all tourney?

[Dulax31]

Someone served jmaxwell2 a tall glass of hateraide. From what I saw the turtle kid was amazing in the CSU game. Turtle, the BYU guy, and our faceoff guy for UMD (Groom) played really well last week. It'd be tough to pick just one of them for the all tourney team.

[GrizLens]

Just to clarify... Montana's FOS Travis McCarthy was the one that broke his collarbone in the UNC game, the FOS that was named to the All-Tournament Team was freshman Tucker Sargent.

[jmaxwell2]

I don't have the stats in front of me but I am pretty sure Turtle won more than his fare share against CSU in the Semis including the first 6 or 7 of the game (which helped Oregon slow down CSU's opening run allowing the Ducks to stay in the game) on top of the one in OT.

I previously asked for the postings of the face-off statistics from all the games. I hope they will, but I know it is a lot of work for them and probably won't be given.

I did see both of the FOGO's from Oregon and UMD and the Mr. Groom is the better of the two.

[bste_lax]

Under Pressure, This Turtle Will Not Hide In His Shell

http://www.collegelax.us/news.php?actio ... ws&id=1367

Miller's job is not just to facilitate Oregon possessions; it's also to prevent opponent's leads from getting out of reach. In the first half, the Oregon offense struggled to hold on to the ball. Miller won all six face-offs and prevented the Rams from building up more than a 4-1-halftime lead

[bste_lax]

Someone served jmaxwell2 a tall glass of hateraide. From what I saw the turtle kid was amazing in the CSU game. Turtle, the BYU guy, and our faceoff guy for UMD (Groom) played really well last week. It'd be tough to pick just one of them for the all tourney team.

I would also throw UCSB's FOGO out there, he was pretty good as well.

[jmaxwell2]

Someone served jmaxwell2 a tall glass of hateraide. From what I saw the turtle kid was amazing in the CSU game. Turtle, the BYU guy, and our faceoff guy for UMD (Groom) played really well last week. It'd be tough to pick just one of them for the all tourney team.

I would also throw UCSB's FOGO out there, he was pretty good as well.

I knew you would!

[jmaxwell2]

Someone served jmaxwell2 a tall glass of hateraide. From what I saw the turtle kid was amazing in the CSU game. Turtle, the BYU guy, and our faceoff guy for UMD (Groom) played really well last week. It'd be tough to pick just one of them for the all tourney team.

I would also throw UCSB's FOGO out there, he was pretty good as well.

I knew you would!

[Dr. Jason Stockton]

Based on what I say, the talent of "Turtle" was all hype with no substance.

No substance? Come on. That's absurd. Maybe he didn't dominate in the tourney, but ask the coaches from BYU and CSU. . .they had to game plan for Turtle. They were doing everything they could to disrupt him, and he held his own.

Oregon made it to the Championship game. Does anyone think this could have happened without Scott Miller's contributions? Ask Flip how he feels about Turtle. . .if CSU wins that face in OT they likely would have been playing on Saturday.

When the chips were down, and Scott HAD to get the face, he did. . .stop hating on the kid. He played his heart out all season long and earned all of the accolades that have come his way in 2008.

[DG]

Based on what I say, the talent of "Turtle" was all hype with no substance.

No substance? Come on. That's absurd. Maybe he didn't dominate in the tourney, but ask the coaches from BYU and CSU. . .they had to game plan for Turtle. They were doing everything they could to disrupt him, and he held his own.

Oregon made it to the Championship game. Does anyone think this could have happened without Scott Miller's contributions? Ask Flip how he feels about Turtle. . .if CSU wins that face in OT they likely would have been playing on Saturday.

When the chips were down, and Scott HAD to get the face, he did. . .stop hating on the kid. He played his heart out all season long and earned all of the accolades that have come his way in 2008.

Jason,

I watched him play in 3 games this year, and I thought he was an excellent faceoff guy. His hands were amazingly quick. Even when he got beat on the first move, he often was able to use his strength to clear his opponent out and get the ball. He is also pretty fast, and was able to run away from most of the LSMs that defended faceoffs from the wings.

Based on what has been put up on the boards, and the articles that have been written, he was expected to be Superman and win EVERY faceoff. That's kind of like expecting the MVP attackman from whatever conference to beat his guy EVERY time he touches the ball. It is impossible for him to live up to those expectations. Of course, when you are quoted as saying that you are going to beat the faceoff group of your next opponent, you are just adding fuel to the expectational fire.

He wasn't maybe everything that others portrayed him to be, but he was pretty darn good, IMO. That said, I personally think the kid is an absolute warrior. In the semis and finals, he took every draw, and played defense at least 50% of the time. The fact that he could even run up and down the field by the end of the Finals says a lot about him as a player.

DG

[jmaxwell2]

Based on what I say, the talent of "Turtle" was all hype with no substance.

