A glimpse of future hope

Going into the game Tuesday against Missouri I was one of those who had little faith in the Hawks to pull out a win. I watch the game regardless and was thoroughly impressed by the performance throughout the game. The loss of DJK (kicked off the team after drug charges), Robinson (suspended apparently for academics and the effects of an arrest between the end of the season and a bowl game puts his future in doubt), Hampton (transfer), Rodgers (injury), were assumed to have a major impact on the offense. The defense was facing questions of its own after taking most of the blame for the year end collapse.
When it came time to actually play the game, Marcus Coker piled the team on his back and carried them 217 yards. Micha Hyde stepped up and refused to let the defense take the blame for another late game loss by returning a Blaine Gabbert mistake 72 yards for a touchdown.
The game started just as the Hawkeyes wanted it to. They received the opening kickoff used a big pass play from Stanzi to McNutt, the feature receiver without DJK, and a few physical runs by freshman Marcus Coker to take an early seven to nothing lead. Missouri responded later in the quarter cutting the lead to four points.
The Hawks bumped up their lead on the first two possessions of the third quarter. Coker added his longest run of the season, only his sixth game, a 62 yard scamper outrunning the defenders after picking up a perfect block by McNutt. The Hawks then bumped their lead to 17-3 with a field goal by the true freshman Meyer.
Missouri, the number 14 team in the nation, wasn't going to go away quietly. They added a touchdown on an 82 yard drive and almost added a tying score with only a minute left. With only half a minute left Gabbert dropped back and tried to force the ball to his receiver where it was tipped by Shaun Prater into the hands of Brett Greenwood. The play ended the threat and the half, leaving the Hawkeyes with a seven point lead.
The second half had all the makings of another collapse for the Hawks. The offense struggled to get any consistency going, they produced only a Meyer field goal on the opening drive of the half. Stanzi threw two interceptions on the following three drives while Missouri produced 14 points in the game time to take their first lead of the game.
Then Micha Hyde stepped up and refused to let another game slip away. Despite giving up over 400 yards in the air and over 75 on the ground, the defense kept the team in the game. Gabbert was rushed on first down at the Iowa 29, he rolled out to his left and lobbed a pass that I assumed was going out of play. Next thing I knew, Hyde was picking up blocks and crossing the field. Soon after that he was sprinting up the field with help all around, turning a potential seven point deficit into a three point lead.
Mizzou got the ball back one more time though. The drove once again down into Hawkeye territory. A quarterback rush for three yards and two consecutive incomplete passes set up a fourth and seven with the game on the line. Gabbert threw a ball that appeared to result in a beautiful catch by his receiver Moe. The officials reviewd the catch however and decided to call it incomplete. I agreed with the call but did not expect it to be reversed because there didn't seem to be anything conclusive to show it. The ball was given back to the Hawks who continued to ride the back of Coker. He picked up ten yards on the first rush and seven on the next two. On third and one Stanzi ran a perfect play action pass, the whole defense went to Coker and when Stanzi rolled out it was too late. He hit Reisner, who was wide open, for a 39 yard gain. He came up a yard short of making it a ten point game but the Hawks were happy to line up in the victory formation and wind out the last few seconds.
The game was an excellent overall team performance. The line protected Stanzi and make holes for Coker. The defense played their typical bend but don't break style, conceding a huge amount of yards but only the 23 points for the game. The win helped to take the sting out of a rough year, the five close losses and failing to meet the expectations that had been set early. The Hawks proved that next year will be another to look forward to and I'm sure I'm not the only one looking forward to it.
Until then, other then a few occasional updates, LETS GO HAWKS!

Czech Republic vs Norway and the WJC

My sister and I ventured to Niagara University last night to catch the experience of the World Junior Championships, it made sure to meet my expectations. We went to the Czech vs Norway game since being in college doesn't make it hard to pick between 20 and 40 dollar tickets, especially when neither game is of significant importance to you. I quickly realized that it was an international event based on the large number of security people around the rink, although there was surprisingly little search at the door.
The crowd for the game was a full one, other then the reserved seats at the end of the ice almost all of the bleachers were filled up before the game started. The crowd was very neutral and just there to see some good hockey, other then a pack of Canadian fans behind us that were rooting for Norway to knock off the Czech team and make the road to a pool win easier for team Canada.
One of the main things I was interested in at the game was to see if the players or coaches had any significantly different traditions of things in the game. The only major thing that I noticed was the way the coaches were dressed; the Norway coaches wore suits and ties while the Czech coaches wore team jackets over regular shirts and ties. I was also surprised that the teams were not sponsored enough to have someone get them all matching equipment. For example the Norway goalie was wearing green pads despite the teams red, white, and blue colors. Another reason for that could be the lack of preparation time with the exact players for the teams but it was still surprising.
The game itself was a great one despite there being an obvious difference in the level of play for each team. The Czechs were clearly the better team from the start, though both teams took a while to get going. The first few shifts seemed to be a feeling out time though it resulted in a early power play for Norway. The fans in our area lacked more then a basic understanding of the rules of hockey. They complained about all of the penalties, despite some of them being quite obvious, and didn't understand the concept of hand pass or off sides at times. The style of game surprised me the most out of anything, I was expecting a fast paced game with a lot of scoring. Instead of faced paced, most of the players on both teams were over six feet tall and the main focus was on the physical game. I noticed that a few players were wearing full face shields, as is required in college hockey, and assumed that a contract of some type was the reason for them wearing them in the tournament.
I was also disappointed to see TV timeouts, I know its part of having a big event and making money but nothing takes the flow out of the game like stopping for a minute and a half. The second period was the perfect example of this, the Czech were going on a power play with the momentum but a TV timeout took away all of the built up advantage. Despite hating the timeouts it was neat to see most of the respective countries represented at the game.
At the end of the first the score was tied at zero, shots were seven to six in favor of the Czechs. The game seemed to be controlled by the Czechs much more then the shots and score indicated.

The second period brought a slightly faster pace to the game, but continued the Czech domination of play. The Norwegian's generated good chances when they could get going but they struggled to do so. A delay of game penalty on Norway off the face off was one of the only times I have ever seen a penalty called. The center took too long to get set, a violation of the rule that you do not see enforced very often. Later in the period, right after a TV timeout, the Czech's won a face off toward the Norway goaltender. The winger crashed the net hard and was able to bury the puck and give the Czech's a one nothing lead six minutes into the period. The emotion from the goal was awesome to see, it was like watching the Olympics with players that are still trying to earn their shot at glory. After a full like celebration on the boards, all five players went down the bench and then back to their own goalie to celebrate, just like it should be done.
Norway was being themselves for most of the game, they were failing to complete passes in any zone. Because of this they could not break out of their own zone, nor could they generate any pressure in the offensive zone. The only time they had any sustained pressure was the last few minutes of the period, where they generated most of their six shot for the period. The Czech's had 17 shots in the period bringing the two period total to 24-12 in their favor.

The third period brought about a much more back and forth tempo. Once again the period started off with a penalty, this time only 47 seconds into the frame. Norway's goalie kept it a one goal game with a beautiful save after the Czech's moved the puck around the outside. The third penalty of the period was a ten and two for contact to the head on the Czechs, something that has been all too common so far in the tournament. The Czechs were the ones to benefit from their own penalty. The Czech player worked out of the corner on a one on two, beating both defenders and beating the Norwegian goalie 5-hole to make it a two score game.
Norway eliminated their power play chance by taking a charging penalty halfway through the initial penalty. Even when Norway was getting chances they weren't taking advantage. Many of their shots were just missing the net, they could have easily doubled their shots for the game had they just made the goalie make a save.
Norway got another power play halfway through the period after a scrum in front of the net where only one player received a penalty. They were finally able to generate some control on this power play, getting three or four shots on goal in the two minutes, but still not able to score a goal.
With only a few minutes left in the game, my play of the game occurred. The Czech player was behind the Norway net with four defenders around him. He was able to come up with the puck and walk out of the corner where he found his teammate all alone in front of the net. The Norway goalie made the save but the ability of the player to come out with the puck was impressive. The rest of the game provided a few chances each way, though Norway was never able to hold on to the puck long enough to get their goalie out of the net. Final shots for the game were 38-21 in favor of the Czech team, reflective of the way the game seemed to be played despite the score being only 2-0.
After the game, a player of the game award was awarded to both teams. The Norway goalie deserving receiving the award. The Czech national anthem was played as both teams stood on the blue line, an excellent way to celebrate a well played game by both teams.

I thoroughly enjoyed my junior championship experience and wish that I could do it again, especially to witness a Canadian or US game. If anyone has extra tickets be sure to let me know, id easily make the trip to see these kids play with all their energy and emotion in a game that really cannot be beat by any other sport.

