Watched the game down at Sensers in Bloomington. Very glad I had a chance to watch this game. A few thoughts:
1. I think the most exciting thing for me tonite was the play of the freshmen forwards. These guys fit in, just like Hakstol had said.
Frattin - he seems more than just a scorer. He made some very good plays with the puck as well, and seemed comfortable on the ice.
Malone - played physical and appears to be VERY strong. Very impressive shift in the 3rd where he just held off State defenders on the boards and controlled the puck. Like someone said, not afraid to hit anyone.
Trupp - showed some nice skill. Found out some things he probably got away with in juniors didn't work at this level, but will likely learn from that. Thing that stood out to me the most was how he was flying around and hitting hard for such a small guy. Also, you can see that desire for the puck.
LaPoint - seemed like he needs to catch up to the game at this level, but for the first game of the season not too bad.
2. Hakstol wasn't blowing smoke on VandeVelde. He seems to be much more of a factor than last year. In fact, he looked better than he was at the end of last year.
3. Duncan wasn't totally made by Toews, that was clear tonite. He got a fluky goal, but it was the other stuff he did with and without the puck that showed his skill.
4. Kozek looks like a better player, to me, than last year. Way to go Andrew!
Fun game to watch!