Hockey super agent Don Meehan

Newport Sports is the top hockey player agency in the world, and its office in Mississauga, Ontario, has been the scene of many FBI-like free agent standoffs in recent years.

Brad Richards ran negotiations out of Newport’s office two summers ago.

Last summer, reporters crowded the sidewalk as GMs and other executives filed in to woo Zach Parise.

This week, it was Danny DeKeyser’s turn to bunker down and let his agents work over some of the most esteemed men in hockey and, in the process, commence a week of foreplay that climaxed Friday with the announcement that DeKeyser – as everyone expected – has signed a two-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings.

Which begs many questions:

- Why let the Maple Leafs wine and dine him at the Air Canada Centre earlier this week?
- Why force Nashville head coach Barry Trotz to skip practice with 15 games left and his team struggling for a playoff berth to fly north with Predators brass?
- Why take the calls from Edmonton’s owner, head coach and brightest young defenseman?
- Why allow Flyers owner Ed Snider and his closest hockey advisors to charter a jet to Ontario for a face-to-face meeting?
- Why do any of that if, all along, DeKeyser knew he wanted to be a Red Wing?

Trades and free agent deals are like live coverage of murders the way they play out in the media these days. There’s the initial call or hint something is up. There’s the confirmation that something has happened or is in the works. Then the people who are actually involved shut up while the media stands outside and swirls rumors and analysis while it waits for the blinds to raise and the player to walk out the front door, new contract in pocket.

It’s kind of comical, really.

Still, what took DeKeyser so long?

Like these crime sprees, we likely won’t find out the blow-by-blow recap for a while, if ever. Agents and GMs and players will only talk so much, even after a deal is consummated. After all, they’re always working with the next deal in mind.

Which, to me, probably explains why this took so long.

Don Meehan and Ed Ward and the entire Newport team works for Danny DeKeyser. But they also work for Zach Parise. And dozens of other hockey players at varying stages of their careers and in various contract situations.

There wasn’t much they could negotiate for DeKeyser – the money was the same wherever he signed. And while they could likely negotiate for other things (spot on the roster, depth in the organization, playing time, perhaps even other intangibles), it’s likely DeKeyser’s agents used their fresh faced client for the air time it got them with Ken Holland and Kevin Lowe and Doug Armstrong and a slew of other big fish execs.

“Hey, Doug, while I have you … about that other deal…”

This is not to imply that Meehan or Ward or any other Newport reps acted without integrity. That’s how this business works. And, sure, it’s possible an entirely different reason held this up.

Maybe DeKeyser really wasn’t sure about Detroit. Maybe the nice guy in him wanted to give each of these teams a fair shot. Maybe the fear in him warned to slow down and be cautious with every offer, regardless of how airtight it seemed.

Maybe.

But you can bet this entire thing was orchestrated and played out exactly as the men who represent DeKeyser wanted it. Like a real estate deal or any other negotiation, silence, due diligence and a little gamesmanship – for sport – trump time.

Even if it drives the Twittersphere nuts.

The sleek, sterile chairs of a corporate Toronto office.

Men in tailored suits flanking a boy in his, the collar loose.

Across the table, Sharks and Predators.

Wings and Hawks.

With promises of brightest tomorrow, they stalk.

Welcome to this blog’s first ever video post.

So many story lines came to mind following the Wolverines’ weekend waylay that a regular post would’ve taken forever to write (and read).

Thus… this.

(Yes, I’m wearing sweat shorts with the dress shirt. It’s Sunday.)

Dane Walters (courtesy USCHO.com)

Brett Beebe, Nick Pisellini, Mike Leone, Dane Walters, Ben Miller, Luke Witkowski, Trevor Elias and Ben Warda were skating their darkened, departed senior laps Saturday night when a friend turned to me.

“These guys didn’t sign up for this.”

What he meant was, did these seniors ever, in their wildest dreams, imagine two coaching changes in three years and an almost instant rise to success that now has them playing for a top-ten program led by a veteran NHL coach whose goals – legitimate goals – are to win the CCHA and challenge for an NCAA title?

