February
5,
2004
The
Rob Report
By
Mike Eidelbes
How well is
Rob Globke playing this season? So well that he’s grabbed
the attention of more than one just one person in the Poulin household,
as evidenced by a conversation between Notre Dame coach Dave Poulin
and one of his twin daughters while driving home from the Joyce
Center following his team’s 3-2 win against Alaska-Fairbanks
on Friday.
“She
said how Robbie had scored a shorthanded goal and how NHL-like
it was,” Poulin explained. “I said, ‘Why do
you say that?’ And she said, ‘Because he created his
own space.’ I was in awe that somebody who is not a hockey
aficionado could appreciate that.”
Appreciation
for Globke, a senior wing, is spreading across the CCHA. Always
a talented scorer – he entered the year with 49 goals and
84 points – the 6-4, 204-pound native of West Bloomfield,
Mich., has done more than just produce points this season. Globke
leads Notre Dame in goals (16) and points (29), but with a league
high five game-winning goals, has been a clutch performer for
an Irish team that finds itself involved in close games on a routine
basis.
 |
| Rob
Globke leads the CCHA with five game-winning goals. |
“I like
situations like that and I feel comfortable,” said Globke,
whose NHL draft rights are owned by the Florida Panthers. “When
you’re comfortable in those situations, things kind of come
naturally.”
Some aspects
of the game, however, didn’t come naturally. Getting Globke
to play a well-rounded game was a lot like asking a home-run hitter
to lay down an occasional sacrifice bunt.
“It
was hard to explain to Robbie the little things,” Poulin
said. “He is so capable of big plays…he wanted everything
to be big, rather than just a simple chip off the wall or something
of that nature. But he is doing everything right now.”
Doing everything
includes being a team leader – “I try to lead by example,”
Globke stated – and controlling his emotions, which had
previously got the better of him on more than one occasion.
“In
the past, I would get frustrated after a bad shift and I would
carry that throughout the rest of the game or the weekend,”
Globke said. “This year, I’m kind of letting go after
each shift and preparing for the next one.”
Preparation,
Poulin says, has been instrumental in Globke’s growth as
a player this season. It’s something he’s reminded
of on a daily basis.
“He’s
even grown in his routine,” Poulin said. “He’s
got his pre-game prep and his practice day prep and his post-practice
routines down. He’s doing a really nice job of looking after
all the little details that make you a better player.”
With series
against Miami, Ferris State and Michigan on the horizon, Globke
must continue his stellar play if the Irish continue to harbor
hopes of advancing to the CCHA Super Six and remaining in the
mix for an NCAA Tournament berth. Poulin believes Globke is up
to the challenge.
“We’ve
seen a lot of good teams this year,” Poulin said, “and
Rob is as explosive and as capable as anybody I’ve seen.”
SEEN
AND HEARD IN THE CCHA
LATE NIGHT AT UAF – When a reporter asked if his
team’s home series with Michigan – complete with a
national television audience courtesy of College Sports Television
Friday – ranks among the most important in school history,
Alaska-Fairbanks coach Guy Gadowsky concurred with the assessment.
“You’re
right,” Gadowsky stated. “Until next weekend.”
Coaches are
required by law to publicly avoid hyperbole, so we’ll supply
the superlatives on Gadowsky’s behalf. Outside of the Nanooks’
sweep of Ferris State in the first round of the 2002 CCHA playoffs
and subsequent appearance at the Super Six in Detroit, this is
as big as it gets.
Of course,
Gadowsky recognizes this weekend is a little different than usual.
And he’s happy to have the opportunity to play on national
TV. Not only is it great exposure for the UAF program, but it
also gives the rest of the country the opportunity to see first-hand
how important Nanook hockey is to the community.
“One
of the things I’m very proud of is that the TV audience
will get to see the kind of fan support we have and the atmosphere
in the Carlson Center,” Gadowsky said. “We certainly
want to show well against the fourth-ranked team in the nation.”
Interestingly
enough, Gadowsky believes his team is well prepared to deal with
the out-of-the-ordinary weekend, thanks to the prolonged logjam
in the CCHA standings.
“It’s
been so tight for so long that I think you’re almost used
to the pressure of how big these points are and how important
the weekend is,” Gadowsky explained. “You already
have so much pressure on you every weekend."
AND
THE WINNER IS... – Last week’s look at potential
Hobey Baker Award candidates from the CCHA got us thinking. Who,
we wondered, are the favorites for the league’s Player of
the Year and Rookie of the Year honors?
It’s
a question we posed to a sampling of coaches and media members
on the condition of anonymity. A total of eight people took part
in our inquiry and the responses, like everything in this league
this season, were widely varied and impossible to predict.
Eight people
participated in our poll. For Player of the Year, we got six different
responses. Leading the way with two votes apiece were Michigan
goaltender Al Montoya and Western Michigan forward Dana Lattery.
“With
the number of wins and what he’s done recently,” one
coach said, “it’s tough not to pick Montoya.”
Also receiving
mention: Rob Globke of Notre Dame, Michigan State’s Jim
Slater, Miami’s Derek Edwardson and Bowling Green goaltender
Jordan Sigalet. Nearly everyone we polled mentioned Sigalet as
a top candidate for Player of the Year.
“I shudder
to think where Bowling Green would be without [Sigalet],”
said one coach, likely echoing the sentiments of many Falcon supporters.
Our participants
came forward with six Rookie of the Year honorees. Again, just
two players received two votes – Michigan’s T.J. Hensick
and Notre Dame goaltender David Brown. Others receiving votes
were Miami’s Matt Christie, A.J. Thelen and Dominic Vicari
from Michigan State and Northern Michigan’s Darin Olver.
