Considering how the season has gone so far and how the Tbirds had looked before Friday... this weekend has to qualify as a huge success.
Seattle played well Friday before losing essentially a one goal game to Spokane, played another pretty good game down in Portland only to lose in a shootout after leading for 59 minutes of the game (more on this later) and another nice effort last night in Chilliwack in a game that actually was quite important for early in the season.
The win in Chilliwack was big not only for the lack of success on the road but because the Bruins are currently sitting in the 8th spot in the Western Conference and Seattle does not have very many head to head opportunities to gain on them in the standings.
The clear key for the Tbirds will be whether this new level of play will now become the standard or whether this team is just going through a decent stretch of hockey before falling back into their old habits. If this team can play the way they did over the weekend I believe they can catch Chilliwack for the 8th spot.
Couple points of emphasis...
- Nice to see Sena Acolatse on the scoreboard twice (EDIT - three times) this weekend. His goal on Friday was an absolute rocket and is exactly the type of situation the team is looking for with Sena manning the blue line on the Power Play. The goal obviously is to get him set up for that shot more often on the PP. Credit to Rouse, Lockhart and Jacobs on that play for some nice action to set it up... especially Colin Jacobs who made the unselfish play to fake the shot and make the extra pass to Acolatse for the blast.
- What's not to like about this Rouse kid??? He wins faceoffs, he plays pretty solid in his own end and has now chipped in 8 points in 11 games to go with a -2 rating.... and he could have had more as James Reid robbed him on the doorstep right before the goal by Acolatse. Rouse was a big part of that goal and wound up with no points to show for it.
- Nice to see Prab Rai with a good game last night. Rai had 4 points and was +1 for the weekend. When he is going good this team will be a lot tougher to beat.
- Also a really good weekend for Jeremy Schappert who had 5 points and +2. Schappert now has 11 points, 2 points away from matching his career high from last season when he had 3 goals and 10 assists. Schappert had been very aggressive early in the season looking for chances to chip in offensively but had not enjoyed a ton of success until this weekend.
- Ah yes... THE Portland situation. Tell you what... I didn't get a chance to see the game so I'm going to go purchase the archived game footage and devote a separate posting specifically to the situation. So I will hold off commenting on this until later today or tomorrow.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Tbirds fall short against Spokane
Seattle drops a 3-1 decision to Spokane last night at home in the Sho.
Overall I actually thought it was a really good effort by the Tbirds especially in the first two periods. Seattle was the better team last night and it isn't too often the better team loses the game... but a combination of a poor third period and a nice goaltending effort by Spokane's James Reid kept the Tbirds with only the single power play goal before Blake Gal eventually gave the Cheifs the go-ahead and game winning goal.
Seattle earned 6 Power Plays last night and I thought it was a pretty good indication of how hard the Tbirds were working, forcing Spokane into situations where they reached and picked up penalties.
Truth be told I thought Spokane played like a team that figured they could just coast through the game and still pick up the victory (and perhaps they were right?) and Seattle took advantage through the first 40 minutes.
The third period was a bit of a different story as Spokane out-shot the Tbirds 18-6 and moved the pressure from their own zone and into the Tbirds zone. Spokane finally broke the tie with a nice pass by Mitch Wahl to a wide open Blake Gal who finished nicely in the corner past Pickard... a defensive breakdown by the Tbirds.
Gal was a pest all night long and wound up with the GWG and a +3 night.
This was a poorly officiated game from start to finish and the crew of Benbow and Raphael should be really disappointed with their game.... culminated by an absolutely atrocious non-call on a trip against Acolatse which gave the puck right back to Mitch Wahl who went the length of the ice for the empty net goal to ice the game. Just an unreal no call. You should not reward teams for not moving their feet and reaching for the puck and Spokane was guilty of it all night long and that penalty should have been called.
Coach Rob Sumner picked up a bench minor in the protest and quite frankly I thought he showed restraint in not throwing a water bottle or jumping on the ice himself. A terrible call at the most critical time of the game.
Overall though I am very encouraged by what I saw last night. The effort was mostly there, the decision making was better and the Tbirds generated some opportunities while the defensive breakdowns were far fewer than we have seen so far this season. If the Tbirds can continue to play like that the wins should come a little more often and perhaps the team can get back into the playoff race.
Seattle is back to action tonight down in Portland where the Winterhawks have actually been shutout two games in a row and will no doubt be smelling blood with the Tbirds coming to town.
