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Post by thepuckman on Sept 27, 2014 10:40:11 GMT -5
The Spirit welcome the Sarnia Sting to the Dow Event Center for the 2nd game of the year for each. Both teams were throttled in their first games, Saginaw against Erie and Sarnia up at the Soo.
Here's hoping for a better effort tonight. These are going to be important games if the Spirit have any hopes of making the playoffs.
A big thanks to the Dow Event Center for scheduling a concert at First Merit event park tonight. If you're coming to the game, leave early. Parking might be an issue.
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Post by kingpin794 on Sept 27, 2014 11:04:00 GMT -5
Haha. Had to take down my GDT. You beat me to it.
Seems like disappointing openers has been a theme this week. London and Guelph blanked by Plymouth and Belleville respectively. Niagara, seen as a favorite in the east, lost 3-1 to Sudbury, who is seen by many as the worst team in the league.
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Post by kidowsley on Sept 27, 2014 11:46:13 GMT -5
Unless it's the Stones @ First Merit tonight, guessing there will plenty of parking to accommodate both events
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twinsdad
2nd Liner
Rocky Hockey
Posts: 164
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Post by twinsdad on Sept 27, 2014 13:58:54 GMT -5
Alright, that was funny <tips hat to kidowsley>. I will be at the Rob Zombie concert myself. Perhaps I can give a review of the mosh pit later. Hope the Spirit will win without me. I sure didn't help when I was there Wednesday.
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Post by USAhockey on Sept 27, 2014 17:16:38 GMT -5
Im predicting another bad bad loss tonight. I'm going to say 7-2 Sarnia. I'm sorry but the goaltending is just way to bad. I hope I'm wrong I really do
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Post by eric8199 on Sept 27, 2014 17:20:40 GMT -5
Goaltending was far from the only issue Wednesday night.
Nick Moutrey tweeted yesterday he was headed back to Saginaw. Any chance he's dressed tonight?
Edit: Both Moutrey and Lodge are dressed tonight.
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Post by kingpin794 on Sept 27, 2014 21:06:42 GMT -5
Spirit win 4-3 OT
-Played ALOT better tonight compared to Erie (who btw maybe be better than everyone thought). Thought we controlled the play most of the night. Plenty of quality of looks at goals for us but Fazio helped keep Sarnia in it.
-Serebryakov, minus the first goal, played pretty well. Better positioning than I usually see from him and he made the difficult saves like he tends to do. He remembered most of the easy ones this time though.
-Can't let Kodola skate around like that at the end of the third. Just can't.
-Sneaky job by Jimmy at the end there. Knocks the stick out of Nikandrov (sp?) hands. Nikandrov responds by showing Lodge in the face. Jimmy sells it well and just like that we got a PP that leads to the winner.
-Top guys for me were Crawford, Holmes, and Stephens (duh). Crawford is growing on me. Makes good passes and knows when to pinch. Holmes looks like he could eat up minutes in the future. Not gonna knock you out or put up points. He's the kind of guy that relys on the smart plays. And Stephens did what he had to do. If we're gonna do anything this year, he's got to take that step forward. 2 goals in close. Good way to make people stop questioning your size is to get goals in close.
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Post by ohlhcky on Sept 27, 2014 22:41:15 GMT -5
Much better tonight.... Erie is a better than I expected . Serebryakov just ok first and third not great. Good win for sure !!!
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Post by spiritfan8 on Sept 27, 2014 23:26:02 GMT -5
Can't believe Crawford wasn't at least an honorable mention--he had 3 points and played well.
Much better effort tonight, even though yes, Erie might be better than we thought. (Finished first weekend of season 3-0 on a long road trip)
Ref 13 (Chris Thornton, I think?) called 4 check to the head minors tonight. He must get a bonus if anyone gets suspended due to too many of them per the new rule. And no way did I think Callaghan deserved that CTTH--right in front of me, a BIG collision, pure and simple)
And speaking of new rules--does anybody think taking 7-10 minutes to dry scrape the ice after regulation is a good idea???
I'm seeing a lot of guest puck droppers with long intros in our future--it's the only way they'll be able to get the people with the flags off the ice before the game starts.
Still formulating opinions on the team--too soon for me to commit myself.
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Post by spiritfan8 on Sept 27, 2014 23:26:23 GMT -5
Can't believe Crawford wasn't at least an honorable mention--he had 3 points and played well.
