Wesleyan at Amherst 7 PM Friday 1/25/13

Who: Wesleyan University Cardinals (8-6-2; 4-4-2) at Amherst College Lord Jeffs (10-4-2; 6-3-1)

Where: Orr Rink Amherst, MA

When: 7 PM Friday 1/25/13
Video/Audio: JeffCast

                  

Offense : 3.75 G/GM scored (2nd in NESCAC; 14th in Nation)

Defense : 2.56 G/GM allowed (5th in NESCAC; 23rd in Nation)

Power Play : 18/70 - 25.71% (3rd in NESCAC; 10th in Nation)

Penalty Kill: 51/59 - 86.4% (2nd in NESCAC; 10th in Nation)

Offense: 2.88 G/GM scored (5th in NESCAC; 47th in Nation)

Defense: 1.50 G/GM allowed (1st in NESCAC; 1st in Nation)

Power Play: 10/59- 16.95% (8th in NESCAC; 48th in Nation)

Penalty Kill: 52/58 - 89.7% (1st in NESCAC; 3rd in Nation)

The Lowdown: Diff'rent Strokes

You say potato, I say po-tat-o. Wesleyan is great on offense. Amherst is the best on defense. Wesleyan scoring by period trends upwards towards the third (15-21-23) while Amherst's trends down (17-19-10). What both have in common, however, is a heated battle for playoff positioning. Just three points separates third placed Amherst from sixth place Wesleyan, with both teams on a four game unbeaten streak. 

When the two teams met on November 30th in Middletown, the Lord Jeffs came out victorious 3-2 on the strength of a short handed goal by Andrew Kurlandski  (F, Jr. ) in the third period. 

And if you are anywhere near Amherst, you should probably show up. In a humorous homage to Will Ferrell's "Semi-Pro", the Facebook page for this event promises that  the "First 400 fans will get a Conor Brown bobble head and a free corn dog."

Key(s) to the game: Control the Box

In the two most successful games of recent Cardinal past, the win at Bowdoin and the dismantling of Conn. College at home, Wesleyan scored multiple power play goals. Keith Buehler (F, Jr.) and Nick Craven (F, Sr.) 's 11 power play goals are more than the Lord Jeffs have as a team. If Amherst can keep the Cardinals out of the box, the Lord Jeffs can control the tempo of the game and let the nation's leading defense do it's thing. 

Players to watch 

Nick Craven (F, Sr.) The senior half of the Cardinals' 26 point, two headed monster, Craven comes into Amherst off a two goal game against Tufts. Also, Craven's goal in the November matchup was his only career point against Amherst in six games. Can he get another point in his last game (barring a playoff match-up) against the Lord Jeffs?

Nathan Corey (G, Sr.) The NESCAC leader in Goals Against Average (1.81) hasn't faced more than 21 shots in his last three starts. How will he fare against the potent Cardinals offense?

In honor of these teams different styles/strengths, we present the theme song and intro from the 1970s/80s sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes"