Saturday, November 9, 2013

Tigers Defeat Calgary 3-2 SO

The start to this game was weird you would think there was a full-moon. Daniel Wapple got his second straight start. I think this was because Marek Langhamer got injured during the third period of his last game. Their was a play where he reached side to side, and it looked like he tweaked something.

First period
Hunter Shinkaruk got the Calgary Hitmen on the board first....yes you read that right...A Hitmen shot had a rebound pop out into the slot. Shinkaruk gave the puck a whack and popped the puck through Daniel Wapple's Five-Hole....1-0 Hitmen..Calder Brooks got credited with the goal.


A few moments later one of the Tigers Defenceman let a wrist shot go from the point.  The puck hit one post....bounced through the crease..hit the other post.....and out the otherside, past sanford who was right there but the puck was bouncing.

On the powerplay Shinkaruk would redeem himself a little. Off the half-wall Miles Koules fired a shot on net. The puck hit Chris Dreidger but the replay showed the puck was still headed  into the net, but Shinkaruk slammed it in for good measure. 1-1 TIE

As Usual the Tigers had quite a few prime chances, but only converted on one chance.

2nd Period
The Tigers had a lot of borderline calls go against their way which has been a theme the last few games.

....Vannelli got called for a phantom tripping penalty after a Hitmen player lost an edge behind the net. Trevor Cox got called for goaltender interference when Driedger went skating to play a puck and Cox tried to gain advantageous body positioning which knocked the goalie over......

The Hitmen failed to score on the ensuing 5 on 3 and it gave the Tigers some life.

Halfway through the second period the Tigers would take the lead. Off the facebook Cole Sanford would grab the puck along the boards. He passed it out front to Trevor Cox who was closely watched by Josh Thrower. Cox was able to get a one-timer off which beat Driedger Glove side. 2-1 Tigers

The Calgary broadcasters are mentioning that the Officials are being pretty stingy toward counting shots on net.

The Hitmen really turned on their jets toward the end of the second Period

3rd Period
I thought the Tigers played really good defense and didn't give the Hitmen man quality chance as they were pressing really hard.

The Hitmen were able to tie the Game with 10.3 seconds left with the goalie pulled. Valk got his stick on a pass and a Hitmen defender put a soft knuckle puck shot low on the ice around Shinkaruk. Their was 4 hitmen around the crease and only 1 Tiger in Dylan Bredo. Wapple stopped the first rebound, but Kenton Helgeson potted the 3rd chance. 
2-2 TIE

OverTime
Hunter Shinkaruk got absolutely crushed from a hit from Kenton Helgeson. The Tigers got no chances on the  ensuing powerplay. They had to then kill off a penalty as Dylan Bredo received a phantom hooking call after lifting a stick on a rush by a Hitmen Forward. Daniel Wapple made some HUGE stops to keep the Tigers in the game.

Shootout
Shinkaruk was stopped with a an easy cross ice blocker save.
Radel Fazleev wwent overtop of the net on a deke where he went wide with Wapple down.
Curtis Valk put on a show with a variety of moves scoring stick side on Driedger.
Greg Chase was stopped by a glove save by Daniel Wapple
Tommy Vannelli lost control of the puck and got a weak shot along the ice
Pavel Padakin rang a shot off the iron.

Tigers Win 3-2 in a Shootout

Thoughts
I really don't like Hunter Shinkaruk on the penalty kill, or on the ice in his own zone late in the game. I feel like their are many other players better suited to defend in the Tigers own zone.

I thought the Tigers played really well in their own zone late in the second and third periods when the Hitmen were pressing. They had a bundle of scoring chances they didn't capitalize on, and that seems to be the theme in the early going.

Daniel Wapple was the reason the Tigers got the extra point. The Tigers powerplay struggled in overtime with the 4 on 3 situation and Calgary had the better of scoring chances during the Tigers powerplay, and then had a few really good chances on their own powerplay.


15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet
Victoooooooooooorry!

Stix said...

I am not impressed with #9 since him returning from Van. I do not think he is playing as a team player, he is not good enough to be a one man show and his defensive play seems worse then last year. Certainly his offensive play is as well. Not sure what is going on but I hope he figures it out and gets through this rough patch.
Valk is cold as ice. Not sure where his scoring touch went but he is a non factor in the last 5 games. He too has to find his old game and get going.
If 9 and 18 get their games back on I think we will be generating a heck of a lot of offence!!!
And lastly, Wapple is a stud and I hope has earn more consecutive starts!

Anonymous said...

Watched the game on the webcast and I found myself saying good job to Shinkaruk after he didn't embellish that penalty in overtime.

TigerTurf said...

I agree...His first few games back from the NHL he was doing stuff defensively I've never seen before, and I thought he had changed.

Now he is reverting back to his old self not stopping and starting, skating by poking the puck while defending....thinking all offensively all the time.

The game against PA he stopped skating let the opposing Dman burn him to the outside, and took a penalty which they scored on....He was a -2 tonight.....and scored on his own net.

I'd much rather anybody else on the ice late in the game with the lead.
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Anonymous said...

I agree. Shinkaruk isn't captain material. Doesn't lead at all. He should have been doing whatever he could to block that shot in the final seconds of the game. The tigers played better hockey when he was in the broadcast booth. I say strip him of the "C" and give to someone who understands what it means and earns it.

TigerTurf said...

One Note. Miles Koules blocked a shot late in the game and I don't remember seeing him back on the ice. I hope it is nothing serious.

Alex Mowray was also dressed tonight, but only saw a few shifts.

Anonymous said...

Could not believe the self goal, felt bad for #9. You know he was kicking himself for that all game.
I liked the way we played, it was a tough game but we just kept pushing.
I agree, Valk is cold, we need him to get going. Hunter was better in all ends returning from Van, we know he can do it, just hope he gets back to that. I think both he and Valk are struggling a bit so we are seeing a bit different play from them. I am sure they will sort it out and tear it up once again!
Go tigers go!!

Anonymous said...

Big cheers for Wapple. I love this kid in net. He really plays well. I would like to see him get some more consecutive games as I think he has earned them. I hope that after Christmas a clear "starter" is decided. And I am hoping that starter is Wapple!

Anonymous said...

I feel like there is a bit of a burning at the stake of #9. ANd I dont like to see that. He has not played his best, he is going through a rough patch, he is not the worlds greatest two way player BUT he does make the Tigers an offensive threat every night. He tries every shift and trains really hard. Happy he is on the Tigers and not on another team. So I hope he is able to find the god parts of this game that he was demonstrating with Van. Go Tigers GO!.

Anonymous said...

On another note, I am sad to hear that 3 guys have left the Hurricanes. Pilon is the latest and is at home awaiting a trade. It is not right that guys just want to play on teams that win. That seems to be what this is about. Feel bad for Lethbridge and hope they have Pilon sit at home until a trade option comes along that they are happy with. Hard to rebuild from the bottom when no one wants to put in the work!

Anonymous said...

Fact is if the Tigers play a team with a good Dman #9 is invisible

Anonymous said...

Still would rather have #9 on my team then play against him.

TigerTurf said...

Only saw the third period with the vancouver game, but the Tigers were all over them, and their goalie was standing on his head...chance after chance after chance after chance. Not quite sure how Vancouver was credited with 10 shots, but every single chance the Tigers had was a really good scoring chance.

Their was also a mini line brawl at the end of the game. Not sure what happened camera zoomed into Shinkaruk trying to rescue Valk who was in a headlock, then got fed by quite a few punches by Dalton Thrower.

Some bad blood to end the game.

Anonymous said...

Keep Dotty to protect our top players but he never plays with them makes me wonder?.What good is he on the bench and our boys in a line brawl? If Hunter is as good as the media raved about him last night he should be able to play with anyone

Anonymous said...



Huge game in a few hours against IMO the best team in the league (Kelowna.