Boy Named Sioux Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 I am not trying to be sarcastic - just honestly looking for answers. What is the theory of the point men on our powerplay switching sides constantly? Was is coincidence that 9 times out of 10 when the puck comes to them, they are on their "off" hand for a one timer? I think conventional wisdom says, one strategy- when you are up against a goalie who is playing very well- is to get the puck to the point, shoot it (this is key in scoring (ok- that was a bit sarcastic- sorry)), and try for deflections, rebounds, or general trash of any kind. Why not change our power play half-way thru the UMD game or, failing that, half way thru the Wisonsin game? I know about changing horses midstream and all that, but when your horse is DEAD...aren't you just gonna drown? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stickboy1956 Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 I am not trying to be sarcastic - just honestly looking for answers. What is the theory of the point men on our powerplay switching sides constantly? Was is coincidence that 9 times out of 10 when the puck comes to them, they are on their "off" hand for a one timer? I think conventional wisdom says, one strategy- when you are up against a goalie who is playing very well- is to get the puck to the point, shoot it (this is key in scoring (ok- that was a bit sarcastic- sorry)), and try for deflections, rebounds, or general trash of any kind. Why not change our power play half-way thru the UMD game or, failing that, half way thru the Wisonsin game? I know about changing horses midstream and all that, but when your horse is DEAD...aren't you just gonna drown? This is the downside of having "balance." We have some very good players but no "great" players and this gets exposed on the power play, when for the most part, your 10 best offensive players are on your 2 PP units. We have 2 players on the point that have, for the most part, have been journymen, not exhibit A PP quarterbacks. We also don't have players that will bury chances when available (shoot ofd the pass). This is not a rip - just an observation. I think this team has overacheived, for the most part. We are what we are. Without future NHL goalscorers/puckhandling D, the PP is bound to be average. From what I saw this weekend, we need quicker puck movement and qucker shot attempts. We get too many shots blocked as our shooters "tee it up." The coaches know what they have to work with. I'm sure they'll come up with a game plan for the weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siouxweet Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 The coaches know what they have to work with. I'm sure they'll come up with a game plan for the weekend. I would like to believe this but for the past month and a half our pp has struggled and there have been no changes to it. my guess is it will be status quo and hope for the best this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
passit_offthegoalie Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 I think if they are going to win they will have to score goals in transition. That means they need to be crisper and execute better. It also seems like they haven't supported the puck carrier well lately, compared to the middle part of the season. I don't know what it is exactly, but they need to get back to where they were earlier this season. That said, I don't think they will play like they did last weekend, and get bad luck(example :Eidsness mistake) like last weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilbur Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 UND is like many teams around the nation as far as their power play goes. Normally they'll start off with what is called an overload on the boards, and then rotate into an umbrella or down into a box and one. A couple of times this weekend they even rotated into a 3-2 when they weren't having success. The reason that the players switch at the point is an old hockey term called "getting their hands right". It makes it easier for the player to one time the puck towards the goal. They did this a couple of times this weekend, but they never really one timed the puck off of it. Its worked for the Sioux before, but like we always say, back to the drawing board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irish Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 Ah, what to make of our power play - I agree, lately it has been dreadful. We'd sometimes be better off declining the penalty. We are very slow to move the puck around and seem to need to tee it up in order to shoot. My solution is simple - SHOOT THE PUCK Everytime we seem to struggle on the power play it is almost painful to watch because we never put it on net. We went through a stretch last year - same thing. Why no one can convince our people to shoot is beyond me. At our level, if we struggle with a phase of the game, we should be making corrections in the next week. This type of play will kill us in the regionals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
focker Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 Lately we're looking for the PERFECT scoring chance on our power play it seems. We're not content to shoot and mop up the rebounds. We want the open backdoor shot every time, and it just doesn't happen like that much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yzerman19 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 A lot of the powerplay is timing too. The designed switch sets the powerplay in motion. Start counting off 1 and 2 and 3 and go, etc. There is also the opportunity that the forward playing up high will get caught napping and the dman can get a quick shot away during the switch. Our biggest problem IMO is that the passes are off the tape. As I said before, timing is everything, and if the pass is off mark, so is the timing. We also telegraph our passes. This might be a result of not having mobile enough players out there. We also get "jumped" a lot. The defensive player knows that he can make us cough it up if he pressures us. Guys