Bowling Green freshman
goalie Jimmy Spratt used to be a stat rat, checking
out all of his numbers and those of others. But there
are two good reasons why he’s lost interest
in digits this year: 5.39 and .821, his goals-against
average and save percentage.
Neither he nor coach Scott Paluch think
those statistics accurately reflect his performance,
but it’s clear that the leap to college hockey
was tough for Spratt, a Flames draft pick. He was
BGSU’s starting goalie in a 9-6 loss to Boston
College, a 7-2 loss to Ohio State, a 9-4 loss to Notre
Dame, a 6-3 loss to Northern Michigan and a 5-3 loss
to Miami. Many times, he was betrayed by suspect team
defense, particularly in transition. The latter half
of the Notre Dame game looked like an hour-long breakaway
contest for the Irish.
But, especially for his first two starts
(against BC and OSU), Spratt takes the blame.
“I was psyching myself out,”
he says. “Going into the Boston College game,
I was thinking to myself, ‘This is my chance.
This is my opportunity.’ And then for Ohio State,
I took the same approach. But looking at the goals
that went in, they weren’t because of my physical
skills. It was my mental approach.”
Clunkers like those opened the door
for senior transfer Jon Horrell to cement himself
in Paluch’s goalie rotation. But Horrell’s
numbers (1-6-1, 3.71, .879) aren’t much better
than Spratt’s, and that lack of success between
the pipes is one reason why the Falcons have only
nine points after 13 league games. Behind superstar
Jordan Sigalet last season, BG finished fifth in the
CCHA.
So things haven’t been great in
northern Ohio, but Paluch said last weekend’s
split against Michigan State – a 3-0 loss by
Horrell and a 4-2 win by Spratt – were more
indicative of how the goalies have really been playing.
“A lot of times, statistics give
a true picture of a goalie, but that’s clearly
not the case with Jimmy,” Paluch said. “He
was a victim of a lot of defensive mistakes early,
and he handled it extremely well. He works so hard
at it in practice. But, of course, looking strictly
at the numbers, they have to come down and go up depending
on which one we’re talking about.”
Spratt, the recovering stat-aholic,
knows that as well as anyone. And he thinks he’s
on his way.
“I feel more comfortable,”
he said. “I don’t think college hockey
is so much better than juniors. I’ve just been
playing with more confidence, which allows me to react
on time. When you’re too antsy, you’re
reacting too fast. Now, I’m not all over the
place.”
SEEN AND HEARD IN THE CCHA
Take your best shot:
Perhaps the only constant about Ohio State this season
is that it has outshot its opponents, usually by a
wide margin. Not once have the Buckeyes been outshot
for a whole game. Overall, they’ve put 549 pucks
on net, compared with 327 by their opponents. But
only 8 percent of their shots have gone in, compared
with a 10.7 shooting percentage against them, which
is one reason why the CCHA preseason favorites are
languishing at 7-6-2.
“I feel like we are getting some
Grade-A scoring chances,” said senior Rod Pelley,
who leads the Buckeyes with 74 shots on goal. “We
just have to bear down and be men in front of the
net and take care of our opportunities. We have to
get back to the basics of it, get traffic in front
and get some greasy goals.”
Pelley said the Buckeyes have been working
on their marksmanship in practice, especially after
last weekend, when they outshot visiting Alabama-Huntsville
106-47 – including a Value City Arena-record
55 on Friday – but scored only five goals in
a loss and a tie. Despite a talented lineup, no OSU
player has more than five tallies this season.
“It’s not technical as much
as it is desire,” Pelley said. “The feeling
I get is that we’re treating every shot like
it’s just a shot from the blue line. We have
to have the passion to get the puck through the goalie,
through the net and through the end boards.”
Faith at the top: As
Northern Michigan looks up the standings at 83 percent
of the CCHA field, some Wildcat fans have questioned
the team’s leadership. But coach Walt Kyle has
no problem with the examples set by captains Nathan
Oystrick, Geoff Waugh, Pat Bateman and Andrew Contois.
“I think our team is in good hands,”
Kyle said. “I think our fans are the best in
college hockey and they have a right to be involved
and to ask questions, but I don’t place much
value on other people’s expectations for the
team. You shouldn’t question somebody’s
character unless you have an intimate knowledge of
them.”
Kyle said he knew coming into the season
that his team would have some first-half troubles
because of its schedule. This weekend’s series
at Ferris State wraps up a stretch during which the
Wildcats play nine of 11 games on the road. And the
only two home games were against Michigan. NMU has
lost six of their last eight, but Kyle isn’t
worried.
“I’m
looking at things realistically,” Kyle said.
“I could tell in July that this would be a tough
time. But the schedule turns our way in January, so
we just have to keep our lips above water until we
can make up some ground in the conference.”
Great Weekend Getaway
Northern
Michigan at Ferris State (Fri.-Sat.) Both teams come limping into this series,
which only adds to its importance. Northern
Michigan was a chic pick for the conference
title during the summer, but the Wildcats have
lost six of their last eight games and slipped
into 11th place. Their roster is full of offensive
talent, but that hasn’t translated onto
the ice. Ferris State was the surprise team
of the league until getting swept at Nebraska-Omaha
last week. Still, the Bulldogs are tied for
fifth heading into their last action before
Christmas.
