Towards the end of last season and into the playoffs, the fire Mike Yeo bandwagon was fundraising to support all of its members. Granted, this had little to do with Mike himself, it had more to do with the expectations of Wild fans after signing Zach Parise and Ryan Suter before the season. As fans, we had very high expectations. Unfortunately as we know, adding two superstars to your team in hockey doesn't automatically make you champions.
Now for the record, I was very much on that bandwagon. Throughout this season I was may have been it's president an CEO. I fiercely took to Twitter with the fire Yeo hashtag like never before. The team was struggling. They had trouble playing hard for entire games and Mike Yeo's "we've just got to play better" routine was wearing thin.
After game 5 I fell off the bandwagon, smacked my head, and learned a valuable life lesson. Standing on the periphery, nothing but stones and judgement can keep you from seeing a bigger picture. Little did I know, Yeo's personality and coaching style would save the Wild from falling apart when it counted the most.
Playing on the road in the playoffs can wear on you. The screaming fans with their unwelcoming roar, last line change leaving you wondering why you even came up with a game plan, and in our case, time and altitude changes that effect your body's chemistry. Calm and collected must you be.
Questionable calls, "should have been" calls, being down 2 - 0 in the playoffs, and the mental toll that blowing a two goal lead can take on a team, all things that the team had to contend with coming back to Saint Paul for game 3. The team mirroring the personality of their head coach, would put games 1 and 2 behind them and keep playing hard. The team took two thrilling games in Saint Paul to even the series up a 2 - 2.
Teams that face adversity can quickly struggle to find themselves again, just look at the Maple Leafs. The Leafs lost a couple close games, got emotional, and spiraled right out of playoff contention. Emotion is a big part of the game, but emotion can blur the big picture. Mike Yeo keeps the team focused and keeps things in perspective. Excitement after a game is better than anger during one.
During this series, and particularly in game 5, I have witnessed one of the greatest coaching performances of my lifetime. A coaching performance that sets an example for those coaching at a youth level. I was not alive during the miracle on ice, but I have to say, this has all the makings of something magical. Mike Yeo and the Wild have been the definition of perseverance.
Game 5 featured by far the worst officiating I have ever seen at any level. I will not speculate as to why it was so bad, this article was written to highlight perseverance, not the mugging that occurred on the Wild last night. A slue of missed calls and phantom penalties put the Wild down by a goal after two periods. This is where the magic really started.
All the odds stacked against them, on the road, with bad and missed calls, the Wild and Mike Yeo found a way to come out in the third period and score two goals. The Wild took a one 3-2 lead. With everything that had happened throughout the first four games, the Wild found a way to stay focused with their priorities straight. Unfortunately more bad calls would follow. Missed calls on a blatant holding penalty denying an empty net goal by Charlie Coyle and an obvious offsides led to a goal for the Avalanche and overtime that ended in heartache.
During Yeo's press conference he was visibly upset, but as he tends to do, he was collected. "It is what it is." Yeo commented when asked about the officiating. "We have to go back and force a game 7". These comments are part of the personality of this team. You cant control the uncontrollable, you have to focus on what you can control. If this had gone the other way, Roy probably would have punched a ref.
Yeo's performance in these playoffs has given me hope for the future, distant and not so distant alike. This team is focused, disciplined, and talented. I am happy to call myself a fan of this organization.
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