Game Gab - Nightly Post-Game Analysis
Come here after the games for analysis and insights from CHN Staff members.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Friday, March 15, 2013
Michigan 4, Western Michigan 3 - Friday, March 15, 2013
Michigan jumped out to a 2-0 and 3-2, with Western rallying each time. WMU scored two goals in 62 seconds, early in the second period, to tie it 2-2. But each time Michigan pulled away, and ultimately held off WMU in the third. Michigan continues to plays its best hockey here, and after a dismal regular season, but its standards, things are starting to get very interesting. Remember, Michigan has a 22-season NCAA Tournament streak on the line, and must win the CCHAs to get in this time. ... Michigan's star defenseman was better than WMU's bevy of top-notch D-men. Jacob Trouba was extra-stellar, scoring twice, including the game winner in the third.
Meanwhile, WMU goes to the brink, hanging by a thread for the NCAAs, which turns Saturday into a must-win game. Coach Andy Murray wasn't thrilled with goalie Frank Slubowski's night, or the night of the officials. "I think we've seen Frank better. I think he is an honest player and would say the exact same thing," WMU coach Andy Murray said. "We didn't like the two goals we gave up. We gave up a couple of great transition opportunities. I really liked the effort in the game tonight. ... We need to be better. I think there were a couple things with the referees that were not as good as they need to be, just like how I need to be a better coach."
"We gave them a few too many scoring chances," WMU defenseman Danny DeKeyser said. "It's tough to win games when you let the other team score four goals. They were putting a lot of pucks on net. We just have to drive to the net hard and clear rebounds tomorrow."
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Michigan State 1, Western Michigan 0 - Saturday, March 2, 2013
It's been a rough year for Michigan State, albeit somewhat expected with all the turnover it had. And now it has to go back to Alaska for the second time in three weeks for the first round of the CCHA playoffs. But at least it closed out the CCHA regular season with a hard-fought win against a team scratching for playoff positioning and an NCAA bid. Definitely something to hang its hat on. A first-period goal by Anthony Hayes stood up and Jake Hildebrand made 28 saves for the shutout. Western drops to third with the loss, although still with a first-round bye and still in OK shape for the NCAAs. But coach Andy Murray was left fuming after a late third-period tying goal was disallowed because referees said Dane Walters was in the crease.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Notre Dame 1, Western Michigan 1 - Saturday, February 23, 2013
Two games, two ties this weekend, with the teams splitting the shootouts, so they each end up with three points. It means they end up where they started, with WMU one point ahead of Notre Dame in second place, though farther behind Miami, which earned six points this weekend. Assuming neither catches Miami, these two will simply be jockeying for second and third next week, which doesn't mean much in the grand scheme. Of bigger importance is the NCAA picture. WMU slipped slightly to ninth in the Pairwise while Notre Dame sits at 14.
"We expected tight games," Broncos coach Andy Murray said. "It was interesting, in the Ferris series I didn't think we were as good as we needed to be; in the first game against Miami I didn't think we were as good as we need to be, and when we went to Ohio State I don't think we were as good as we needed to be. I think these games were real good for us. We've got two big games against Michigan State next weekend, and they're going to be battles for us. What's important is that we play solid games back to back like we did this weekend."
Junior forward Mike Cichy got the only goal of this game for WMU, offsetting Notre Dame's early power-play score. "No excuses but it was Senior Night; we had that presentation in the beginning and it was a little emotional for all of us," Cichy said. "This is their last home game here and it touched us. But once they came out and gave us a rude awakening on that power play it really woke us up because we were getting dominated pretty bad."
Jeff Jackson, who like Murray, spent time in the NHL, felt much the same way. “For us to come on the road and take three points is really huge for us," said Notre Dame's coach. "Our guys played hard this weekend and I thought we played two real good games.”
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Ohio State 6, Western Michigan 3 - Saturday, February 16, 2013
Don't talk about any second-half meltdowns this season. Ohio State is getting stronger and stronger as this season goes on, unlike last year. Alex Szczechura had a hat trick to lead the Buckeyes, who pick up a solid 4 of 6 possible points on the weekend. OSU is 5-1-2 since mid-January and has gotten itself back above .500. ... On the other side -- it's a relatively minor setback for Western Michigan, which sits at No. 8 in the Pairwise.
Szczechura had just four goals last season, but is now up to 10. “At times he was fighting for his right to play," OSU coach Mark Osiecki said. "He’s earned it though and he is very talented around the net.” ... Said Szczechura, “Going to the net, pucks were just kind of landing at my feet so I had a few chances. That is credit to our whole team though. We did a nice job tonight of getting pucks to the net to create chances for us.”
