Back in Action

The Cougars of Prince George are in town tonight to face off against the "new look" of the Seattle Thunderbirds. Colin Jacobs will make his much anticipated season debut, Connor Honey will make his franchise debut, and Mitch Guiel seems to have been reassigned by the team. Let's cover last weekends games first.

• Friday night, Seattle dropped a tough 4-2 result to the Tri-City Americans.  The game was, in effect, a one goal game and Justin Feser added an empty net goal with less than 1 second to play. Officiating played a big role again as Tri-City was able to tie the game at 1-1 on a 5-3 PP.  Brad Deagle was called for a Cross-Checking penalty after defending goaltender Calvin Pickard after being slashed after the whistle by an Americans player.  The call resulted in the 5-3 for Tri and a tie game. Officials were not the reason why Seattle lost though and they never are. Sean Aschim tied the game with his 7th goal of the season in the 3rd period but Burke Gallimore took a debated High Sticking penalty just 8 seconds later and Tri-City regained the lead 30 seconds after that. Gallimore, Sutter and Noebels were all -2 and Seattle just can't survive most nights with their top players producing like that.
• Evan Wardley had an impressive fight with Justin Feser early in the game. I loved seeing the passion from Wardley and I figured it would pump the team up, but I didn’t see a noticeable difference in play.
• Marcel Noebels just isn't a very good hockey player right now. He is a very talented player who isn't playing the game the right way for the moment.  I know it sounds like I'm blasting him, which isn't my intent.   Like I have said before, he continues to try to do too much with the puck.  I think he is not making smart decisions and is not trusting his teammates and tries to force the play.  Good hockey is good hockey and it doesn't change depending on the player.  The talent level of the player affects the results that are produced from playing good hockey. That is why lesser talented players can still be good hockey players and have good results and good players can struggle. That being said, I have faith in his ability.  I've seen Noebels play very good hockey because he is a very good hockey player.  There is a reason why Philly drafted and signed him.  He just isn't focusing on the things that would allow his natural talent to take over and affect the game.
• Saturday's game against the Winterhawks was a disaster on most levels. Portland was able to score their Teddy Bear Toss goal early in the game, causing a 25-30 minute delay.  Following the delay, they never looked back on their way to 60 shots on goal and a 7-1 victory. I'm not sure the delay really had any impact on the result as Seattle looked flat, tired, intimidated... you name it... it happened. This was complete and thorough domination  in every way. The best thing to do with this Portland game is to put it behind us and move on.
• Colin Jacobs returns tonight.  At times I have seen Jacobs do the very same thing as Noebels.  A very talented forward, I'm excited to see what kind of energy and purpose Jacobs will bring to the ice. I'm certain he is very excited and anxious to get the season going.
• Connor Honey will also make his debut tonight.  I find it interesting that the Green Bay Gamblers weekend preview said that he was "traded" to us (not true) and contained a quote from the Coach saying that he "simply couldn't balance school and hockey". He did go on to say that Honey was a "good teammate and we wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors." Link to the story is here.

For tonight's game I'm going to try something slightly different.  I'm going to try to focus special attention on what Jacobs and Honey are doing on each shift.  Doing this... I'm going to miss some of the main action but I want to get a sense of what we can expect from Honey and how comfortable Jacobs looks in his first action back.

Connor Honey joins Tbirds

Connor Honey has joined the Tbirds.  Honey, 17, was in training camp with the Birds in August but left before the preseason started and did not sign a development deal with Seattle.

I was very impressed by Honey in training camp and I think he can help a little bit immediately.  Average size at 6'0" and 174 lbs his speed and hands were impressive and I think he will have the ability to create some plays right away. I think he steps into one of the top 3 lines, even with the return of Colin Jacobs on Friday and I think he has a chance to stay there even after Rouse and Troock return.

Honey had played 17 games with the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL where he had 1 goal and 6 assists.

Official press release is located here.

Tbirds Release

Seattle is set to have two announcements this afternoon. Stay tuned to the official website and the blog for analysis.

Why Seattle should trade for Inglis

Over the weekend the Prince George Cougars announced that they were sending Charles Inglis home to await a trade because he broke team and league rules.

The easy thing to say is that Seattle should trade for him because... well... he's a good player. It isn't quite that simple though. Inglis has now worn out his welcome in two different places, Saskatoon and Prince George. A trade for Inglis would come with some risk.  He may not like it in Seattle, he may not like Seattle's team rules anymore than he liked PG's and if it winds up not working out here his trade value would be nearly nothing after  not working out with now 3 teams.

