Game played on 12/28/2024.
Daniel Astapovich (C, R, 6’3″, 200, Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, 03/13/2005, Merrimack)
Grade: B
Comments: Astapovich does an intelligent job in where he places himself away from the puck to set himself up for a shooting opportunity. He was able to show tonight that he is a sneaky player that is constantly in open ice, waiting for a pass to get a shot off. He uses his continuous motion to get by opponents in order to make room for a pass that would give himself a clear cut lane to the net. He was at his best tonight doing a great job at creating space through his skating in the offensive end in order to reposition the defense and deliver seam passes.
Jason Musa (F, L, 5’8″, 143, Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, 05/09/2007, UMass Amherst)
Grade: B-
Comments: Musa is small but plays bigger than he is. He was able to show tonight that he is difficult to knock off the puck while skating, his size still comes with disadvantages. Players tend to have their way with him along the boards, knocking him down with ease. Defensivly, he often appears removed from the play, unable to read the opposition and pick up a player. His powerful skating allows him to fix mistakes and still disrupt play. With all this being said, he is extremely quick on his feet, and knows where to skate to create a play.
Noel Ohgren (RW, R, 5’11”, 170, Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, 09/05/2006)
Grade: B-
Comments: What is easy to enjoy the most about Ohgrens skating is his ability to pick up speed quickly. Evident in his races for loose pucks, he does a terrific job at crossing over and hustling hard for the puck to edge out other players. He still poses some issues within his skating in that sometimes he does not utilize it properly, or skates himself into danger often as well. He might be better at pushing the outside of the ice instead of always looking to get inside of the rush. He is has great crossover speed but continues to cut into the middle, stall and try to slow the play down. That might work for some but his game might have been more consistent tonight trying to get perimeter.
Heath Nelson (LW, L, 6’1″, 180, Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, 03/22/2006, Augustana)
Grade: A-
Comments: Nelson was able to collect two goals on the night. One of them coming on the power play late in the game to tie it up. As the puck moved around the perimeter, he did a good job at staying patient as the bumper and being a middle out release. The puck finally went low and as his teammate bumped it right into the middle, Nelson was in a great position to finish the play and beat the goalie with a one timer right under the glove. Although he is difficult to knock off the puck while skating, his size still comes with his challenges. Loose pucks he tends to be second on the races, but does a good job at countering this with physical play.
Matthew Desiderio (D, L, 6’2″, 210, Dubuque Fighting Saints, 08/16/2005, Brown)
Grade: A-
Comments: Desiderio can handle the puck effortlessly, he is tough to catch with his skill moves and offers capable puck protection. He can deke his way through one on one situations and shows an adequate array of skills on the puck to deceive and create room for himself. Scored two goals tonight, one of them being the game winner, just getting his shot through in traffic. He does not complicate stuff for himself, he sees a play, he attacks a play. This type of mentality combined with his overall skill as a hockey player, he is able complete a lot of plays, not all of them having to be high level high light reel plays.
Jonathan Morello (C, L, 6’3″, 192, Dubuque Fighting Saints, 07/31/2006, Boston University)
Grade: B
Comments: Morello was able to showcase tonight that his ability to keep the puck on his stick along the boards allows him to maintain possession when the likelihood of losing it is high. His pairing of strong skating and puck handling makes him effective at exiting the defensive zone and entering the offensive zone. He is able to ward off opponents with body positioning and uses this tactic when he is getting chased from behind and gets caught, which was more times than he probably should have.
Michael Barron (C, R, 5’7″, 163, Dubuque Fighting Saints, 07/12/2006, Arizona State)
Grade: B+
Comments: Barron was great with the puck tonight and his creative ability shows in the offensive zone where he is able to draw defenders to him, allowing for himself to open up shooting and passing lanes. Barrons vision and ability to read defenses make him an effective passer capable of setting up teammates all over the ice but really is shown off the rush. He is not afraid to execute more difficult pass attempts, making them appear more methodical than risky. Not every pass is going to be perfect and the ones he elects to make are higher risk, this adds risk to his game but he if first one sprinting back to break up a rush.
Sean Barnhill (D, R, 6’5″, 205, Dubuque Fighting Saints, 01/08/2007, Northeastern)
Grade: B
Comments: Barnhill is a bigger defenseman whose game excels in his own end. With that being said, he scored the opening goal of the night getting a pass off the rush in the slot and found the lower corner. Barnhill put himself in a great position with tons of space, his teammate made a great cross ice pass to open the rink and Barnhill was able to take advantage of the open ice. Defensively, he is also very good at obtaining rebound opportunities, fighting off the opposition to create space for his goalie to see shot lanes. He rarely looses a positionally battle to his opponents, especially at the net front.
Joshua Niedermayer (D, L, 6’0″, 186, Dubuque Fighting Saints, 02/20/2004, Colgate)
Grade: B+
Comments: Niedermayer scored a nice goal under a minute into the second period. An actual crazy bounce where his teammate lost the puck and ended up right on his stick. He one timed a bouncing puck with traffic at the net and beat the goalie over the glove for a pretty impressive shot. His defensive game does not get talked about enough because of how offensive he likes to be. In his own end, he is surprisingly physical. He does not shy away from contact and uses his low center of gravity to drive his body into defenders. His fearlessness makes him an effective net-front presence and uses this to clear our second chances left from his goalie stopping the first.
Luke Malboeuf (D, R, 6’0″, 185, Dubuque Fighting Saints, 01/07/2005, Clarkson)
Grade: B-
Comments: Malboeuf is not your flashy style of hockey player that will ‘wow’ you with moves but he plays a smart and consistent game. On a specific play where he was able to create, he did not want to give the puck away or not make any pointless turnover, so he held the puck even though he risked a little bit being last man back by the blue line. He stayed on the puck and shot, a lucky goal, because the shot came from a distance, but it was ability to make space and get his shot through that stood out. In his own end, if he wins a loose puck, he does a good job at getting his head around, finding first option, then snapping the puck for the breakout.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images