Ferris is for real
One of the toughest things for this sport’s observers this season has been learning about the new teams to the league. There was an assumption that Ferris State would be one of the WCHA’s better teams, but I’m not sure if I saw this start coming.
Then again, other than reading some clips, what did I know about Garrett Thompson or Justin Buzzeo, who lead the league in scoring with 14 points apiece, or goalie C.J. Motte, who is 8-0-1.
“[Motte is] a big-time goalie,” Bowling Green coach Chris Bergeron told USCHO. “I’m not sure the WCHA knew what kind of goalie he is. He’s an all-WCHA, All-American goalie.”
Good to know.
With a tie and a win over Bowling Green, the Bulldogs extended their unbeaten streak to seven games and got a bit of cushion in the WCHA standings.
Uniform schedule, please
Midway through the month of November, the WCHA standings are beginning to take shape – sorta.
It continues to baffle me that the league (and other college hockey leagues) doesn’t have a more uniform schedule that keeps teams as close together as possible in conference games played.
Bemidji State has played eight conference games already. Four teams have played six games, and five teams have played just four games. How can we gauge where teams are at?
Besides knowing that Ferris State is good and Alabama Huntsville is not, the other eight teams are bunched up.
While it will take awhile to even out more, the good news is that all 10 teams will be in action against each other this weekend.
No offense, but …
One of the most baffling stats of the season so far is Minnesota State’s lack of scoring prowess. With the WCHA preseason player of the year (Matt Leitner) and what, on paper, seemed to be the deepest collection of forwards in the league, the Mavericks are averaging just 1.9 goals per game, which ranks 54th in the country.
After getting swept 4-1 and 3-0 against No. 1 Minnesota over the weekend, captain Johnny McInnis told The (Mankato) Free Press: ”I don’t want to say it’s embarrassing because we played the best team in the country. But it’s pretty unacceptable as a team to score one goal on the weekend. I don’t care who we’re playing.”
Meanwhile, Michigan Tech isn’t doing much better, averaging just 2.08 goals per game (51st in the nation), although that number has risen over the last four games, as the Huskies won three of their last four games and split a home series against Lake Superior State this weekend.
Ferris State, meanwhile, ranks third in the nation in scoring at 3.82 goals per game.
