I'm going to start posting some new topics over here every now and then.  Hockey's my sport, and I wanted to spark some discussion get to know you guys a little better.

This past weekend was the first time we've scored multiple power play goals in back-to-back games in the same series this season.  The team still has some work to do when they're up a man.  The PP is clicking at nearly 19%; it ranks only 23rd in the country.  But the improvement is noticeable.  Anything's better than going o-fer, which was basically the first half of the season.  In fact, the unit was actually giving up goals shorthanded.

An observation: in the late 90's and early 00's, when the Wolverines had some of their more elite teams, they possessed power plays which were some of the nation's best.  And it was a little bit of cycling that led to their success.  Red would commonly have his teams rotate players off the half-wall, where one guy would leave the puck for the teammate he was trading "spaces" with.  The Wolverines would move the puck from high-to-low, forcing the defense to suck in and form a tighter box down low.  This would create opportunities for a point shot.  The defensemen would regularly capitalize on slapshots from the point.  

It's small improvement, but I've been noticing that with renewed confidence, skill, and spacing, they're started running similar motion like this on the PP.  In both the FSU and NMU series, each PP unit would run that action, rotating a forward off the half wall, leaving the puck, and eventually making a pass to the defenseman.  Phil is good at drawing the attention of the defense with his passing.  And on some occasions the last few games, Trouba, Bennett, etc. have made the opposition pay by scoring goals.

So, those are my thoughts on the power play.  Feel free to add any thoughts you guys have.

This post was edited on 3/10 10:35 PM by GeoffChiles