Macho: Lourdes took control of Eagles in second period

NEW ULM -- New Ulm High School hockey coach Tom Macho said Sunday that his team "could skate with (No.1 ranked) Rochester Lourdes in the first period."

Despite losing 6-1 to Lourdes on Saturday afternoon at Vogel Arena, the Eagles and Lourdes were scoreless after the opening period.

"We found out in that (first period) that we could stay with them," Macho said. "We out-shot them 12-6 -- two-to-one -- in that first period but couldn't score. Their goalie, Dan Smith, who is one of the best in the state, really stonewalled us in that first period. Had we scored first, it may have been a different game."

Lourdes came out in the second period and, according to Macho, "just took control. We found out that they have scored 85 per cent of their goals in the second period, which is strange. Usually it is the first or the third when a team starts out strong or finishes strong."

Lourdes netted four goals in the second period against New Ulm.

"They just plain beat us; they had two assists on every goal that they had -- so they moved the puck around well," said Macho. "They found the open man in that second period."

The Eagles' play in the first period pleased the coach.

"They came into the locker room and felt that they did everything that they could but did not score," Macho said. "And I am just wondering if they felt that they could not do this (beat Rochester). I think that they did everything that we asked of them -- they might have been a little down."

HAD TO CHANGE GAME PLAN: Being down 4-0 forced New Ulm to change its game plan.

"We know that we will have to do more of a conservative fore-checking game," Macho said. "Plus, we had to move our defensive coverage. They moved the puck so well that we needed to change from a man-to-man but to a zone area and be on our toes about who is coming through."

"We had to be wide-open and spring people out of the zone and flip the puck up and get break-aways to try and get a quick goal here and there."

Macho said that the team had a couple of break-aways "but Smith stonewalled us again."

GOING INTO PLAYOFFS: The Eagles, who are seeded No. one in the west section (Lourdes is No. 1 in the east) enter playoffs with a close 5-4 win over Waseca and a 6-1 loss to Lourdes.

"We are concerned. We played one good period in Waseca and one real good period against Rochester. We are worried that we are losing our concentration. We are worried about the inconsistency," Macho said.

"We play the winner of Luverne/Sleepy Eye Saturday at 7 p.m. (at Vogel Arena), and I am concerned about that game no matter who we play,"said Macho.

"In both cases, whoever comes out of that game, it will be a big deal for them to play New Ulm. They will be sky high and ready to play their game. We also need to be ready to play at our best because anything can happen. I am concerned because they have something to prove. We are in a lose-lose situation. If we win, it will be 'How come you didn't beat them by more?' and if you beat them by a lot, it will be 'Well, that is the way that it should be.'"

Macho plans to remind his team of last year's loss to Northfield in the sectional tournaments.

"That will be No. 1 on the list. You cannot overlook anyone. You have the Olympics going on and the 'do-you-believe-in-miracle' type things. We are kind of looking at that. We want a chance at Rochester, but we also know our opponent (on Saturday) will use that also. To get to Rochester will not be easy."

MORGAN BAFFLED BY SECOND QUARTER: Charger basketball coach Craig Morgan said that he "does not know why we have that letdown in the second quarter after getting big leads."

Friday night against New Ulm Cathedral, the Chargers saw a 26-10 first quarter lead dwindle to 11 at halftime and then to three points heading into the fourth quarter. The Chargers won 68-60.

"We substituted in, and we keep up the intensity. Our subs have done a nice job to push that lead up and then we re-enter guys, and we lose that intensity," said Morgan.

"We have to understand that we have 24 minutes to go. The problem has flared up in the last three or four games, and it may be a case of mentally focusing to keep the intensity up."

In the first quarter, eight Chargers scored.

"That is nice. The players are looking for each other; they are pushing the ball up. We wanted to keep the pressure on Cathedral because we knew that turnovers have been a problem for them. We wanted also to control the boards (in that first quarter) and we did. But I take the fault because we took off the press and did not go back to it."

The Chargers, who host Nicollet Tuesday, are playing the type of basketball that Morgan wants. "We did not rebound the way that I wanted them to (against Cathedral). We stood around and watched a lot, but that is a simple adjustment that we can make."

CATHEDRAL PLAYS LAST THREE QUARTERS WELL: Hound coach Bailey Blethen said that he felt that the last three quarters by his team against MVL "was our best basketball."

Cathedral outscored MVL 23-18 in the second quarter and 20-12 in the third quarter.

"It was as well as we played all year. In the fourth quarter we got outscored by five points but we were playing very well. MVL is a very good team and has a good coach."

"We were getting the shots in the fourth quarter but did not make them. We missed the front ends of some key 1-and-1 free throws."

Blethen feels that the last three quarters may turn the Hounds around as they head towards playoffs.

"We are aware of the turnovers, but we only had 14 in the final three quarters. They (turnovers) have been our worst enemy. Even in games that we have won, we have had more turnovers than the team we beat. It is clear that we can compete in this league, but we need to take better care of the ball."

YOUNG STARS COMING: If you want to keep your eyes on some good, young basketball players here in New Ulm, I think that you have three to watch in freshmen Eric Schugel, Joey Lux and Adam Neubauer of Cathedral and Tony Mielke of New Ulm High School.

All will play big parts in their team's basketball futures.

In Mielke's case, the future is now. The 6-foot 4 ninth-grader has scored 16 and 15 points in his two varsity games coming off the bench.