Here is why it actually might make a lot of sense.

• The Tbirds are short on truly dynamic forwards. Gallimore is a great shooter, Noebels is struggling, Lockhart is struggling and while Jacobs is ready to return we don't really have any idea who long it will take him to get up to full speed.
• It probably won't cost you very much.  I'm certain that a few teams will be interested in Inglis, but how much can the Cougars expect to get from a player who would be expected to sit at home the rest of the season.  I can think of a handful of players and draft picks I wouldn't lose sleep over taking a gamble on Inglis.
• Inglis is from Winnipeg, Pickard is from Winnipeg and both are 19 years old. I have no idea whether they are friends or not and I admit that this is a reach but my hope would be that Pickard would have a positive influence on Inglis and perhaps he would buy into the system. For whatever it's worth, PG has no players on their roster from Winnipeg.
• If the trade doesn't cost you very much and things don't work out... you could send him home and chalk it up to a gamble that was probably worth it.
• Inglis also hasn't been drafted or signed and IF things were to work out you might wind up with a very good 20 year old next season.

I don't really expect this to happen but I think there is some solid upside at a very low cost available here and that is exactly the type deal they could make to get better without selling the farm.

I've been too busy to write game recaps... I apologize. Friday was ok, Saturday was brutal. I'll get around to it when I can.  Anyone want to apply for a writing position?? haha.

Back in the W column

Seattle comes from behind to get a 4-2 win over the Swift Current Broncos last night.  I honestly wasn't very impressed with the effort but I also had to leave for my own game with 10 minutes left in the game and I wasn't able to see the 5 minutes of the game where they actually played hard.  (Maybe I should leave games early more often?) These are the types of games that drive us fans crazy.  Why can't they just come out and play with the same energy on a consistent basis? Why can't they play with that swagger and chip on their shoulder that they showed during the winning streak? Quite frankly... I don't have the answers to those questions.  What I do know is that when this team plays with energy and a physical fore-check, they have the ability to beat just about any team in the league.

• I want to clarify my thoughts on Marcel Noebels.  I don't think Noebels is being a selfish player.  I think there is a very clear distinction between a guy trying to do “too much" and a guy who plays selfishly.  Marcel Noebels cares. He definitely wants the team to succeed and I think he would be the first one to say that he isn't happy about the -15 sitting next to his name.  If anything he might care TOO much, which is why I believe he is trying so hard to force the play to make things happen.  I have faith that he will figure out that balance between laying back and forcing the action.
• What an interesting night for Shea Theodore.  Earlier in the game he was really struggling. There was a shift on the PP where he must have given the puck away 3 or 4 times and actually needed Dave Sutter to bail him out a couple of times (which is amazing, more on that in a second). Then he winds up sending a wrister home for the game tying goal after a great face-off win by Tyler Alos and getting the first star of the game.  Just goes to show the types of inconsistencies that will show up more with talented 16 year old players.
• Sutter.  I've spent a lot of words writing about Sutter and I think it's for good reason.  He is inconsistent and he is a lighting rod for complaints by Seattle fans. I can't really defend his play lately and it reached a point last night where I might be starting to change my mind a little.  I think Sutter has loads of potential. If I were an NHL team I would definitely be looking at him as an under the radar free agent signing.  One moment Sutter will blast a slap shot, hustle back to save Theodore and make some very smart decisions with the puck. The next moment he might make a terrible decision with the puck, nearly fall down, turn the puck over and get beat around the outside... which is exactly what happened on the first Broncos goal.  I really believe that with another couple years of working on his skating and his decision making abilities you could really have an impact player.  The problem is... Seattle can't really afford to wait two or three more years since he is 19 years old. A maddening problem.
• Chance Lund with a greasy game winner. I love seeing guys park in front of the net and pick up greasy goals.
• Evan Wardley made his season debut and did so as a winger.  After what I would call a nervous start he looked like he was able to settle into the game a little bit. Having a guy who can play a little bit of forward and some defense can be valuable.
• Alos had a big face-off win that got the puck to Theodore for the game tying goal and finished the night +1. He's starting to come around.
• Calvin Pickard was his usual solid... but I bet he would like that first goal by Taylor Vause back.  Pickard was beaten 5-hole and while it was an excellent shot by Vause, that isn't the type of shot that goaltenders like giving up.
• Quick word about being an idiot.  Yes, I am an idiot... what's your point.  I appreciate the kind words of in my "defense".  Seriously, they aren't necessary but they are very much appreciated.  A year and half ago I probably would have let things like that get me down... but these days I honestly couldn't care less. If you're calling me an idiot, well that means you're still reading what I write which is good by me.

