The Michigan Tech D2 club hockey team, the Wolfpack, won back to back games this weekend on Friday Nov. 5 and Saturday Nov. 6. Their last game, played on Oct. 15 ended in defeat to UW-Superior by a slim margin of five goals to six. Last weekend was a complete reverse of that game with the Wolfpack winning eleven goals to four, and six goals to one respectively.
The team has undergone some growth this season in terms of playstyle and team mentality. The Wolfpack lost to Finlandia earlier in the season. The root of the loss, as described by second year center and team treasurer Ian Burke, occurred before the game even started. Burke commented, “Finlandia showed up to the game wearing suits. They had headphones in and were ready to go. We were late, we weren’t dressed up and we were lackadaisical.” He reiterated the importance of the things Finlandia did to prepare for this game. “We have a saying among hockey players, and that’s look good, play good, feel good. By dressing up you look good, which means you feel confident in yourself and the team,” Burke said. That team confidence translates into playing good on the ice, and feeling good while doing so.
This mental shift certainly paid off as the Wolfpack squared up against UW-Superior last weekend. The team showed up dressed up and focused at both of their games, ready to show UW-Superior what the Wolfpack is made of. Burke credited the success of these games to understanding their opponents. He said the team “understood how they [UW-Superior] played,” adding that the Wolfpack could “take advantage of their weaknesses,” specifically by “watching them skate.” While the team did not watch any film of their previous encounter, they remembered enough to read their opponents movements and play around them. These strategies paid off with their convincing victories of six to one and eleven to four.
The Wolfpack has another double header this weekend. They will play two away games against Saint Mary’s from Minnesota Nov. 11 and 12. Now that the team has their mental focus in check, they will be able to start the battle right when they show up at the rink. The Wolfpack can implement strategies they used when analyzing UW-Superior to get a quick read on their opponents and dominate them throughout the game. Their next home games will be against Finlandia in Dee Stadium on Dec. 2 and 3.
