MSU vs. UND, Game 2 (Goalie Chatter)

First, tonight, there are a lot of changes in the lineup. From my vantage point, it looks like the head coach is sending messages. Chris Wilkie has struggled a bit and Ludwig Hoff has the propensity to take undisciplined, unnecessary penalties. Last night, UND got into penalty trouble and it cost them on the score sheet. You can’t get any momentum if your team is constantly on the penalty kill.

Second, I want to address something that I think needs to be said. Last night I tweeted:

While some want to point fingers at the goalie for the loss, it’s a team game.

Also, I know some want to see a change in net for a game two. From what I can see, it’s Matt Hrynkiw up next if that happened.

9 players from last season’s (Caggiula, Chyzyk, Sanderson, Nick Schmaltz, Stecher, LaDue, Johnson, and Thompson) are gone.

I don’t know if fans are looking at the big picture. The most popular players on a hockey team are the backup goalies when a team is struggling. But Cam Johnson isn’t the problem. Sure are his numbers down from last season, yes they are. In 14 games, Johnson is 7-5-2, 2.21 GAA, .909 save percentage. During the last five games that Johnson has started he’s 2-2-1, 1.59 GAA and .939 save percentage.

Again, look the list of players that are no longer with UND. Three of those players are currently playing in the NHL. Also, another one is on the cusp of making his NHL debut.