Overall I actually thought it was a really good effort by the Tbirds especially in the first two periods. Seattle was the better team last night and it isn't too often the better team loses the game... but a combination of a poor third period and a nice goaltending effort by Spokane's James Reid kept the Tbirds with only the single power play goal before Blake Gal eventually gave the Cheifs the go-ahead and game winning goal.
Seattle earned 6 Power Plays last night and I thought it was a pretty good indication of how hard the Tbirds were working, forcing Spokane into situations where they reached and picked up penalties.
Truth be told I thought Spokane played like a team that figured they could just coast through the game and still pick up the victory (and perhaps they were right?) and Seattle took advantage through the first 40 minutes.
The third period was a bit of a different story as Spokane out-shot the Tbirds 18-6 and moved the pressure from their own zone and into the Tbirds zone. Spokane finally broke the tie with a nice pass by Mitch Wahl to a wide open Blake Gal who finished nicely in the corner past Pickard... a defensive breakdown by the Tbirds.
Gal was a pest all night long and wound up with the GWG and a +3 night.
This was a poorly officiated game from start to finish and the crew of Benbow and Raphael should be really disappointed with their game.... culminated by an absolutely atrocious non-call on a trip against Acolatse which gave the puck right back to Mitch Wahl who went the length of the ice for the empty net goal to ice the game. Just an unreal no call. You should not reward teams for not moving their feet and reaching for the puck and Spokane was guilty of it all night long and that penalty should have been called.
Coach Rob Sumner picked up a bench minor in the protest and quite frankly I thought he showed restraint in not throwing a water bottle or jumping on the ice himself. A terrible call at the most critical time of the game.
Overall though I am very encouraged by what I saw last night. The effort was mostly there, the decision making was better and the Tbirds generated some opportunities while the defensive breakdowns were far fewer than we have seen so far this season. If the Tbirds can continue to play like that the wins should come a little more often and perhaps the team can get back into the playoff race.
Seattle is back to action tonight down in Portland where the Winterhawks have actually been shutout two games in a row and will no doubt be smelling blood with the Tbirds coming to town.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Boys are back in town...
I've been a pretty bad blogger this week but quite frankly there hasn't really been anything going on in Tbirds land.
Seattle gets back to work tonight for their 2nd straight 3 in 3 weekend. This will be the 3rd "3 in 3" weekend of the season for Seattle. Tbirds have NINE of these such weekends over the course of the season.
The big news around the hockey world this week is the season long suspension for Erie Otters player Michael Liambas has been suspended for the remainder of the season for his hit on 16 year old Kitchener Rangers defender Ben Fanelli. Fanelli was left with a fractured skull among other things but has been upgraded to stable condition and moved out of the ICU and into a private room.
With sincerity I really hope the kid makes a full recovery and is able to resume his career... it was a nasty hit.
My question is... does the punishment fit the crime.
Here is the video...
From what I understand Liambas has a history of getting in a little bit of trouble in the OHL but I'm not really sure he deserved to be suspended for the rest of the season. Looked to me like Liambas stopped striding several feet from the hit, kept his elbow down until after the hit and Fanelli had an unfortunate combination of turning away from the hit and having his helmet knocked off in the collision with the boards that might have led to an increase in the severity of the injury.
I want to be very careful not to be insensitive to Fanelli... it is always scary when a player gets hurt like that, much less a 16 year old kid going up against a 20 year old kid on a hard hit behind the net.
I'm just not entirely convinced that it was even a penalty much less a season long suspension.
What do you guys think??
Seattle gets back to work tonight for their 2nd straight 3 in 3 weekend. This will be the 3rd "3 in 3" weekend of the season for Seattle. Tbirds have NINE of these such weekends over the course of the season.
The big news around the hockey world this week is the season long suspension for Erie Otters player Michael Liambas has been suspended for the remainder of the season for his hit on 16 year old Kitchener Rangers defender Ben Fanelli. Fanelli was left with a fractured skull among other things but has been upgraded to stable condition and moved out of the ICU and into a private room.
With sincerity I really hope the kid makes a full recovery and is able to resume his career... it was a nasty hit.
My question is... does the punishment fit the crime.
Here is the video...
From what I understand Liambas has a history of getting in a little bit of trouble in the OHL but I'm not really sure he deserved to be suspended for the rest of the season. Looked to me like Liambas stopped striding several feet from the hit, kept his elbow down until after the hit and Fanelli had an unfortunate combination of turning away from the hit and having his helmet knocked off in the collision with the boards that might have led to an increase in the severity of the injury.
