{"id":49251,"date":"2013-02-20T05:00:29","date_gmt":"2013-02-20T11:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/?p=49251"},"modified":"2013-02-19T21:57:32","modified_gmt":"2013-02-20T03:57:32","slug":"reversals-of-fortune-one-of-the-common-themes-in-the-ccha-this-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2013\/02\/20\/reversals-of-fortune-one-of-the-common-themes-in-the-ccha-this-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Reversals of fortune one of the common themes in the CCHA this season"},"content":{"rendered":"
This week’s edition is a little of this, a little of that. It’s chattiness may recall columns of old. I’d advise you to grab a cup of coffee. It is February, after all.<\/p>\n
As a life-long Red Sox fan and an ardent follower of the Buffalo Bills since 1989, you know I’m no stranger to suffering. Knowing that I attended St. Margaret’s School in Mattydayle, N.Y., until the eighth grade also may shed some light on my perspective as a sportswriter and my world view in general.<\/p>\n
I love reversals of fortune. I’m a sucker for redemption.<\/p>\n
One of the sweetest reversals I’ve witnessed in my life time — aside from the Bills’ 41-38 win over the Houston Oilers Jan. 3, 1993 — was Ohio State’s 4-2 CCHA semifinal win over Michigan on March 20, 1998. That game snapped the Buckeyes’ 34-game winless streak (0-29-5) against the Wolverines, a span of games that dated to Jan. 26, 1990. That it happened in the CCHA tournament with an unknown goaltender named Jeff Maund in net made it all the better for Buckeyes fans.<\/p>\n
Or all the more painful for Michigan fans. From their perspective, the streak of dominance was 29-0-5. They had a team full of NHL draftees and a superb goaltender named Marty Turco in net.<\/p>\n
Of course, the Wolverines had the last laugh a few weeks later in Boston.<\/p>\n
Relatively speaking, some of this year’s CCHA reversals of fortune are nowhere near as dramatic. Take Notre Dame’s 2-1 win over Miami last Sunday<\/a> in Soldier Field. The Irish had been winless against the RedHawks (0-4-2) since Dec. 3, 2010, and lost to Miami in Oxford 3-1 Friday night<\/a>.<\/p>\n Said Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson after the game, “This was a big win for us.” In his often understated fashion, Jackson added, “It keeps the playoff race interesting.”<\/p>\n Indeed. That game ensured that the Irish were still in the mix for a regular-season title. When the weekend ended, Miami remained in first place with 50 points, Western Michigan in second with 48 and the Irish in third with 47. Notre Dame and Western Michigan face off this weekend in Kalamazoo.<\/p>\n Jackson said that the Irish have struggled since the beginning of January after dominating in the first half of the season “… because we’ve had problems sometimes with too much emotion or not enough emotion in shifts after goals and situations like that.”<\/p>\n Jackson also said that the key to Notre Dame’s success Sunday was playing a simpler game. “We need to play like we’re outdoors all the time,” he said.<\/p>\n Notre Dame’s win Sunday isn’t the only turnaround tale of this last CCHA season. Another success story came in part at the expense of the Fighting Irish when Alaska completed back-to-back road sweeps against Michigan (Jan. 11-12) and Notre Dame (Jan. 18-19), the first time that the Nanooks took all four games in its annual, early January two-weekend trip to the Lower 48. It also marked the first time in program history that the Nanooks took two games in a weekend from the Wolverines.<\/p>\n Alaska extended that streak to six games with a home sweep of Northern Michigan Jan. 25-26. That was the stretch that solidified the starting position for freshman goaltender John Keeney (2.55 goals against average, .905 save percentage), who started every game until last Saturday’s 4-2 loss to Lake Superior State.<\/p>\n Bowling Green is a team that has worked hard to reverse its recent fortunes. The Falcons are in eighth place with 31 points, a full nine points ahead of last-place Michigan State. Early in the season, BGSU snapped a streak of its own against MSU, an eight-game winless skid halted with a 1-0 win in East Lansing on Nov. 2. That winless streak extended to Feb. 21, 2009, and the Falcons got their first win in Munn Ice Arena since Feb. 24, 2007.<\/p>\n Then with their 5-1 win over Michigan in Yost Ice Arena on Jan. 8, the Falcons snapped a six-game road losing streak against the Wolverines that dated to Nov. 20, 2009.<\/p>\n One fortune that the Falcons were not able to reverse this season is their winless streak against Miami, which numbers 16 games (0-15-1), dating to Jan. 4, 2008.<\/p>\n Lake Superior State is another team that snapped a notable streak. With their 3-2 home win over Michigan on Jan. 19, the Lakers earned their first win over the Wolverines in 17 games, a streak that extended to Feb. 16, 2007.<\/p>\n That several CCHA teams have benefited from the singularly bad season Michigan has posted says a lot about the nature of the CCHA itself.<\/p>\n “One thing about streaks, whether it’s a winning streak or a losing streak, is they come to an end.” Alaska coach Dallas Ferguson, quoted in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner<\/em><\/a>, before heading to Sault Ste. Marie last weekend. The Nanooks dropped two games to Lake Superior State; the Lakers’ 5-1 win Friday snapped a four-game skid for LSSU.<\/p>\n “Special teams has been our Achilles’ heel all year long.” Bowling Green coach Chris Bergeron after the Falcons lost to Ferris State 4-2 last Saturday night<\/a>. Kyle Bonis scored a short-handed goal for FSU, and Garrett Thompson’s game-winning goal came on the power play. The Falcons are 57th nationally in combined special teams.<\/p>\n “Sometimes you get kicked down a bit, and the next night is a lot more telling when it comes to the team’s character.” Bonis after Ferris State’s win. The Bulldogs lost 2-1 in overtime to the Falcons<\/a> the night before.<\/p>\n “You get a five-minute power play and then you take an undisciplined penalty, it takes you right out of your power play. Looking back, that probably hurt us.” Miami coach Enrico Blasi after losing 2-1 to Notre Dame<\/a> Sunday. The RedHawks are averaging 13.5 penalty minutes per game, 20th in the nation. They also have the fourth-best penalty kill in the country.<\/p>\nYou know I like the quotes<\/h4>\n