Flynn shines, Packers still fall

For the second time in as many weeks, Matt Flynn made one major mistake, for the second consecutive week it may have cost the team the game. His mistake was not the only one however, multiple plays could have changed the outcome of the game at different points but the "if only" theory doesn't work very well on the score sheet.
The first quarter of the game set the tone for what was going to be an excellent football game for the Green Bay Packers. An onside kick to open the game was recovered and put life into the offense that was held to just three points a week earlier in Detroit. Matt Flynn had confidence and poise in the pocket, looking much more fluent in his first start since his bowl game at LSU. Flynn took the opening drive into Patriot territory before they defense turned up the heat and forced a sack and a rushed throw on second and third downs. The Packers settled for three points and a lead in a game that many wondered if it was worth playing because of the directions the respective teams had been heading.
The Patriots got the ball back and were seemingly having trouble getting going until third down, something that became common through the night. Brady completed a pass on third and 17 for exactly 17 yards on the sideline picking up a first down. On the play before the conversion the first major missed opportunity passed by the Packers. Woodson read the receivers route perfectly and had a Brady pass go in and out of his hands. The interception could have given the Packers good field position again and Brady his first interception in many weeks. Instead the Pats picked up the first down and later on the drive BJGE, who's name is way to long to spell out, ran for a 33 yard score which put the Pats on top.
The only excitement on the next two drives was on the punt by the Packers. After the New England player called for a fair catch, the gunner for the Packers was blocked into him, resulting in a live ball. The Patriots fell on it at their own nine but it was another chance for the Packers to pick up some momentum. The quarter ended with the Patriots leading 7-3 but the Packers did seem to be controlling the play for the most part.
The next Packers drive looked as if Flynn had been running the offense on a regular basis. He used a good balance of run and pass throughout the game to keep the defense honest. The result was a 66 yard touchdown pass which he strung out to James Jones, just over the fingertips of the defenders and almost over Jones as well but he was able to make the catch and run to the end zone all alone. The pass instilled even more confidence in the young quarterback, it was his first TD pass in the NFL.
The next defensive series was another good one; Bishop went straight though the line on a blitz and absolutely destroyed Brady. Personally I was surprised he didn't get flagged for hitting to hard or some other made up, protect Brady, call. The ball appeared to come loose as Brady went to the ground as well but it was blown dead and no one recovered it so a challenge wouldn't have proven much anyways which is why I'm sure one was not attempted.The drive finally ended after two more plays, the first three and out of the game forced by the Packers.
No more points were scored until the last drives for both teams.The Packers last drive started with 8:43 left and took almost seven minutes off the clock before adding another touchdown for Flynn. The drive was highlighted by a quick third down pass to Jones to not only pick up a first down but it also put Flynn over 100 passing yards on the day. Other key plays were the third down catches for conversion by Nelson and Kuhn. The touchdown strike was a bullet out of a play fake that found Jennings for the one yard TD. The completion was the first real look to Jennings, other then a deep try down the field on a free play that went about 5 yards too long.
Everything seemed to be going the right way for the Packers until they kicked off again. An attempted squib kick landed right in the hands of Connolly, a lineman. Normally this is the result that you want, unfortunately that big man found a lane and returned the kick 71 yards inside the Green Bay 5 yard line. Brady of course wasn't going to let this chance slip and found his rookie tight end to put the Patriots right back into the game at halftime.
Some things that I noticed in the first half was the escapablility of Flynn, he always seemed to know where to go and for the most part where the pressure was coming from. The downfall to that was that he seemed to take too long to throw the ball at times, trying to make something happen when it wasn't really there. He doesn't quite have the speed of Rodgers so his scrambles do not accomplish quite as much. Overall it was a great half for the team, the lead should have been more, maybe even ideally holding the Patriots scoreless but that is all part of the game, a lead against one of the hottest teams in the league was something to be happy about.
The first drive of the second half took off right where the first half ended, Flynn made his only mistake of the night and had a pass picked off and returned for a touchdown. In his defense three or more Packers players had a chance to take Arrington down and at least force the NE offense to score but none the less it was another seven points on the board and a lead for the Patriots.
Flynn took to the field after the kickoff and redeemed himself. He drove the offense 69 yards in 13 plays to take the lead back for the Packers. A methodical drive describes it best as none of the plays were more than 11 yards at a time yet it took almost seven minutes to score.
The Patriots offense didn't get to take the field until there were just five minutes left in the third quarter. The result was a three and out highlighted with another sack for the defense.
The offense took over again, using 11 plays to go 45 yards to the NE 1 yard line where they were stopped three times and had to settle for a field goal to put them up 27-21 just minutes into the fourth quarter. This was another opportunity wasted to put the team up by even more, a ten point lead would have been much more substantial so late in the ball game.
The Patriots responded again matching the Green Bay field goal to make it just a three point game with eleven minutes left. A first down pass to Welker for 35 yards sparked the drive putting New England immediately into a scoring area. The following Packers drive was one of their few three and outs of the night, but also one of the most costly since they only burned about a minute off the clock.
The next Patriots drive was highlighted by Woodhead, one of the few players on other teams that I enjoy watching play. He highlight everything that is good about sports, showing how hard work can lead to success for even an undersized player. He piled up 37 yards on four plays which resulted in a touchdown pass once again from Brady to his rookie TE Hernandez.
A drive from both teams that resulted in nothing set up the Packers for one final chance with four minutes left and the ball near the midfield line. Early in the drive the running game was able to pick up three first downs, one compliments of a Patriots penalty. The rushing may have been a bad idea though as the Packers were still at the New England 29 with under a minute and a half to play. A sack with just over a minute to go didn't help either, setting them up with second and 18. They were able to get most of it back in two completions though but indecision after the third down pass with 29 seconds to go was the final straw. Instead of lining up quick and trying to pick up a first down and spike the ball they put all the eggs in the hail mary pass that resulted in a sack. Flynn just couldn't find an open receiver to finish off the game when the end came around. The coaching staff has taken the blame for the play saying that Flynn did as he was instructed after the third down play and that it was how they wanted it to be run. Either way the game ended as the clock ran out after the sack and the Patriots' Wilfork fell on the ball. Fitting for the kind of game he had, it seemed that Flynn was trying to avoid him the whole night regardless of who was blocking.
Out of the loss the Packers can take a few things; first and foremost they established a nice running game tonight. They totaled 143 yards on the ground, 99 by Jackson the one extra yard would have been nice to get a Packers back over the century mark for the first time in a while. Secondly their defense proved itself holding the hottest team in the league to thirty one points, doesn't sound like much but ask Jets and Bears fans how easy that is lately.
Reinforcing my idea that Flynn held the ball a little too long was the five sacks that the Packers surrendered. I would rather have him hold the ball then carelessly throw it away though so considering it was his first start I can deal with that. He will be tagged with two turnovers for the game but one is the fourth down play that ended the game, at least he was trying to make something happen, the fumble is something that comes along with that.
New week will be a new beast, and the start of the playoffs for the Pack. The Giants come to Lambeau for the first time since their NFC championship game a few years ago but they are coming off their stunning loss at home to the Eagles. They will be looking to regain confidence after allowing a 21 point lead to slip away in under eight minutes.. The Packers need to regroup after losing three out of four, hopefully Rodgers can return to practice this week and make things happen.
Either way it should be a great showdown since playoff spots are on the line and only two weeks remain to claim them. Until then Go Pack Go!

Wild fall to Ducks in final game of road trip

Well since i managed to sleep through the first period of the game I didn't get to do a full period by period recap but ill give it my best for what I did watch.
First Period:
The Ducks didn't waste any time getting started in this one, Cory Perry got a goal just 19 seconds into the game. Six minutes later the Wild were able to tie the game back up on a shot from Brett Burns. Assists on the goal went to Koivu and Havlat  on the goal, the assist for Koivu gave him a point in his fourth straight game, with five points so far in that span. The tie was short lived though as Perry got his name on the score sheet, this time as an assist on a Getzlaf goal, 42 seconds later. There was only one penalty in the period, going to the Ducks three minutes into the period but the Wild failed to make anything of it.
Shots:
Wild - 7
Ducks - 9
Scoring:
ANA - Perry (Ryan) 0:19
MIN - Burns (Koivu, Havlat)
ANA - Getzlaf (Ryan, Perry)

Second Period:
The second period took a little bit longer to get going then the first but about a minute and a half. After a Minnesota penalty a minute in, Getzlaf took advantage for the power play goal. It look halfway though the period and the second Ducks penalty of the period for the Wild to get back into the game. Koivu ripped a shot from the point that was tipped by Brunette, the shot went off of Hiller and right onto the tape of Zidlicky who made it 3-2. Another Minnesota power play benefited the Ducks more than it did the Wild as the Ducks had two, two on one opportunities, one of which resulted in a penalty shot for the Ducks. Perry marked up his second goal of the game on the penalty shot, ripping a shot 5-hole on Backstrom who seemed to lack a reaction to the shot.
The third Ducks goal was one of the more interesting sequences I have ever witnessed in a hockey game. It all started when the Wild took an icing at the end of a long shift, despite the fact that they were able to clear the zone they were not able to get a full change. The Ducks maintained pressure for a few minutes during which Koivu and Ryan got tied up along the boards. Somehow Koivu ended up with Ryan's stick in his hands while Koivu's stick was laying on the ice. Ryan picked up the stick on the ice and set up at the back door. A Lydman shot hit Backstrom in the pads only to bounce right onto the tape of Ryan who put it in the back of the net and immediately let Koivu know that he scored with his stick.
The Wild picked up a double minor high sticking penalty at the end of the period, the penalty was their fourth of the game.
Shots:
Wild - 11
Ducks -  15
Scoring:
ANA (PP) Getzlaf (Perry, Visnovsky) 2:51
MIN (PP) Zidlicky (Brunette, Koivu) 9:49
ANA (Penalty Shot) Perry
ANA (PP) Perrry (Getzlaf, Fowler)

