Huge win. Milroy to snap the futility streak with 51 ticks left, Price with a big solid effort including in the SO, and the boys to get a big two points on the road and snap a dry spell with a good overall effort if not for a hot Moose goalie.
I see from the AHL standings that the team has been playing better recently..... how have the individuals been doing? is there an update recently or someone who has been following the team can give the +'s and -'s?
sorry if i'm missing an obvious post but i looked around and couldn't find anything recent...
I see from the AHL standings that the team has been playing better recently..... how have the individuals been doing? is there an update recently or someone who has been following the team can give the +'s and -'s?
sorry if i'm missing an obvious post but i looked around and couldn't find anything recent...
There's a thread at the top for Hamilton, there's a bunch of game reports and info in there. I'll move this to that thread later on.
The team is doing better but still inconsistent, they have a young and inexperienced defense made up 3 rookies (Valentenko, Carle, Martin) and there's Gleed who has very little AHL experience to go with vets like Cote, Archer and Degon.
Price has been impressive of late, has looked sharp the past two games especially.
D'Agostini has picked up his play after a sluggish start where had did have some injury problems. He's producing offense with shots and passes, using his speed to create things on the ice.
Aubin has slowed down after some good games when he first got called up.
Locke continues to put points on the board, Ferland continues to work hard although his goal production has dropped a bit. Chipchura started to be more noticeable offensively until the injury although it sounds minor so hopefully he can get back soon and continue to work on his offensive game.
The Valentenko-Degon pairing seems to be working out well, Valentenko has really stepped up his game, he was constantly going for the big hit and putting himself out of position, but now he's shown a great deal of improvement in picking his spots. He's also using that cannon of a shot more.
OK, I'm in there on the B2 network to check out my man Valentenko, and also Carey Price and D'Agostini, and all of the others. 0-0 after 1 period. Haven't seen a darned thing of the game yet.
The period got better as it went along, some encouraging signs for the Dogs tonight. It started well as Corso burst around the outside of the RD and cut to the net, drawing a penalty in the process. Good to see him flying out there, gives the Dogs another dimension with Grabovski on the sidelines. On the PP, not a lot happened. Lemieux made a nice play to just about beat a Dman one on one. From the left wing, he faked outside and cut across the rink, the Dman was able to stay just about with him and interfere with his shot. Lemieux took his time, got the puck on his backhand and as he went across the top of the crease, put a low shot on net which MacIntyre stopped with the handle of his stick.
Valentenko looks good again. Usual physical play from him. At one point, he got shoved from behind. He went right at the guy responsible and as he had the puck, gave him a much harder shove as soon as he could. He fanned on a pass in the neutral zone at one point, giving the puck away, but he used his feet and his strength to quickly make amends and stop the play before it really developed. Used his shot a bit on the PP. Loved seeing the Moose give him time to wind up, I hope they continue to make that mistake.
Price has been solid so far. Stopped everything he faced, when there has been a scramble around the net his teammates helped out. The only play he looked a little soft on he got an early whistle to bail him out. The Dogs had just had a PP end and play headed into their zone with the guy coming out of the box to make it a 2 on 2. Carle slipped and allowed the guy coming out of the box to get a shot on goal as he went to the net. Price looked like he was going to cover it, but couldn't quite get his glove over it. The whistle went with the puck loose in front of his glove. But he has done well so far, looks quite alert which is good to see.
Elsewhere, Ferland took a penalty and once it ended, started a rush up the right wing, firing a backhand on goal from a bad angle to allow time for a line change. Degon did well to draw a call in his own end. He had a decent period IMO. D'Agostini had the best chance of the period. He took a pass in the left circle, protected the puck briefly as he moved to the middle of the ice and spun around, firing the puck on goal. It hit the post and bounced out to safety. Unlucky break, but if they can get the puck behind MacIntyre then that bodes well.
Good work from the Dogs, they need to keep pushing and hopefully some of their chances will go in. Chipchura is still out, Lahti is a healthy scratch, Grabs and Biron "1 or 2 weeks away".
Despite the lack of goals, it's a decent game so far. A mixture of good PKing and a degree of ineptitude from the various PPs is helping ensure the continued lack of goals.
Once again, Corse got the Dogs first chance of the period. after some pressure in the Dogs zone, Corso got the puck and sped up the ice. He went wide and fired a backhand shot on goal. Low percentage shot but nice turnaround after the chances in the Dogs zone. Not long later, Carle gave the puck away in his own zone but Price was able to stop a shot from in close to bail him out. In fact, Price continued to make saves, even when things were easy for him. On one PK, he managed to stop a shot and ccover the rebound with a forward falling on top of him. Later on, he had a another Moose fall behind him who seemed to be trying to impeed him as play developed. The forward wouldn't get up and Price had to keep track of a point shot with a Moose in his feet. No call, which was a surprise. Later on, Martin got mugged in his own zone and still no call. After the softie on Ferland in the first, I figured more would be called tonight, but things are a little inconsistant so far.
The Dogs faced 32 seconds of 5 on 3. Cote was going to be the first man out of the box and the faceoff was in the Dogs end. Lever put 1 D and 2 forwards (Baines, Manlow and Tank) on the ice for the kill. I liked that call, with Cote coming out of the box soon, it was a good call to have everyone playing their proper position. Of course, play stopped before Cote got out and new players came out, but I still like the thinking of Lever on that one, well done Don.
The Dogs faced a 2 on 1, with Tank the last Dman back. The puck was on the right wing and Tank was already there with a wide open man right by the net. Tank left his feet and dropped to the ground as the forward with the puck tried to go around him. He almost did it, but even though Tank was flat on the ice, he still reached out and swiped the puck to safety. Great play, if a little fortuneate. At the other end, D'Agostini fired a hard pass to the front of the net but there was no conversion.
Price got high sticked by Rypien and drew a call. Not long after, Ferland put a good hit on Fitzgerald, who proceeded to loose it. He went straight to Ferland and gave him a shove in the back. No call (rightly so). Then he hit Ferland from behind. No call (questionable). Then as Ferland skated by him, Fitzgerald intentionally got his stick in Ferlands face which was finally called, but only 2 minutes. On the PP, Locke gave the puck away at the Moose blueline but Valentenko and especially Degon did well on the backcheck to make sure nothing happened.
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