Much better effort tonight, even though yes, Erie might be better than we thought. (Finished first weekend of season 3-0 on a long road trip)
Ref 13 (Chris Thornton, I think?) called 4 check to the head minors tonight. He must get a bonus if anyone gets suspended due to too many of them per the new rule. And no way did I think Callaghan deserved that CTTH--right in front of me, a BIG collision, pure and simple)
And speaking of new rules--does anybody think taking 7-10 minutes to dry scrape the ice after regulation is a good idea???
I'm seeing a lot of guest puck droppers with long intros in our future--it's the only way they'll be able to get the people with the flags off the ice before the game starts.
Still formulating opinions on the team--too soon for me to commit myself.
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Post by eric8199 on Sept 28, 2014 0:07:19 GMT -5
I thought both Cairns and Clarke played really well tonight too. Also #88, Atemov or something like that. (Too lazy to look it up). I've been watching him and he's a hard worker and can make some nifty moves with the puck. He may be one to watch down the road.
Overall, night and day difference from Wednesday.
While we're complaining about things, anyone else think the opening light rig is a little excessive? I mean, I've never suffered from epilepsy, but I feel like a seizure is coming on every time that darned thing flashes. It's a little too bright when it's pitch black in there.
Or maybe I'm just getting old. Haha.
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Post by ohlhcky on Sept 28, 2014 7:29:05 GMT -5
Not sure why everyone gets so negative when it is such a young team. It is going to be a up and down season and realize most likely playoffs will be difficult to reach. As long as the young players develop the Spirit will be better off in the coming years.
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Post by donjohnson on Sept 28, 2014 7:35:56 GMT -5
Alright, that was funny <tips hat to kidowsley>. I will be at the Rob Zombie concert myself. Perhaps I can give a review of the mosh pit later. Hope the Spirit will win without me. I sure didn't help when I was there Wednesday. How was the concert? Sure seemed like there were a lot of people there...definitely not a fan of Rob Zombie but lots are and when we left the game it was cool to see all the lights and hear the music from the FM Pavilion. |
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Post by Disco Stu on Sept 28, 2014 11:41:38 GMT -5
Marcus Crawford was the #1 star of last night's game, with Stephens a close second.
I was happy to see the star players play like star players, especially Cairns and Stephens. Sadowy, Clarke, Lodge, and Moutrey did not have the offense going, but they didn't allow that to get in the way of doing the little things well.
It might be jumping the gun to say this after 2 games, but Marcus Crawford is going to be the best defenseman to play for the Spirit since TJ Brodie. He is the only Spirit defenseman (other than De Sousa, ha ha ha) to not allow a goal while on the ice over the first two games.
In fact, I would almost consider bringing Subban back to be the 7th defenseman and send Middleton to whichever team Crawford played for last year for the season. Crawford is so polished that he must have benefitted from wherever it was that he played, and I think Middleton is going to be a good one, but needs polish.
Let me put it to you this way. Would I rather Middleton turn out like Brandon Prophet at 17 or like Marcus Crawford at 17. One played in the OHL at 16, the other one played down a level. I really think there is advantages to playing down a level at 16. By the way, TJ Brodie also played down a level when he was 16.
As long as I am carrying on about defensemen, the first goal was allowed with Orban and Holmes on the ice. The second goal was allowed with Orban and Holmes on the ice. The third goal, which tied the game and came with a minute and 11 seconds left in the game, was allowed with....well, you see what I am getting at. If the Spirit defense coach is responsible for choosing which defensemen are on the ice, then he has to learn how to get better at his job. Hopefully he learns quickly. I don't blame Orban and Holmes for nearly costing us the game, they weren't having a great night. The coach was unable to figure out that they weren't having a great night, and decided to put them out in a key situation. To me, that is more of a coaching mistake.
Re: Zambonis - perhaps the NHL changed the rules in the offseason and this replaces the dry scrape. Did you also notice that the goalies changed ends and that OT features the long change?
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Post by spiritfan8 on Sept 28, 2014 12:52:46 GMT -5
Interesting thought re: Middleton, Stu, because I agree that Prophet has not developed like I thought he would. Lots of possible reasons, but no question that Crawford looks good. I remember when Brodie stayed down a year. It wasn't a popular decision at the time, but it paid big dividends. With the exception of players like Aaron Eckblad (and possibly Jacob Chynchruk (sp) a lot of young d-men could benefit from the extra time in Midgets, I think. Middleton has a ton of upside--it will be enlightening to see how the Spirit bring him along.
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