PNCLL 2008 All-Conference

[Hi-Line Lax]

Now that we're getting close to the end of the regular season and playoff time (which I promise you will be hearing a lot more about soon... very cool stuff) I thought we should get the All-Conference discussion going. This has been a very competitive year for teams in the PNCLL, in both divisions, but my forecasts and notes will apply to the Div 1.

Goalies- To me this is easily the most competitive of the spots. My nod here goes to SFU's freshman Dean Stewart. The kid is plain nasty and his team is undefeated in conference and playing great ball... he's the 1st teamer. From there I could make a case for almost every other goalie in the PNCLL... after being on both coasts in the past 3 weeks, the goalies out here are far superior. I'd be OK with All-Conference goalie nods going to Oregon, Washington, my Griz, and probably Boise... though there are more.

Attack- Always the hardest 1st team to make, I think this year is sorta an exception. I think Towner (SFU) and Blackmore (UO) should be on there since their teams are #1 and #2 and they've put up great individual seasons. In the third spot I'd probably make a case for Schane (UO). Our attack has had another productive, but balanced season, so I could see a few 2nd team nods going to the Griz. Other than that, not too many standouts, but certainly some worthy picks.

Specialties- To me, the LSM is a lock for Manning of SFU. He's the most dominant pole in our league, and maybe the most versatile player overall. At the FOGO I've got to go with a homer pick and take Tucker Sargent of my Griz. Not only does he win the vast majority of his draws, but his ability to drive and find the back of the net gives him the edge over the rest of this Turtle-less class.

Midfield- I like a lot of midfielders in this league, so I'll have to go with a few to start the discussion... Cramer from Washington has got game, he should get some recognition. I really liked #1 on Oregon (McMurdo) in our game. SFU has some talented midfielders, but nobody that stood out so much in our game (I could find some if I wanted to...). Shaw from Idaho had a good game against us and is a presence on the field. We've got a grip at Montana, led now by converted attackman Townsend Hall, who I believe is with Manning in those "can do anything" type players... I don't know, take your pick.

Defenders- This is the hardest position for me this year, not to many names out there. Brunelle and Vincent from Oregon are both really solid defenders. I think Ben Lavigne might be the the best overall defender in the PNCLL this year, but is probably still flying a bit under the radar. Washington and OSU both had a couple good poles, but nobody who stood out so much to me. Again, I think there is some room for discussion here.

Anybody else have thoughts... it's been a great year.

[nhoskins]

Middie: Niehuser (GU) lit us up. Russel Thomas (SFU) has a sick shot on the EMO. Tierney (UW) had a solid game too.

Defense: I'm a bit biased towards 2007 HM all conference Joe Hazah (BSU). SFU's Curt Brown was a force as well on defense.

Attack: I also like Towner (SFU) and Blackmore (UO).

Specialist: Manning (SFU) seems to be the only real standout specialist we've faced this year.

Goalie: This is a tough decision too, particularly in the PNCLL. I think the nod could go to Stewart (SFU), Swanson (UO) or Moore (UW). Despite some tough PNCLL defeats, I don't think Shawn Carman should be overlooked either, he always makes the saves he should and a lot of saves he shouldn't.

I'm going to qualify my picks by saying I'm yet to see UM, UI or OSU this year. That being said, I hope they don't have any standout players at all... That'll make it easier for us to close out the season with a three game win streak against those three and get to Missoula

[Ryan Hanavan]

Voting is certainly going to be tough this year. I could easily spend a couple days mulling over the 1st team through the honorable mentions. I hope to see UI get some recognition and Kevin is right about Ben, he's having a great year.

Should we expand our vote to fill cards on 1st team through honorable mentions this year and award weighted points for higher ranked teams? It might be interesting to see how that turns out. Or a weighted system with more points awarded to players based on which team they are voted on.

[PNWLaxer]

The guys in the cage that stood out to me this year:

Stewart (SFU) - as a freshman has stood up well against various top teams in the MCLA. He has faced all kinds of shooters from across the country and has held his own very well. He is my pick.

Moore (UW) - as a 1st year tender after playing out for the most part the previous two years he has really showed me a lot. He gets the silver medal.

Azevedo (OSU) - in his senior year he is the stud back there for the Beavers. With the loss of Carp he has really stepped up.

