Zaba gets his wish

Matt Zaba has been waiting all summer for a chance in the NHL and got it this weekend. Originally drafted by the Kings, Zaba was informed that he would not be signed and left in limbo until the NY Rangers called and gave him the opportunity to join an organization lacking in depth at goalie. Check out the details and quotes from The Gazette.

Iron Man Zaba

As most of you are aware, Mat Zaba will be playing his 3rd consecutive game tonight. He has been solid in the first two, allowing really only one goal (the OT goal was sloppy and he was hung out to dry). Let's hope that he can keep it up for another week, I'm worried about him wearing down though, it will be interesting to see. If I were MT, I would want to get as many shots as possibly on him to keep him active and try to play on the fatigue. If I were CC, I would keep the puck to the outside and try to get as many shots on the other end. If I'm correct, this will be Zaba's 16th consecutive start, which is insane for a goalie. Let's hope he can hold on for at least another full week and get us to the WCHA Finals!
On a side-ish note. I must be anti-Gazette because I thought the article about honking at Zaba's apartment was really lame. I like the bit about him getting his rest and his pregame ritual, but the whole introduction " If you’re driving along San Miguel Street around noon today, please don’t honk your horn. ". As if I do every other day when I'm on that street??!! That could have been a pretty cool story about his pregame rituals; goalies are known for having all kinds of quirky things about them that are always fun to hear about. But instead we get a PSA, lamo! I just wish we could have better coverage of this team, but of course I'm a little biased b/c I'm used to Husker Football coverage, and that's an animal in itself.

Some things to look for tonight

There are a few things that the local paper has been talking about regarding this weekend's series against Michigan Tech. The Tigers have recently started scoring more and came out of the funk from the previous 3 weeks. However, MT likes to line up all five skaters along the blue line to disrupt the offensive rush. CC is a speed team and could be affected by this scheme. The Tigers need to crash to the net to get shots and goals and MT will use thier system to keep the play to the outsides and out of their zone. The last time these two teams played, MT came out with a 1-0 shutout win.


Something else to watch tonight will be goaltender stud Matt Zaba who is facing the possibility of playing every game this weekend and the possibility of playing 6 games in 9 days. After his slump at the end of last season, the fatigue could be a factor in his play. Hopefully, the team wins in two games and the problem of a worn out goalie won't need to be solved. CC has two other goaltenders in sophomore Drew O’Connel and senior Chris Kawano, neither of which have seen significant playing time.


The season series between these two teams is in CC's favor. CC won the series at the World Arena in November with scores of 4-1 and 2-1. At the end of January, the teams tied 2-2 and MT won the second and most recent game 1-0, largely on their defensive scheme. Hopefully the Tigers and rely on their goal scoring frenzy last weekend and come out and dominate a tough opponet. When the weekend is over, CC should be heading to The Excel Center