Sunday, April 1, 2018

Game 6: Tigers 3 @ Brandon 4 - Tigers Season Comes To an End

Brandon Wins Series 4-2
Game 1: Brandon 2 Tigers 7
Game 2: Brandon 3 Tigers 7
Game 3: Tigers 3 Brandon 5
Game 4: Tigers 2 Brandon 5
Game 5: Brandon 5 Tigers 2
Game 6: Tigers 3 Brandon 4

Links
WHL Gamesheet
Rassell carries Tigers in season-ending overtime loss - MH News

Pre-Game

Tigers Scratches
James Hamblin
Mason Shaw
Elijah Brown
Trevor Longo
Dawson Heathcote - Healthy
Cole Clayton - I think he left the game in the first or second period.


Brandon Scratches
Baron Thompson
Ty Ettinger
Jonny Hooker


First Period

Tigers are double/triple shifting Mark Rassell to start the game and it paid off early.

David Quenneville under a heavy chorus of boo's from the Dauphin folks, made a beauty hail mary pass up to Mark Rassel, who split Brandon's top pairing Defenceman (Braden Schneider and Schael Higson). Rassell would put it past Dylan Miskiw (hard to see on the webcast if it was five-hole or glove side). 1-0 Tigers 

Rassell continued his strong game stripping Schael Higson off the puck and Higson was forced to hook Rasell which earned the Tigers a power play. With 9 seconds left in the powerplay, something strange happened that I didn't understand.

Hollet Interference

Jordan Hollett was playing the puck and backhanded it behind his net.  He got checked and knocked over by Ty Lewis. Hollett was given an interference penalty, while Jevne and Lewis were called on roughing penalties...




After that play, the intensity of Hollett reached another level.  He seemed to be moving extra quick after that one.  Let's hope that turns out to be a good thing for the Tigers.

During the powerplay, Gunnar Wegleitner would hit the post and David Quenneville would end up saving a shot off his groin after he tripped over Hollett's pads and ended up with his legs sticking out of the net. The Tigers would keep Brandon off the scoreboard.

Notes
The Tigers have played very well through the first ten minutes of the period. Brandon generated some momentum off those special teams plays...and it turned out to be a fairly even period.


Second Period

Some back and forth action, with both teams getting scoring chances. Tyler Preziuso made a really nice defensive play picking the pocket of Braden Schneider as he was all alone in the slot for a big chance.

Tigers Add to Lead Tigers would add to their lead early in the period. After a rush up the ice Brandon defender, Braden Schneider got a stick on the puck at the blueline. Jaeger White managed to scoop it up and skate in with a lot of room. He fired a shot on net, and Myskiw gave up a big rebound.

Hayden Ostir took the rebound shot from the top of the circle and the puck bounced off somebody in front and sat right at the feet of Mark Rassell. With the goalie down, Rassell swiped the puck into the net. 2-0 Tigers

First Fight of the Series
A few moments later the first fight of the series would take place between depth player Zach Wytnick and Baxter Anderson. Anderson got a couple punches in early and Wytnick nailed Anderson in the top of the helmet and they tumbled to the ice. They both seemed to be favoring their hands in the box.

Brandon Sparked That fight seemed to spark Brandon as they would get their first goal of the night 23 seconds later.

Kristians Rubins threw a pass out of the zone, which hit a Tigers' skate, and bounced backward. It gave Ty Lewis and Stellio Matteos a mini 2 on 1, where Stelio buried a one-time pass, past the blocker of Jordan Hollett. 2-1 Brandon

The teams would trade some highlight real chance with both teams having sustained offensive chances.

Brandon Ties It Up
Brandon would tie the game off some advantageous puck bounces. In Brandon's zone, a Mark Rassell shot would deflect off the feet of a Brandon player and then hop over the stick David Quenneville at the point. Brandon raced away on a 2 on 1, where Evan Weinger placed a shot over the top of Jordan Hollet's Blocker. 2-2 TIE

Dylan Myskiw would come up Huge late in the second period. He stopped Mark Rassel and Gary Haden on point blank 2 on 1's.

