Wednesday, December 17, 2008

DI OU Hockey Grades

From "The OU Hockey Show" Today:

Collin Chase- 3.52GAA. 1 Shutout 38 GA. Chase has struggled for the most part this season however he came up with a big game in the Grizzlies 3-2 Shootout win against the Liberty Flames. Time will tell as we head into the second semester as to if Chase is back to “Championship Chase” but overall this season he has not proven that on a consistent basis. Grade D

Kevin Kranker- 8 Goals 12 Assist. Kranker is one of if not the best players on this Grizzlies team. Kranker has not been as dominating as his freshman season but still is a force for the Grizzlies. Kranker has the potential to dominate even more are really become a major game changer for OU he appears just a step away from that now, which maybe an unfair statement to make. Grade B

Kyle McMahon- 6 Goals 6 Assists Wow talk about a surprise this season and that is no other then Kyle McMahon who has stepped it up big time for the Grizzlies and has become a source for key goals in key situations. Kyle is among the handful of Grizzlies who have performed over expectations in a surprising first half that sees Oakland at 7-8-4. Grade A

Dennis Capa- 3 Goals 3 Assist. Capa is one of those guys who have improved from last season tremendously. Capa at times has been the Grizzlies best defenseman this season and has come through when needed. Dennis Capa is using his ability to pinch in and create offensive chances for OU, while rarely getting beat on the other end, which is needed for a team at times that struggles to create offensive chances. Capa has proved solid defensively and is becoming exactly what OU needs and makes him an exciting player to watch as well. Grade A

Brandon Krefski- 1 Goal 1 Assist Krefski has struggled throughout most of the season for the Golden Grizzlies. We have seen him get beat to the puck and look out of place at times. However Kresfki played his best series of the season against the Flames. Grade F

Jim Moran- 2 Goals 4 Assists I hate to write this but Moran has struggled the last half of the first semester almost seems like he may be regressing a bit at the forward position. Grade D

Brian Jacobs- 1 Goal 4 Assists Jacobs has been almost everything we were told about him and then some. Anyone can clearly see why he was hyped up in the pre-season. Jacobs could use some work on his skating as he falls down more than the usual player. Jacobs has been bothered by an injury for the last few weeks which has no doubt slowed his development down just a bit. Jacobs is going to make a real big impact here at OU and may have made one of the biggest impacts from freshman so far this season. Grade B



Colin Ronayne- 0 Goals 2 Assists Unfair to Rones is my hyping him up when the defense began to take shape, it was the perfect chance for him to step up. However that hasn’t happened and at times Ronayne has struggled. He still brings that mean physical streak and Rones being used on the Powerplay hasn’t worked yet but trust me if they keep working on that part of his game it will work wonders for OU. Rones as of late has started to show why we all have come to know and love him here at Oakland. Grade C

Kyle Stansik- 1 Goal 1 Assist. Stansik clearly has some good stuff as a defenseman. We have seen Stansik have a steady improvement at times but we have also seen him struggle and make mistakes here and there. Stansik is someone who I think with a little more time, and that could be in the second semester become more of a core defender for Oakland. Grade C

Jesse Worrell- 7 Goals 5 Assists Worrell is at times trying to do to much out there on the ice at times, realizing he has to step up to help this team out. Worrell is a very good player who has scored key goals for OU so far this season. He is a player any team would love to have and will be very key for OU to make the national tournament. Grade B

Rick Delecke- 1 Goal 9 Assists Delecke is proven to be an all around player for OU. Has a very good upside, injuries however have slowed his goal total this season but that should not be used against him at all. Grade B

Brett Haugh-2 Goals 9 Assist Hauzy has struggled for Oakland this season, he was expected to make big goal contributions this season. To his credit Haugh has started to do some of the little things well and seems to be coming along for Oakland which is setting himself p for a nice second half. Grade C

Adam Hoffa- 3 Goals 2 Assists Hoffa has been a healthy scratch several times this season and I think he he some good tools to get the job done with more time. Which I can’t fault him for. Hoffa has been solid and can help this team out. Grade B

Joe Guenther- 2 Goals 2 Assists Guenther and Hoffa seem to be linked together. Joe has had more of a chance to do a little more and he does have the potential to do that but is not there just yet. He wasn’t overly great with the time he has received but he hasn’t been bad either. Grade C

Brandon Johnson- 3 Goals 0 Assists Johnson when through a stretch, where he scored his 3 goals by getting in the corners and doing all the little things right. Since then Johnson, has struggled for the Grizzlies and will need to go back to what we know he can do. Grade D

Nick Ranck- 0 Goals 1 Assist Ranck has struggled at times this season on the blueline with Ranck coming along as of late like he did at this time last season which will help out OU. Grade C

John Parrish- 3 Goals 5 Assist Parrish came through with some key goals for OU at certain times this season. At times Parrish has struggled for the Grizzlies this season but has mostly played as we expected him to Grade C

Mike Murray- 2 Goals 2 assists Murray came into the program as one of the guys we should expect to notice right away. Murray has struggled and not lived up to those expectations. Murray has sruggled to find a good balance up front for OU Grade D

Tom Mullen- 3 Goals 0 Assist Mullen started out the season playing well scoring 3 goals and making himself known on the ice. Since then he has battled injuries and healthy scratches but when he has played he has seen little ice time. With that ice time Mullen has struggled making it hard for him to get more. Grade F

Cody Austin- 7 Goals 4 Assists Cody has been everything we heard he would be when he joined the team last season. He is showing great leadership and the ability to get the key big goal for OU when they need it. He is by far the best penalty killer on the team and has very little flaws on the ice. Grade A

Alex Pikunas- 3.85 GAA 0 Shutouts Pikunas came to OU as a highly regarded goalie. We have seen him make some unbelievable saves but then we have seen him let in the soft one as well. He needs to be consistent and the bad goals have overshadowed some of the good things that he has done. Grade D

Jarrett Samp- 1 Goal 6 Assists Samp struggled at the start of the season which was a surprise, considering his strong season last year. Samp has been coming along as of late doing the little thing. Samp will always be Samp. Grade B

Jordan McDonald- 1 Goal 5 assists McDonald has been so close to getting more goals then he has. He has the ability to make that nice move but makes one to many which takes away the scoring chance. Watching him so far this season makes me think hes so close to going on a nice goal streak for the Grizzlies. Grade C

Coaches: Head Coach Sean Hogan, JR Dunn, Gordie Schaeffler and Jeremy Bachsuz Assistants: You to give the coaches credit for working well with such a young team. The staff has done a number of things from last off-season including the workout program and video that has raised the caliber of the program even more which shows that know whats going on. The have no doubt had some bad breaks along the way! While I don't agree with every single decision that has been made it really not my place to question them. Grade B