The Broncos are all about forward momentum these days. But considering this weekend’s double-header against Notre Dame were the final regular-season CCHA games ever in Kalamazoo after nearly 40 years, it seems appropriate to take one more long, good look in the rear view mirror to four years ago.

Back to the era of single-digit win totals.

Back when crisp, tape-to-tape passes through the neutral zone to players in motion were the exception instead of the norm.

Back when an occasional NHL general manager might pop in to see a player, but usually from the visiting team.

Back when victories against Michigan or Notre Dame or Miami were unexpected causes for jubilation, not battles between equals.

Back when some of North America’s most coveted junior prospects wouldn’t even take WMU’s calls.

Back to when Lawson Arena’s dominant in-house color was yellow because the bleachers were empty.

Back when the aforementioned seniors were freshmen (with the exception of Leone) and did not win 28 of the 36 games they played in 2009-10.

Finally, miraculously, Western woke up prior to their sophomore seasons.

Jeff Blashill replaced Jim Culhane as head coach.

Suddenly, the Broncos weren’t just winning games – they were in the NCAA tournament.

Then the Red Wings plucked Blashill out of Kalamazoo. Smiles turned to spooks.

What now?

Andy Murray, that’s what.

Extreme Makeover: Hockey edition.

Boom.

Now?

Ticket scalpers.

Fans standing two rows deep on the concourse, craning their necks over the people in front of them to watch games.

A school that finally put its money and time and voice where it deserved to be all along.

And a senior class — the last class recruited by Culhane — reaping the rewards.

It must be a bit melancholy for Beebe, Pisellini, Miller, Walters, Leone, Witkowski, Elias and Warda to know they’ll soon leave all this.

Then again, it’s better to have won and lost then to never have won at all.

ALONG THE RAIL …

• In fairness to Culhane and his assistants, Marc Fakler and Scott Robson, they did recruit two of this team’s lynchpins (Witkowski and Elias). And Beebe is just a stand-up guy.
• Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock attended Friday’s game with his wife and son, Michael, who was on an official WMU recruiting visit. He’s currently a senior at Detroit Catholic Central High School, which turned out NHLers David Moss and Don McSween and former WMU forward Brett John (in addition to Major League Baseball’s Chris Sabo and the author and journalist Bryan Gruley).
• Most creative play Saturday night: Bronco freshman Josh Pitt, while tangled in a puck scrum along the boards, flipped the blade of his stick onto its toe and, with just one hand on the shaft and his arm extended, stabbed the top of the puck and slid it out of the chaos to an open teammate in the middle of the zone.
• You can see Pitt’s confidence grow with each game. He goes into the tougher areas of the ice more often and handles the puck with authority. Have to believe there is NHL interest, particularly because of his size and speed. If he develops a scoring touch, look out.
• Weird as it sounds, the shootout split with Notre Dame this weekend really doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. The Broncos can still win the CCHA’s regular season with a sweep at Michigan State next weekend and a pair of Miami losses (unlikely), but the bigger picture of the CCHA and NCAA tournaments — the picture that matters — already has WMU in it.
• In 2003, a guy named Jason Cohen wrote a book called Zamboni Rodeo. If you were at either game this weekend, that title has an entirely different meaning. Prior to the shootouts both nights, Lawson’s usually-precise Zamboni drivers were forced to double-back to fix dry scrape mistakes. Saturday’s scene, where the Zamboni actually went into its garage before being called back onto the ice for another two laps, was one of the most bizarre ever.
• Speaking of bizarre, the sequence in the second period Saturday when Elias was hauled down on his way to the net during a shorthanded rush was quite the odd turn of events. What could have been a penalty shot and most certainly should have resulted in a man-advantage for WMU actually turned into a Notre Dame power play after referee Marc Wilkins teed up Murray with a bench minor for, shall we say, extending the King’s English.
• Wilkins never skated over to Murray to give him an explanation, which on the surface seemed cowardly on the part of Wilkins. But this isn’t the first time Murray has chewed on a referee (and been bitten for it), and you have to wonder if Wilkins would have granted an explanation had Murray’s ref-ripping reputation not preceded him.