Third Period:
The third period was the only one not to get off to a quick start, this despite the fact that the Ducks had three minutes of power play time left to start. The Wild managed to take two more penalties in the period, the later of which was converted into the third Perry goal of the game. The Ducks easily controlled the play in the third holding the Wild to a single shot until there was less than three minutes left in the period. To say the game lacked energy would be an understatement and the only true emotions came out when the Wild were down late in the game.
Shots:
Wild - 4 Total of 22
Ducks - 12 Total of 36
Scoring:
Ryan - (PP) Getzlaf (Fowler) 15:47

Final Thoughts:
First the Ducks line of Perry, Getzlaf and Ryan were amazing tonight they accounted for all six goals and eleven points overall, despite the fact that one of Ryan's goals was on a penalty shot and received no assists.
Madden and Cullen were out again tonight for the Wild, leaving them once again without two of the major players on their penalty kill. Despite this the Wild still took six penalties in the game(that makes 14 power play opportunities in two nights) resulting in two Ducks goals. The Ducks also added the short handed penalty shot goal to their impressive special teams night. Despite the performance tonight the Wild still picked up 5 out of 8 points on a tough road trip. Here is to hoping that they can build off of this can continue to work their way into playoff position.

Packers @ Lions quarter by quarter recap

The Packers are in Detroit today where they face the Lions for the second time this season. The first meeting in Green Bay earlier this season gave the Packers a scare though they did come out on top 28-26. Rodgers had his second lowest yardage total in the game, accumulating only 181 passing yards and throwing two interceptions. Being inside at Ford Field should benefit the Packers, both the warmth and lack of wind and snow that is slamming the rest of the mid-west right now, will be absent in the dome.
Hopefully the Packers can play with the same intensity that they have the last few weeks. They have won five of their last six, the only loss coming to the 8-2 Atlanta Falcons. Regardless the up and coming Lions are sure to keep the game close even with their third string quarterback, Drew Stanton playing.
First Quarter:
The Packers started the game by kicking off to the Lions and quickly forced a three and out. Two plays later, after a 2 yard gain on a screen to Jennings and a neutral zone infraction penalty on the Lions, Rodgers completed a pass to Quarless for 12 yards and a first down. Unfortunately the Lions were able to strip him of the ball and take over again.
The Lions had success running the ball on the first seven plays of the drive, piling up 45 yards including a 15 yard run by Stanton. The ninth play of the drive wasn't what the Lions wanted though. After Stanton avoided a sack by Matthews, he threw the ball up in the end zone where Tramon Williams read the pass and picked it off.
It looked like a good start to the drive for the Packers when Jackson rushed for nine yards. A quick deep pass was incomplete and a sack however resulted in a three and out for the Packers. A 62 yard punt turned the field position around a bit again putting the Lions relatively deep in their own territory. The defense answered the call forcing the second Lions three and out of the game. The lack of excitement continued after a draw and a delay left the Packers with a third and thirteen which was a an incomplete attempt to Driver. The next Detroit drive finally produced another first down in the quarter, followed by three unsuccessful plays, particularly a ball that was overthrown deep and close to being intercepted again.
The next Packers drive started with a short run by Starks which set up a beautiful play action pass. The pass from Rodgers hit Jennings in the mask and bounced into the hands of Spievey. Three penalties resulted on the play but the one that mattered the most to the Packers was offset when Rodgers left the pocket so the play stood. The defense answered once again though and forced a Lions punt to end the quarter.

Key Players:
Packers - T. Williams 1 int. 1 return 16 yards
Lions - Logan 62 total yards

Second Quarter:
There seems to be no fluency for the Packers so far to start this game. Another three and out started off the second quarter. A nice kick by Masthay and good coverage on the punt put the Lions on their own 22 for their first dive of the quarter.
The drive started well for the Lions, a few good runs and a second down pass for a first down, all highlighted by a double reverse that led to Calvin Johnson running for a first down. Clay Matthews then got to Stanton and forced him back for a 19 yard loss. On the next play Stanton tried to get it all back in one play that resulted in an interception for Charlie Peprah.
Not much happened on the ensuing drive for the Packers though. They started the drive with a screen pass and a short pass which got them a first down. They then attempted to run the next two plays, one of which resulted in two separate holding calls and a second and 18. Rodgers was forced to scramble for seven yards and then completed a short pass to driver but well short of the first down.
Another option run by Stanton got the Lions off on the right foot again, this time resulting in 17 yards. Another option attempt on third and four later in the drive was much less successful and the Lions had to punt.Williams ran around thirty yards on the return just to manage a twelve yard return, setting the Packers up on their own 20.
Ill give some credit to the Lions for their defensive effort but the Packers haven't looked deep since the interception on the dropped pass by Jennings. Rodgers have been happy to drop the ball off to the backs and tight ends picking up 2 or 3 yards per completion. Rodgers had a big scramble that went for 18 yards but took a hard shot and looked dazed and confused before he got up. That gain was offset on the next play when the Packers tried for their third straight play action pass but instead go Rodgers sacked for a loss of 13. On second and 23 ran a draw play for six yards and a drop off pass for a gain of four. A good punt pinned the Lions on their own eight.
After forcing yet another three and out the Packers got the ball back at their own 41 with 1:12 left. Rodgers did not come in for the final series and Matt Flynn was called upon but not able to generate anything but a completion for no gain.
The Lions used their timeouts to stop the clock and got the ball back at their own 35 with 44 seconds left. They ran some short run plays but didn't get anything going, the fans disagreed with the calls and voiced their opinions as the team left the field despite the game being 0-0.

Key Players:
Packers - Defense (2 interceptions, 2 sacks, 0 points allowed)
Lions - Running game (25 rushes for 127 yards)

First Half Thoughts:
I thought that they Packers were trying to force the run too much, and that was before Rodgers got knocked out of the game, that is sure to continue now that Flynn is in for the rest of it. The defense played outstanding holding the Lions scoreless despite the offense turning the ball over twice, forcing two interceptions of their own. It is looking like they will need to continue to play this way and probably generate some points of their own if they want to win this game. Matt Flynn gets a chance to prove himself as a legitimate backup and maybe a starting spot somewhere in the future if he can play well in the second half and lead the Packers to a win on the road

Third Quarter:
The opening drive for the Packers in the third quarter finally yielded some points! Using a mix of screen passes a few runs and quarterback roll outs, the formula that normally results in good things for the Packers, Flynn was able to drive down the field and allow Crosby to knock home a field goal. The third down play for the Packers appeared as if Greg Jennings may have had a touchdown but the coaches decided not to challenge it. Quarless was the main target picking up 31 yards on 2 catches on the drive.
Logan gave the Lions a good start to the next drive, bringing the kick out to the their 43. An illegal contact call prolonged the drive however nothing came of it after that and the Lions punted the ball away, all the way to the Packers ten.
Flynn's third drive of the game once again got off to a good start, a nine yard pass followed by a one yard draw by Jackson. Flynn picked up a third down conversion on the next set with a dangerous twelve yard run, where he chose not to slide at the end. Following that first down Flynn went deep to Jennings for 32 yards, the longest play of the game to this point of the game. Jordy Nelson made tow nice plays on the next two passes catching, the ball and battling forward to pick up extra yardage. From the Lions nine yard line Flynn missed his first pass to Jennings and on the next play hit Levy in the chest for an interception, ending an otherwise very solid drive.
The decision to run the ball out of the end zone didn't hurt the Lions despite starting on their own nine. They got their first third down conversion to move them to the twenty. The next pass was a deep ball from Stanton to Johnson, taking the Lions into Packers territory at the 36. The Packers defense stood tall again though forcing the Lions to attempt 48 yard a field goal to tie the game, which was hooked wide.
Two plays to end the quarter left the Packers facing a third and one at their own 47 as time expired.
Key Players:
Packers - Matt Flynn (9/16, 112 yards,  1 int)
Lions - Calvin Johnson (1 reception 44 yards, 1 rush 13 yards)