Notes:
The Tigers didn't play bad, Brandon was able to capitalize on more chances than the Tigers could.
The goals that were scored in this period were off some puck-luck bounces.

This game is even stevens so far. The third period should be a doozy. Almost seems like a perfect script for an overtime game. I don't remember seeing much of Cole Clayton in the period. 16 yr old Dan Baker has now drawn in for a lot more ice-time. Clayton didn't look that great in the early going so that must be why the Tigers dressed 7 defenceman tonight.


Third Period

The Tigers would respond quickly in the third period. 23 Seconds into the period, David Quenneville would put a hard snapshot on the net and Mark Rassell would find the rebound in the slot and put it through Myskiw's five-hole for the Hat-Trick! 3-2 Tigers

The teams would continue to trade highlight-reel chances. Brandon had a 2-0 and Hollett came up huge. Haden would have a prime chance after he was tripped up at the net. He still managed to get a stick on the puck and beat Myskiw but rolled the puck through the crease.

Tigers Momentum
Daniel Bukac fired the puck out of bounds in his own zone and that would mean a Tigers power play.
On the powerplay. While the Tigers didn't score they generated a lot of momentum off it.

Mid-way through the period Brandon would turn the momentum.

Brandon Ties the Game
From behind the net, Quenneville let out a poor outlet pass from his back-hand which was intercepted. To recover 4 Tigers were down deep in the corner which left the front of the net open.

Evan Weinger would block a clearing attempt from Kristians Rubins walked around the net and find Linden McCorrister who was wide open. McCorrister would shot the puck low blocker and it somehow found a hole through Jordan Hollett. 3-3 TIE    

Notes:
The Tigers fired 25 shots in net during the period. I thought it was a typo at first.

OVERTIME......

Brandon with a ton of pressure. The Tigers look like they can barely skate and Hollett is playing phenomenal.   Braden Schneider would throw a shot/pass into the slot and Linden McCorrister would tip it past Jordan Hollett. Final 4-3 Brandon

Thoughts
Darn! Who would have thought the Tigers would go out 4 straight after destroying the wheat kings in the first two games? Props off to Brandon for adapting and winning away from their home rink. They were the better team and deserve the 2nd round. It feels so frustrating knowing that Mason Shaw was so close to returning yet wasn't able to draw in.

Thanks to Mark Rassel, Michael Bullion and Kristians Rubins
Rassell played his heart out and received massive amounts of ice-time. He ended up with a hat-trick tonight. Kristians was IMO the Tigers best defenceman all year.  Good Luck to Michael Bullion in his future who played lights out hockey down the stretch run 

Brief Season in Review
Never seen the team go through that many injuries. They were never able to dress a healthy lineup all season. With Fischer leaving, shaw's season-ending injury and all the other injuries that happened, this year was largely a write-off and the Tigers used it to re-tool their roster for the future.


Winning the Central Division was awesome, but a first-round exit always leaves a bitter taste. Would have loved to see a Re-match with Lethbridge in round 2. 

Up Next
WHL Bantam Draft, May 3rd

Over the next week or two, I will generate a next year post, as well as a review of all my Pre-Season Eastern Conference Thoughts I posted earlier in the season to see how I did.

What are your thoughts on this season? Leave A Comment 

47 comments:

Anonymous said...

Although I voted Brandon in 6, I hoped the Tigs could pull a victory out of Manitoba. Not to be - but from one fan's perspdctive, kudos to Rassell, Rubins and Bullion for their play this year. I hope they, to a man, fully understand that the sparse playoff crowds were not due to them - it simply the simmering frustration with the owners and head coach... In fact, without that triad, the Tigers would've not even have made the playoffs.

