"That is the best 1-8-2 team in the country. They are one of the best
teams we've played all year." Ferris Coach Bob Daniels after his
Bulldogs won the November 28 game against Lake Superior State, 1-0 in
OT.
The Lakers' Championship banners are gathering dust in the rafters.
The worst start in a long time here in Laker Country is making the
whole Laker Support System a bit tense, to say the least. 1-8-2 is
not what Coach Scott Borek promised in September. 1-8-2 is not
acceptable in any NCAA program (or any hockey team at any level, for
that matter), but it is all but unheard of in Sault Ste. Marie. In
fact, the start is so bad, people are having a hard time putting their
finger on just what is wrong, since they've seldom had to do such a
thing. Let me be the lone clear voice in the wilderness -- SCORING.
In short, you can't win if you don't score.
The Laker defense has improved in the last four weeks to almost
championship levels, allowing a total of seven goals in the last five
games, and averaging just over two goals against for the season. The
goaltending has solidified behind Jaymie Platt and the steady play of
Matt Frick and Ryan Knox, among a cast of others. Furthermore, the
forwards are doing something they forgot about entirely last year --
backcheck. The return of speedster and Captain Ben Keup from injury
has given the penalty killing unit some spark, and the Lakers have
allowed only one power play goal in the last six games. So the only
answer is that the team is not scoring enough. No, strike that, the
team isn't scoring AT ALL.
A scoring slump can be defined as a drought in goal production. In
order for the Lakers to be in a slump, they must first show they can
score -- which they have yet to do -- so the problem is magnified in
terms of a pleading young fan at the recent Ferris game, "Will they
ever score a goal?" Early season predictions said that the Lakers
would be solid defensively, but scoring was questionable. Question
answered so far, just not in the positive.
In the NHL, the presiding logic states that "Something has to give."
This team is going to break out and score, because eventually every
team does. In college hockey, however, this is not always the case.
Recent year-long scoring impotence is illustrated with last season's
Alaska-Anchorage team, or Michigan Tech two years ago. Is there a
difference between those teams and this Laker team?
Well, for one, those teams preached a tight, no-forecheck defensive
system to make up for a distinct lack of talent. They were out-shot
regularly. Coach Borek has never preached defense-first tactics.
Instead, he advocates puck control and puck movement. But the net
result is all too often the same, as the Lakers are out-shot in too
many games. A recent epiphany of sorts came over Coach Borek a few
weeks ago, and he began to loosen the reigns on the puck control
system, opting instead to allow his boys to start shooting and driving
to the net. The result has been an increase in shots by almost double
per game, but no increase in goals. And the question is asked again,
"Will they ever score?"
Borek still maintains that his team can play puck control, cycling the
puck around the zone, trying to set up the "one good opportunity."
This system is, however, not the way the Lakers have done business
ever. Students and student-athletes who attend LSSU are not likely to
be the Golden-Children of any kind of wealth of privilege. LSSU's
student body is primarily rural, small town, Northern Michigan and
Northern Ontario. The hockey played in these parts is rough and
tumble, befitting the lifestyle of many of the small, tough, farming
and mining communities where the kids grow up. The school attracts,
by no intention of its own, these types of students -- and thus these
types of players -- because they often feel much more comfortable in a
small Northern farming and steel town than in an elite, and wealthy,
and privileged setting. So for all its history, while Michigan State
and University of Michigan (for example) have had burners and skaters,
LSSU has had the grinders. Four lines and six defensemen, rolling
over the boards in rapid succession, hitting everything that moves.
Shoot the puck at the net and have three forwards charge after it.
Toss it into the corner and bang-bang-bang. This LSSU team is no
different in its make-up. They are in fact just as good, probably, as
the LSSU teams that terrorized the NCAA in the past. The difference
is that they are not playing their own game.
Puck control is a system best used by teams that can wheel around,
hopping into open space quickly, striking before the coverage can
converge. Teams like Michigan and North Dakota are perfect examples
of this type of play. However, when a coach asks a player to play in
that manner, and the player is not fast enough to get into those open
spaces, the whole process dies. Instead of winging the puck around
the zone, the Lakers should be shooting and crashing into the net on
every play. Until they do, they will have trouble scoring.
If there is a bright spot for Laker fans to look toward in this dark
hour, it might be that the last time the Lakers started this poorly
was in the Fall of 1987. That team fumbled out of the blocks to a
rousing 1-6-1 start. It had a good defensive corps and a great
goalie, but they just couldn't seem to score. Every Laker on this
year's team should go and look at that team's picture at the
Able/Norris Arena. Its not hard to find, that picture, because its
marked by the title: "1987-88 NCAA Division I National Champions."
Dreaming? Oh, for sure. But at least there might be some hope that
the scoring will come around. Otherwise, hello, Anchorage.
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