Fourth Quarter:
The quarter didn't start as well as the Packers would have liked; Flynn was stopped short of the first down a forced to punt. They chose to kick the ball out of the end zone instead of giving Logan a chance to return it.
Stanton continued to give the Packers trouble with his ability to run, he brought his game total up to 44 yards while picking up a first down. After two more plays, the Lions got their second third down conversion of the game in as many drives on a pass to B. Johnson. The Lions continued to methodically move down the field, mixing up passes and runs to get into the red zone. A screen pass to Heller, went for thirteen yards to cap off the 80 yard touchdown drive to give the Lions the lead.
The Packers return game couldn't generate anything, getting taken down at the 14 yard line. After two minimal gains the Lions committed a pass interference penalty giving the Packers a first down. They couldn't do anything with the opportunity as Flynn was sacked on the next play. The Packers had to punt the ball away to the Lions with 5:27 left and it was returned to the Packers 49.
The defense tightened up again, holding the Lions to five yards but the punt put the Packers on their own nine yard line again. After a run on first down, Flynn was forced to pass the ball. He started with a dart to Jones for 18 yards, followed by a screen pass to Nance that went for 14 yards, Flynn then hit Jennings for nine yards to take the packers to the 49 at the 2 minute warning. Eight and nine yard passes were the focus of the final drive since the Packers had all 3 timeouts remaining. A rush on second and two failed to pick up the first down from the Lions 31 as did a pass over the middle to Driver setting up fourth and one. The Packers went for the game witha deep pass in the end zone to Jennings but he was unable to come up with the catch. The Lions look over and stuffed the ball up the middle for all three plays, basically running out the clock on the game. They did stop the Lions on third down but only three seconds remained. The Lions played it is a normal pass play and a deep throw by Stanton finished off the clock.
Key Player:
Packers - Charlie Peprah (1 int, 5 tackles, 2 assists)
Lions - Will Heller (1 Reception, 1 TD)
Final Thoughts:
The offensive line seemed to be the downfall for the majority of the game, the Lions didn't have to bring more than their front four to bring pressure for the entire game. This allowed the Lions to send more people back into the secondary to give both quarterbacks major problems with completing passes. The running game didn't benefit from this either but didn't help themselves either as they rushed 20 times for only 66 yards.
The defense cannot be blamed for this loss at all despite giving up 190 rushing yards. They made plays, forced turnover and only gave up a single touchdown, forcing the Lions to punt in many crucial situations.
Last play call was a gutsy one but all in all i say a good call. The Lions were getting to a point where they could finally step up and play like they were through the rest of the game. The best chance for the Packers was that corner fade which was only inches away from being complete, making it the call of the season. Flynn played well as a backup other than the interception in the end zone. He put up decent numbers, just couldn't turn it into points for the Packers offense. 
In the end the play call didn't didn't work and the Packers lost the game. They have to get back on the horse this week and hope that Rodgers will be good to go next week against the Patriots. The only thing that can control is how they play, if they come back and win their games they need some help to get back into the playoffs. Only time will tell how it will play out and the season will go.

Wild @ Kings Period By Period

Tonight's game is game three of a four game road trip for the Wild. In the first two games they took three of a possible four points, losing only one via their overtime loss to Calgary last Friday. Tonight the Wild look to build off of their victory over the Coyotes in Phoenix. They take on the Kings, who are 16-10 overall, good for sixth place in the west only four points ahead of the Wild. A win today would be crucial in the standings and allow the Wild to keep pace with the rest of the west.

The goalies tonight will be a bit different, Theodore for the Wild but usual starter Quick for the Kings. The Wild are looking to avenge the shoot out loss to the Kings earlier this season. They must do so without the help of Cullen and Madden tonight, both out with injuries. 

First Period:
The game almost got off to the worst possible start for the Wild, after an icing call just a few seconds into the game the Kings won the faceoff and appeared to score. The goal was quickly waived off by the official and upon review it was the right call. Dustin Brown got in behind starter Jose Theodore and bumped him.

On the next series of plays Los Angeles built up good pressure again. Zannon got leveled on a hit next to the Wild net and Kyle Brodziak took exception. The problem with that was that he was the only one to get a penalty and the Kings got the Power play. Near the end of the penalty kill the wild cleared the zone and Koivu put pressure on Quick and the defensive to make a play. By doing this he forced Quick to make a play sooner then he wanted to, right onto the tape of Koivu's stick. Mikko made no mistake and buried the puck in the back of the net to give the Wild a 1-0 lead.

The next rush down the ice Chuck Kobasew rang a shot off the post hard. Quick seemed almost tentative on a play that shouldn't have been a good chance. Brad Staubitz took a bad penalty behind the play as his teammates were headed down the ice on a 2 on 2 break. Fortunately for him Ryan Smyth took a penalty on the next play when he skated across the crease and clipped Theodore.

 The rest of the period was rather uneventful. A few chances back and forth but nothing major. The Wild were held shotless after their shorthanded goal until 14:30 of the period when Havlat finally managed a backhand shot on goal that gave Quick more trouble then it should have.

Overall it was a fast paced physical period where neither team got a huge edge. The Wild are going to need to stay out of the box to have success in this game. Mikko Koivu is one of the few centers that the Wild use on the penalty kill, and with Cullen and Madden both out he will see more time then normal.

Shots:
Wild - 7

Kings - 7
Goals:
Koivu (SH) 2:50

Second Period:
The second period got off to an interesting start as Brad Staubitz and Kyle Clifford dropped the gloves after the first whistle. It seemed like it would be a good fight till Clifford switched hands and started throwing punches with his left hands. After three defenseless blows to the face Staubitz went to the ice, a clear win for Clifford.

Not long after the fight the Wild transitioned quickly though the neutral zone, ultimately giving Havlat an opportunity to get past the Kings defense. He kept his feet moving and drew a hooking penalty on Doughty all while still managing to get Quick to go down and make a sprawling glove save. On the power play the Wild were unimpressive once again. They managed only one quality shot, a blast from the point that resulted in a rebound at the top of the right circle that no one could find. The Kings were able to clear the puck on four seperate occasions, something that cannot happen for a successful power play.

The Kings finally tied up the game halfway though the second period. The pressure was mounting for a few minutes leading to several chances for the Kings. Theodore made the first few saves before Dustin Brown was finally able to bury a shot from the slot to even the score.

Right off the face off the Wild responded, nine seconds to be exact. Quick tried to play the puck behind the net and accidently left it for Clutterbuck. Clutterbuck wrapped the puck around the net, the opposite way quick was going to give the Wild the lead back.

Not long after the goal, today's call up, Warren Peters,  took a holding penalty. The penalty was a result him not moving his feet along the benches, luckily for him the Kings weren't able to bury any of their chances during his penalty. Following the end of Peters' penalty Nick Schultz was called for high sticking, the fifth Wild penalty of the night. The Kings generated a lots of chances during the fifth penalty, including a shot that hit the inside of the post and bounced away. The Wild survived the flurry and still maintained a lead

The last few minutes provided a few minor opportunities for both teams. Neither team had anything major to write about other then Smyth taking a stick to the face which was partially caused by his own kick out of the Wild defensemens skates. Nystrom and Simmonds got into a fight with 30 seconds left, both were throwing freely and the fight would be considered a draw in my opinion. The Wild picked up their sixth minor penalty of the game when Havlat got called for a high stick with five seconds left. Zannon blocked a shot with his shoulder which killed off the last few seconds of the period.

Somehow the Wild are still in the game at the end of the second period. They have seemingly taken away their own momentum by taking a penalty each time they get going. Regardless teams that win games do it however the have to. Hopefully the Wild can continue to do what they are doing and come out of Staples Center with a win.

Shots:
Wild - 7
Kings - 11
Goals: 
LA Brown (Kopitar, Williams) 9:25
MN Clutterbuck 9:34


Third Period:
After some nice puck movement and a back door feed to Ryan Smyth that tied the game up at two only a minute and nine seconds into the game the period seemed to lose most of its flow. There were a total of ten saves in the final period which included almost three full power plays for the Kings and only one for the Wild. The lone goal for the Kings meant that this game was headed into overtime, the second one for the Wild in the first three games of the road trip.

Shots:
Wild - 4
Kings - 7
Goals
LA Smyth (PP) (Kopitar, Brown) 1:09

Overtime: 
In overtime the Wild finally managed to have a frame of time where they lead in both shots and power play opportunities and they made the most of it. The lone shot for the Kings was an excellent chance for Kopitar to end the game but Theodore was up to the task. Doughty took an interference penalty a 1:11 into the extra session which led to the opportunity for the Wild to finish them off. Quick made two excellent saves in the first half of the penalty kill to keep the game alive, one without a stick where he gloved the puck and was able to get a face off. After Bouchard hit the post on the next series the Wild were able to regain control of the puck, some simple outside passing allowed O'Sullivan to feed Burns for a one timer that ended the game with 2:10 left on the clock in overtime.

Shots:
Wild - 3
Kings - 1
Goals:
Burns (PP) (O'Sullivan, Bouchard)

Summary:
I think that just about anyone that watched the game tonight will tell you that the Wild were lucky to get out of the Staples Center with a win. They gave the Kings eight power play chances and while they only allowed them to convert one of them, you must question how many times that can happen. Only generating 21 shots is not very helpful either, though better when the fact that they only allowed 26. I will not however complain about the win, two points is two points no matter how you get it. While the game had no large impact on the standings, keeping themselves 3 points away from the basement is helpful, not to mention the confidence that comes with finally putting two wins in a row together. Tomorrow they face 9th place Anaheim to wrap up the road trip, a win would give the Wild 7 out of a possible 8 points on the four game trip and add significant confidence to a team that had been struggling prior to the trip.

