Hockey fans know that there is NOTHING like playoff hockey; everything gets kicked up a few notches. And these 2 teams already are 2 of the top 3 scoring teams in the league: UNO with 133 goals and Bowling Green with 120 goals. The big difference is in defense; UNO has given up 116 goals while the Tootsie Rolls have given up 139.Back in early November, Bowling Green swept UNO, and they hope to repeat that feat. However, things have really changed in the last 4 months. In the Friday night game, Bowling Green blasted freshman Greg Barrett for 6 goals in the first 2 periods. Saturday night, freshman Jerad Kaufmann got to make his first start for UNO and lost 4-3. Since the Christmas break, Kaufmann has become a solid goaltender, putting up numbers similar to his predecessors Dan Ellis and Chris Holt, both who have seen action in the NHL.
Meanwhile, both teams feature players in the top 10 in scoring in all of college hockey. Hobey Baker candidate Scott Parse leads the nation, while BG's Alex Foster is tied for 2nd. The Mav's Bill Thomas and BG's Jonathan Matsumoto are tied for 8th.
UNO's weakness this season has been against the tight defensive teams, while they have flourished when the ice opens up. And with offenses like this, things will definitely open up.
Speaking of the NHL, they've noticed UNO stepping things up this season, ranking them #10 in the country and featuring them in an "On Campus" story.
How many licks does it take to the Tootsie Roll center and pop the BG bubble? One Friday night, and one Saturday night. Go Mavs!
4 comments:
You seem to be one of the bigger Maverick excuse makers for the reasons why they can't draw more people to a play off game. Your exuse of poor attendance because of Creighton losing in basketball in St. Louis is one of the lamest excuses i have ever heard.
Bookman: I think the Creighton loss played a small part in keeping a few "general sports fans" away. Not many, and not enough to make a difference. Creighton has captured the interest of the casual sports fan in this town, and yesterday's loss for them put them in a bad mood.
I think the much bigger issue was the lack of time to promote and sell tickets, plus the air that went out of the balloon after last weekend.
They did outdraw the Knights as well as the other 3 CCHA playoff games combined...
don't forget state basketball not to mention the fact that there were a lot of other entertainment options Friday night (Hot Shops Film Fest opening night for one...)
Saturday night's 6,016 fans were the loudest 6k fans I've heard, especially when you consider the size of the Qwest Center. Still would have liked to have seen more people, though.
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