November 16, 2004
Hawkeyes Need to Play Complete Games
Hawkeyes Need to Play Complete Games
With the first leg of the season complete the University of Iowa’s Icehawks have yet to
establish a team identity. As a team the Hawks have shown the ability to play smart
and control the flow of the game. However, they’ve also shown moments of utter
disorientation and that they can play down to the level of lesser teams. The Hawks
have developed a tendency to play extremely well in some periods, while barely
showing up in others.
This lack of consistency has contributed to the fact that besides the season opening
series against rival Iowa State, the Hawks have not swept any of their other
opponents. Victories were posted over Robert Morris and Northwestern on the first
nights of play, but were followed by undesirable results in the second game. A split
with Robert Morris was only avoided due to a late goal by Craig Bagdon in the
waning moments of the second game. The Hawks were swept by Eastern Illinois last
weekend after an unusually disappointing showing.
The Icehawks showed flashes of the team that they can be after letting up no goals
for nearly three consecutive periods and outscoring Eastern 4-1 from the start of the
second period of game one until the end of the first period in game two. The Hawks
that showed up in those periods were nowhere to be found during the others as they
were outscored 10-0. However, the score does not tell all.
The Hawks took 50 shots on the first night, out shooting Eastern by twenty, and yet
still could not come away with the victory. On the second night the Hawks managed to
keep it close until late in the third period and were still in the game until the end. It
seemed that on both nights the Hawks could not catch any breaks, while Eastern
capitalized on every Iowa mistake, leading to frustrations voiced in both the locker
room and on the bench. To date the games against Eastern were the low point of the
season, but luckily they don’t epitomize the Hawks as a team and the Hawks should
be able to avoid similar weekends in the future.
With the second round of games coming up after Thanksgiving Break the Icehawks
will need to reverse the trend of showing up for some periods and not others, along
with their tendency to split series if they hope to be successful. The Hawks have four
important games against Southern Illinois and Wheaton College before Winter Break
and the end of the first half of the season. The Hawks’ division record currently
stands at a poor 2-3-1, with their overall at 4-3-1, and these games
establish a team identity. As a team the Hawks have shown the ability to play smart
and control the flow of the game. However, they’ve also shown moments of utter
disorientation and that they can play down to the level of lesser teams. The Hawks
have developed a tendency to play extremely well in some periods, while barely
showing up in others.
This lack of consistency has contributed to the fact that besides the season opening
series against rival Iowa State, the Hawks have not swept any of their other
opponents. Victories were posted over Robert Morris and Northwestern on the first
nights of play, but were followed by undesirable results in the second game. A split
with Robert Morris was only avoided due to a late goal by Craig Bagdon in the
waning moments of the second game. The Hawks were swept by Eastern Illinois last
weekend after an unusually disappointing showing.
The Icehawks showed flashes of the team that they can be after letting up no goals
for nearly three consecutive periods and outscoring Eastern 4-1 from the start of the
second period of game one until the end of the first period in game two. The Hawks
that showed up in those periods were nowhere to be found during the others as they
were outscored 10-0. However, the score does not tell all.
The Hawks took 50 shots on the first night, out shooting Eastern by twenty, and yet
still could not come away with the victory. On the second night the Hawks managed to
keep it close until late in the third period and were still in the game until the end. It
seemed that on both nights the Hawks could not catch any breaks, while Eastern
capitalized on every Iowa mistake, leading to frustrations voiced in both the locker
room and on the bench. To date the games against Eastern were the low point of the
season, but luckily they don’t epitomize the Hawks as a team and the Hawks should
be able to avoid similar weekends in the future.
With the second round of games coming up after Thanksgiving Break the Icehawks
will need to reverse the trend of showing up for some periods and not others, along
with their tendency to split series if they hope to be successful. The Hawks have four
important games against Southern Illinois and Wheaton College before Winter Break
and the end of the first half of the season. The Hawks’ division record currently
stands at a poor 2-3-1, with their overall at 4-3-1, and these games
