The unofficial online home for fans of the Western Michigan University Broncos. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

http://www.mlive.com/broncos/index.ssf/2...cart_river

It's a good read... but I wish Murray would stop using the "pro style" comment. The only teams in the NHL that try and play grind it out hockey are the ones at the bottom of the standings. Maybe back in his days as a NHL coach it worked... but it doesn't work in college and he's a COLLEGE HOCKEY COACH. Get all the big guys you want... but we're going to continue to lose to teams that have speed and skill. That's the college game and that's the way the rules are set up.

We seem to have quite a bit of skill that goes to waste trying to dig the puck out of the corner and frankly it's getting tiresome and boring to watch. How you can claim to play possession style hockey when all you're doing is throwing it into the zone and hoping you win a race.

I, for one, am also starting to get embarrassed by his antics on the bench. He's like a child who doesn't get is way. With my season tickets and the NCHC.tv I've watched nearly every game. We take a LOT of penalties. And those penalties are legit... Other than the outdoor game at Miami I haven't once come away with the thought "well the refs really screwed us this game"

Do they blow calls? Sure. But they also miss penalties against us too. They're college hockey refs... they aren't full-time and we shouldn't expect that kind of quality.

Maybe if Murray didn't ride the refs from the moment the puck drops he'd get a few more of those iffy calls in our favor.

Murray won with Culhane's leftovers and some stellar finds by Blashill. Everyone but the senior class are his guys now and we are below .500 and have had several games in which we were barely competitive this season. There have also been a few players that have regressed mightily under him.

I know in most of your eyes he can't do anything wrong... but this reminds me of the mid-2000's. It was fun and exciting for a few years but then took a sharp downhill turn. Hopefully I'm wrong and that doesn't happen here.

Lot of empty seats in this photo.

(02-26-2015 07:14 PM)JerrySeymoursParoleOfficer Wrote:  http://www.mlive.com/broncos/index.ssf/2...cart_river

It's a good read... but I wish Murray would stop using the "pro style" comment. The only teams in the NHL that try and play grind it out hockey are the ones at the bottom of the standings. Maybe back in his days as a NHL coach it worked... but it doesn't work in college and he's a COLLEGE HOCKEY COACH. Get all the big guys you want... but we're going to continue to lose to teams that have speed and skill. That's the college game and that's the way the rules are set up.

We seem to have quite a bit of skill that goes to waste trying to dig the puck out of the corner and frankly it's getting tiresome and boring to watch. How you can claim to play possession style hockey when all you're doing is throwing it into the zone and hoping you win a race.

I, for one, am also starting to get embarrassed by his antics on the bench. He's like a child who doesn't get is way. With my season tickets and the NCHC.tv I've watched nearly every game. We take a LOT of penalties. And those penalties are legit... Other than the outdoor game at Miami I haven't once come away with the thought "well the refs really screwed us this game"

Do they blow calls? Sure. But they also miss penalties against us too. They're college hockey refs... they aren't full-time and we shouldn't expect that kind of quality.

Maybe if Murray didn't ride the refs from the moment the puck drops he'd get a few more of those iffy calls in our favor.

Murray won with Culhane's leftovers and some stellar finds by Blashill. Everyone but the senior class are his guys now and we are below .500 and have had several games in which we were barely competitive this season. There have also been a few players that have regressed mightily under him.

I know in most of your eyes he can't do anything wrong... but this reminds me of the mid-2000's. It was fun and exciting for a few years but then took a sharp downhill turn. Hopefully I'm wrong and that doesn't happen here.

I said the same thing last year and got pounded on here,I agree with most of what you said but almost all of the sophomore's and Juniors were recruited by the previous coach.Murray is all about size.

Leading the league in penalty minutes will get this team no where.

I agree to the above as well. As david drew said, wmu is missing that sniper / goal scorer that can find the net and finish. It's great to have size and play physical, but it has to be kept under control.
We can't afford to take unnecessary penalties as it will cost us in this league when we play the North Dakotas and the miamis who will make us pay on the powerplay. I hope that we can find speed and snipers like North Dakota has, that team is strong and fun to watch.

Agree Broncodan. Kovacs sets up guys 3 or 4 or 5 times a game...but nob ody finishs!

(02-26-2015 07:14 PM)JerrySeymoursParoleOfficer Wrote:  http://www.mlive.com/broncos/index.ssf/2...cart_river

It's a good read... but I wish Murray would stop using the "pro style" comment. The only teams in the NHL that try and play grind it out hockey are the ones at the bottom of the standings. Maybe back in his days as a NHL coach it worked... but it doesn't work in college and he's a COLLEGE HOCKEY COACH. Get all the big guys you want... but we're going to continue to lose to teams that have speed and skill. That's the college game and that's the way the rules are set up.