We in sports love to overanalyze.

It’s fun.

It makes us feel like we’re part of the action.

Sometimes, though, sports are as simple as the air we breathe and the water we drink.

Miami was better than Western Michigan on Saturday night.

And the sun will come up tomorrow.

Plain and simple.

There’s no reason to speak of panic or concern.  The No. 3 team in the country beat the No. 6 team in the country.  The night before, the reverse was true.  And given the shot total in Friday’s game (32-23 Miami), one could argue the RedHawks should have won that game, too, had it not been for the other-worldly play by WMU goalie Frank Slubowski in the 2-0 win.

Could the Bronco power play, which went 0-for-5 Saturday, have been better?  Absolutely. (By the way, the stat about Western winning when it scores a power play goal and losing when it doesn’t bore itself out again this weekend). But an accurate postmortem of Saturday’s game shouldn’t include exaggerated observations of what Western did wrong. To pin Saturday’s defeat on the power play would be shortsighted and, frankly, unfair to the RedHawks.

Miami was just better. Better out of the gate in the first period. Better in its own end. Better along the boards.  Better in puck battles.  Remember, this is a program that’s made the NCAA tournament the last seven years in a row, has the nation’s top-ranked defense (allowing just 45 goals in 30 games) and has won five of its last six contests.

The RedHawks — who looked more like a red wave — didn’t budge Saturday.  Their freshman goaltender, Ryan McKay, was stellar in his third shutout of the season.  Their defense prevented Western from doing anything of significance around the net.  And their forwards buzzed and pestered Bronco defensemen who’ve grown used to otherwise timid opponents giving them room to operate in their own zone.

Miami wasn’t scared.

And Western shouldn’t be ashamed.

Fans who have gotten used to basking in the glow of WMU’s 13-2-1 record at home this season just aren’t used to seeing the Broncos “take it on the chin,” as defenseman Danny DeKeyser described it Saturday night.

Alas, this is what happens sometimes when two heavyweights collide.

ALONG THE RAIL …

• Speaking of heavy, Kenney Morrison has a monstrous slap shot.  When the Broncos are on the power play, everyone in the building knows where the puck is going: to number 7 at the left point so he can wind up and crank it.  Morrison is quite capable of torching goalies from 60 feet away, but the next step in the freshman’s evolution will be the ability to judge when to let it rip and when to pump fake the oncoming defender and pass or pedal, find a clear lane, then shoot.  Right now, it appears his only setting is SHOOT. He tried multiple times Saturday to blast the puck through the approaching defender’s shin pads (hey, if anybody could do it…) and it resulted in the puck skittering onto a Miami stick or ricocheting out of the zone.
• Coach Andy Murray said after the game that the insertion of backup goaltender Lukas Hafner to begin the third period was the result of Slubowski not feeling well.  ”Frank just wasn’t well,” Murray said. “It had nothing to do with his play or special motivational tactics. He was getting worse so it was just time to take him out.”  Mind you, that was only the fourth appearance for Hafner this season. Slubowski has started all 30 games.
• Which begs the question: does Slubowski and his career .918 save percentage have a shot at the NHL? Your comments welcome below.

Back in 2009, I bumped into Red Berenson outside of the Red Wings locker room at Joe Louis Arena.

It was CCHA Tournament weekend and Berenson’s Wolverines had just finished practice.  Players, half out of their gear, milled around while equipment managers and trainers tended to post-practice needs.  It resembled a military brigade setting up camp for the night.  There wasn’t much for their buzz-cut general to do but stand there with a cup of coffee, which is Berenson’s norm after practice and during post-game press conferences and pretty much anywhere else, it seems.

We started talking hockey.

