Grab a Cup of Coffee …
… because I’m chatty this week. Long-suffering fans know what this means: even more rambling than usual, some musing, a few anecdotes, and a reference to at least one cat.
It’s Thanksgiving Day as I put the finishing touches on this column, in between catching glimpses of the all-day marathon of Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, sitting in the glorious sun, and preparing to head to a large Italian family’s house in Grandview, Ohio. My own family is a thousand miles away, in three different directions.
So count your blessings and hold your loved ones near. Me, I’m still glowing from the 2004 World Series.
Chatting with a Couple of Friends
Last Saturday morning, I was chatting with my pal Jess Bechard, the sports information director for Miami hockey. Jess is a good guy who apparently is interchangeable with Miami assistant coach Jeff Blashill, who is interchangeable with Brad Pitt — but that’s another story.
I was calling to tell Jess that I wasn’t going to make it that night to Miami’s game against Nebraska-Omaha, as transportation had once again fallen through — but that’s another story.
We were talking about the strength of the CCHA, something that is pathologically ingrained in-house, but mythical from where I sit. Jess is a company guy, as is everyone who works PR, and he does his job very well … but he has moments of objectivity that I find refreshing.
Which is why I was shocked when Jess fed me the party line about the CCHA and goaltending being among the toughest in the nation. He said — and I’m paraphrasing here — that if you look at the national stats, the CCHA always crowds the top 10 among goaltenders.
Of course, I had to correct him immediately. I let him continue to live with the delusion that the league had superior goaltending last season; I figured that I should spare him by phone but could easily point out his error in a column that I know he never reads.
In fairness, Jess’s perception may be skewed because he works with a program that had two of the top 10 goalies in the nation last year, Charlie Effinger and Jeff Zatkoff, who were second and sixth respectively in save percentage in 2005-06, and second and fifth in goals-against average.
You can see how easy it would be for Jess to think that every team in the CCHA had great goaltending.
The truth is, however, that Effinger and Zatkoff were joined only by Michigan State’s Jeff Lerg among the top 10 in save percentage, and by Lerg and Ohio State’s Dave Caruso in goals-against average. So in save percentage, that’s two CCHA schools represented; with GAA, that’s three.
For save percentages last year, Lake Superior State’s Jeff Jakaitis was 15th, while Alaska’s Wylie Rogers and Chad Johnson were 21st and 22nd.
Before the start of this season, several coaches pointed to the league’s goaltending as one of its perennial strengths, but it’s a company line that I have a hard time buying. In 2004-05, only Northern Michigan’s Tuomas Tarkki and MSU’s Dominic Vicari finished among the top 10 netminders (SV%) in the country; in 2003-04, Jakaitis and two Notre Dame goaltenders, David Brown and Morgan Cey, finished among the top 10 nationally.
So far this season, two CCHA goaltenders are having killer seasons, while three more aren’t doing so badly themselves. Jakaitis and Brown, each with .950 save percentages, are two and three respectively in the national ranks; having seen both of them play against a team that can score goals, I can tell you that each gives his team a serious advantage this season that may last into the postseason.
Zatkoff (.930) is 10th, NMU’s Bill Zaniboni (.920) is 17th, and Johnson (.918) is 18th. That’s it for the top 20 and — once again — notice that no team whose other sports play in the Big Ten can even get a mention for this year.
After Jess and I discussed his misapprehensions — without the current stats — he did ask a question about another old party line: is the league so tough that we just beat each other up during the season so much that we find it hard to play postseason?
Um, no.
I’ll give Jess and the CCHA this, though. While the CCHA does have its perennial three-tier hierarchy, it may be true — and I mean, just may be true — for this league more than any other that any team can beat any other team on any give night. Maybe.
What we do have within the league is the realization of a previous old party line about parity. There is good competition (mostly) from top to bottom in this league, and in the past few years, even the teams at the bottom of the standings have given everyone else pretty good games, consistently.
That’s not enough, however, to extrapolate that league members beat themselves up so much that they don’t have enough gas for the NCAA tourney.