Western Michigan coach Andy Murray said, "I give my full compliments to Ohio State, they were faster to the pucks. Not enough of our people impressed me tonight. ... When you don't stay humble, you get humbled."
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Miami 4, Western Michigan 0 - Saturday, February 9, 2013
The top two teams in the CCHA went at it, and they traded shutouts, leaving them right back where they started. But that place is still thrilling -- just one point separating the two, with Miami in first place just ahead of the Broncs. Western Michigan goaltender Frank Slubowski was the hero Friday, stopping all 32 Miami shots to thrill the Lawson Lunatics in Kalamazoo. But Slubowski had to leave Saturday's game in the second period with what the team labeled as exhaustion, after getting behind 3-0. "Frank wasn't feeling well tonight, and it was a 3-0 hockey game at that point. He just wasn't feeling well," WMU coach Andy Murray said about pulling Slubowski. "We felt that in that situation from a health perspective that it was the best thing to do. He just wasn't himself."
And Miami freshman Ryan McKay, who is having a remarkable season in net for the Red Hawks, returned the favor by stopping all 29 shots he faced for the win. Riley Barber scored his 12th of the season en route to the win for Miami. McKay is now 7-2-2 with a 0.98 goals against average and .964 save percentage.
Murray was philosophical on the weekend as a whole ... "As I was shaking the hands of the opposing coaches I complemented them on having their team ready to play; they started very strong. To me, what cost us the hockey game was the way we played in the first seven to eight minutes of the game. They're a great team obviously. They're sitting where they are for a reason. ... I always take responsibility, and that's my job. I'm not going to let this loss deter from what this team has been doing all year. We are going to come to practice on Monday and get ready to go for our weekend against Ohio State. ... I am disappointed we didn't play better, but I am proud of what our team has done all year. If you look at the hockey game, there were a couple of strange goals, and players who made individual mistakes that we would like to have back. ... They haven't had to suffer many lessons this year. You have to be ready to go from the drop of the puck and we just couldn't match their intensity level at the start of the game."
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Western Michigan 2, Ferris State 2 - Saturday, February 2, 2013
A game that got out of hand at times, with two Ferris State players getting game disqualifications. Ferris State rallied, though, to thrill the home crowd, and won in a shootout.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Western Michigan 5, Michigan 1 - Saturday, January 26, 2013
Western Michigan earned a sweep of reeling Michigan for the first time since 1986. That's almost as long as it's been since Michigan missed the NCAAs, and that seems all but certain now, barring a miracle turnaround. The wins kept WMU one point ahead of Miami for first place in the CCHA, and up to No. 8 in the Pairwise. The Broncos finished 5-1-2 in January, with Colton Hargrove scoring twice in the weekend finale. His second, early in the third period, chased Michigan goalie Adam Janecyk from the game. The Michigan goaltending has been a big problem this season, but the problems are all over.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Western Michigan 2, Bowling Green 1 - Saturday, January 19, 2013
Bowling Green came into Saturday's game coming off three straight wins -- over Michigan, Notre Dame and Western Michigan. And despite the Saturday loss and weekend split, the Falcons can feel good about their outlook the rest of the way. It was slow going to start the season, unable to ride the momentum of last year's playoff run. But it seems to be coming together now. And Andrew Hammond continues to be stellar in net.
Credit Western Michigan with not letting the Falcons' train get the best of it this weekend, though. WMU fell behind 1-0, then stemmed the tied by getting the equalizer in the second from defenseman Luke Witkowksi, and pulled it out in the third with a gritty effort. Said Witkowski about this team's penalty kill, which was crucial all night, "The 5-on-3 was a big kill. We had three of our captains out there and I think we did a pretty good job. We really battled until the end. I think we did a solid job all night." ... WMU coach Andy Murray said his team did a better job hitting the net Saturday. "It was an intense game, like every hockey game is. They are a great rival and play hard. They have quality players and are well organized as a team. I like the structure that their coaches have brought to their game. Compliments to them, and compliments to our guys too. We challenged our guys in our morning meeting to elevate their game; we were disappointed with the result last night, and certainly this has a much better feeling to it."
WMU got a lot of contributions, including the winning goal from Mike Leone. "I thought there was a lot of determination," Murray said. "I thought Ben Warda was instrumental in that goal. I also thought that Justin Kovacs may have played his best game as a Bronco. That's the kind of intensity we are looking for from Justin. It was a hardworking goal, made by a hardnosed player. A guy that knows his game was not at the right level last night and needed to be better tonight."