Seattle moves into a tie for 6th place in the Western Conference with 23 points in 24 games. They will have a chance to get back to .500 when they host the Tri-City Americans on Friday night followed by a trip to Portland on Saturday (so it won't be easy).

Loss Friday, Loss Saturday, Game Tonight

Unfortunately, I have a real job and that job has been killing me the past few days. I'm sorry for that and as a result this is going to be pretty short and sweet as well.

• Anyone who thought Seattle had become an elite team after wins (home) over Tri-City, Portland and Regina got a reality sized smack in the face on Friday and Saturday night. So what does all of this mean? Are the Tbirds bad? Are they good? Answer: Neither. What it means is that this team isn't terrible but it also isn't elite and you're going to get some really good games and some really ugly games.
• Let's take a look at Friday first. Prince George really isn't a very good team but Seattle didn't show the necessary amount of urgency and it eventually caught up to them.  Sure, the tying goal scored by the Cougars was extremely lucky but if Seattle had scored 3 or 4 goals it never would have been an issue.  Unfortunately, they showed a complete lack of urgency and allowed the Cougars to hang around in the game long enough to eventually get the game into overtime. Bad teams get rolled by bad teams at home. Good teams hammer bad teams at home and mediocre teams play just well enough to allow a fluky goal and a shootout to lose a point to bad teams.
• Saturday's game was just a complete bloodbath.  This was one of the worst performances of the season from the Tbirds.  The only consolation I can take away from this game is that Seattle drove through the night to get to Kamloops at 5:30am and the Blazers are a solid team.  The ingredients came together for a recipe of disaster.  Seattle spent nearly the entire game in their own end and Daniel Cotton could hardly be blamed for any of the 8 goals.  Shots were 50-19 in favor of the Blazers.  
• Injury added to insult, Troock was hit with an accidental high stick from Brenden Ranford that resulted in a trip to the hospital and a fractured "first rib" that will sideline him for about 4 weeks. 
• If THAT wasn't enough, Cason Machacek took a checking to the head major penalty and his suspension is still TBD as of 2:30 this afternoon.  Considering his previous discipline, I would not be surprised to see a 5 game suspension. That means that the experiment of having Kyle Verdino playing up front with the forwards will have to take a hiatus.
• One of the biggest things I kept noticing from Friday and Saturday was Marcel Noebels trying to do too much.  He must let the game come to him and quit trying to over play every situation. If you don't think there is a correlation between how he is playing and the -15 rating. That wouldn't be a big deal if the rest of the team were -15 or worse but his rating ranks last on the team with the closest being Luke Lockhart and Jared Hauf at -11.
• Speaking of plus/minus ratings. Seattle now has no player in positive territory and Brendan Rouse's 0 leads regulars.
• On a brighter note.  I like the way Tyler Alos has been playing lately and it seems like it has been a long time since I was able to single him out in a good way.

Everyone needs to take a deep breath (myself included) and realize that every season is going to have their ups and downs. Even the 19-6 Tri-City Americans got hammered by Spokane 7-2 and lost to the lowly Everett Silvertips 6-3 earlier in the season.  It is important to keep from focusing on one game or a just a handful of games and look at the bigger/overall picture.

Let's see how they bounce back against a very beatable Swift Current team tonight.

No WJC for Pickard

I will have some time today to write my thoughts about the games on Friday and Saturday but I wanted to get this up first.  I suppose that things could change but as of this morning Calvin Pickard will not be getting an invite to the World Junior camp for Team Canada.

A full list of the invites can be found here.

3 in a row??

Seattle officially has a winning "streak" after their 3rd straight win, defeating the Regina Pats last night 5-2. The Birds once again got off to what I would call a bit of a slow start, though not as bad as we have seen previously. Regina was able to capitalize on two occasions late in the period to take a 2-0 lead.  Seattle responded under a minute later as Branden Troock got his first of two goals on the night.  Tyler Alos took a shot from the top of the circle left of the goaltender and Troock saw the puck deflect off of his chest and into the goal.  That particular goal was a huge momentum builder as Seattle went into the first intermission down only by 1 goal.  Troock added a second when he poked the puck past a sprawled Matt Hewitt to tie the game in the 2nd period, setting the stage for Seattle to extend their winning streak if they could produce a solid 3rd period.  Burke Gallimore captured the lead that would not be surrendered just 6:28 into the period as he ripped one off the bar and in from the slot area after a Regina turnover. Kyle Verdino and Chance Lund finished the scoring as Regina appeared to tire down the stretch and the Tbirds picked up their 10th win of the season.