Clearly, front-runners
for the league’s Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year
won’t emerge for some time, adding a little spice to the
last five weeks of the regular season. Just what CCHA fans need
– even more drama down the stretch.
|
Great Weekend Getaway |
 |
|
Michigan
at Alaska-Fairbanks (Fri.-Sat.): We don’t
expect you to drop a couple grand on a last-minute flight
to Fairbanks. Still, the two-game set at the Carlson Center
is arguably the biggest series in Nanook history, what with
a national TV audience tuning in via CSTV Friday night and
UAF making a bid to host a first-round playoff series for
the second time in three years. The Wolverines are in the
midst of a seven-game winning streak and rarely lose in
Fairbanks – they’re 11-1-0 all-time there. But
UAF is 10-2-0 at home and you can bet the UAF faithful will
be revved up for the weekend.
While you’re there: First, an apology to the people
of Fairbanks. Not long ago, I said that Fairbanks is an
outpost, and it is an incredibly long, arduous trip. But
once you get there – and your body clock adjusts –
it’s a good time. Wanna make it even better? Then
head to the Pump House, which is arguably the best restaurant
in the CCHA. Located a couple miles from downtown, its menu
boasts chicken, steak and pasta selections (all of which
are excellent), but the fresh seafood and wild game options
are terrific. And if you’re lucky, you might get a
glimpse of the Northern Lights. The odds are in your favor:
If you spend three nights in Fairbanks, you’ve got
an 80 percent chance of seeing them. |
| Stick
Salute |
|
So he's not a CCHA guy.
Still, how nice was it to see former Wisconsin standout
Dany Heatley return to the Atlanta Thrashers' lineup
last week? And since we're discussing ex-Badgers, goaltender
Mike Richter had his uniform number retired by the
New York Rangers at a pre-game ceremony Wednesday.
He's the third Blueshirt to have his number in the Madison
Square Garden rafters, joining Ed Giacomin and Rod Gilbert.
|
| Bench
Minor |
| Miami’s
weekend sweep in East Lansing wasn’t enough to convince
MSU forward David Booth that the RedHawks
are for real.
“I
don’t see how they’re a first-place team,”
Booth said following Saturday’s loss. “Michigan's
better than them. Once we get going we can beat them.”
Perhaps
Booth should get his eyes checked. Miami is 13-4-2 since
Halloween; the Spartans are 12-10-1 during that same span.
Among the RedHawks’ 13 wins are three against Michigan
State.
|
FRIES
AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BAG
• Don’t be surprised to see Michigan State
junior Matt Migliaccio get a start or two in goal over
the next five weeks. Coach Rick Comley – who asserted that
freshman Dominic Vicari was “clearly our number one goalie”
following a lackluster effort by Migliaccio against Northern Michigan
Jan. 3 – noted that Vicari hasn’t been as sharp in
the second game of weekend series.
“He’s struggled in back-to-back nights,” Comley
said after Vicari made 29 saves in Saturday’s loss. “We
might have to look at splitting a little bit more.”
• Making
your National Hockey League debut in your hometown is
an expensive proposition. Just ask former Western Michigan standout
Mike Bishai.
The Edmonton native,
who was summoned by the Oilers from the team’s AHL affiliate
in Toronto last week, spent roughly $3,700 to obtain 40 tickets
for family members and friends for Thursday’s game against
Chicago at Rexall Place.
Said an unidentified
Oiler teammate when learning of Bishai’s largesse: “You’re
playing [tonight’s] game for free.”
• More
on the homecoming front: Miami freshman Marty Guerin,
a Lansing, Mich., native, thrilled a 30-member contingent
on hand at Munn Ice Arena to witness his first trip to Michigan
State as a RedHawk. The forward, who wasn’t recruited by
the Spartans, scored a goal and an assist in Friday’s 2-1
Miami win and added an empty-net goal in his team’s 3-1
victory Saturday.
“I've
been looking forward to this since I was still playing junior
hockey last season,” Guerin told the Lansing State Journal
prior to the start of the series. “The last time I skated
at Munn was when I was 11 years old.”
• Three
former CCHA players – well, more like 2.25 – were
honored as members of the United States Hockey League’s
25th anniversary team earlier this week.
Named to the 14-member
squad were former Nebraska-Omaha goaltender Dan Ellis, ex-Ferris
State forward Rod Taylor and forward Jason Blake, who started
his collegiate career at Ferris State before transferring to North
Dakota following his freshman campaign.
The team was announced
in conjunction with the USHL’s Prospects/All-Star Game,
which took place Tuesday in Lincoln, Neb.
• The
CCHA contingent participating in the American Hockey League
All-Star Game in Grand Rapids, Mich., Monday grew by
two, then shrunk by one.
Former Michigan State
defenseman Andrew Hutchinson was added to the PlanetUSA roster
earlier this week after the Nashville Predators sent him to their
AHL affiliate in Milwaukee. Similarly, ex-Ferris State forward
Chris Kunitz was named to the Canadian roster after he was sent
to Cincinnati by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.
Scratched from the
PlanetUSA team was blueliner Mike Komisarek. The former Michigan
star was summoned from Hamilton of the AHL by the Montreal Canadiens.
• This
week’s Bowling Green Note is anything but obscure.
Junior goaltender and INCH favorite Jordan Sigalet injured his
shoulder midway through the first period of the Falcons’
4-3 loss to visiting Ohio State Saturday, forcing coach Scott
Paluch to insert sophomore Bob Frazee into the game. Frazee, making
his collegiate debut, acquitted himself nobly – he was named
the game’s third star after making 25 saves on 28 shots.
A variety
of sources were utilized in the compilation of this report.
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