like Osh and Toews and Parise could flat out beat anyone one on one with their skating and stickhandling skill. This made them ideal set up men. It would almost always be like a 5 on 3 when they got the puck in their hands and went towards the net. If a defender jumped them, 99 out of 100 times that defender was out of the play. I also hate the umbrella with this team. If I were coach, I would actually think about having Finley line up as a winger on the PP and then switch to center. You want to talk about an immovable body setting screens down low. I would then have Dunc as the set up man and Kozek as the shooter. Chay and Marto up top. I keep hoping that this is a rope a dope on the PP; that we are fighting left handed right now, screwing up the tape for the opposition, and we will come out in the NCAAs fighting right handed, with a new look PP that they've been running in practice for months. I know this is wishful thinking, but it would sure be cool. They ran the PP this weekend like they've been practicing something else... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AussieSiouxFan Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 I agree with everyone saying that the PP needs to move the puck both FASTER and with more ACURICY, the best example of this was in the 2005 Frozen Four Semi Final against the Gophers in the first 30 seconds of the first period, not only was the puck movement incredibly fast, but it was accurate and everybody was moving around, although they didnt score on the powerplay they had many good quality chances and maintained possesion for the whole power play, the gophers did not know what to do and they looked like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off, that PP was very good and i wish this team could execute the PP like the 04/05 team could, but it is unlikely as this team is lacking the skill of that team (stafford, zajac, sparky, smaby etc). If we ask nicely maybe somebody with this game on DVD will be able to upload it to youtube so you can all see what i mean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jk Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Our biggest problem IMO is that the passes are off the tape. As I said before, timing is everything, and if the pass is off mark, so is the timing. We also telegraph our passes. This might be a result of not having mobile enough players out there. We also get "jumped" a lot. They get jumped if they bobble a pass. All it takes is one sign of weakness - pass hops a stick and you have to turn to the boards to retrieve it - and they are all over you. Then you spend the next 30 seconds just trying to maintain possession, sending it from one board scrum to the next. If you're lucky, you get it the point and start over; just as often it's out of the zone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianvf Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 I keep hoping that this is a rope a dope on the PP; that we are fighting left handed right now, screwing up the tape for the opposition, and we will come out in the NCAAs fighting right handed, with a new look PP that they've been running in practice for months. I know this is wishful thinking, but it would sure be cool. They ran the PP this weekend like they've been practicing something else... Something makes me think this too. With how horrible our PP has looked the last few weeks, I find it hard to believe that Hakstol and Co. wouldn't work on it more or alter it somehow. It seems like they are just trying the same thing over and over, and it's not working. --The points pass it back and forth a couple times...then they switch...pass it to the circle, back to point, pass it back and forth a couple times...shot...off the opposition's shinpads...out of the zone. Rinse and repeat. I know these guys are capable of better. Maybe we'll see something different against UNH on Saturday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZSIOUX Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 ive never coached and dont pretend to know much when it comes to X's and O's but man do they do a lot of passing from D to D at the blueline, over and over and over instead of setting up down low. like i said i dont know much abiut that stuff as i stopped playing hockey when i moved to az but it seems like thats a problem. earlier in the year i noticed more movement overall and we can stop trying to get duncan that shot from the corner.side as everyone and thier mom knows thats what they are trying to do. whoever runs the pp knows this has to change this weekend if they want any shot of getting out of this regional. score 3 and we will keep moving on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yzerman19 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 if they aren't rope a doping, it would be a cool strategy to do if your team has the talent. Practice two PPS all year, use one up until the NCAAs, then switch it up. Genius! It would be completely unexpected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yzerman19 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 ive never coached and dont pretend to know much when it comes to X's and O's but man do they do a lot of passing from D to D at the blueline, over and over and over instead of setting up down low. like i said i dont know much abiut that stuff as i stopped playing hockey when i moved to az but it seems like thats a problem. earlier in the year i noticed more movement overall and we can stop trying to get duncan that shot from the corner.side as everyone and thier mom knows thats what they are trying to do. whoever runs the pp knows this has to change this weekend if they want any shot of getting out of this regional. score 3 and we will keep moving on From the looks of it, Dunc is looking to pass more. I think you're right and they are guarding against the shot. This means that they will watch him just a split second too long, and if the weakside winger drives the net correctly, it should be a nice pass into the slot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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