I want to be very careful not to be insensitive to Fanelli... it is always scary when a player gets hurt like that, much less a 16 year old kid going up against a 20 year old kid on a hard hit behind the net.
I'm just not entirely convinced that it was even a penalty much less a season long suspension.
What do you guys think??
Monday, November 2, 2009
Birds are home...
Tbirds arrived back in Seattle late last night after their long 9 day road trip and they could certainly use a few days of rest to hopefully get all the sick kids healthy again.
For a recap on the game yesterday... there is no better place to look than over at Jeff Bromley's Ice Chips blog and you can find it here.
Also of note today...
Tbirds 1st round draft pick Brandon Troock was named to the Challenge Cup All-Star team... at this point we would say that this bodes well for his future and I certainly liked how he looked in camp this year.
All-Star announcement can be found here.
For a recap on the game yesterday... there is no better place to look than over at Jeff Bromley's Ice Chips blog and you can find it here.
Also of note today...
Tbirds 1st round draft pick Brandon Troock was named to the Challenge Cup All-Star team... at this point we would say that this bodes well for his future and I certainly liked how he looked in camp this year.
All-Star announcement can be found here.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Yikes...
I didn't see the game but I'm pretty happy I didn't.... whoa. Sanvido with his first goal in the WHL is clearly the highlight tonight.
Sanvido had his struggles focusing on defensive responsibilities in training camp and that was part of the reason why he didn't make the club out of camp. On a night where the Tbirds gave up 11 goals and some players were -5 I would have to say that his first WHL goal on the PP and "only" a -1 represents a pretty nice night for the kid... good for him. I'm making a pretty general statement based on stats but I'm guessing that he had as good a night as you can have when your team loses 11-2.
Btw... anyone know the last time an opposing team had three players with hat-tricks?? I sure don't...
Sanvido had his struggles focusing on defensive responsibilities in training camp and that was part of the reason why he didn't make the club out of camp. On a night where the Tbirds gave up 11 goals and some players were -5 I would have to say that his first WHL goal on the PP and "only" a -1 represents a pretty nice night for the kid... good for him. I'm making a pretty general statement based on stats but I'm guessing that he had as good a night as you can have when your team loses 11-2.
Btw... anyone know the last time an opposing team had three players with hat-tricks?? I sure don't...
Sweet Victory
Nice win for the Birds last night. I know Lethbridge is having their own issues and it isn't as sweet as maybe winning in Calgary would have been..... but hey a win is win and a road win is a road win. Especially when it is your first road win of the season in the middle of a long trip and the team reporting they scratched 6 players with the flu and perhaps several others playing with flu symptoms.
Unfortunately, the Tbirds don't really get a chance to rest as they hit Medicine Hat tonight and finish up the road trip in Cranbrook tomorrow. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to watch either game, this is a fairly busy weekend so you guys might be on your own... sorry guys.
Unfortunately, the Tbirds don't really get a chance to rest as they hit Medicine Hat tonight and finish up the road trip in Cranbrook tomorrow. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to watch either game, this is a fairly busy weekend so you guys might be on your own... sorry guys.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Tbirds lead 2-1 currently...
Seattle leads in Lethbridge 2-1 right now... I would say the big news of the day is that Seattle brought in Zach Walker and Connor Sanvido for reinforcements tonight.
Very short rant....
This isn't aimed at Ian Henry but more at the entire front office. When you guys call kids up... whether it should be or not... it's exciting for the fans. Think about when the Mariners call somebody up for the first time... they make an announcement.
Don't get me wrong... I think the Tbirds and Ian Henry have done a tremendous job this year getting more information out to us (the fans) than they ever have... but why not have a little fan fare and announce you are bringing these kids up for a couple of games.
Put it this way... as far as I'm concerned Sanvido and Walker making their debuts is a lot more buzz-worthy than hiring John Becanic and that isn't a slight to Sanvido but a reflection of how much fans anticipate (again whether justified or not) when the team calls up players for their first games with the team.
Either way... not a big deal. Let's go Birds... let's get a road win tonight!
Very short rant....
This isn't aimed at Ian Henry but more at the entire front office. When you guys call kids up... whether it should be or not... it's exciting for the fans. Think about when the Mariners call somebody up for the first time... they make an announcement.
Don't get me wrong... I think the Tbirds and Ian Henry have done a tremendous job this year getting more information out to us (the fans) than they ever have... but why not have a little fan fare and announce you are bringing these kids up for a couple of games.