We seem to have quite a bit of skill that goes to waste trying to dig the puck out of the corner and frankly it's getting tiresome and boring to watch. How you can claim to play possession style hockey when all you're doing is throwing it into the zone and hoping you win a race.

I, for one, am also starting to get embarrassed by his antics on the bench. He's like a child who doesn't get is way. With my season tickets and the NCHC.tv I've watched nearly every game. We take a LOT of penalties. And those penalties are legit... Other than the outdoor game at Miami I haven't once come away with the thought "well the refs really screwed us this game"

Do they blow calls? Sure. But they also miss penalties against us too. They're college hockey refs... they aren't full-time and we shouldn't expect that kind of quality.

Maybe if Murray didn't ride the refs from the moment the puck drops he'd get a few more of those iffy calls in our favor.

Murray won with Culhane's leftovers and some stellar finds by Blashill. Everyone but the senior class are his guys now and we are below .500 and have had several games in which we were barely competitive this season. There have also been a few players that have regressed mightily under him.

I know in most of your eyes he can't do anything wrong... but this reminds me of the mid-2000's. It was fun and exciting for a few years but then took a sharp downhill turn. Hopefully I'm wrong and that doesn't happen here.

I agree with everything you said. I like Murray, and I would like him to succeed at WMU, but I question if it will happen without changing the style of play. The goal isn't to get as many kids to the NHL as you can; it is to win games at Western.

I hate to bring this up again, but I still think it was a bad decision to go with the nchc. I truly believe that if we were in the current wcha we would be playing for an NCAA birth right now, and would have better momentum with the program. Being in the "best" conference isn't always the best thing, and for a lot of reasons it is taking its toll. Many claimed it would improve our attendance, because we would be playing all these national powers. But the reality is, ferris st and bowling green are more recognizable to the average Kalamazoo sports fan that north Dakota and Minnesota Duluth. More importantly, if we are playing powerful programs every week it is harder to get on winning streeks, and folks aren't as inspired to watch the broncos with either a losing record , or even a 500 team. And I'm not even considering the travel issues.

Wish I had more time today to comment, but will have to wait until the weekend

The gist of Drew's column is the need for the Broncos to play with more discipline in order to have some success down the stretch. This part I agree with

Discipline is one thing they do need to to work on, but how about getting the most out of your players? There is a lot of talent on this team, but do the players give it all to Murray? Look at guys like Pitt, 1 goal this season. Hargrove up until recently has under performed, Morrison makes more passes to the other team than ours. What is the attitude inside the room? The older guys have to be tired of the 48 weeks a year in Zkoo, with workouts and skating everyday. Before I get blasted for saying the kids should get a break. Name the other D1 Programs that stay all year at school? They send their kids home, expect they are going to workout and be ready for training camp in August/September.

There is a lot of mirco-managing by this coach. Maybe that is why he hasn't returned to the NHL?

(02-27-2015 03:39 PM)DudeReally Wrote:  Discipline is one thing they do need to to work on, but how about getting the most out of your players? There is a lot of talent on this team, but do the players give it all to Murray? Look at guys like Pitt, 1 goal this season. Hargrove up until recently has under performed, Morrison makes more passes to the other team than ours. What is the attitude inside the room? The older guys have to be tired of the 48 weeks a year in Zkoo, with workouts and skating everyday. Before I get blasted for saying the kids should get a break. Name the other D1 Programs that stay all year at school? They send their kids home, expect they are going to workout and be ready for training camp in August/September.

There is a lot of mirco-managing by this coach. Maybe that is why he hasn't returned to the NHL?

WMU has kids stay longer than any other school-techically it is against NCAA rules with some of the stuff that goes on but the kids risk ice time if they complain.Even though the $hit finally hit the fan back at Kzoo this week with some unhappy players.

What hit the fan? Please elaborate! What players were unhappy?

Didn't we all learn something a while back about spreading unsourced rumors?

That's why I asked....put up or shut-up! These rumors NEVER help and end up in almost every case being false.

I had posted a comment explaining what happened but after thinking about it I deleted it,Lets just say the year round training has worn on these guys and it came to a head.WMU is the only team that stays year round with little breaks.

(02-28-2015 01:33 PM)Bronco nut Wrote:  I had posted a comment explaining what happened but after thinking about it I deleted it,Lets just say the year round training has worn on these guys and it came to a head.WMU is the only team that stays year round with little breaks.

And I will not throw any player under the bus by naming them on here.