Too soon (and beating a dead horse), but most of the Qville predictions came to pass. Has a true howitzer, but I really think he would be more valuable to another team that already has solid defense. For more success in 2019, trade him to another division contender for some big returns. Just like the Jays should've traded Donaldson pre-season, the Tiger's mvp (of those returning for one more year) is worth a great deal more to the next three years' prospects than he would be as a Tiger for next season...

Next year, downsizing from 4 to 2 season tickets (friends/family will have a year without me treating them) - sat in the Toyota reds for game 5 and the view is great, but jeez the PA is loud there. Honestly couldn't sit there with the sound so blaring (and this from a cowbeller who regularly gets dirty looks after Tiger goals - it's not a church, folks!). But the volume there is SO loud, I'll stick with section F (or G, if a couple good seats are vacated...). But I will be back - the future may be promising!

But if any of the Tigers read this blog - thank you for a season of entertaining hockey. I join TigerTurf in wishing each alumni nothing but success, and that returnees see their hockey dreams come true!

CatFan said...

All I can keep thinking is what could of been with a healthy team. However, I am very excited to see how our younger players progress after all of their experience this year. The team played their hearts out despite all the adversity and you can't ask for more than that. However, I am seriously considering not getting season tickets next year after 40 years of having them. I am disgusted with the ownership of this team and it's treatment of the fans. That article in the paper the other day and their bullshit answers to everything that was said has me burning!! I want to support the players but how else do we get the Masers to sell this team to owners that would care and market the team the way they deserve to be???

Anonymous said...

Rubins and macpherson for me made huge strides this year. They become very reliable and were a huge part of this team.
Rassell was phenomenal this year. Scored a lot of big goals for this team.
Quennevile had a a great year as well despite me being hard on him this last little bit. He made a lot of strides in his own end and it's to bad he had a rough finish to the year.
Hamblin also made great improvements and I see him having a huge year next year.
Chyzowski in my eyes was the teams most improved player. He became a top 6 centremen and was reliable all year.
Williams had a slow start and had some pressure on him but the last month here he was great.

Fischer leaving hurts but the season is over and now we can look forward to ostir for another year and Van Impe for 3 seasons.
Gerlach trade in my eyes looks good as well. Lockner should be a big part of the team down the stretch.
Brown really stepped up in the playoffs. I like that trade as well. He will also be a big part of the future.

Anonymous said...

Now I don't have a good source on this so I might be wrong but I have heard Willie Desjardins is very interested in buying the team this offseason. Who knows how true it is but it certainly would be awesome.

Anonymous said...

One question, how did Hollett get the interference penalty on that play? It appears the Brandon player just ran him over.

If Willie bought the team and was GM, I would be the happiest person on the planet. I think Clouston has some talent to coach but his bully attitude which has hurt the team with so many kids leaving is not acceptable to me. Masers need to adapt, grow a spine or sell the team.

On to next year, the future looks bright. I am already looking forward to preseason!

Anonymous said...

I hope Rassell gets a pro contract. He deserves one. He is a stand up guy, leaves it all on the ice and has earned a shot playing pro. I will be pulling for him in the future!

Anonymous said...

I hope Rubins and Rassell both get a pro shot.
I really enjoyed watching Rubins play his two years and he will greatly be missed.

On a side note I believe it's been 11 years since we last made the WHL finals? Does this fall on clouston? Teams not being good enough? Combination of both?

longtimefan said...

I've been watching this team from their inception and I don't ever remember a team having to deal with so many serious injuries. There's no doubt it had an impact on the regular season and certainly was a factor in the outcome of this series. All in all though this was a decent year, one that took a turn right at the start with the loss of Mason Shaw and Zach Fischer asking to be moved. Lots of young guys got significant ice time and showed marked improvement over the course of the year.