Western Michigan was on his mind.  The Wolverines had swept the Broncos with ease in the quarterfinals in Ann Arbor the week before.  Berenson said it was a “shame” that WMU’s program wasn’t better.  He talked about what a great hockey town Kalamazoo was and how the fans deserved better.  He said there was absolutely no reason why the school shouldn’t have a great team, why Lawson Arena shouldn’t be sold out every weekend.  And he meant what he said, as if he was genuinely frustrated by it.

Well, Berenson’s wish came true Saturday night.  His Wolverines were on the business end of a 5-1 bulldozing that was more than just a victory over Michigan.

It was an all-out embarrassment in front of a regional TV audience – Michigan’s regional Fox Sports Detroit audience — with a packed and insane full-moon Lawson Arena crowd taking every opportunity to remind the Wolverines of who’s driving the CCHA car in its final season.

And this is new territory: the victories this weekend marked the first weekend sweep of Michigan since 1986 and the first ever in Kalamazoo.  But beating Michigan isn’t new.  The Broncos have now defeated the Wolverines at least once in four of the last five years, including a 2-1 victory in Ann Arbor earlier in that 2009 season.

In each of the last two years, Western has beaten Michigan where it counts: on championship ice at The Joe, just down the hallway from where Berenson stood four years ago lamenting the lack of a stiffer West Michigan opponent.

But if those victories were tone-setters, Saturday’s was a culture-shifter.

And remember: this was supposed to happen.

Western is in first-place, the ninth-ranked team in the nation.  At 8-16-2, Michigan is tied for ninth-place.  It wasn’t all that long ago when those standings were reversed.

Skill, swagger, stability: Slubowski

Western’s defense is its best asset, and many would list Luke Witkowski and Danny DeKeyser as exhibits A and B.

But let’s not overlook the man behind the men.

The Broncos possess a sense of calm that has helped them stay focused in crazy situations this season, including Saturday’s first period, and the zen master is goaltender Frank Slubowski.

He plays with a rhythm and coolness that nobody and nothing seems to interrupt.  Michigan scored first both nights this weekend.  So what?  Doo-do-do… Slubowski simply made the next save.  And the one after that.  And the one after that.

He’s unflappable, especially mentally. You see it in his between-whistle routine, the way he loops in and out of the crease with his 100-yard stare fixated on the glass; you see it in the way he attacks shots and calmly steers away rebounds.  He’s almost robotic.  Like one of those cordless vacuum cleaners that methodically scans your living room (only Slubowski is better at sucking up debris).

You could argue that he also influences the Broncos’ unwillingness to retaliate when things go overboard, physically — which has proven to be one of their most valuable assets.  When you’re the team on top, everyone else wants a piece of you.  Opponents hack and poke and goad and try to intimidate.  Ask Michigan.

But the Wolverines found themselves in the unfamiliar position Saturday of being the hacker and poker and goader.  Thinking little brother was still little, the Wolverines turned to physical intimidation as a method for reinforcing their name and tradition and status.  There was the pair of dustups during the first shift of the game that had a staged feel to them.  When those didn’t work, the Wolverines slashed and hacked and tripped, especially defenseman Kenney Morrison with the hope that the freshman would be fragile and afraid.

Then Morrison whistled a blinding wrist shot into Michigan’s net to give Western the lead for good.

Later, when the score grew to 3-1 … then 4-1 … Michigan stood around dumbfounded, like square-jawed fraternity brothers who just had their girlfriends stolen by the calculus team.

Hey, calculus is cool.

And we’ve seen Western’s cool side all season.  In fact, it’s not a side.  It’s who they are.  Northern Michigan tried to bait them into undisciplined penalties in December, but the Broncos didn’t bite.  Credit the coolness to coaching, but don’t underestimate the calming effect Slubowski radiates from his crease.

And don’t expect any further idealistic waxing from Berenson.