Hockey Day in Western NY

This is an awesome event sponsored by USA hockey and by the Rochester Americans. A flier was passed out after the Americans game on Friday and I figure that any promotion is good promotion.

http://www.usahockey.com/comeplayyouthhockey/default.aspx?NAV=AF_09&ID=290764&DetailedNews=yes

Bulldogs sneak by Amerks in OT

First a few notes before the period by period game recap. After watching college hockey for the last 2 months and not making it to an Americans game I was reminded of just how much I hate TV timeouts. They kill the flow of the game and often take away momentum that has been building for one side or the other leadings up to them. On the positive side the Spencerport Jazz band did great performances of both the Canadian and American national anthems before the game. 
An announced crowd of 4659 was there to watch the game tonight, which seemed to be a fairly large one tonight. I am a big fan of the section covers/advertisements; it brings everyone together and makes the stadium seem much more alive. I really enjoyed the upper level seats as well, normally I sit in the upper bowl which are decent seats but we took the cheap ones today. The ones we were in, as you can see in the picture, literally allow you to see everything going on on the ice, as well as making it easy to watch plays develop. The only downfall is the distance that you are from the far end. 
The sled hockey demonstration by some of the members of the gold medal winning US team was very interesting. I have never seen the game played before but was instantly impressed since I know how much balance it takes when I have two feet on the ice and can push with my legs, never mind all the extras that they were doing.

First Period:

The Amerks came out hot to start the game, they had three very solid scoring opportunities in the first two minutes of the game but unfortunately Hamilton goalie, Robert Meyer, was ready to go as well denying them any success in the first period. The key to the American's success in the first period was the intensity of their dump and chase game plan. For the first half of the period the Amerks were getting the puck in deep and then outworking the Bulldogs to regain control the puck and generate scoring chances. This was shown by the shot totals after the first period; the Amerks had 16 shots to the 7 generated by Hamilton. The second half seemed to reverse the game plan, though Hamilton was not able to generate nearly as many shots or scoring chances as the Amerks had.

The Amerks had two consecutive power plays in the middle of the period which gave them a chance to get ahead. Jimmy Bonneau took the first penalty, 2 minutes for interference. The Americans seemed to control the puck well but were never really able to generate any quality shots during that time. Andrew Conboy took the second penalty for the Bulldogs, an elbowing call at 14:33 of the period; just two minutes after the first power play had expired. This power play yielded the same results as the first for Rochester which swung the momentum for Hamilton.

The first Hamilton goal was set up by a miscommunication by Tyler Plante and the pursuing turnover behind the Amerks net. Plante went out to play the puck behind the net and was successful in doing so; however when he turned around he had a Hamilton player pressing him hard from both sides. Plante left the puck behind the net where it was recovered by Aaron Palushaj who rolled around to the right of Plante, fired a perfect pass onto the tape of Andrew Conboy who put the puck home just inside the post to the left of Plante.

The remaining three minutes of the period were uneventful until Chris Taylor had to hook down a Hamilton forward to break up a 2 on 1 situation with just 9 seconds left. This was a good penalty to take though since it appeared that the Bulldogs would have had no trouble taking a 2-0 lead into the first intermission without it. The period ended shortly thereafter with a scrum that send both Michal Repik and Olivier Fortier to the box to start the second period.

The Bulldogs seemed to control a majority of the play in the period despite the large disparity in shots. The scoreboard only read 1-0 however and the Amerks were still in the game.

Second Period:

The second period seemed to be a much more relaxed phase than the first period. The Amerks reverted to a forcheck with much less pressure and therefore generated many fewer shots and opportunities for themselves. The emotion wasn't lacking in the least however as a scrum of some sort was formed almost every whistle, though there were no fights in the game. The nine minute mark of the second period was the first major event, which was new comer from boston, Jordan Knackstedt getting called for high sticking.

The penalty wouldn't have been a big deal; however the Amerks were not able to kill it off. After stopping three shots being sprawled out all over his crease Tyler Plante finally found his match and Aaron Palushaj got his second point of the night, burying the rebound shot. Andreas Engqvist and Brendon Nash were both credited with assists on the goal that made it 2-0 Hamilton.

The Amerks weren't done yet though, especially since they had come back from being down 3-1 just two nights earlier. With just under eight minutes left in the period the puck was dumped into the Bulldogs zone. It took a favorable bounce off the glass where it was picked up by Jordan Knackstedt and fed nicely across the slot where it was met by two Amerks players. The other new guy from the Boston trade, Jeff LoVecchio, got his stick on it and buried it to get the game back to a one goal deficit. Only 16 seconds after the goal the Bulldogs Alexander Avtsin took a penalty similar to the one taken in the first by Chris Taylor. The Amerks weren't going to settle for starting the night 0-3 on the power play though. Clay Wilson fired a shot on net where it settled in front of the Hamilton goalie and was smashed home by Michael Duco, who picked up his second goal in as many games since his return from a broken rib. A minute after the Duco goal AJ Jenks had the missed opportunity of the night, firing wide on a one timer from the slot on a semi open net.

Tyler Plante made some fantastic saves at the end of the period to assure that the Americans would take at least a tie into the second intermission. The period seemed to be split again in the second; Hamilton controlling the play much of the first half and Rochester taking over for the later half. Shot in the period were 17-9 in favor of the Bulldogs, though I felt play in the second was closer then play in the first.

Third Period:

The third period continued the flow of the previous two periods; the Amerks started hot again, controlling the puck for most of the first three minutes of the period but coming up empty. Their attack was countered as Hamilton controlled from most of the next three minutes. Michael Caruso picked up the only penalty of the period, another good hooking penalty; however it was his own turnover that caused the situation to occur.

The referees did a good job of letting both teams play I thought. There were only eight penalties in the game; four for each team and two of those were the offsetting ones at the end of the first. The players were playing with lots of emotion, something that tends to happen when they play twice in three nights and both games are closely fought affairs.

Both goalies made huge saves to close out the third. Plante's biggest save of the night was on a tipped point shot with under a minute left that looked like it was headed to the far corner of the net before he got his toe on it. Mayer matched the effort with a sprawling save on the Amerks final rush with less than ten seconds left. Shots for the third period were 13-6 once again in favor of Hamilton. The total second and third period shots for the Amerks did not match the number of shots the generated with their high pressure fore-check in the first period.

Overtime:

Overtime didn't provide much action until the goal was scored by the Bulldogs. Neither team was willing to take a risk prior to that point as they both cleared the red line and got the puck in deep. The Hamilton goal was a result of the same play; the puck went in deep and was recovered by Hamilton. Eventually it was worked to the front of the net where three Bulldogs players were ready to work put it home. Max Pacioretty was credited with the goal, Alex Henry and David Desharnais were credited with the assists. Plante made the first two saves but couldn't get the third, giving him 37 saves for the night but the overtime loss.

Overall:

The first period was basic Amerk's hockey. They were getting the puck in and grinding it out, something that I usually expect when I attend the game. After the first period the effort went away and the game became more about finesse. Players were trying to make one extra move, one extra shot before getting the puck on net. Overall it was a great game to watch, plus a Ryan Miller bobble head and dollar dogs and drinks Friday, who could possibly not enjoy that?

The Amerks return home Sunday, after a trip to Binghamton tomorrow, to take on the same Senators at five pm. Be sure to catch the in state rivalry if you get the chance.

Wild Game Summary Period by Period

After a match up of backup goalies last meeting, Backstrom and Bryzgolov both get the start tonight. The Wild are looking to snap a significant losing streak against the Coyotes, getting swept last season and losing the first match up this season.
Thank you to Yahoo, VS hockey night is the game tonight so a nice clear game stream is making life much simpler for doing this today.
First Period:
It was seemingly a slow start to the period for the Wild, that is until they got one good rush up the ice. Koivu got control of the puck in the Wild zone and started up the ice. He moved the puck to Miettinen by the red line who fed it right back to Koivu who was set up with a 2 on 1 with Brunette. A beautiful feed by Koivu set Brunette up all alone on Bryzgolov, a beautiful move to the backhand gave him the whole top of the net and he wasn't about to miss it.
The action was pretty neutral for the next few minutes until Ekman-Larsson took a questionable hooking penalty that could have just as easily gone against Madden for holding the stick. The Wild power play however continued to struggle, 1-29 in their last 8, and had no more success this time. The Coyotes had as many short handed chances as the Wild did quality power play chances.
Immediately following the power play the Coyotes got a rush from Ekman-Larsson out of the box. He fed the puck to Pyatt as he got drilled by Clutterbuck, unfortunately for the Wild Pyatt was able to bury the shot and tied up the game.
The Coyotes seemed to take most of the momentum after the goal, hitting multiple posts and multiple other scoring chances. However, the Wild took advantage of their opportunities again with 55 seconds left in the period. After briefly controlling the puck in the offensive zone Miettinen got the puck from Koivu and fed a streaking Burns who one timed/ tipped the puck to once again give the Wild the lead.
After 1 period the Stats read:
Shots:
Coyotes 13
Wild      10
Goal Summary:
Minnesota       6:52 Brunette (Miettinen, Koivu)
Phoenix         14:33 Pyatt (Ekman-Larsson, Fiddler)
Minnesota     19:04 Burns (Miettinen, Koivu)

Second Period:
After the first period back and forth pace, the second period was a completely different game. The Wild seemed to be playing a trap of sort, plugging up the neutral zone and not allowing the Coyotes to do anything with speed into the zone.
The Wild seem content to get the puck over the blue line and let hard shots go from the outside. The Wild didn't have a while lots of offensive possession time in the period. A face off with 3 minutes left set up the best chance of the period. The face off was won to the point where a quick shot on net forced Bryzgolov to make a desperation save. The next 2 minutes was the only sustained offensive pressure that the Wild had all period. They managed 11 shots but no goals in the second.
The Coyotes have been looking to get the puck in deep and work it out from the corners. This has produced significantly more offensive zone time but not as many scoring chances as would be expected thanks to solid defense by the Wild. They have had multiple centering attempts just go through the slot or be broken up by the Wild defenders. Most of the 10 shots by the Coyotes were from the blue line since the Wild were doing a great job of taking away passing lanes to the inside.
Overall a good period for the Wild. Nothing big either way, they set the pace for the period and maintained where they left off in the first. 
Second Period Shots:
Coyotes 10
Wild       11
No Goals.

