Tigers Go 1-1 on the weekend.

Looks like their is a flu bug agoing around in the Tigers dressing room. Despite this I give the Tigers a B+ for their pair of weekend games at the Arena.

Friday night against Brandon was a very high electric and intense hockey game, playoff type atmosphere. Saturday night against Kamloops in comparison was a bit of a snoozer.

I thought during Saturdays game against Kamloops the Tigers had no legs and looked pretty tired mentally as they were fumbling the puck in the offensive zone and were sometimes putting pucks in disadvantagous positions on the ice. They didnt play bad but thier was limited "oomf" in thier play. I thought the Tigers forwards took a night off, but they did manage to keep the game close and had chances to win it.

Despite the tigers "off" game I thought they had a chance to win as Cam Lanigan made some real big stops in the third period to keep thier team in the lead. The Difference in the game was kamloops JC Lipon scoring a short-handed goal and Cam Lanigan coming up big in the third period.


Thoughts

The Tigers overall defensive play has improved leaps and bounds from early in the season. Dylan Busenius has stepped up and is playing a very strong game. Patrik Parkkonen has also stepped up his game and had been winning a good chunk of his battles on the ice.

The play of Matt Konan has also stepped up, he has been playing well on the poweplay, and his pokehecks have been more efficient. The combination of those 3 defensman playing smart and consistent as well as the forwards doing a better job at committing in the d-zone is a large reason as to why the Tigers went on that winning streak. Of course you cant leave out the goaltending of Tyler Bunz either.

We saw signs of Cole Grbavac shaking his slump during the Brandon game, he was getting chances and scored a goal, wasn't as noticable in the kamloops game.

10 Games into the season Kellan Tochkin still has not scored a goal. IMO He has largely been invisible so far at home and I could see the Tigers exploring the option of an upgrade if his work ethic doesn't pick up.

Jayden Hart continues to impress. He has been given more icetime lately.

I liked that Kale Kessy since his return from suspension is being much smarter in his physical play. We saw him hold up when a player had his back turned but when the opportunity presented itself he threw that big hit.

Fights From the Kamloops Game
Tim Bozon vs Dylan Busenius


Josh Caron vs Kale Kessy