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Post by donjohnson on Feb 15, 2023 15:34:24 GMT -5
The Spirit are on the road for a nearly week long road trip spanning four games. This is a pretty critical road trip as all four of the teams are either right near us in the standings or below us.
Saginaw (55pts)
vs.
Soo (45pts)
Guelph (53pts)
Owen Sound (57pts)
Missasauga (56pts)
I'm guessing that the Spirit will still be without Misa which of course is a big loss. Someone said they saw him on crutches so I'm guessing he's going to be out another week or two at least. I said on this board many times early in the season that the team was overachieving and I think I've been proved right. Before the season, most of the predictions had us barely sneaking in the playoffs ahead of Erie and the Soo. Based on how things have been going lately, that prediction may not be too far off.
I just can't figure this team out and I think it's a lack of leadership and toughness. I don't care what the rules are for fights/suspensions...this team is in a freefall and they're all just letting it happen. They did play a little more physical last week but against these top teams filled with 19 year-olds, we're going to get pushed around. That's why this road trip is so important...we should be able to play with all 4 of these teams and if we come out as the aggressor and win a bunch of 50/50 pucks, we're going to have success because we have enough talent and good goaltending to beat these teams. A road trip is tough but if we can come away winning 3 of 4, it's going to mean A LOT when they get back home next week.
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Post by aj0512 on Feb 15, 2023 17:01:33 GMT -5
I don't have any insider info but my only hope for Misa is that his knee is structurally intact. Too many times in hockey when I see those kinds of hits, I immediately worry about a torn ACL or MCL. Just hope he's doing okay.
I'm planning on heading to the game Monday in Mississauga. The Steelheads were big sellers at the deadline, and have much to my surprise played really well since then. It's going to be a tough weekend and hopefully we are competitive.
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Post by ricardo on Feb 15, 2023 21:27:27 GMT -5
The Spirit had a tough guy in Cam Gauvreau, who was acquired from North Bay, but didn't play him much before trading him away. I thought he brought another dimension to this team that was missing.
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Post by aj0512 on Feb 15, 2023 21:43:57 GMT -5
Best game the team played in weeks tonight. 6-2 over the Soo. And a big congrats to Zayne Parekh who both tied and then broke the OHL record for most goals by a rookie defensemen (and I think did it in far less games as well).
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Post by donjohnson on Feb 15, 2023 23:00:10 GMT -5
Totally agree... We looked fast again and it looked like a different team than the soo game at home.
Awesome to see Bode Stewart get his 1st tonight... He doesn't get a lot of ice time but when he's out there I like him. I can tell you now that he'll be my pick for breakout player next year
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Post by kingpin794 on Feb 16, 2023 8:05:58 GMT -5
The only team that’s realistically going to change knock us out of the 4/5 slot is Guelph. Flint is 5 pts back, we have 2 games in hand on them, and they aren’t playing amazing. They’d have to suddenly play something like 0.675 hockey over there last 15 to catch us. Don’t see that happening. Kitchener is 8 back with a game in hand on us. They’ve dug themselves a deep hole. Same thing as Flint. Would have to play just absurdly good hockey over their last 18 to even get 5th.
This next game against Guelph is HUGE. Win that and you’re 6 pts clear with a game in hand and only 15 games left for the Storm. Lose and the gap is 2 with a match up in the second to last game of the season. Imperative to AT LEAST get a road pt on Friday. Then scrap out a few more points before the schedule picks up again. Still have Windsor, Sarnia, North Bay, Petes and Ottawa left to play. So out of the last 17, we have 12 games we at least have a 50/50 or better chance of winning. If we go 6-4-1-1 in those we end with 71. Say one of those is a win in Guelph on Friday. That means Guelph would need 19 pts in 15 games. That’s 0.633 hockey. That would really put them under the gun. Big game tomorrow.
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IB40
Bench Warmer
Posts: 44
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Post by IB40 on Feb 16, 2023 8:17:59 GMT -5
Donjohnson stated:
"I said on this board many times early in the season that the team was overachieving and I think I've been proved right. Before the season, most of the predictions had us barely sneaking in the playoffs ahead of Erie and the Soo. Based on how things have been going lately, that prediction may not be too far off."
I don't quite follow this logic considering the free fall started at the trade deadline. The chemistry and synergy the team once had evaporated instantly at that point. The impact Pavel had on this team cannot be minimized. In my opinion his absence has more to do with the downward spiral than any "over-achieving" theory.
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Post by kingpin794 on Feb 16, 2023 9:18:52 GMT -5
Donjohnson stated: "I said on this board many times early in the season that the team was overachieving and I think I've been proved right. Before the season, most of the predictions had us barely sneaking in the playoffs ahead of Erie and the Soo. Based on how things have been going lately, that prediction may not be too far off." I don't quite follow this logic considering the free fall started at the trade deadline. The chemistry and synergy the team once had evaporated instantly at that point. The impact Pavel had on this team cannot be minimized. In my opinion his absence has more to do with the downward spiral than any "over-achieving" theory. 18 of our 24 wins before the trade deadline passed were against teams that aren’t currently in the top 4 of their conference. We absolutely were blessed with a much easier first half and took advantage of it. Another 5 of those wins were against Windsor and Sarnia when they were VASTLY different teams. We still had Mintyukov when Windsor loaded up, even before Wright, and lost that game 5-2. The schedule caught up to us. Other teams got way better and this league is a 18/19 year old league. Honestly no one thought we’d be fighting for 4th or 5th this season. It’s still there for us. |
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Post by donjohnson on Feb 16, 2023 10:09:02 GMT -5
Thanks for doing the homework for me kingpin. I went to one of those games in Sarnia (even after they got Pastujov) and we totally rolled them with our 2nd-string goalie. Now they're a juggernaut and I think the favorite to win it all. We didn't have the assets to do what they did and most people don't understand that. It wasn't "giving up on the season" it was realizing who we were and more importantly who we couldn't be and a decision was made.