I too am excited about the future of the team. Craven, Clayton, van Impe, Longo and Baker are looking like good young defenceman. Bjorklund and Kaeden-Lane will be fighting for the backup job behind Hollett and some good young forwards should provide some very entertaining night for the next few years. Totally agree with the poster above psych comments about Ryan Chyzowski, by far the most improved player, looking forward to seeing what he can do next year

Mason Shaw, David Quennville, Dylan Macpherson, Ryan Jevne and jeager White are the eligible overagers for next year. Big question is , what does Minnesota do with Shaw after missing an entire season. What a huge bonus it would be if he returns. Jevne and Macpherson are a good bet to be back, White shouldn't be. There's no question Quenneville needs to work on his defensive game, question is, will it be here or in the Islanders system.

Anonymous said...

Shaw should be back he's not very big and missed a full year of development.
Quennevile in my eyes will get burned in the AHL next year. I bet he's back and I doubt we trade him. Clouston loves him to much.
Jevne hard working guy will be interesting to see if he makes it.
Macpherson has improved so much in his couple years and I believe he really stabilizes the D core.
I think it's between these 4 guys.

Anonymous said...

If it is between those 4 then honestly I would bet on Quen, Jevne and Shaw. I hate it but I am guessing MacPherson will be the odd one out. I really like his play and I will hate to see him on another team. But I am guessing that is what happens. I like Quen, unlike many others I think he brings value to the team and I think he is a good team guy. But it is an interesting thought about trading him. The return would be huge, especially for a team planning on making a run. He could bring a return that would stamp our ticket to a Mem Cup potentially when you look at the guys the tigers will have in the next few years. Definitely something to consider. I do think that Clouston, although gets good value for trades, he does lack strategy to sacrifice guys in the short term for long term gains of a memorial cup team.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Tiger Turf for giving us fans a place to vent.
I will re-new my tickets for next year. I am excited about the team. Should be great hockey!
Not a fan of Clouston and would love to see him move on. Trading DQ 19 would be a smart move but like anon 1:35 said Clouston does lacks strategy and is always after short term gains.
Maybe we will luck out and some ECHL team will want Clouston.

Anonymous said...

I think people are fooling themselves if they really think Willie is coming back to buy/coach/ team. And I really don’t understand why people want to see Clouston gone? One poster acknowledges that he gets good value out of his trades, another acknowledges he has talent as a coach but we’d be lucky if an ECHL team took him away? That doesn’t add up to me

As for Quen, there are definitely areas for him to improve but if the leagues general managers thought he was deserving of a first team all star selection, maybe fans can knock it off with the criticism, even if it’s fair, and just appreciate the fact that he’s the greatest offensive defence man in franchise history?

Finally, great work tigerturf. Your analysis is fair and thoughtful and your blog is great for fan engagement! Can’t wait for next season!

Anonymous said...

Quenville - greatest offence defence man in franchise history!! That's what the stats show. What the stats don't show and what the fans know is all the times he has made mistakes, been caught offguard and on the ice for many goals against the Tigers. It's his arrogance on the ice that shows. Will be thrilled to see him gone.

Anonymous said...

Good job this year keeping this blogg site running - thx -
I have one question that I would like for some one to answer - why do u put your “top” points leaders out short handed all year long - my question is should a team not have special lines for shorthand’s play - coach got schooled all year long by other smarter coaches - clueless is a good nick name - after tireing your top line u then double shift them to the point they are basically done - sad it happened all year

Anonymous said...

Thanks to Mark Rassell, Kristins Rubins and Michael Bullion for some great hockey and everything they have done in our community! All the best to these young men!

The one aspect of WHL hockey that I really enjoy is watching young players come into the league and watching them develop...with some guys its a gradual process, with others you can almost see the "aHa moment" on the ice and they are like a different player after! Fischer seemed to be one of the "aha" types to me. I have ranted about Quenneville in the past for his defensive play - I have to say that he has improved in my opinion. Is he perfect - nope. But I think he has gotten better. I hope he continues to improve defensively because no one can argue that he's got the offensive part down pat!

I'm excited for next season...I think we have some good talent on the team and should see some good hockey!