ALONG THE RAIL…

• The Wolverines looked defeated from the beginning.  Their body language reeked of insecurity — and it’s been this way all season.  At the Great Lakes Invitational in Detroit last month, I predicted they’d lose to Michigan Tech before the game even started because of the body language both teams displayed while skating warm-up laps before the national anthem.  Tech was hungry and excited and buzzing.  Michigan looked entitled, arrogant and almost bored.  Same was true Saturday night.
• Credit Berenson for his success: 22 straight NCAA tournament appearances is no small feat.  But there’s something different about that program now.  The luster has worn off.  The foam number-one finger is pock-marked and droopy.  Berenson signed a contract extension last summer that will keep him behind Michigan’s bench until 2015-16, but you have to wonder if he’ll stay that long.  This team plays like it’s not paying attention to its coach.
• Colton Hargrove, hello.  Three goals this weekend, including the game-winner Friday, is the kind of production WMU has needed from its underclassmen all season.  If this keeps up, scoring may not be a problem, after all.
• Speaking of upper and underclassmen, Berenson said the following after Saturday’s game: “You can always say you are as good as the senior class. If your senior class is not strong, then you are not going to have a strong team.”
• We’ve waited for Josh Pitt (freshman) to bust out his speed and skill all season, and it arrived in a big way Saturday.  His soft saucer pass to Hargrove (freshman) for the 3-1 goal in the second period was deft, while his third-period goal when he skated wide on the Michigan defender showcased his extremely fast first stride.

The post-game quotes from Andy Murray and his players lately revolve around being happy with their effort, but needing to score more goals.

They point to increased traffic in front of the net as a must.

They lament the need to skate more pucks to the doorstep.

Yes and yes.

But we’re more than halfway through the season and Murray has, for the most part, gotten max performance out of this team.  The Broncos are what they are: a talented, hard-working, defensive-minded bunch that, like it or not, lives and dies by its power play.

James Carville, hockey buff or not, would see it in the numbers:

• The Broncos have won 15 games
• They’ve scored at least one power-play goal in 13 of those contests
• Their six losses?
• No power-play goals in five of those games

Stats are boring, but hey.

The Broncos machine-gunned 86 shots on Lake Superior State’s net this weekend.  They scored just four times.  And two of those goals were on the power play.  And neither was the result of bulldozing the puck to the front of the net.

Kenney Morrison’s rocket from the point ricocheted off the end boards and onto Dane Walters’ stick at the left post in the second period Saturday.  Morrison also engineered the other power-play goal, wiring a back-door feed to an uncovered Dennis Brown that, in sweetness, ranked only behind the fake slap shot play that the Broncos tried twice earlier in the 3-1 victory.

But what’s the answer to this even-strength mystery?

How can a team with such speed and ability to possess the puck not light up the scoreboard more often?

Perhaps it’s the quality of shots, not quantity.

Perhaps it’s more patient, Chase Balisy-like plays with the puck in tight spaces around the net instead of furious rushes up the wing punctuated by nebulous slappers and wristers that count in the shot total but not for much else.

Perhaps it’s playing in the cross-currents, the nooks and crannies, and going to extreme physical lengths to not concede possession in the opponent’s end — and that includes low-percentage shots that sometimes ring around the glass and out of the zone.

We’re splitting hairs here to a certain extent.  This team is challenging for the top spot in the CCHA.  It’s a good team.  But its PairWise ranking heading into Saturday’s game was 14.  It’s now 11, thanks to the power-play-powered Saturday win.

The NCAA tournament takes the top 16.

That’s the ultimate statistic.

So the Broncos can work on getting more action to the other team’s net, but they’ll likely stay in that top 16 if they can use their work ethic to draw penalties — and then capitalize on them with the power play.

Courtesy WMU

Ferris State’s strategy was simple Saturday night.

Hit anything in white that moves.

When it gets up, hit it again.

(Then back up and smash again.)

The strategy worked for 55 minutes.