The other challenge that this current young team faces is that covid stole a trade deadline experience and the only other trade experience they had was an absolutely garbage trade with London for Baber, the leader of the team for a bag of beans. That trade sunk an already bad team and only at the very end of the season did they realize they could still play and they carried that into this season. This year we lost a very important player but we got a crap-ton for him and it's going to pay back in spades for most of these young guys but they have to realize that at some point and actually play their game. Last night (albeit against a marginal Soo team) they finally played like they did in the first half and maybe it will continue. We have two very good goalies who can keep us in a lot of games and if the players skate and win 50/50 battles, we're going to have a solid 2nd half.
We traded Bloom and Hislop and got Haight, Sima and Guo. Bloom and Haight are comparable players (Bloom is probably slightly better since he's older) and Guo is an upgrade on Hislop. Sima (with his size) has been proving his worth recently when we play these big, older teams. Losing Mintuykov is a HUGE loss but it's one player who only plays probably 25min out of a 60min game. This isn't a basketball player who's on the floor 90% of the time. The team can either choose to lament his loss or decide to play like they did last night. Last night's effort may not be good enough for the top teams, but it's certainly good enough to beat the teams on this road trip and then hopefully we get Misa back at some point before the playoffs.
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Post by spiritfan8 on Feb 16, 2023 21:36:40 GMT -5
Agree with so many of these comments. I know that this sounds harsh, because these guys are,indeed, kids. But they all want to play in the NHL. Getting your dobbers down and giving up on your game because your best player got traded is something NHL execs WILL take notice of. Even if it’s in the OHL.
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Post by donjohnson on Feb 17, 2023 8:24:32 GMT -5
The Spirit had a tough guy in Cam Gauvreau, who was acquired from North Bay, but didn't play him much before trading him away. I thought he brought another dimension to this team that was missing. I totally agree but he definitely struggled defensively. You could tell compared to the others that he wasn't as comfortable making that first pass out of the zone or carrying the puck into the offensive zone. James Guo is a much better defenseman IMO. The question is where is the tradeoff? I have said for YEARS that the Spirit need more toughness but where do you trade that off for skill. I look at someone like Liam Storch...he brings absolutely zero to the table physically but seems to have a good offensive skillset that they're looking to develop. But, what's more valuable to this team...a small guy who has 4pts in 35 games or a big physical guy like that Mutter guy from Kitchener who maybe isn't as talented but gives room for the guys to skate on the ice. With the way that our defensemen skate, you can have 4 offensive minded people on the ice with one physical guy and not see any drop off. Mancini should be able to play that role next year but we'll definitely need more people who are willing to step up and play physical. Maybe Glavin will be like that, he's pretty big but if we're going to go for it next year we need to be able to push people around like Sarnia and Windsor are doing this year. |
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Post by kingpin794 on Feb 17, 2023 8:41:02 GMT -5
The Spirit had a tough guy in Cam Gauvreau, who was acquired from North Bay, but didn't play him much before trading him away. I thought he brought another dimension to this team that was missing. I totally agree but he definitely struggled defensively. You could tell compared to the others that he wasn't as comfortable making that first pass out of the zone or carrying the puck into the offensive zone. James Guo is a much better defenseman IMO. The question is where is the tradeoff? I have said for YEARS that the Spirit need more toughness but where do you trade that off for skill. I look at someone like Liam Storch...he brings absolutely zero to the table physically but seems to have a good offensive skillset that they're looking to develop. But, what's more valuable to this team...a small guy who has 4pts in 35 games or a big physical guy like that Mutter guy from Kitchener who maybe isn't as talented but gives room for the guys to skate on the ice. With the way that our defensemen skate, you can have 4 offensive minded people on the ice with one physical guy and not see any drop off. Mancini should be able to play that role next year but we'll definitely need more people who are willing to step up and play physical. Maybe Glavin will be like that, he's pretty big but if we're going to go for it next year we need to be able to push people around like Sarnia and Windsor are doing this year. Who even was that kind of guy when we were running on all cylinders? Webb was big but don’t think I’d ever think of him as someone other teams were actively avoiding. Katic sort of was a tough guy. Goldowski maybe? Murray had an edge at times. DJ King same idea. I guess adding a player who can contribute who has some grit is one thing but I hope we don’t go adding a meathead like Mutter. That type of player does NOT fit the system. We absolutely are a small team. We are among the shortest and lightest in the league. Add size but let’s make sure they bring something to the table like a McLeod or Murray. |
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Post by donjohnson on Feb 18, 2023 7:20:19 GMT -5
You just listed plenty of guys... We don't have anyone like them on the team now... Savard, Mancini, Moore, Sima, forgione all could fill those roles but no one seems to want to step up.
2-0 on the road trip thus far... Long trip but winning will help keep the energy up. Have to be able to beat these types of teams and so far so good
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Post by aj0512 on Feb 18, 2023 11:12:06 GMT -5
Potential first round playoff preview tonight in Owen Sound, and perhaps the toughest game of the trip. The Attack will be well-rested. Lennox has played the first two games, so perhaps Oke gets the nod tonight. Stewart with another goal last night, and McNamara has played well as of late. Nice to see.
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Post by eric8199 on Feb 18, 2023 11:13:38 GMT -5
Savard, Mancini, Moore, Sima, forgione all could fill those roles but no one seems to want to step up. Mancini and Forgione can't seem to stay out of the penalty box long enough to step up. So maybe they're trying and don't know how to do it correctly? I don't know, but they definitely have assigned seats in the penalty box. |
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