Third Period:
The third period got off to a quick start; first by the Coyotes, spending the first minute of the period in the Wild zone getting a couple scoring chances. The Wild countered with a minute plus of pressure in the Coyotes zone their pressure eventually leading to a penalty to Ekman-Larsson for closing has hand on the puck. The Wild once again couldn't make anything of it but looked better, generating 3 shots and a few scoring opportunities this time. After the penalty ended the Wild iced the puck before their power play unit could get off the ice, they called their timeout giving them a chance to rest.The Wild generated 9 shots in the first 7 minutes of the period.
Following their second successful penalty kill, the Coyotes controlled the game for a few minutes again. They seemed to be using long passes though the neutral zone, which the Wild countered by dropping 4 to 5 players back into the defensive zone keeping the play from developing fast.
Another Wild rush produced a holding the stick penalty by Aucoin. The Wild finally made a power play count, Brunette tipped a Zidlicky shot from the point ten seconds into the power play. PMB got an assist on the goal as well and the Wild took a 2 goal lead with just under ten minutes left.
After the goal Cal Clutterbuck took a bad penalty by the bench, getting an shoving match but being the only one to get the penalty. The Wild killed off that penalty in good form only to have Cam Barker take a bad "tripping" penalty where he just took the feet out from under the Phoenix player. The penalty kill was worn out at that point and was taken advantage of when the Coyotes pulled Bryzgolov. Shane Doan took a shot from the point which was deflected by Hanzal and Backstrom had no chance to save it with 58 seconds left. Prior to the goal the Coyotes missed a wide open net that could have made the game closer sooner.
After the goal the wild controlled the puck and got it in deep killing off some of the remaining time. Once the Coyotes got the puck in the Wild zone they pulled Bryzgolov again. Zannon took a shot which seemed to hit him up high but he recovered, the Wild blocked another shot and Havlat cleared the zone. He missed the empty net with 4seconds left but it didn't matter as the Wild regained control and killed off the rest of the time.
3rd Period Stats:
Shots:
Coyotes 12 for a total of 35
Wild       11 for a total of 33
Scoring summary:
Minnesota      10:50 Brunette (Zidlicky, Bouchard)
Phoenix          19:01 Hanzal (Doan , Yandle)

Game Summary:
Backstrom looked great in net tonight though he got the help of the post on many occasions, but credit is given where it was due he forced them to shoot where they did. Koivu established himself a bit tonight, he had 2 assists and was on the ice for all 3 Minnesota goals. Overall it was just a good performance tonight, the wild finally converted a power play for the first time in 4 games. The team showed some resilience, after giving up the tying goal on the road they could have dropped back and given up but they didn't and took the lead back before the end of the first period. Hopefully this can continue on Saturday against the Kings.

Other Notes:
A few thoughts about the struggling power play. The main culprit seems to be the lack of face off wins in the offensive zone. At least on the first power play chance of the game for the Wild they were just getting the puck on net hoping to get something started. Each time they did so, the Coyotes won the next face off and were able to clear the zone, forcing the Wild to regroup in their own zone and start over.
The officials have been good so far this game, only one call made in the game. Both teams have gotten away with plays that could have been called but they are letting them go.
Before the Clutterbuck penalty in the third I was thinking to myself about how I hadn't heard his name much. It was a bad penalty so I was happier before I heard his name.

Bouchard Set to Return

For the first time in over a year Pierre-Marc Bouchard is set to put on his Minnesota Wild game day jersey and suit up for a game. His last appearance was in the 2009-2010 season opener, his only appearance of the year. Before that game he had been out since March of 2009, missing 112 of the Wild's 113 games during that span.

His presence will be welcomed back into the lineup where the Wild hope he can return to the 20 goal scorer with a positive plus minus rating it appeared he would be a few years ago.

The Wild host Phoenix tonight at 8 with hopes of snapping a two game skid.

Brockport Hockey

This is simply a follow up to a recent article on Brockporthockey.com regarding the strength of schedule that Brockport is playing this year. I decided to look into the strength of the schedule outside of the venomous SUNYAC conference schedule. Of the 15 different opponents that the Golden Eagles play this year only five of them currently have a sub .500 winning percentage. I would expect to see three of them, Fredonia, Elmira, and Hobart get back above that and for Potsdam to stay right in that range.

There are seven different teams on the schedule for Brockport that currently are in the top 15 for the USCHO poll or that have received votes. In order and the number of points they received this week:

Oswego    295

Neumann    137

Geneseo    122

Castleton    41

Buffalo State    37

Plattsburgh    27 (votes)

Elmira        3 (votes)



The SUNYAC in general must be one of the strongest conferences in the Nation; I have a hard time believing that there is a conference with more than 4 teams receiving votes. Brockport's schedule alos must also be near the top since most schools cannot claim that nearly half their schedule receives votes in the poll.

Movember Review

Once again this year many of the Wild players participated in Movember, from the teams website; Movember is an annual charity event held during November that engages men to grow Mo’s (slang for moustache) to raise awareness and funds for cancers affecting men. Last season, Wild defenseman Nick Schultz was one of the first NHL players to embrace the cause after the father of one of his closest friends developed prostate cancer and is currently battling against one of the more treatable forms of the disease. A 501(c)3 non-profit, Movember benefits the Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG.

Niklas Backstrom, Mikko Koivu, Marty Havlat, Nick Schultz

As for the month of November in terms of hockey it was a hot and cold one to say the least. They compiled six wins in the first eight games of the month only to close it out with a single win in the last five. The hot start was much to the credit of Niklas Backstrom, stealing a few games that the Wild didn't have a whole lot of business being in. The Wild were outshot by 80 shots though the first eight games, barely outscoring opponents while putting together their wins. In every one of these wins Wild opponents had at least ten more shots, in the wins over San Jose and Tampa Bay they were outshot by twenty but still managed one goal wins. On the other hand, in their two losses the Wild were outshot by a combined five shots. For the first half of the month the power play was converting on a quarter of their chances. The high spot of the month was the win over Detroit, who is number one in the west, even though the box score shows the Wild getting out played. Any time you can knock off one of the top teams in the league it does wonders for team confidence.

The second half of the season was another story for the team. In five games, they allowed 23 goals, eleven more then they scored despite scoring five in the win against Nashville and 4 in the loss to Colorado. The trend continued with shots as well as the Wild were outshot by 32 in the five games. The power play has struggled as well converting on just over six percent of their chances in the last series of games. The low spot is tough to pick for the month, the 6-1 loss to the Flyers hurt a lot but the 7-4 loss to division rival Colorado is embarrassing considering how well the goaltending has played this year.

So what does effect does November have on the Wild in terms of the season? Without factoring in today's games, on the last day of the month, the Wild sit in third place in the Northwest Division only 3 points behind both Vancouver and Colorado. Despite being that close to the division lead they sit only 2 points ahead of Calgary after their shutout loss to them earlier this week and surprisingly only 6 points ahead of last place Edmonton. The 24 points that the Wild have is good for only 12^th place in the Western Conference; however, they sit four points out of the number four spot in the conference.

In my October recap I said that a record of four games over .500 would be very nice for the month, they only went one game over. The result is essentially remaining stationary in the standings, the same in the division and only a one position drop in the conference. The Wild need to work on keeping shots closer as well, the game against Calgary on Monday was the first time they have outshot the opponent since Edmonton on October 14^th and only the third time all season.

December is a tough month for the Wild, they play four division games and of the 14 games this month all but one is against Western Conference opponents. A winning month would be extremely beneficial in the standings though I expect them to once again hang around the .500 level maybe just a game or two over. This should keep them in the playoff race but still on the outside looking in at a time that I would like to see them work their way up.

Another Season as the Team Ready to Turn the Corner

The Hawkeyes close out the regular season against Minnesota in a game that should be about as close as their rankings. Looking at how the Hawkeyes got to 7-4, 4-3 in the Big 10, though is painful no matter how many times I look at the schedule. Chances are the Hawks will still go to a major bowl game and gave a good chance to win it but knowing that only 19 points stand between them and an undefeated season is hard to swallow.