And that leads me to another conversation with a friend earlier this week, this time with my old buddy and fellow USCHO staffer Lee Urton. I emailed Lee to point out the trend I started in the polling. A few weeks ago, I was the only person in the country to vote the Minnesota Golden Gophers No. 1, and I’m glad that most other folks have seen the light.
Anyway, Lee and I exchanged emails about the CCHA in the national scene. Lee said that his impression was that the CCHA was improved this year, comparatively speaking. I wrote back that I think I will once again be a very lonely CCHA Correspondent at the Frozen Four this year, unless Notre Dame comes to my rescue.
But the league’s nonconference play, protested Lee — until he, himself, realized that the CCHA’s 29-13-5 record in intraleague play includes totals of 5-0-1 against College Hockey America and 14-0-0 against the Atlantic Hockey Association.
The collective total of 10-13-4 against the ECACHL, Hockey East, and the WCHA doesn’t bode well for the CCHA, even with the (thus far) winning record against HEA.
At least Notre Dame, said Lee — who lives in Boston, and is therefore biased by such things as a 13-2 thumping of two Hockey East teams by our formerly lowly Irish — is a great story in the making.
This weekend, the CCHA faces off against the ECACHL, the WCHA, and possibly the CHA. It may prove more than just a few things about the league, and the teams playing.
Those Fighting Irish
With a split against Michigan State last weekend, the Irish proved that they may indeed be this season’s story in the making.
Here’s a good stat for you, straight from the league office: during the first 11 games of this season, ND was either tied with or held the lead over its opponent for 663:49 of a possible 669:45 minutes, trailing for a total of just 5:56 minutes.
For the entire first 11 games of the season.
The 12th game was Saturday’s 2-0 loss to MSU, and because of that game, the Irish have now trailed for 42:17 for the season so far.
For Those Keeping Track
With a 41-9 win over Army on the gridiron, the Fighting Irish have now claimed total domination of the American Armed Forces.
Let this be a lesson to all of us this Thanksgiving. Make sport, not war.
Another Brief Foray into Football
We all survived The Big Game last weekend here in Columbus, and community leaders were proud to report that only 40 arson arrests were made in the hours following the game.
There is more wrong with this than I can ever explain.
Whose Bright Idea Was This, Anyway?
Pity the Michigan State Spartans. No, really. In heading to the College Hockey Showcase this weekend, MSU is ending nine-game stretch that saw action against Michigan and Notre Dame, as well as two Tuesday night contests.
“It’s probably the toughest week anyone is going to see in college hockey,” said Spartan goaltender Jeff Lerg. “We haven’t shown too much on the road and we’ve got three tough road games coming up.”
The Spartans dropped the first of those three games, a 2-1 loss to Michigan Tuesday night. That was MSU’s seventh game in 19 days, their fourth in eight days, a stretch during which the Spartans went 3-3-1.
After a nine-game streak against the Wolverines in which they did not once lose, the Spartans are now on the wrong side of a two-game win streak, accomplished by Michigan in the span of 11 days.
And about this time last year, MSU head coach Rick Comley was talking about reexamining the Tuesday night games in those offseason coaches meetings. I guess he was outvoted.
Unlikely Players of the Week
Disclaimer: these comments are in no way intended to demean this week’s CCHA Players of the Week, nor to diminish the accomplishments for which they were honored.
Ryan Jones The Miami captain is one of my favorite players in the league — perhaps my favorite — but I heard that at least one of the goals he earned this weekend was actually pretty.
Sean Collins The OSU captain is another favorite of mine, but the Buckeyes have struggled defensively this season, so seeing any OSU blueliner earn this award was surprising.
Oh, wait — he scored two goals. Of course. He was being honored not for pure defensive play, but because he scored goals. This is, after all, the CCHA.
I think it’s time to roll out the Blueliner of the Week awards. Send nominations.
Billy Sauer I’m just glad to see Sauer post a very surprising .957 save percentage in two games, given his slow start to the season. Last month, I couldn’t have predicted that he would have a weekend like this, and this development is encouraging for the Wolverines.
Nathan Perkovich This Laker rookie doesn’t surprise me at all. I saw him in Columbus last month.