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Michigan Tech 4, Western Michigan 0 - Sunday, December 30, 2012
Michigan Tech wins the GLI for the first time since current coach Mel Pearson was playing, in 1980. This is such a storied program, and it's been so long since it tasted anywhere near that kind of success. But Pearson is getting the most out of this program, and perhaps even brighter days are ahead. Not only did Tech win the GLI, but it recorded shutouts in both games. And not only that, but it got the shutouts from Pheonix Copley, who had just a 1-6 record coming into the tournament. It also did it without Blake Pietela, who is playing for Team USA at the World Juniors.
We'll have more on this tournament soon.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Western Michigan 2, Ferris State 1 - Saturday, December 8, 2012
Senior Mike Leone had just two goals last season, and none this season coming into the weekend. But after kicking off Friday's 4-2 Broncos win, Leone got the game winner late in the third period of Saturday's victory, giving Western an impressive sweep of Ferris State. ... "We've been talking about all week taking pucks wide and getting pucks on the net and I just wanted to shoot it on goal and get one of our guys coming in a rebound, but it took a good bounce and went in," Leone said. "I was actually just trying to get it on net and for a rebound for a guy coming in the slot, and it happened to go in. I was pretty excited."
After limiting FSU to just 12 shots Friday, Western allowed a more normal amount Saturday, but allowed one fewer goal. Problem was, FSU also tightened up on defense, and it was 1-0 late in the third. That's when Chase Balisy finally broke through, followed by Leone's less than two minutes later. Both came on the power play.
"Just an exciting way to win, obviously. We played a really good team this weekend," WMU coach Andy Murray said. "They made some adjustments, came at us hard to night, which we would expect they would do, and we found a way to win the hockey game. It was a battle back and forth. ... We knew that Ferris would play very hard and physical against us. I mean, they're not a program that's gonna allow you to win two games on them. We knew they'd put up a battle here tonight. They did some grinding drills this morning in their practice, so you knew they were coming in with some intent and were going to play us really hard. That's the sign of a great team, which Ferris is. They came in here on a roll, and we found a way to beat them twice, but it got everything out of our team, it demanded the most of our team."
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Western Michigan 2, Bowling Green 2 - Saturday, November 10, 2012
Broncos goalie Frank Slubowski was a bit busier Saturday than Friday, when he needed just 11 saves in a 3-1 win. He needed 23 saves this time, getting a tie before WMU won in the shootout.
Michigan 5, Western Michigan 1 - Saturday, March 16, 2013
And so here is Michigan, playing its best hockey of the season. Is Western Michigan also playing some of its worst at the absolute wrong time? Yes. But Michigan, after its worst regular season in over 20 years, is suddenly on fire. It has to win the CCHA Tournament in order to keep alive its impressive 22-year streak of making the NCAAs, and it's playing like a team that suddenly realized it could do that. Friday, Michigan scored some soft ones early on Frank Slubowski en route to the win. Saturday, with Slubowski better and WMU more determined to clamp down on defense, the Wolverines were able to find holes anyway. They had a four-goal outburst in the second period, including two goals from Alex Guptill, to run Slubowski from the game and take control.
"We talked about mental toughness before the game, being strong mentally and being physically loose," WMU coach Andy Murray said. "You have to credit your opponent with putting pressure on us, when they came to our building and out-shoot us the way that they did for 40 minutes of the hockey game; that's a credit to them. By the same token we take responsibility. I told the players after the game that as a coach I wish I had done more to get them to The Joe next weekend. That's my responsiblity as the coach. When we win, I believe it's the players, and when we aren't as successful I think it's the coaches responsibilty."
Western Michigan now has to sit and await its fate. Last year, it won this tournament for the first time. This year's path to a possible third straight NCAAs will be different, but still very possible, if not likely. The Broncos sit at No. 14 in the Pairwise, and the good news is, they can't lose anymore. "We had a discussion in the room, and until our players leave this campus they are Broncos," Murray said. "They are Bronco hockey players, and Bronco athletes so they have a code of conduct they need to follow and take care of themselves. We will take tomorrow and Monday off, and we'll meet with them on Tuesday. Our idea is to continue to prepare. I told our players that there has been a lot of great work here this year, and if the work that we have done earlier this season is enough then we deserve that spot in the NCAA tournament."
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