While you’re there:
Bring a teddy bear or two to chuck onto the
ice between periods Saturday. Don’t worry,
you won’t get kicked out (at least not
for that). FSU is organizing a Teddy Bear Toys
for Tots program, and the stuffed animals will
be given to underprivileged kids.
Stick
Salute
Miami
sophomore goalie Charlie Effinger ran
his personal unbeaten streak to 10 games (9-0-1
dating to last year) with Friday’s win
over Michigan. Effinger wasn’t necessarily
overlooked coming into this season, but most
people felt freshman Jeff Zatkoff was in line
to become the RedHawks’ No. 1 man. Effinger’s
strong play, however, has kept him in the mix
and made him part of the best goalie tandem
in the country at this point.
Bench
Minor
Michigan
coach Red Berenson was quoted in the Ann Arbor
News referring to Saturday’s five-minute
major against his Jack Johnson as an “embarrassment”
of a call. On its own, that doesn’t get
me too riled up. But too many folks -- coaches
and, especially, fans -- are awfully quick to
blame officiating for their teams’ losses.
Officiating evens out during the course of a
season. Just play the game. (No offense to Red.)
FRIES AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BAG
• Two weeks ago, Michigan State
coach Rick Comley referred to his skidding team’s
“fragile” confidence. Asked whether the
players’ mind-set could slip from fragile to
defeatist, Comley acknowledged the possibility. “Oh,
yeah, for sure,” he said. “There’s
always a danger because it starts in the stands and
it spreads to the locker room.”
• Incredibly, Michigan State forward
Bryan Lerg’s penalty-shot goal Friday against
Bowling Green was the first successful penalty shot
by a Spartan since Bobby Reynolds in 1989. Lerg netted
a hat trick in the game and continues to lead MSU
in scoring with 21 points (six goals, 15 assists).
• Western Michigan’s Brent
Walton also turned in a hat trick last weekend, scoring
three straight goals during Friday’s win over
Notre Dame.
• Injuries are hitting the CCHA
hard right now. Michigan State is playing without
senior defenseman Jared Nightingale (mononucleosis)
and junior captain Drew Miller (shoulder), both of
whom missed time last weekend. Miller made this week’s
trip to Fairbanks, but is considered questionable.
Ferris State has lost freshman star Dan Riedel to
mono, and Western Michigan defenseman Chris Frank
hurt his shoulder and is doubtful for the NMU series
in two weeks.
Two bits of good news, however, are
that Ohio State forward Dan Knapp made his season
debut last weekend after offseason shoulder surgery
and NMU’s Oystrick is fine after missing two
games with a bruised hand.
• After a great start to the season,
the CCHA endured yet another blah week of nonconference
action. Ohio State could only muster a tie and a loss
against UAH while Notre Dame saved face with a dramatic
win at Minnesota State, Mankato Tuesday. It was the
Irish’s first road victory in more than a calendar
year. This week, the CCHA’s three Ohio schools
welcome ECACHL competition as Bowling Green and Miami
take turns hosting Clarkson (guided by former Falcon
George Roll) and St. Lawrence, while Ohio State faces
visiting Union for a pair. Also, Notre Dame finishes
its drawn-out home-and-home with Mankato on Saturday
in South Bend, and Lake Superior State plays a set
at old NAIA rival Bemidji State. Friday’s Beavers-Lakers
game counts in the Commissioners’ Cup standings.
• Stat of the week: There are
more points separating first-place Miami from second-place
Ohio State in the league standings (eight) than there
are between OSU and 12th-place Notre Dame (six).
• Notes from the box scores: Miami
scored two short-handed goals on the same Michigan
power play – including the game winner –
during Friday’s victory ... Notre Dame senior
Tim Wallace’s goal nine seconds into Friday’s
game at Western Michigan was the fastest game-opening
marker in Fighting Irish history. He broke the record
of 12 seconds, set by Sterling Black in 1990.
• Healthy scratches: Slumping
Miami forward Taylor Hustead was in street clothes
during both games last weekend ... Lake Superior State
senior forward Mike Adamek has yet to play this season.
“He’s a coach’s decision,”
coach Jim Roque said. “As for when he plays,
it’s up to Mike, not me. I’m looking for
the guys who want it the most.”
• In case you missed it, five
CCHA players made the U.S. junior team: Michigan’s
Jack Johnson, Mark Mitera and Kevin Porter, Miami’s
Nate Davis and Ohio State’s Tom Fritsche. The
squad will be coached by Northern Michigan’s
Kyle. Michigan’s Andrew Cogliano still has a
shot to make the Canadian team.
• Miami’s 11-2-1 record
is the best 14-game start to a season in program history.
• Nebraska-Omaha forwards Scott
Parse and Bill Thomas are scorching hot heading into
this weekend’s showdown at Michigan. Parse has
a point in all 15 UNO games this year and co-leads
the nation with 27 points. Thomas has a 10-game point
streak and 22 points overall.
• Jimmy Neutron,
Jack Hanna and animals from the Columbus Zoo will
be on hand for Ohio State’s game against Union
on Saturday..
A variety of sources were utilized
in the compilation of this report.