Not Home for the Holidays
If you’re traveling for the holiday, you have a lot of company. An estimated 38 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles this weekend, the busiest travel weekend of the year in the U.S.
Among those traveling are seven teams from the CCHA, and this is how their mileage breaks down, as the crow flies. Remember, it’s much longer over the river and through the woods.
Bowling Green: 966
Lake Superior State: 5,266
Miami: 1,208
Michigan: 1,029
Michigan State: 948
Notre Dame: 1,012
Ohio State: 1,040
The irony, of course, is that two of the teams that have to travel farthest are playing conference foes, while the rest of the travelers see nonconference action.
Suddenly, I’m very homesick. Everyone Ohio CCHA team plays in New York this weekend while this girl reporter — a born and bred New Yorker — remains in the Buckeye state.
At least there’s no OSU football this weekend.
Elkins to the League: Bring It On
So, Buckeye Corey Elkins would never say that. But he did score on everyone that Bowling Green had to put in the net last Friday. Everyone.
In earning his first career hat trick in OSU’s 9-3 win over BGSU, Elkins scored his first goal against Jimmy Spratt, his second against Eddie Neville, and his third against Phil Greer, a freshman who played his first-ever career minutes.
The league believes this was the first time in CCHA history that a single player netted three goals against three different goaltenders in a single game. Neat stat.
Anyone out there know differently?
Is Anyone Else Paying Attention to This?
Is anyone else following the career of former Bulldog and current Anaheim Mighty Duck Chris Kunitz? Kunitz is 12th among all goal-scorers in the NHL with 13 in 22 games played. He bolstered that total with five markers in three contests last week.
Apologies
Last weekend, I was to visit my new boyfriend, Steve Cady Arena, and watch the Mavericks and RedHawks play in Oxford. And I was supposed to get up to Bowling Green to see the Falcons.
My apologies to those three programs, especially the UNO and BGSU, two teams I have yet to see play this season. I’ll see you, boys, as soon as I can.
A Sad Goodbye
The NCAA sporting community lost a good friend when Bo Schembechler died last week. While Schembechler is best remembered for his time in Ann Arbor, I’m sure many of us immediately thought of Miami University when we heard the news.
A Happy Birthday
My baby sister, Victoria Butler, turned 34 yesterday. I diapered her butt. I can’t imagine how old this makes my mother feel.
Happy birthday, Sis!
A Belated Welcome
Welcome to the planet, Devin Edgar Parker!
This baby boy was born Oct. 28, to Leann and Eric Parker. Leann is an associate director of athletic communications at Ohio State who functions as the men’s ice hockey sports information director, and Eric is a volunteer assistant coach with OSU baseball, and functions unofficially as the guy who absolutely saw how the puck went in the net for men’s ice hockey.
Devin is beautiful, which is no surprise given his parents.
From the Old Commish
Well, I don’t know if he’d call himself old, but I got another lovely email from former CCHA commissioner Bill Beagan this week. Bill recalled a Thanksgiving in Boston when he was a young referee with the National Hockey League. He was officiating his first Bruins game in which Bobby Orr was playing; both Beagan and Orr are from Parry Sound, Ont.
Beagan, in Boston alone and without family, found himself having Thanksgiving dinner with the family of the manager of the Union Oyster House in Boston, a woman with a “soft, Italian accent,” wrote Bill.
The woman’s husband met Beagan at the lobby of his hotel Thanksgiving Day, brought the young Canadian to the family’s house, and Bill spent the day feasting as one of the clan.
Bill wrote, “There isn’t a U.S. Thanksgiving that arrives that I don’t reminisce about the significance of this special day … [and] this sincere spontaneous act of kindness … .in this bountiful country.”
Yes, he’s a tear-jerker — and he and his wife, Barb, are two of the most gracious people I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet.
And so with that, my friends, I too am about to embark on my own Italian family Thanksgiving with the wonderful Palumbos of Grandview. Every year they take in this Slovak-Celtic-Breton-Greek mutt-mix of an American, while my own parents in Florida gather strays from all around their locale to form another makeshift but true American family on this most American holiday.
At the risk of going Hallmark, ain’t it a grand day, in a grand country?
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