The Bulldogs had a 1-0 lead.  Their goalie, CJ Motte, was holding the fort.  Their big, punishing forwards were making Western earn every square inch of ice.  As the bodies kept flying, some WMU supporters in attendance questioned the Broncos toughness.  Said they weren’t nasty enough.  A word that begins with a “P” was even suggested.

In the end, however, another “P” word prevailed.

Patience.

Instead of retaliation, instead of ignoring hockey to match Ferris pound-for-pound and punch-for-punch, the Broncos stuck to the smart game.  They defended themselves, but didn’t sacrifice puck possession and didn’t take penalties to do it.  And just like last weekend’s battle with Northern Michigan, their persistence and unwillingness to flinch in the face of a physical opponent paid off when Ferris took two undisciplined penalties in the last five minutes and WMU turned them into two power-play goals.

Game over.

Western’s 2-1 victory — its fifth in a row and seventh in the last eight games – further revealed a trait that will help this team when it faces even tougher opponents in the second half of the season: the ability to remain patient and mostly unflappable. During this five-game surge, the Broncos have come from behind to win three times. Three of the victories have been by a goal.

So it appears they know how to dig deep and protect leads late in games.  Mostly, though, they appear to trust themselves (and their coaches) enough to stick to the game plan and not get rattled.  It’s about patience and confidence.  Good teams hope to win.  Great teams expect to win despite what their opponent does, and that mindset reinforces itself with every hair-raising win.

ALONG THE RAIL…

• Karma: Late in the second period, Ferris State’s Garrett Thompson exited the penalty box and snuck behind the Broncos’ defense for a breakaway goal to give the Bulldogs their 1-0 lead.  After he scored, Thompson peeled off into the southwestern corner of the rink, patted helmets with his teammates, and then skated across the ice toward the WMU student section with his hand to his ear, as if to say, “I can’t hear you.”  Makes you wonder what sorts of things Thompson heard – aside from the roar – when Mike Leone’s game-winner sailed into the net as Thompson sat in the penalty box with 2:14 left in the game.
• Trevor Elias easily had the best shift of Saturday’s game late in the third period, when he killed at least 20 seconds off the clock by ragging and pinning the puck along the boards by himself despite three Ferris State monsters draped on his back. It was a tremendous effort that demonstrated the small, speedy forward’s ability to execute some of the “uglier” but just as necessary parts of the game.
• The more you watch Chase Balisy, the more you realize why the Nashville Predators drafted him.  Aside from his foot speed and strength on the puck, both of which are better than ever, Balisy’s biggest asset is his vision and hockey sense.  He sees the east-west motion of a pro game despite playing in the north-south chaos that is college hockey.  College hockey is linear, hard, jamming, jarring.  Pro hockey is a bigger room with more doors.  It’s a kaleidoscope of geometric potential — and Balisy sees it.  Micro-movements.  Little chips of the puck here, little slips to the inside there.  It’s patient and swirling.  College hockey says, “I’m here!” and then blasts you into the end boards. Pro hockey says, “Come and get me,” and then wires a centering pass to an open teammate in a two-foot area of the ice.
• Speaking of Balisy, his lightning bolt of a wrist shot to tie the game with 4:08 remaining was also of pro stock.  Of course, it doesn’t happen if Dane Walters doesn’t make a tremendous play to chip the puck to himself over the blue line and around a Ferris defenseman, then zing a perfect feed through traffic right to Balisy’s tape.
• Mike Leone was playing Division III hockey his freshman year — even transferred schools — yet there he was Saturday night, on the power play for the seventh-ranked team in college hockey with three minutes left in a tie game. He has a nose for the net and it’s uncanny how things happen when he’s around it.
• Remember the days when one section of seats would have six spectators in it?  Fans were standing three rows deep around the concourse Saturday night.  Amazing what winning does. Largest crowd of the season (4,116).
• Longtime New Jersey Devils scout Bob Hoffmeyer watched Saturday’s game.  The former Kalamazoo Wings head coach noticed a little ploy by coach Andy Murray late in the second period. After Broncos’ defenseman Kenny Morrison was rocked by a hit that was questionable but not called, Murray waited for the next whistle and then went to work on referees Brian Pochmara and John Philo (as the student section chanted “ANDY MURRAY!  ANDY MURRAY!”).  Murray forced the referees into an argument at the bench that killed 30-45 seconds before the upcoming faceoff in WMU’s zone.  ”He got his timeout,” Hoffmeyer said, smiling, as the red faced Murray ended his tirade.  ”He was also able to get two of his players who were tired off the ice.”
• Bronco sophomore Bobby Francis had an excellent game.  His drop pass to Josh Pitt during a three-on-two was the patient, east/west pro play in that situation and led to one of the best scoring chances of the game for the Broncos.  Francis also made the smart, safe play pretty much anytime the puck was on his stick. Seamless effort for it only being his third game of the season.

