From a fans point of view, the only major D breakdown was Barberio-Oberg getting split once for a breakaway. I thought Korobov did a good job of breaking up passes, apparently he doesn't speak English well though which will hold him back.
Korobov had a pretty bad turnover in the slot during the third, but otherwise played solid. (though I only watched the third and ot/shootout)
I didn't really catch the line combos though. I think Palat-Johnson-Conacher was one, but I was trying to watch and do other things at the same time. Maybe someone can clear that up for me?
T. Richard and C. Paquette are playing well in junior. It makes the orgs young C depth look much better,
Johnson-short,fast,2way,5'10"
Killorn-does most things well,6'1"
Namestnikov-gritty,2way,playmaker,6'0"
Richard-gritty,2way,playmaker,6'0"
Paquette-gritty,2way,shooter,6'1"
Peca-short,fast,2way,5'9"
The Lightning are really lacking in 2way forwards, so it's good to see so many prospects who are good that way. It would be good to have a 6'3" guy in there somewhere for when Vinny hangs up his skates, but otherwise I'm happy with our C depth.
Korobov had a pretty bad turnover in the slot during the third, but otherwise played solid. (though I only watched the third and ot/shootout)
I didn't really catch the line combos though. I think Palat-Johnson-Conacher was one, but I was trying to watch and do other things at the same time. Maybe someone can clear that up for me?
The line combos were something like
Labrie - Angelidis - Wyman
Palat - Johnson - Conacher
Panik - Killorn - Brown
Namestnikov - Connolly
I realize one game does not a season make but to the Tampa bay organization, THANK YOU. What I say tonight was a hard working team that sticks together and plays every shift. Over 6300 Crunch fans in attendance and the place had electricity like I have not seen on Opening Night in years.
Gudas and Helenius got team awards after the win. Players hand out them out after wins
Quote:
Originally Posted by crunchrulz
I realize one game does not a season make but to the Tampa bay organization, THANK YOU. What I say tonight was a hard working team that sticks together and plays every shift. Over 6300 Crunch fans in attendance and the place had electricity like I have not seen on Opening Night in years.
It's not the exact team that won the Calder Cup last year and went unbeaten 28 straight games, but Syracuse still inherited a terrific team with plenty of great players. It's going to be a fun season.
A couple of random thoughts since other already put the game recaps up.
This time fights hard. Lots of hitting, they don't back down at all. The Ducks prospects were quite frankly soft. So it's real nice to see that. At one point Connolly and Conacher were throwing punches in a scrum. Don't necessarily want to see them drop the gloves often, but if they won't back down the others won't either.
Yeah, Conacher bowled over Holtby a couple of times. Once he got called for it, but IMO he was forced into that one.
Barberio has a outstanding wrister from the point. He didn't get any by tonight, but it's hard and low. His stick work and poise is top notch as well.
Brown and Namestnikov were on the fourth line so didn't get much ice time. But what I noticed was that Brown is Fast. Real fast. Namestnikov looked like a 19 year old rookie. Can see the skill but he needs time to adjust.
Taormina I think might frustrate me all year. He made a few really nice plays, but also a few boneheaded ones. I tend to watch the defense more closely than the forwards, so that stands out to me.
Helnius kept the Crunch in the game at times. He stood on his head at least 3 times to keep the puck out. Wasn't pretty but it worked.
I was excited to see this team before the game, and nothing tonight dampened that. Looking forward to a great year.
Hey guys. very good hockey game. I wish I could give you insightful details but my wife and kids came with me. From what I could grasp out of this game is Alex Killorn and Cory Conacher are NHL caliber. The whole team skated hard every shift but these two were just noticeable making good passes, good positioning and back checking. The whole team played great and there was alot of energy in the building. I might make the trip to Bingo next week.