Swanson (UO) - honestly thought he would take his game to the next level after last year but too me he has plateaued but his d is not as solid as it was last year either.

Carman (BSU) - always shows up and plays hard....too bad he does not get more recognition because he should.

[Mark Brown]

To start the D2 discussion minus any SOU players as I am biased:
Goalie:
Blair from WOU or Wilbur from UPS
Defense:
Extine- WWU
Brown- WOU

Middie:
Schuit- WWU
McWhirter- WOU
Dills- UPS
Mehl- CWU

Attack: The hardest position to judge as there are MANY worthy:
Davis- WOU
T-Chuck- PLU
Higuchi- CWU listed as Middie but played attack against us and is solid.
Also worthy of consideration:
Petit- UPS, Addington- WOU, Jr.- CWU, Simons- WWU, Kim and Lee from Whitman.

Please take this list w/ a grain of salt as we haven't played Whitman or C of I yet. Also, I've seen PLU multiple times this year, UPS and WOU twice, and everybody else once so this is limited info.

[HammerTime22]

I think Kevin Norris at attack and Kellen Gallacher on D are worthy of first team from CWU.

[Ryan Hanavan]

Goalies are definitely the hardest this year. Stewart (SFU), Swanson (UO), Moore (UW), Connery (UM), Carman (BSU) are all in the mix.

We also have a handful of gamers on attack this year. Towner (SFU), Cameron (UM), Blackmore (UO), Schane (UO), Ault (UM) standout.

Tierney and Cramer have been a force at midfield for UW this year. Russell (SFU) has also had a solid '08 campaign. Hall officially made the move from attack to midfield this year and has quietly dominated ground balls and possession for UM.

LSM is probably Manning (SFU) although Jardim (UO) is putting up points this year for the ducks. McQuade (UI) has been a strong presence on and off the field this year for my young defense.

Defense is probably the spot I had the hardest time with. I liked the Vincent and Brunelle (UO), Lavigne (UI) trio. SFU, OSU, and UW all had solid poles that could probably be interchanged into this mix.

Sargent (UM) has had a great '08 as an FOS and Salvador (OSU) gave us a lot of problems.

Shaw and Ballard have both had solid seasons for me and Townsend has been solid as of late. I won't say much more but I'd at least like to plug them.

[westlax]

This is what I see for D2

Goalie:
Blair (WOU)

Defense:
Brown (WOU)
Gallacher (CWU) (Defensive MVP)
Snell (SOU)

Midfield:
Dills (UPS)
McWhirter (WOU)
Schuit (WWU)

Attack:
Davis (WOU) (Offensive MVP)
Kim (WC)
Higuchi (CWU)

[TheBearcatHimself]

Goalie:
No Carter since he is done
Blair (WOU)
I think there is a BIG dropoff after Blair and Boggess IMHO.

Defense:
Brown (WOU)
Snell (SOU) D-MVP
Gallacher (CWU)
I think this is hands down your 1st team D

Midfield:
Bludorn (WWU)
Bohince (WOU)
Mehl (CWU)
I think Schuit is the traditional pick, but I thought Bludorn added more to their team. Bohince does EVERYTHING for WOU.

Attack:
Burke (CofI)
Tkachuk (PLU)
Petit (UPS)
Burke does it and with a crowd on his back, same with T-chuck, Petit has an all around game, the ball seems to come to him.

2nd Team Mentions:
Middie:
Tupper (PLU)
Schuit (WWU)
Ogle (WC)
Davenport (SOU)
McWhirter (WOU)

Attack:
Davis (WOU)
Addington (WOU)
Butterwegge (WOU) (glad two of these three will be gone next year)
Kim (WC)
White (SOU)
de Raoulx (CWU)
Kummert (WU) (can't I mention my own guy if he leads the league in GPG??)

FOGO's:
I thought Andrews from UPS did the best this season, though Suyehira is still a man at the x in Caldwell.

[woulax4]

I know it doesn’t state that he is a FOGO on the roster but Ian Bohince here at WOU is probably the best face off mid I have seen all year. I didn’t get a chance to see Suyehira go against him, as he was in goal for that game, but I have yet to see anyone consistently beat him on face offs. I also think having 28 goals might help his case.