I've heard the Desjardin rumor a couple years ago...I think its wishful thinking too.

I enjoy following this blog - thanks everyone for your contributions and to TigerTurf for your work in putting the posts together! Have a great summer everyone!

Anonymous said...

Anon 10:04 you put your best players out to kill penalties because "most" of the time they will give you the best chance to kill the penalty while also giving you a chance to score short handed goals on occasion.

Anonymous said...

Catfan, you are ridiculous. There is nothing wrong with the way the fans are treated here in the hat but if you are one of the bandwagon fans that hate change and only look for things to complain about then don't get season tickets, the team is better off without your negativity.

The future is bright for the organization

TigerTurf said...

Thanks for the Compliments. The TigerTurf blog has turned 10 years old last February. I also want to thank you folks for spending some of your free-time here. If it wasn't for your comments, I'd probably think about retiring the blog.
-------------
I also picked Brandon in 6 at the dubnetwork pick'em game :(
-----
CatFan - I agree that if they had a healthy team, they would have won the series.
----------
longtimefan - I agree with your comments as well. Injuries were insane this year. It seems like they have been more and more common the past few seasons. Chyzowski has shown he is developing a deadly shot and likely a PPG player next season. I think he should get drafted this year.

The combination of talent and youth in all 3 positions is very exciting. That goal-tending battle in camp next season will be massive

Kaeden Freer-lane won top goaltender(back to back seasons) in the CSSHL with a .946 save percentage in 16 games this season

Garin Bjorklund - Won the silver cup award in the MAHL (Top 15's).

It's been a while since the Tigers have had 2 "A rated" gaoltending prospects coming up.

CatFan said...

Anon 11:40 You are entitled to your opinion but so am I. If being a season ticket holder for 40 years is a bandwagon fan?? My negativity is not toward the team, but toward ownership. What exactly are they doing for season ticket holders?? I don't hate change, I would welcome it. That is the problem, nothing ever changes here. Same old promotions, or lack of, no marketing to entice a younger and louder crowd. Yes I miss the days of "the loudest barn in the dub". We are far from that now. I am not the only one who is fed up. If you are happy, good for you but don't say we are treated well compared to other WHL cities because that just isn't the case.

Anonymous said...

Next year should be an “all in” year for the Tigers if everything falls into place. Lots of solid 19 yr olds, and the potential to return Shaw, Nassen, Quen as 20’s. It sure looked like deals were made this year to make a solid run at this next season, I hope it all works out, it has the potential to be great.

Anonymous said...

I agree with CatFan, it isn't necessarily the "team" but the coach, the ownership, the marketing and management of SMG that needs to change. This has been said over and over again. Management thinks Medicine Hat is a big city and charges big city prices. Doing that loses fans. Having zero season ticket holder appreciation contributes to fan loss. Oh wait, as season ticket holders we DO get to buy playoff tickets for games that won't happen til next year. But then again, this also loses fans. ALL fans get ticketed/fee'd to death. Even buying them online, printing tickets ourselves, fees are absolutely ridiculous. This management and ownership will only notice when the fan base dries up and they can't afford to ice a team anymore.

Anonymous said...

So I grew up in Medicine Hat, but currently live in another city where I work for a sports organization. The Tigers are still my team so I watch games whenever I come home to visit family. I follow them on social media and I enjoy reading this blog a lot.

One thing that I have to ask fans/ contributors on here is this, there is a lot of complaints about the ownership and how its their fault the same thing is done at every game or that the games are too loud, etc, but as someone who works in the sports industry, it is often the sponsors who pick their promotional activities, so if it is the same thing every year, that is partially on the sponsors and not on the ownership. If you think Tiger games are too loud, have you ever attended a lacrosse game in the NLL?

The ticket prices haven't gone up, the new venue is too big for what was needed, the concession prices aren't reasonable, so what exactly are you mad at the ownership for? My parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc are all season ticket holders and have never complained that they aren't treated fairly. My uncle requested new seats and was accommodated. So what exactly is the issue?

