"CAL-GARY SUCKS! CAL-GARY SUCKS! CAL-GARY SUCKS!" -LRT Station Oilers fans.
"Go Flames Go! Go Flames Go! Go Flames Go!" -30 or so Calgary fans that came in after the chant died down
"CAL-GARY SUCKS! CAL-GARY SUCKS! CAL-GARY SUCKS!" - Oilers fans drown out the Flames fans.
Wow....I knew people were hockey-starved but seriously wow, that was awesome. Great fun being at a sold-out preseason game. The reg. season is going to be insane, especially when Calgary or Vancouver are here, great stuff.
The only not so great stuff is that people seem to have forgotten how to walk in the concourse areas....UGH!
I was almost thinking something like this would happen tonight, pleasantly surprised that it did.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMNT- Hot Dog 'B' was clearly better than Hot Dog 'A' tonight. There was nothing 'A' about said dog's game, he just didn't play a full sixty, and his taste suffered, too bad!
Oh wait.....there were hockey players too!
PLAYER REPORTS
Members of the "I kinda stunk tonight" club. (note the kinda)
-Jani Rita-
Oh boy, just not looking right out there. He drove the net well.....once......and didn't look interested out there much at all. Him and Dicaz, who won't even get his own spot in this report despite decent work on the PK, weighed down Schremp all night. They're not as ready as he is, which says something very negative about Rita.
-Dan Smith-
Took a nice shot, but that was about it. He's not a 7th defencemen. Iffy reads, not very poised with the puck, just didn't like it.
-Marc-Andre Bergeron-
Tough call on him tonight, I liked the pass he made to Dvorak, beauty, and a couple other nice plays he made, but he coulda been better on the powerplay, and his 5-on-5 wasn't so hot. Nothing to worry about, I just expect more from him.
-Alex Semenov-
I'm a little worried about Alex, which I don't want to be because he needs to play well for us. He's always trying to avoid the new penalties, and in some cases not doing a good job and letting it affect his willingness to engage forwards and contain them. Nothing outwardly terrible tonight, but he's just not quite there right now, oh well.
-The line of Radek Dvorak-Shawn Horcoff-Ryan Smyth-
The line wasn't good tonight. They didn't really get anything done whatsoever. I
ndividually in other areas they were not bad at all, although Horcoff and Smyth both missed wide-open gifts from Schremp. Radek showed alot more moxie than I'm used to from him in the pre-season. I don't think this combo is going to work out, they don't seem suited to each other. Here's hoping things get moved around.
-Cory Cross-
Kinda out of it, kinda slow, nothing horrendous just not what I expect out of Cory. He usually has more solid games than this one.
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Middle of the road
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-Jarret Stoll-
Played with some go tonight, did well for himself on the point of the powerplay including a nice shot for a goal that can have the credit go to Smyth, Pronger, and Schremp mainly. Schremp for keeping the play alive a couple times, and making a nice pass to Horcoff, Pronger for commanding the respect he does from the opposition on the point and using it to his advantage, and Smyth for the nice screen. Can't score without the shot though, way to go Jarret.
-Raffi Torres-
Played hard-nosed solid hockey. Shoulda generated more offence than he did.
-Fernando Pisani-
Is rounding into a very nice player to have on the team. Certainly more confident and patient now, probably shoulda scored tonight though, which keeps him from the high grade.
-Danny Syvret-
He'll make it in a year or two. A little more nervous than a guy like Schremp, but fairly composed. Nice defensive play in OT I believe it was and nice passing of course. Needs to be a little more confident in his skating the puck up ice, he does it well and isn't taking advantage.
-JFJ and Georges-
Neither was great, neither was bad. JFJ is still a little slow for me for this team, hope he can grab another step or two. Georges wasn't as good in the corners as he needs to be, but I see some more jump than in years past.
-Todd Harvey-
Played a fairly solid game tonight. Other than that he's lost his shooting ability, he was very solid, very visibly vocal with his teammates, and out there making a difference. Nice to see!
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Best of the Night
-Robbie Schremp-
He was good tonight despite being stuck with bad linemates 5-on-5. Made some magical plays on the PP. Just has this presence that screams "Put me in the NHL" out there right now. Too bad he didn't score in the shootout, or on a couple decent chances. Disappointed no one put away his rebounds and passes. He and Pronger make that PP go, there is no doubt.
-Chris Pronger-
Didn't even have to play that well to get here. His mere presence changes the dynamic of that powerplay and it's entirely visible. Really thought he was going to win it in the shootout.
-Mike Morrison-
GREAT game tonight from Mike. Probably shoulda been the first star, or at least ahead of Byron Ritchie......UGH! Several outstanding saves including a beauty recovery in the shootout. Well done Mike!
-JDD-
Way to jump that bench and keep the hair in place! See ya on the 21st!
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Well, I guess we're semi-official now. It'll be interesting to see how the white squad does on Sunday, I don't hold out as much hope. A tad alarmed at the lack of goals tonight, but it was just the first pre-season game, and our depth wasn't there to supply pressure. They are going to have a really hard time sending Robbie down if he keeps these kind of games up. There was maybe two plays he made that weren't quite right. Made so many nice passes, awesome.
People are insanely excited this year, I sure hope the team can come out the right way and get the people behind them early. Nothing like coasting behind a rabid fanbase to make things just a little easier.
Got to sit in some excellent seats tonight thanks to the best usher in Rexall Place. She's awesome, now if she'll just become LMHF#3......
My throat hurts already!
LMHF#1 out!
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