Also we have a LSM in Matt Frutiger (listed as a goalie) who is a utility player in every sense of the word. He runs LSM most of the game but also plays man down defense, man up offense, attack, midfield, and goalie.

I know it is just my opinion, and I am sure I have a very biased one, but I believe both these freshman belong at the top of the list of players at their respective specialty positions.

[WOULAX21]

Midfield:
Bludorn (WWU)
Bohince (WOU)
Mehl (CWU)
I think Schuit is the traditional pick, but I thought Bludorn added more to their team. Bohince does EVERYTHING for WOU.

Will, i agree with you that Ian is a huge utility to our program, but i find it a shame to discredit Kyle McWhirter (the #3 scorer in PNCLL Div. 2) and put him before Ian. I personally would Kyle as 1st team, & Ian as 2nd even though they are both great middies.

Attack:
Davis (WOU)
Addington (WOU)
Butterwegge (WOU) (glad two of these three will be gone next year)
Kim (WC)
White (SOU)
de Raoulx (CWU)
Kummert (WU) (can't I mention my own guy if he leads the league in GPG??)

On this point Will, i also disagree with you. Calvin Davis is & has been one of the top scorers in the PNCLL all season. Now, i know that this is a tough section to choose in, but he is now # 1 and has been for a bit and i feel that this credits him for 1st team.

I do see your logic in your decisions Will, but i honestly feel that when comparing players on our team those should stand out as my disagreements with you.

[Hi-Line Lax]

there's one stat that stands out a bit to me for the Div 2 this year and that's assists.

here's a breakdown of teams with players averaging over 2 assists per game:

Western Oregon - 4 players
Central Wash. - 3 players
UPS, SOU, Whitman, L &C - 1 player each

that's a ton of assisted goals for WOU & CWU... in the whole PNCLL-1 there are only 2 players averaging over 2 assists per game (Phillips of OSU who has played in only 5 games and Janicki of Gonzaga at 2.0 APG).
Last year there were only 4 D2 players to have this stat and only 2 in D1. I know there's the whole "play better team ball" argument, but most Div 1 teams play pretty good team ball.

I haven't seen any Div 2 teams this year so this is really just food for thought... feel free to enlighten me.

[Dan Wishengrad]

Four other D1 Attackmen not listed above who deserve all-conference consideration are Foss (SFU), Forsyth (UW), Cameron (UM) and McKinney (OSU).

[Steno]

there's one stat that stands out a bit to me for the Div 2 this year and that's assists.

here's a breakdown of teams with players averaging over 2 assists per game:

Western Oregon - 4 players
Central Wash. - 3 players
UPS, SOU, Whitman, L &C - 1 player each

that's a ton of assisted goals for WOU & CWU... in the whole PNCLL-1 there are only 2 players averaging over 2 assists per game (Phillips of OSU who has played in only 5 games and Janicki of Gonzaga at 2.0 APG).
Last year there were only 4 D2 players to have this stat and only 2 in D1. I know there's the whole "play better team ball" argument, but most Div 1 teams play pretty good team ball.

I haven't seen any Div 2 teams this year so this is really just food for thought... feel free to enlighten me.

Kevin! You're not implying that this could possibly be the fault of the scorekeepers, are you?

(NB: This is my first time ever using an emoticon. I felt that for this post, the time had finally come. Let us hope that it's the last.)

[Scrape Mode]

It's a shame the Ducks won't dominate All-Conference awards again this year... That being said, here are a few Ducks I believe deserve recognition.

Justin Blackmore- Possibly the leagues most threatening offensive player and a future All American.

Josh Shane- Oregons offensive senior leader. Can finish in more ways than one and has no problem handling PNCLL defenses. Last years final 4 MVP.

Andrew Vincent- Oregons co-defensive senior leader. Great man to man defender and team defense defender. Obvious 1st team selection IMO.

Paul Wall (Swanson)- Senior leader. Joe Montana's (Cordova) Steve Young (Swanson). Yadadameeynn?! A force in the cage!

Jonathon Jardim- One of the leagues most talented players. I have not seen SFU's LSM this season, but I assure you Jardim can and does dominate most of the competition!

Timbaland (Brauck)- 1st Team Message Boarder!!