It feels like the season just began a few weeks ago, a nice easy opener, a rivalry game against a relatively unknown Iowa State team, and a tough road test against one of the better PAC-10 teams in a night game. The Hawkeyes were ranked in the top ten in the pre season polls and were expected to compete with Ohio State for the Big 10 title and to remain around the top in the nation for most of the season. A bunch of tough losses later the Hawks are one of only two, four loss teams in the top 25. Despite having four losses the Hawkeyes have yet to drop out of the rankings this season, though their #24 spot this week after dropping 2 consecutive games is the lowest position so far. Luckily there are still 2 more games to play this season.

The margin of defeat in their four losses this season goes as follows; seven points to #20 Arizona, a single point to # 5 ranked Wisconsin, four points to a 4 loss Northwestern team(who climbed into the top 25 briefly after their victory over the Hawkeyes), and three points to #8 ranked Ohio State. In each of the four losses the Hawkeyes have given up points in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter that have cost them the game. This season has shown marked improvement on the offensive side of the ball, mainly in balance of plays and how well they have protected the ball. Hawkeyes quarterbacks have attempted 313 passes this season, 302 for Ricky Stanzi, for nearly 3,000 yards leading to 24 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions. Running backs have had 334 attempts, which doesn't include 43 rush/sacks by Ricky Stanzi, for 1675 yards and 12 touchdowns. Between quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers there have been only 3 fumbles so far this season. To put this in perspective, last year's Orange Bowl winning team lost 8 fumbles and had 20 interceptions. This year's turnover margin of +14 is by far better than the +2 margin last year despite the fact that the defense has forced 9 fewer turnovers on the season.

Points per game have even improved this season; the defense has been strong as well. The average for all ten games this season is only 15.5 points per game, only decimal points above last year's average. The offense has improved as well, 29.5 points scored per game this season is 6.3 points better per game then the 23.2 in 2009. So where does the problem lie? To me it seems that when the points are scored has been the major culprit this season. In the 4 losses the opponent has scored at least the last point if not more than that. Despite the win in Michigan, the Hawkeyes were outscored 21-10 in the fourth quarter. This is truly interesting to me seeing as how well the Hawkeyes have looked during other parts of the game this season.

Who knows what the real reason that they are 7-3 instead of 10-0 is but I am sure that the players will be ready to go this Saturday in Minnesota. They, nor I, are ready to wrap up this season and start looking forward to next season yet. A fifth loss would not go over well regardless of when it were to happen but I think the team will settle out and finish strong. Nine wins I'm sure is the expectations now in the locker room and amongst fans such as myself. They still have plenty to play for; Stanzi and DJK have been moving up the record books, as has McNutt and all three would like to continue to do so. Adam Robinson is just under 70 yards away from 1,000 for the season, though it is not known yet if he will be in the lineup for this week's game. Adrian Clayborn is going to look to boost his draft stock against a weaker Gophers opponent after being double teamed and held for the majority of the season. Most of all the players will be ready to go for the trophy; the Floyd of Rosedale is on the line and no one wants to return home to Iowa City without it.

A Look Around the Northwest Division

NORTHWEST	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	Home	Road	Overall	EAST	WEST	NW
Vancouver	18	10	5	3	23	6-0-1	4-5-2	10-5-3	5-2-1	5-3-2	4-1-0
Colorado	18	10	7	1	21	5-4-0	5-3-1	10-7-1	2-2-0	8-5-1	1-2-1
Minnesota	17	9	6	2	20	6-3-1	3-3-1	9-6-2	2-3-1	7-3-1	4-1-0
Calgary	17	7	10	0	14	4-5-0	3-5-0	7-10-0	0-2-0	7-8-0	3-3-0
Edmonton	17	4	10	3	11	2-5-0	2-5-3	4-10-3	1-2-1	3-8-2	1-4-1

Through a month of the NHL season 2 things are clear in the Northwest division; the difference for the Edmonton Oilers is not yet Taylor Hall and the Vancouver Canucks cannot be beaten at home.

EDMONTON OILERS:

For the Oilers it looks to be another rebuilding year, some are even talking about back to back first round draft picks though nothing is out of the question in either direction yet. As a number one draft pick Taylor had some large expectations to live up to and hasn't quite found a groove yet. He is a -8 in the plus minus category with 3 goals and 4 assists to put him at 7 points on the season, unfortunately for the oilers that puts him in either place on the team for scoring. Goaltending has not helped the team either; recently injured Nikolai Khabibulin has started 15 games, completing 13 of them, with a 4-10-1 record. He has allowed over 4 goals a game and currently has a .879 save percentage. Certainly the defense has not been much help but certainly more is expected of the veteran goalie in Edmonton. The Oilers will now turn to Devan Dbnyk who is 0-2 this season with a 2.99 GAA and a .923 save percentage, a small sample size but a desperate hope for the Oilers regardless. Despite their struggles the Oilters have collected points in 7 of their 17 games.

CALGARY FLAMES:

The Flames have continued this season in the "where do we go from here" direction that took over following the trade of Dion Phaneuf trade to Toronto last season. While they still have stars Jarome Iginla, Miikka Kiprusoff they seem to sit in the middle of the pack with a lack of offense. Kiprusoff has solid stats of 2.75 GAA and a save percentage over .900 but a 6-9 record to show for it. Iginla is the number 5 scorer on the team and his -7 plus minus rating is last among forwards on the team. Rene Borque leads the team with 15 points, 9 goals, a solid number but not enough on a team that should be doing more. Without some major changes, either in player personnel or coaching, I don't see this team doing any better this year then they finished last year. An interesting fact, the Flames are the only team in the division without an overtime loss. They don't have enough spark in their lineup to climb up in what is becoming a tough Northwest division and Western Conference in general.

COLORADO AVALANCHE:

Considering the loss of Craig Anderson for ten games already this season the Avalanche are my surprise team of the Northwest so far. In Peter Budaj's 11 starts this season, which includes one before the injury to Anderson, he has posted a 2.72 GAA and a .909 save percentage while earning 7 wins to the 3 losses and the single overtime loss. The overall balance of the offence has been good so far this year as well, 4 players average at least a point a game. The problem for the Avs seems to be that they either show up and play outstanding for the win or just don't show up at all and take the loss. This seems to be the case from the games that I have seen at least, which is more than the number of Wild games I have seen so far. This season could very well continue for the Avs especially with the return of Craig Anderson, balance is the key for any team these days in the NHL and they sure seem to have it.

VANCOUVER CANUCKS:

Speaking of Balance the Canucks have just that on the offensive side of the ice. They have 8 players with at least double digit points including a perfect balance at the top with the Sedin twins leading in points. Goaltending has also been a strong point so far for the Canucks as it seems to be every year. Roberto luongo has compiled 7 wins in 14 starts with a 2.69 GAA and a .913 save percentage. Backup Cory Schneider has been just strong in 5 appearances posting 3 wins and an overtime loss to go with a 1.59 GAA and a .949 save percentage. As mentioned at the beginning of the post the Canucks are undefeated in regulation at home, going 6-0-1, however they are 4-5-2 on the road. I think that their records inevitably even out a as the season goes along but until then the Canucks will stay atop the division.

MINNESOTA WILD:

If the standings were decided by the stat sheet the Wild would be sitting in the basement of the Northwest division and most likely the Western Conference. Their leading scorer and franchise player has only 3 goals but fortunately 12 assists. Martin Havlat has been finding the groove lately that management expected him to be in all of last year and the beginning of this year. The leading scorer for the Wild, Cal Clutterbuck, has 6 goals. Clutterbuck is supposed to be the physical presence on the ice, not the leading scorer. Brent Burns, a defenseman is the second leading scorer on the team, tied with Antti Miettinen with 5 goals. Niklas Backstrom has been one of only 2 sure things so far for the Wild. He has returned to his old form with a 1.91 GAA and a .938 save percentage on 412 shots through 14 games. The other sure thing has been the power play, which leads the league at 29%. If the Wild can get offense from the sources that it is expected, Havlat, Koivu and Burnett, then this season could be a good one for the Wild. Continued strong performances by Backstrom and solid in division play will help them stay toward to top of the division and among the leaders in the West.

A Look at the Season so Far, and a Preview for Northwestern

While trying to figure out what to expect from the remaining three games of the season I decided to look at the quality of the opponents that the Hawkeyes have faced to far. To this point their opponents in major conferences have a combined record of 45 wins and 20 losses. Of these seven opponents, five of them have made appearances in the top 25 at one point or another this season including 3 that made it inside the top ten. Of course Iowa lost 2 of these games but the combined point differential was 8 points and both games were within reach, not situations where the Hawkeyes didn't have a chance.