• A very good night for Troock, not just because of the 2 goals, but because of the way in which they were scored.  Both were greasy goals that were the result of going to the net hard and hanging around the crease area. Troock is going to get his fair share of flashy goals but this is how (eventually) you take your scoring to the next level.
• No offense to Troock, but I thought the real star of the game was Gallimore.  For the 3rd night in a row, Gallimore looked like he had fire in his belly and led the way with some bone crushing hits.  That right there is how this team has to play in order to win.  They must be able to use their size to a physical advantage on the fore-check to create turnovers and create scoring chances.  Gallimore was so good, he is still being listed as both the 2nd and 3rd stars on the scoresheet!
• What a beautiful feed by Luke Lockhart to Verdino on the Power Play for the 4th goal of the game.  Verdino pinched down the backside of the zone and Lockhart hesitated for just a split second to make sure he had the passing lane and fed a tape to tape pass and Verdino tapped in for the score.  Seattle had 3 PP chances last night and looked very good on the 1st and scored on their 3rd chance.
• Chance Lund finished the scoring with a nice individual effort and a blast from just inside the blue line that was ever so slightly deflected by the Regina defender and found the back of the net.  Lund is coming on strong again.
• 16 year olds Jared Hauf and Shea Theodore were paired up together last night and played wonderfully in doing so. Both seem to be getting more comfortable by the game and even though neither had points last night they were both +3 on the evening.
• Brendan Rouse suffered an injury in the first period and didn't return.  A report I received had his hand taped up and he was sitting upstairs with the Scratches in the 2nd period.
• Not a lot of ice time for Connor Sanvido who appears to be in the coach's doghouse again.
• Marcel Noebels is so talented.... he just has got to quit trying to do too much with the puck.  It seems like he is trying to create the perfect setup on every shift when I think he would be more successful keeping things simpler.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.  Be thankful for your families, and the 3 game winning streak! Seattle welcomes in the Prince George Cougars on Friday with a chance to run their streak to 4 games.

Can I still go back to Saturday?

Before we move on to Regina tonight and Prince George on Friday, I’ll finally give my thoughts about the Saturday game.  Seattle picked up their second straight impressive victory over a quality opponent beating the Portland Winterhawks 6-3 before a crowd of 4,538 at ShoWare Center. The Thunderbirds chased goaltender Brendan Burke in the second period which was the first time in a long time that I recall Seattle truly chasing a goaltender out of the game. As a fellow goaltender, I hate seeing that happen to any goalie, but those nights do happen. He's young, he'll probably bounce back. The Tbirds now find themselves solidly in the playoff picture (with an obviously long way to go) with 18 points and a win percentage of .450. Everett and Prince George currently bring up the rear at .292 respectively.

• Chance Lund started the season hot, cooled off a bit, and has since picked up the pace again.  Lund tied the game at 1-1 with an impressive individual effort just over a minute after former Tbird Charles Wells opened the scoring.  Lund had a goal and an assist to go with his +2 rating. His 13 points have already tied his career high from last season when he also had 6 goals and 7 assists. Also important is the imrprovement in his plus/minus rating and the fact that he has only 2 PIMs on the season.
• Seattle had so many chances that the score could have looked much worse much earlier in the game if it weren’t for a bit of bad luck. I counted 3 post shots including 2 by Justin Hickman in the early part of the game. Seattle was definitely buzzing early this time as the shots were 13-12 in favor of the WHawks in the first period.
• Speaking of Hickman, he made one of the smartest plays I have seen all year on the Penalty Kill that led to a Luke Lockhart shorthanded goal.  Hickman gained control of the puck in the neutral zone as Seattle went for a change and instead of just dumping the puck or forcing the rush, he patiently carried the puck wide and waited for support.  That support came in the form of Lockhart who jumped off the bench in front of the also changing Winterhawks and Hickman sprung him for the partial breakaway he was able to convert. Very heady play by Hickman.
• Lockhart wound up with a goal and two assists on the game and Seattle desperately needs him to get things going if they want to continue to play at this level. Lockhart is still well off his point pace from last season but hopefully this game will really get him going.
• Given time and space, I'm not sure there is a better shooter in the league than Burke Gallimore.  Unfortunately for him, getting that time and space can be difficult, but when he has it, he doesn't often miss.  That was exactly the case on both of his goals, he was left open in the slot area with time to get off a good shot... their goaltender had no chance.
• I have been very pleasantly surprised by the excellent play of Brad Deagle.  Deagle notched 3 assists on Saturday night and he now has 7 points in 18 games. Over 72 games that would give him 28 points (not much) but when you combine that with a respectable plus/minus (-3) and only 10 PIMs in 18 games, you have a pretty solid contributor.
• Tip of the hat to Shea Theodore who ultimately chased Burke with his first WHL goal.
• Seattle needed to somehow contain Portland's biggest studs and they were able to do that as previously on fire Sven Bartschi went pointless with a -4 and Ty Rattie was pointless with a -5. You just aren't going to see that very often from those two quality players.
• Mac Carruth appeared to "crotch" Branden Troock with about 2 minutes left.  It's too bad Pickard isn't the fighting type because that would have been a good spot for somebody to stick up for Troock. I'm guessing Carruth may get what is coming to him one of these days.
• Officiating left a lot to be desired but I'm just so tired of complaining about that.
• My wife ripped the twine for a free turkey after the game that I will be happily deep-frying on Thursday afternoon.  Wish me luck in attempting to keep my house from burning down.
• Two solid wins moved Seattle up to 15th in the latest Massey Ratings.
• Calvin Pickard earned CHL goaltender of the week honors for his two victories.