Put it this way... as far as I'm concerned Sanvido and Walker making their debuts is a lot more buzz-worthy than hiring John Becanic and that isn't a slight to Sanvido but a reflection of how much fans anticipate (again whether justified or not) when the team calls up players for their first games with the team.
Either way... not a big deal. Let's go Birds... let's get a road win tonight!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Another accolade for Pickard
Calvin Pickard has been named to Team WHL for the Subway Super Series. For those that are not familiar, Russian sends over a team of Junior players to face the best that the QMJHL, OHL and WHL have to offer.
They will play two games with one being in Victory on November 25th and the following day in Kelowna on the 26th.
This would be a nice accomplishment either way but the fact that Pickard is one of only four players from the '92 year to be selected speaks to the recognition that Calvin is getting for his talent.
Pickard joins former #1 bantam pick Quinton Howden of the Moose Jaw Warrior along with Brett Connolly and Mark Pysyk.
Martin Jones of Calgary is the other goaltender on the Team WHL squad. Full rosters can be found here.
They will play two games with one being in Victory on November 25th and the following day in Kelowna on the 26th.
This would be a nice accomplishment either way but the fact that Pickard is one of only four players from the '92 year to be selected speaks to the recognition that Calvin is getting for his talent.
Pickard joins former #1 bantam pick Quinton Howden of the Moose Jaw Warrior along with Brett Connolly and Mark Pysyk.
Martin Jones of Calgary is the other goaltender on the Team WHL squad. Full rosters can be found here.
Flu bug...
So the Tbirds are likely to have several or even perhaps most of their players riddled with the flu right now and that might explain the 7-1 crushing last night. Here are the facts though.
One fact that cannot be disputed is that they got whipped 7-1 last night.
Opinion.... My opinion is that they played horribly.
Something I'm willing to accept as fact... is that they have a bunch of kids sick right now. I don't know that for a fact, but I have no reason to think Thom lies about these things so I accept it as fact.
Opinion.... It's pretty tough to play sick.
Put those things together and you come up with the truth that last night wasn't pretty. I'm definitely willing to accept that the loss was likely caused by flu ridden players, but it doesn't change the fact that they still need to play better.
How they are able to respond towards the end of the trip when players get reasonably healthy again will give us an idea about the progress that we saw in Calgary and Red Deer.
One fact that cannot be disputed is that they got whipped 7-1 last night.
Opinion.... My opinion is that they played horribly.
Something I'm willing to accept as fact... is that they have a bunch of kids sick right now. I don't know that for a fact, but I have no reason to think Thom lies about these things so I accept it as fact.
Opinion.... It's pretty tough to play sick.
Put those things together and you come up with the truth that last night wasn't pretty. I'm definitely willing to accept that the loss was likely caused by flu ridden players, but it doesn't change the fact that they still need to play better.
How they are able to respond towards the end of the trip when players get reasonably healthy again will give us an idea about the progress that we saw in Calgary and Red Deer.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Simply terrible...
That was just plain awful. Pickard wasn't his best tonight but Patrick Roy couldn't have helped the Tbirds tonight.
Seattle actually played pretty well for the first 5-10 minutes and then things just completely fell apart. That was some of the worst defensive zone coverage we have seen from the Tbirds all season long. The Oil Kings had guys wide open in the slot all game long and on one Oil King goal I saw all 5 Tbirds on one side of the ice.
I don't know what to say... it was just ugly. I know these kids are being coached... it's not like they are telling them to play a 5 on zero defense where everyone crowds one side of the zone leaving people wide open in front of your goaltender. The progress the Birds made on Sunday against Calgary and for parts of the game against Red Deer last night were just completely gone tonight.
I'd write more... but why should I type more about that garbage.
Seattle actually played pretty well for the first 5-10 minutes and then things just completely fell apart. That was some of the worst defensive zone coverage we have seen from the Tbirds all season long. The Oil Kings had guys wide open in the slot all game long and on one Oil King goal I saw all 5 Tbirds on one side of the ice.
I don't know what to say... it was just ugly. I know these kids are being coached... it's not like they are telling them to play a 5 on zero defense where everyone crowds one side of the zone leaving people wide open in front of your goaltender. The progress the Birds made on Sunday against Calgary and for parts of the game against Red Deer last night were just completely gone tonight.
I'd write more... but why should I type more about that garbage.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