Lastly, for an injury plague season, this team has a lot to be proud of! I wish the overagers all the best in their future endeavors and I am excited for next season and what this team will accomplish!

Anonymous said...

Mason Shaw was cleared to play for the second round, had they advanced. Source with ties to the NHL told me he heard that the Wild want him in junior next fall. Who knows though as were still months away from that.

Anonymous said...

Anon 1:05. I disagree about next year. We will be good but certainly not a championship team. The defense will still be fairly young and our 19 year old group will be good but nothing special next year. You need your 19s to be elite. Hamblin will be a hell of a player. Ostir is still a wild card. Haden should breakout. Preziuso I'm unsure about. We won't have any 19 year old dmen next year. I think our chance to win will be after next season.

longtimefan said...

Anon 2:29 I agree, not next year but the year after is when this young group should excel.

Anonymous said...

Nice to see people waking up to Quenneville's defence or lack there of. When a guy scores 80 pts but only has a +7 you know there's a problem. Trade him away ASAP and get a boat load of players as I'm sure there's a sucker out there that would take him. The Tigers won't be a legit contender till '19 anyway. Yes you can give me MacPherson any day over Quenneville and he should stay! If White is back as an over age next yr I believe he will be 20 yrs old...I'll vomit. Don't give me we won another division title talk...the central plain and simple stunk this yr. Oh yes one other thing let this series be a huge objective lesson to the scouting staff (Barry Prins I'm talking to you as I'm assuming you have a big voice there) on why you draft size and NOT a whole roster upfront outside of Rassell and Lockner (yes I know we never drafted him) under 6'0. This is getting absolutely ridiculous having a small team made of glass up front.

Anonymous said...

I understand people want size but it's junior hockey. Big players with skill don't grow on trees. People always come back to this but the fact is the team just wasn't good enough. Last year we had a big team for our standards and we didn't win. It's not all size. If you find guys over 6 feet who can play then obviously you have an advantage but it's not that easy.
Look to our future we got skilled guys with size coming up because we found them in the first round or two in the draft. After that it gets a lot tough to find those guys.

longtimefan said...

Couple of comments for anon 7:09, Barry Prins is a scout but not the director of player personnel, that would be Carter Sears and previously was Darren Kruger. Secondly, dealing Quenneville a sap wouldn't get you a boatload of players. No ones going to give up a kings ransom for someone who may not be in the league next year. If he does get moved, which I doubt anyways, it won't be until after the start of next season.

TigerTales said...

Anyone else a bit amused that the Spokane Chiefs are out as well? Seems the jump to a "contender" didn't work out so well for Zack. Had a fairly average season for what I suspect will be an average player. Glad he was gone!

Anonymous said...

Glad we got ostir, Van Impe and a second.

TigerTales said...

Anonymous 10:57.................Like!

TigerTurf said...

Spokane - A lesson that will play out over the course of next season on why short term gains are bad...

Regina did this a few times with Boston leier and Cole Sanford.
-----

Spokane has a very top end group of 99's and '00's, which means next season they should be strong. They took away a piece of that group with Ostir.

They should have bolstered that group and looked at selling Yamamoto, rather than spend assets on trying to prop up a slide after a hot start. They should have a very strong offense next season and it could have been much stronger. They spent assets UN-necessarily a year too early.
-------

I thought Ostir Improved a ton after his return from injury. The game slowed down or him.
He had .65 PPG over 31 games with the Tigers and that included a feeling out period with a new team, as well as being put on a 4th line roll with Rybinski and Williams.

If he stays healthy he will reach a PPG next year.
-----

In essence we sold 1yr of a PPG power forward for.

(Ostir, 18,19,20) 2 "potential" Years of a PPG player, + 1 year of .65ppg player
2nd round pick
Van Impe

IMO it created negative long-term value for spokane.. Potential 12 playing years for 1.






Anonymous said...

