Dewhurst gives effort but that doesn't mean he should all of a sudden supplant Drew as Zucker's center nor does it mean he should all of a sudden be on the first PP.
I certainly agree that the team is sputtering a bit right now. However, I am glad that you are not in Gwoz' shoes. Wholesale changes won't fix anything and I doubt Gwoz will all of a sudden have a first line of Dewhurst, Tabrum and the Danimal.
I won't be surprised to see a few changes in the lineup leading up to the New Year, though, and Coach Gwoz will get everything straightened out for the second half.
Let's Go Pios!
Like DU fans (forget the Tiglettes) I'm worried, concerned, non-plussed, at a loss for words, upset, curious, and just generally unhappy. Still too early to throw in the towel, IMO. But they've definitely got to step it up and shake off this funk, no question.
Seeing as though there is a light WCHA schedule next weekend and it is just the teams who have played 12 games instead of 14...DU, with a sweep and at least one CC loss, would find themselves tied for 3rd at the midway point of the WCHA schedule.
All you can do is go back to work , make some adjustments and work out of it.Wasnt there another Bennett?Saw him in the preseason and seemed fine.Hurt,back to jr or ?
W Bennett = 8th on depth chart for defensemen
I believe he was on the Brrrrmidji trip.
In a sick way, I'm looking forward to the next month and a half or so. Will be a true test for this bunch. Rides and Zooooker and Great Brittian out, and Bo and Up&Adam out too. Dare I say, "good".... What an opportunity for the so called "underlings" to rise, score goals and and play Pioneer hockey. My prediction is, you're going to see unlikely heros come out of all of this. And, I'll see you in Tampa!
So lets leave the PP lines the way they are even though they don't get the job done. Lets not try and make changes we have time to let things work out on there own. Lets just leave the lines the way they are. This makes a whole lot of sense. Prepare to watch teams other than DU playing in March. .
I'm usually reluctant to complain after a split on the road against a league opponent, but DU really needed to sweep this weekend. There just aren't enough guys on the team playing at a high level. That, coupled with a dreadful power play and having to play from behind, is not a good recipe.
Forget about the Pairwise, national rankings, league standings etc. This team needs to start stringing some wins together and work from there.
I understand why you don’t want look at the rankings. DU is down to #24 in the Pairwise. Ouch!
Ouch is right. They have a tremendous amount of ground to recover and splitting series against Bemidji (even away) aren't going to cut it.
7-6-3 currently. Based on the way the team is presently playing, here are my predictions for the remaining games:
Split in St. Cloud, lose to Union at home, beat Air Force away, sweep Huntsville and Bemidji at home, split in Alaska, split CC, split home Minn series, split in Wisc, split home UND series, split in Omaha.
We would end up the regular season at 19-14-3. Right on the bubble.
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