No substance? Come on. That's absurd. Maybe he didn't dominate in the tourney, but ask the coaches from BYU and CSU. . .they had to game plan for Turtle. They were doing everything they could to disrupt him, and he held his own.

Oregon made it to the Championship game. Does anyone think this could have happened without Scott Miller's contributions? Ask Flip how he feels about Turtle. . .if CSU wins that face in OT they likely would have been playing on Saturday.

When the chips were down, and Scott HAD to get the face, he did. . .stop hating on the kid. He played his heart out all season long and earned all of the accolades that have come his way in 2008.

Not hating the kid and I concur that he is good. However, he is not the "God" that has been referred to by "Timbalaned", which was never indicated by Flip from CSU. I believe FLIP makes comments about opposing face-off men in order to have someone from CSU step-up and want to be their FOGO specialist.

Turtle is good at what he does and among the best, but there are others in the league that can also be considered equal or better that may not have reached the semi-finals because of their team not being as competitive or talented. Also, based on what I saw of the Oregon Ducks, I believe they still may have gotten to where they were. It's more based on the team then any one person.

[Dr. Jason Stockton]

jmaxwell2,

I agree with most of what you are saying. It is a team game and the Ducks are loaded with talent. . .I feel pretty strongly that CSU wins that game if Turtle isn't on the field. Just one guy's opinion.

I just hate the negativity and it struck a nerve. I wasn't at nationals, but I saw Scott in several games this year, and in a couple, like ASU and the first CSU game, he was a game-changer. . .which you really rarely see at his position. I have little doubt there are some other great face-off specialists around the MCLA. . .

It's all good.

It was very exciting for me, as a person who has been involved with the PNCLL for many years, to see two of our teams playing on Saturday of championship week.

I wish I could have been there. . .

[jmaxwell2]

jmaxwell2,

I agree with most of what you are saying. It is a team game and the Ducks are loaded with talent. . .I feel pretty strongly that CSU wins that game if Turtle isn't on the field. Just one guy's opinion.

I just hate the negativity and it struck a nerve. I wasn't at nationals, but I saw Scott in several games this year, and in a couple, like ASU and the first CSU game, he was a game-changer. . .which you really rarely see at his position. I have little doubt there are some other great face-off specialists around the MCLA. . .

It's all good.

It was very exciting for me, as a person who has been involved with the PNCLL for many years, to see two of our teams playing on Saturday of championship week.

I wish I could have been there. . .

Thanks and I agree with you. In the situation of the overtime period, the face-off man becomes crucial. I wasn't meaning to take away from Scott Miller in any way. However, I felt that there was to much underserved hype given by his fans throughout the year that put him on a pedestal above all other FOGO's in the conference.

[Andy Sharp]

Division A

A - Mark Davis, BYU
A - Justin Hier, BYU
A - Clay Knope, Oregon


Like I said, I am not 100% sure but pretty sure on these.

I heard one name during the announcement that is missing from your list:

A - Danny Stevens, CSU

[DG]

Division A

A - Mark Davis, BYU
A - Justin Hier, BYU
A - Clay Knope, Oregon


Like I said, I am not 100% sure but pretty sure on these.

I heard one name during the announcement that is missing from your list:

A - Danny Stevens, CSU

I don't believe Hier was all-tournament (although he played well enough to be). I thought I heard Stevens, Davis and Knope.

[Kyle Berggren]

I was actually doing stats for 2 Oregon games (Lindenwood I believe & Duluth.

Turtle was 18 of 23 in the first game.... He put the ball where he wanted it, & when he didn't win the draw, he was crafty enough to get it anyway.

Against Duluth, I was very impressed with #8. He won many of the draws before Miller made a move. As I was watching, it seemed like Miller was an inch or 2 off the line & really didn't have a chance on many of those faces. I don't have the stat sheet in front of me, but #8 went on a few runs, as did Miller. It was close to 50%, but #8 did win more draws. #8 was the other face off man of choice in my book.

I did not work the CSU vs. Oregon game, but CSU had a strategy, & it worked. Nearly every face-off had a CSU player playing Turtle's hands, trying to out physical him to the ball. They were more willing to take a technical push or hold rather than have turtle take the ball & start running. At times they'd face with a pole, & keep another one on the wing, just waiting to double team the ball. Other times Miller would push it down the line a few feet, but not be able to get to it as the man played Miller not the ball. I was very impressed with the game plan, & the strategy worked. While Oregon had the majority of the faces against CSU, it wasn't 80%, or 18-23, & CSU was able to get their fair share.

All that said, I was again able to see #8 from Duluth against NU, & I was still impressed. #8 & Turtle were my picks for the best face-off guys I saw at the tournament. The position is more important than many people think, & both of these guys were excellent at it.