I followed Fischer’s stats this year, was pleased to see he did not excel in another system, he was not the superstar he thought he was. He, to be honest, did better under Clouston abs probably would have benefited from taking some criticism off the chin and manning up. Happy to see him have the numbers he did and happy to see him out of playoffs at the same time as the tigers. Live and learn.

Anonymous said...

I don't fault Zach one bit for leaving, as his situation with the Head Coach was not good no matter what the coach says and wants us all to believe. Like anybody else in life, if you're not happy you have to make changes and good on Zach for doing it.
His stats may not have been as good as he would have wanted, but he was also injured for a good portion of the season and tried playing thru injuries.
Clueless made a good trade (for once) and good on him, but a young man was now happy in his life which is probably the most important thing.

TigerTurf said...

I feel that Fischer is the type of player a hockey team needs in order for pressure to be lifted off some of the scorers. Opposition teams go nuts when playing against him. That type of distraction is big if used appropriately.

I personalty feel he had been dealing with some sort of health or injury issue most of the season. He went to Calgary to get evaluated before he joined Spokane. He missed most of February and only returned for the last regular season game and played in playoffs.

In playoffs he took a ton of penalties that were not Fischer-esque. Something wasn't right.
---

While he never publicly disclosed the reason why he wanted to leave... I feel it was because of a few combined reasons: His injury/health issue, having teammates and friends leave the previous season, not getting along with Clouston in the early going, not having a passion to play here anymore.

Zach has done a lot of charity work both in the hat and in Spokane. I hope whatever was bugging him, he is able to recover from it and finds success!






longtimefan said...

Fischer left for one reason and one reason only. He didn't want to play with one particular player on the team so he chose to leave.

Anonymous said...

Islanders apparently want Quenneville to turn pro next fall.

Anonymous said...

Pretty bummed to not see Chyzowski make the U18 Canada team.
Of Canadian forwards under 18 in the WHL he finshied with the 4th best PPG. I realize there is a bunch of great hockey players but after the season he had I thought he had a great shot at being on that team.

Anonymous said...

Isles have signed David Quenneville to a thee-year, entry level deal.

TigerTurf said...

Congrats to Quenneville! Islanders must have liked his offensive potential. I feel he will still be back next season.

Anonymous said...

In today's game, with the way undersized offensive bluleliners are having success, kind of funny he gets ripped a part for his skating, defensive ability, etc. Its worth a gamble to sign him.

Anonymous said...

Congrats to Quen! I am happy for the guy, unlike most here, I have always been a big fan!

I have to laugh at all the armchair GMs over the season who have ragged on him. Apparently you are all smarter then the pros. Just wondering, are the arm chair GMs paid as much as the pros?

Anonymous said...

Mason Shaw took another big step toward a pro career by signing an ATO with the Iowa Wild. He’ll be sporting a knee brace for the foreseeable future after rehabbing a torn ACL.

longtimefan said...

Tiger prospect Layne Matechuk is on the Humboldt Bronco team that was involved in that horrible accident today. Prayers to all involved.

TigerTurf said...

I've been following the twitter roll and it is absolutely heartbreaking.

I checked and Matechuk is on their playoff roster. He has dressed for 6 of their 9 playoff games.

There is a gofundme page set up for them
https://www.gofundme.com/funds-for-humboldt-broncos/donate

It's raised 15k in 3 hours.

TigerTurf said...

RCMP have confirmed 14 people were killed, 14 were injured, 3 of those were critical.
http://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/humboldt-broncos-bus-involved-in-highway-crash

TigerTurf said...

I learned about Matechuck last night through social media. There is both good and bad news. Out of respect for him, his family and teammates I will not post anything else and will refuse to post non-confirmed comments until the information has been publicly released.

The Humboldt Broncos website has taken down their roster page in lieu of keeping information private.

So far their gofund-me page has been $658,346 raised in 15 hours. The whole incident is just shocking and my heart goes out to all of them.