First, a knee.

Then an elbow.

Had the referees not clamped down, who knows what would’ve been next.

Northern Michigan’s attempts to brutally injure two Western Michigan players in the first 12 minutes of Saturday’s game — “tone-setting,” the lesser-talented might call it — was further proof that college hockey must switch from full cages to three-quarter visors next season.

These players come from junior leagues where cages are not mandatory and fighting is permitted.  And those who turn pro will go on to leagues where cages are not mandatory and fighting is permitted.

The rule change is ready to go.  Eighty-three percent of current players and “almost all” coaches want it, according to a recent survey by the NCAA Ice Hockey Rules Committee.

Had the Wildcats and Broncos been wearing visors Saturday, there’s a good chance Northern’s Reed Seckel — he of three penalties in the game — doesn’t go out of his way to deliver a brutal knee-on-knee hit to WMU captain Luke Witkowski, who miraculously skated away after it.  

Had their faces been exposed, would Wildcats defenseman C.J. Ludwig still have opted for a vicious flying elbow to the side of Ben Warda’s head during a one-on-one rush down the right wing?

Maybe.

But the potential physical consequences for Ludwig would’ve been much greater than the ejection he received.

This isn’t a call for more violence or fighting.  With visors, the golden rule gets redefined.  ”Do unto others…” looks and feels different.  With cages, there’s an aura of invincibility that leads to more reckless play.  With visors, there’s the threat of losing teeth.  And it goes both ways.

On a positive note, WMU’s refusal to play the retaliation game — with the exception of Garrett Haar’s understandable cross-check of Seckel after he ran WMU goalie Frank Slubowski in the third period — is the reason why the Broncos are six points richer in the CCHA standings this morning.

But, seriously.

Time for visors.

ALONG THE RAIL …

• Ludwig’s hit, which knocked Warda’s helmet off, marked the third time in six games a Northern player has been ejected for a hit to an opponent’s head.
• Northern’s leading scorer is Stephan Vigier, who was recently suspended for a violation of team rules.  He was also one of four Wildcats charged with stealing bicycles on campus last December.
• Maybe Lightning GM Steve Yzerman will single-handedly donate the money needed to build a new, bigger press box at Lawson Arena.  Yzerman watched Friday’s game with senior adviser Tom Kurvers and another member of their Tampa Bay staff from the concourse near section 12.  ”The Captain” tried to keep a low-profile — he tucked himself between a large support column and Kurvers — but that’s nearly impossible in Michigan. By the five-minute mark of the first period, fans started approaching for autographs and photos at nearly every whistle. Needing to focus, Yzerman and crew moved to the seats for the final two periods.
• Calgary Flames GM Jay Feaster, meanwhile, landed a press box spot both nights.  Ten bucks says — had they traded places — Feaster wouldn’t have posed for a single picture. Which is nothing against Feaster.
• Former Michigan State head coach Rick Comley, now a scout for the Chicago Blackhawks, was also in attendance Friday, as was former Bronco goalie Brian Renfrew, who now scouts for the Winnipeg Jets.
• The top-three most satisfying Broncos to watch skate: Will Kessel, Josh Pitt, Luke Witkowski.
• Yes, Trevor Elias is faster and his speed helped him score on a pretty backhander Saturday, but watching those other three use their combination of speed, strength and balance is extremely satisfying.
• Would love to know the conversations Slubowski had with himself to stay focused while most of the weekend’s play was at the opposite end of the ice.  Western outshot Northern, 77-35, in the 4-2 and 1-0 victories.

