You’re really gonna make me write words about last weekend aren’t you? Just know every thought I have about this weekend of games I had against my will.
Friday, December 1st Michigan Tech 1 – Bowling Green 2
Going into this weekend I would have said that despite struggling, Tech has been a better team at least according to the numbers. But on Friday night, Bowling Green was the better team and the better team won. Real close the first two periods, but the Falcons took control of the game in the third both on the scoresheet and according to the xG.
Looking at the shot location you can start to see how Bowling Green pulled away in the third period. While the number of shots for each team was very close, the Falcons had way more shots from dangerous areas. Honestly, Tech was lucky that we only gave up two goals in this game.
this does not spark joy. throw it out. burn the tape.
Saturday, December 2nd Michigan Tech 3 – Bowling Green 2
Well at least they won on Saturday? I really wanted to see a dominant performance after the flop of a game that was Friday, instead we played even with the CCHA team with the worst overall record and barely squeaked out a win.
Again both teams had a very similar number of shots, but in this game Tech did a better job of getting to the net. That is why the xG chart above was so tight the whole game. Both teams had a lot of good chances in close. It was a good game from both goalies to keep the score fairly low.
Kyle Kukkonen and Matthew Campbell were the only two Huskies to be over the 50% mark both nights last weekend, so that’s pretty neat I’d say. Saturday was a rare quiet night from Mosley who, as you will see in the bonus content, has been the teams best player in terms of generating xG all season.
Bonus Content
Last week was rough and it wasn’t much fun writing this article, but something good did happen last week. I got a message from Kellan Meloche, the current president of Mitch’s Misfits on the discord asking for some more info on individual player xG. So I put a few things together related to that.
This chart is cool, but it is heavily biased towards offensive production and doesn’t care about defense at all. The next chart is based on the difference between how well the team does when each individual is on the ice vs how well the opposing team does when that player is on the ice. This is better because it accounts for a players defensive value as well.
I also generated spreadsheets with both the CCHA and all NCAA skaters xG/60 data for the season and shared them in the discord server as a bonus bonus treat for those in the discord server. I really enjoy when I get questions from y’all, it means a lot that people care and are curious to learn more.
No thoughts, just vibes
mfw im used to watching the 2022-23 huskies and i am now watching the 2023-24 huskies
Closing Time
I hope you enjoyed taking a look at some nice charts and graphs with me. If you have any questions about the charts, my analysis, or just want to say hello, please leave a comment or reach out to me on the THG discord server (@Augie) and I’d be happy to try and answer your questions.
Special thanks to Livonia Technical Services for being the official sponsor of all InStat analytics at Tech Hockey Guide
