Wrap Up - Off Week

[kr]

Andy talked with Tim and Swyg this morning.

The captains run this weeks practice. Monday was an off day. Most of the guys slept the day thru (Monday was a holiday, so no classes at UND). The time change from the Alaska trip took its toll.

Tim: You played well, particularily on Saturday.

Andy: We did a lot of things better Saturday night; Friday night was a little bit of a fluke. For being short players UAA played hard. The goaltending was much better Saturday. You kinda gotta feel bad for them (UAA), one thing after another (talk about the sign falling) they've got to get some luck soon, win a couple games.

Tim: You've won 21 games and they've not won in 21 games.

He (Andy) saw Chris F. on Wed & Thurs -- he's known Chris since his junior year in high school. He, Chris, is one of the more talented players he's played with - wish him the best - he's had (he'll have) his chances, he just needs to make the most of 'em.

The trip to Alaska was tough because last week was the first week of school, so, because of traveling on Wednesday, some of them missed the first day of a class, which is tough, cause usually you can see where the class will be heading (is it a keeper or should you look to drop and add something else). For the most part, the teachers/instructors are understanding.

Tim: The d-men looked a lot more comfortable on the big ice at UAA than they did at UMN (talk about the quality of UMN vs. UAA having some bearing on what the d were able to do on the big ice).

Andy: 5 on 5 isn't really the problem, it's the penalty kill. Against a highly skilled team/power play unit (UMN and CC like teams) they can really expose you on the big ice on a powerplay -- you have to stay positionally sound on the big ice.

Tim: You and David (Hale) had some really, really BIG hits at UAA.

Andy: You can't go out of your way to look for a big hit. Our d-corp can wear down the other teams forwards, because by and large the d- does hit big time -- but a lot of the credit goes to the forwards because they really wore down the d corp of UAA -- coming in waves.

Regarding CC: biggest series of the year to date -- looking for a couple points.

The teams goal is to be a top 3 seed, sure winning the league would be "great", however realistically the team is focused on being a top 3 -- the league (WCHA) has too many dangerous teams - a top three puts you at home with the 8, 9, or 10 seed, which while tough is a lot better than being a 4 or 5 because the 6 and 7 teams are just as tough probably as the 4 and 5 team. (talk about how tough it is for the 4th and 5th teams at the WCHA final 5 tourney - all teams want to avoid that play in game)