Defenseman Garrett Haar has two goals in two games this season. He scored once in 2011-12.

On October 12, 2009, the Chicago Blackhawks trailed by five goals eleven minutes into a game against the Calgary Flames.

Then the Hawks rallied for six unanswered goals, capped by Brent Seabrook’s winner in overtime to tie an NHL record for the biggest comeback.  It was a game that said a lot.  It told opponents no lead was safe against Chicago.  It also told the young, hotshot Blackhawks they were so good that they could turn it on and off whenever they wanted — a pattern that annoyingly existed throughout the team’s run to the Stanley Cup (think Game 5 against Nashville).

A team’s ability to come back from a deficit can be its blessing — and its curse.

For Western Michigan, this weekend’s split with St. Lawrence University in which the Broncos came from behind in the third period both nights offers many psychological benefits.

Losing Friday’s game on a bad bounce in overtime was the best thing that could have happened.  WMU didn’t deserve to win that game, even though defenseman Garrett Haar’s slapper from the point with the goalie pulled might’ve suggested otherwise.  By losing that game, the Broncos realized they were mortal.  It was a mental gift, a sober reminder that they can take with them through the rest of the schedule if they so choose.

Winning Saturday’s game was equally beneficial.  It was redemption, proof that a quality effort deserves a quality result.  Proof that this team has the talent and focus to erase a deficit, take a lead and, most of all, play with a lead late in games.  Like infant children, this is the life stage of a season when mental and emotional patterns — good and bad — develop.  This early part of the season creates the narrative, the self-talk for the rest of the season.

We can’t come back from anything.

We can play with a lead.

We have to score first to win.

Any number of messages are created.  Which ones this team chooses to believe will help set the course for the rest of the season.

ALONG THE RAIL …

• Haar also scored Saturday’s game-winner on a slapper late in the third period and was one of the more consistent WMU defensemen in both games.  The Washington Capitals draft pick attended Team USA’s World Junior Championship tryout camp this summer and, if he keeps up his strong start, should receive consideration for a final Team USA roster spot.  The WJC will be held at the end of the year in Russia.
• Is freshman defenseman Kenny Morrison a spitting image of Matt Tennyson, or what?  Like Tennyson when he was a freshman, Morrison — who’s even wearing Tennyson’s old number — still has a ways to go.  He looked weak on his skates in the physical areas of play (corners, behind the net) and hasn’t been real sharp with the puck.  Like Tennyson, however, he has a bomb of a slap shot and huge upside.  The fact head coach Andy Murray stuck Morrison on the power play in the first two games clearly demonstrates confidence in his ability, although the team’s 2-for-13 performance with the man-advantage might force Murray to switch Morrison for Haar.
• That was the Dan DeKeyser we know and love.  After a couple of work-out-the-kinks performances, the star defenseman was back to himself Saturday.  His presence of mind and confidence to sneak down to the back door during power play chaos in front of the net allowed for his rebound goal to tie the game.  And his celebration — a huge leap into the glass in front of the student section — looked like quite the cathartic release.
• Freshman Nolan LaPorte now has two goals in three games if you include his slick exhibition tally.  He’s adding to an already deep crop of forwards, none of whom will run away with a scoring title, but who together can steadily wear down opponents with their speed, skill and physicality.  Murray said he felt Chase Balisy played two of his best games ever this weekend. Balisy committed to getting stronger and faster over the summer and it’s already showing.
• There was less north and more patient east-west play Saturday, but, as Murray pointed out afterwards, the team needs to learn how to overpower teams physically without taking too many penalties.  Think puppy growing into its paws.