A closer look at some of Iowa's opponents reveals some strengths and weaknesses. Arizona's loss last week against Stanford not only dampened the hopes of the Wildcats in terms of going to the Rose Bowl but also knocked them down in the rankings a bit more. Penn State started slow at 3-3 but now has won 3 and a row to get back into the middle of the Big-10. They play MSU and OSU still this season, if this team has any of the fight that JoPa teams have had in the past they will give both a run for their money. Michigan was the opposite case, they started strong and have faded again this year, the second straight year with such results. Iowa State and Indiana are teams in similar positions; both have records around .500 and have put a scare into much more skilled opponents along the way. Iowa State knocked of Texas earlier this season and took Nebraska into overtime last week, where a failed 2 point conversion in overtime cost them the game. Indiana is another team that has yet to record a signature win but only lost by five to Iowa and kept Ohio State close until the end of the game. Their matchup with Wisconsin this week may be the one to watch outside of Iowa-Northwestern, especially with John Clay potentially being out for the matchup. Iowa has played a very strong schedule so far this year and with the exception of Minnesota that will not change the rest of the year.

For the remaining games this season only one thing is for sure, Iowa should beat Minnesota, one of two teams on their schedule that currently have a losing record. The only win the Gophers have picked up this season was at Middle Tennessee State, where they won by 7 points. The Wildcats from Northwestern and the Buckeyes from Ohio State will be interesting matchups for the Hawkeyes. The two have combined for 14 wins so far this season highlighted Ohio State's win over Miami. Northwestern does not yet have their signature win but only lost to MSU by 8 after leading for most of the game. The Wildcats close out their season against Wisconsin and look for a win, against either those Badgers or Hawkeyes this week, to set themselves up for their bowl game. Ohio State is always tough, the Hawkeyes always know what they are getting into when they face the Buckeyes. After last year's results without Ricky Stanzi I have hope for the first time in a few years against them.

This week's matchup for the Hawkeyes is very similar to last weeks. They are in a game that they should win but playing a team in Northwestern that always shows up to play against Iowa. They normally bring a spread offence to the table that causes problems all over the field. Since I was in Pennsylvania last weekend I got to catch part of the PSU vs NW game and wasn't very impressed by what I saw. After the Wildcats jumped out to a first half lead the Nittany Lions made changes and charged back to win the game handedly. Another problem that the Hawkeyes could face is the let down involved with playing Ohio State in the following week. However, I hope to see Adam Robinson return from his concussion this week and team up with Marcus Coker to keep the ball and the clock moving all game. The defense will need to continue to play as stout as is has the last two weeks to slow down the passing attack and hopefully Ricky Stanzi can be sharp early to get points on the board that weren't converted last week. I'm looking forward to a noon game on ESPN that I will finally get a chance to watch again.

A Whole New Season

The Iowa Hawkeyes have hit a couple bumps in the road this year, the early season loss on the road to Arizona and last week's devastating one point loss to Wisconsin. After the Arizona loss my justification was that a non conference loss was going to have a minimal impact on the actual outcome of the season. Last week's loss was a bit tougher to handle, especially the way the Badgers have been playing as of late, the head to head loss would have been, and still could be, a difficult tie breaker for the Hawkeyes to overcome. Even more difficult was the prospect of a Michigan State team on a roll coming into Iowa City the week after an emotional loss.

Then the game was played. The Hawkeyes buckled down and used a balance of precise offense and overpowering defense to dominate the formerly undefeated Spartans to the tune of a 37-6 victory. Ricky Stanzi was extremely efficient throwing the ball only 15 times, completing 11 of them for 190 yards and 3 touchdowns. After setting the tone on the opening drive, 80 yards in over 6 minutes, the Hawkeyes scored points on all 3 of their other first half drives which gave them a 30-0 lead at halftime. The other touchdown came on a nifty play on the defensive side of the ball. Tyler Sash intercepted Cousins on Michigan State's second drive of the game, tossed the ball to Micha Hyde who scampered 60 yards to put the Hawkeyes up 17 in the first quarter. The defensive pace didn't change the rest of the day. There were three interceptions for the Hawkeyes secondary, one sack and they allowed only one rushing first down the entire game.

This win was crucial for the Hawkeyes, the top of the Big-10 is now all jammed up with MSU, Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Iowa all sitting with one conference loss. The Buckeyes come to Iowa City in 3 weeks, which appears to be their only real test left. Ohio State has a bye this week, Penn State the week after and Michigan to close out the season. The Michigan game is a rivalry game but shouldn't be much of a problem since Michigan has struggled since their fast start. The Badgers and Spartans are done with their games against ranked opponents for the year, their game at Michigan is the biggest remaining one for the Badgers and the Spartans travel to Happy Valley for their season finale.

I thought about looking up tie breaker rules and figuring out what needs to happen for the Hawkeyes to win the Big-10 title and head to California in January for the Rose Bowl. As soon as I began to look for them I realized that there was only one thing that really mattered; winning. The Hawkeyes need to win their last 4 games, including the contest at home against Ohio State. This is the only thing that they can control, each week we have seen teams get knocked off in games that some would say shouldn't be close, this of course is why we play the games and don't just look at the sheets to decide who wins. Maybe Wisconsin overlooks an opponent and picks up a second Big-10 loss, maybe MSU comes out flat following last week's loss, the point is that anything could happen. The four team jam is guaranteed to be reduced to three by the virtue of the Ohio State @ Iowa game but that is the only sure thing. The season is still up for grabs for these four teams, the question is who will work to earn it.

Where Will It Go Next

The season this far for the Green Bay Packers cannot be summed up very easily. They dominated the preseason both offensively and defensively, the offense has been nonexistent for large chunks of games this regular season, the defense forgot to show up against the Lions and then dominated the Jets offense keeping them off the scoreboard all together. A large chunk of inconsistency can be credited to the injuries sustained this season, there are currently 11 players on injured reserve and three others that have visited the PUP list this season.

The most notable injuries were on offense; the loss of Ryan Grant and Jermichael Finley were immediately noticeable and the Packers are still trying to find a way to fully overcome the void that was created. The defense has been decimated as well, losing star Nick Barnett to an injury similar to that one suffered by Brian Urlacher last year. Overall 8 of the players who were placed on either list so far this season were on defense, something that is very hard to overcome.

Despite the inconsistencies and the slow start the Packers are still in a position where they control their own destiny. They are currently percentage points above Chicago in the standings since the Packers have not yet had their bye week. Even though Chicago currently holds the tie breaker with the dead to head win I have confidence that the Pack should win the rematch in the season finale. The Vikings are struggling to find their identity and despite the emergence of the Lions I still believe that the Packers are a better team overall. This week the Pack head into Dallas where the Cowboys can't get any worse than their performance last week, but they don't have a leader to help them get going in the right direction. Green Bay should go into their bye week at 6-3 with at least a share of the NFC North division lead.

The rest of the season will continue to be interesting with a few questions to answer. Will Brandon Jackson continue to be enough for the Packers running/short pass game? Can Aaron Rodgers find the rhythm with Greg Jennings and Donald Driver that he had last year? Will the defense continue to play like they did against the Jets or will they show up as they did against the Lions again this year? After the 3-3 start I was pessimistic about the season and almost ready to pack it in, but 2 big wins and a favorable schedule the rest of the way, I like the potential that the season shows if the Packers can keep the momentum going after the bye.

A Less Than Wild Start

Before the start of the NHL season I was unsure what to expect from the Minnesota Wild. After the first month of the season my expectations have still not been cleared up very much. A 4-4-2 start is good for a tie for third place in the Northwest division with an extra game played over Vancouver and 11^th place overall in the western conference. There have been some very good team performances, highlighted by the 6-2 win against Vancouver and the 2-1 win against eastern powerhouse Washington, and some poor ones as well, the 5-1 loss to Vancouver 3 nights after the big win.

The team opened the season in Finland against a Carolina team that I thought was beatable, the single point that the Wild got out of the two game set was not enough to me. Since that series though things have gotten better. Niklas Backstrom has gotten stronger as the season has progressed, returning to his form of 2 years ago. So far this season he has played in 9 games, picked up 4 wins, posted a goals against average of 2.08 and a save percentage of .923. In his 5 total losses Backstrom has received no offensive support, a total of only 9 goals. It is not as if he is giving up huge games in losses either, 13 goals against in the five games is just over his average of 2 goals against per game.

One of the missing aspects again this year is the emergence of a pure goal scorer. Mikko Koivu is already on a pace of over a point per game but has done so by collecting 2 assist for every goal he scores. Nothing is wrong with this but Koivu is tied for the team lead in goals with Bret Burns, Guillaume Latendresse, and Matt Cullen. The wild need someone to establish themselves as a scoring threat to create a mental problem for the opponent. Matt Cullen is not going to be that guy but it is nice to see a move that was questioned in the off season paying off so far here early in the season, he has 3 goals and 7 assists which is good for second on the team in points.

Another team positive for the Wild is their special teams. The power play is currently operating at 31%, good for second in the league. The penalty kill sits just outside that top 10 killing off 84.9 percent of the opponent's chances. The power play percentage is sure to fall eventually but the kill rate should remain solid since Minnesota hasn't lost all of the defensive prowess that Jacques Lemaire instilled in many of these same players during his time in St. Paul.

Overall the team is still in good position for this year, I think that they should have a few more wins than they do but the transition is still being made. Nothing is holding this team back this year and once everything comes together they could make a good run. The month of November is going to be a key to the season, I'd like to see them continue to win the games that they are supposed to and pull off a couple that they aren't. 4 games over .500 for the month would be a welcomed improvement and should keep them in the hunt early in the season.