Seattle gets Regina at home tonight before the Thanksgiving holiday and then welcomes in Prince George on Friday.

Big win for Seattle over the Ams

There is the formula.  You want to see how the Thunderbirds could be successful this season?? Last night at ShoWare Center, we witnessed the exact blueprint for beating anyone in the WHL.  It wasn't a dominating performance (like Vancouver hanging an 11 spot on Victoria last night), and it wasn't necessarily the most impressive victory I have ever seen, but it was the style of game Seattle needs to play in order to win this year.  They were out-shot overall but didn't allow the Americans too many great scoring chances, kept shots mostly to the outside and were able to clear the rebounds that Calvin Pickard wasn't able to control.  Pickard picked up his 8th career shutout, 3 of which have been against the Americans. I tweeted last night that I thought the first team to score would win and that was certainly the case.  Let's not get too excited about one victory (a home one at that) but if Seattle can get more consistency playing this style of game, I think the playoffs are in our future.

• I hate complaining about officiating but I find myself doing it more often than I would like.  There were some odd calls last night. Sean Aschim got called for a "Kneeing" when the replay showed his knee never even touched the other player. Jacob Doty gets called for a Delay of the Game on a play where the Ams player had his stick on Doty's stick then the same play happens 5 minutes later at the other end and isn't called.  Kyle Verdino gets called for checking from behind on a play where the Ams player clearly saw him and turned his back at the last second.  Brad Deagle makes a wonderful defensive play on a 1 on 1 and gets called for tripping on what looked like a pretty darn legal open ice check and last but not least Verdino gets called for tripping on a play where it looked like he barely bumped the Ams player.  I'm not saying it was one-sided either, I just happened to remember the bad called against the Birds because... well... I'm a fan.
• Seattle started slowwwwwww again with Tri-City jumping out to a 7-1 lead in shots through about 8 minutes of play but they were able to rebound with some spirit for the rest of the first period trailing in shots only 14-13 at the end of the 1st. The Americans are going to win a lot of games this season and being able to withstand the initial rush and stay in the game was a factor in the win.
• Big Big Big Power Play goal by Aschim started the scoring. It was the only Power Play goal scored by either team in the game as they combined to go 1-15 with the man advantage. It goes without saying that one reason Seattle was able to win the game was the effective play by their Penalty Killing units, forcing Tri-City into an 0-8 scoring opportunities.
• Chance Lund picked up a goal on a nice feed by Burke Gallimore.  I thought Gallimore struggled for the first and second periods but managed to pick up his game when it mattered most in the third period with the helper to Lund and the empty net goal to close the scoring.
• Calvin Pickard had a legitimate chance to notch the empty netter before Gallimore did but just wasn't about to get any juice behind the clearing attempt. Pickard covered his face in mocking shame after Gallimore put the game away.
• Pickard was otherwise excellent.  He made saves through screens and held onto a ton of pucks, eliminating rebounds.  For the most part the shots he wasn't able to control he was able to steer to the corners.  This is exactly why you give elite goaltenders time to work through tiny struggles.  You give them some solid defense in front of them, keep the shots to the outside where he can see and handle them and let them make a couple of key saves to win you a ballgame.

Seattle gets right back to work tonight against the also hot Portland Winterhawks. Sven Bartschi has been absolutely on fire lately with 4 straight 3 point games and 30 points in his last 11 games.