Tonight's game was pretty close through most of the it, but the Tigers managed to pull away in the third period. It was good to see them avenge their loss from a couple weeks ago in vancouver which Rogers Sportsnet had broadcast the game.
Thoughts
Trevor Cox
I liked Trevor Cox's game. I thought his one on one approach offensively looked real dangerous.
Dryden Hunt
I thought Hunt struggled through 2 periods. He seemed like he was having a tough time keeping his speed up, and the puck wasn't following him. All off a sudden in the third period he came within inches of a hat-trick. He sure has a good hard shot. Give him the puck and let him rip it.
Markus Eisenschmid
2 Powerplay goals. A couple quick shots from the high-slot.
Ty Stanton
A little rusty in his first game back. Looked a bit uncoordinated at times. Looked a bit shaken up on hard hits.
David Quenneville
First career whl fight. 5'8 179 lbs took on Alec Baer 5 '10 175 lb. Quenneville laid out a lickin on Baer, Was surprising to see that side of the game from Quenneville.
Nick Schneider
A bit of a surprise start. Langhamer had a nagging injury and wasn't ready to go quite yet. I thought he was just ok. Probably would have liked to have played a little better.
Overall
It felt like the Tigers finally got their groove back tonight. They were in a bit of a fade the last few games. Vancouver came out really hard in the first couple periods. The Tigers depth shown through and as the Giants started wearing down, the Tigers managed to step it up and put the game out of reach.
102 comments:
Nice game, thought it got better as the game went on! Love the new players, happy Hobbs wanted to leave, really really really like this team!
Very impressed with our boys performance. They are getting back into their groove. Butcher's ability to get the puck through traffic repeatedly to set up 3 of those goals was fantastic to watch!
I agree about Butcher. I was thinking him and dryden would pair up well together on a powerplay.
Wow, you guys must have really strong ankles. This constant jumping on and off the band wagon is amazing. Last week the world was ending this week it's a love in.
Yahoo to the refurbished Defense on D..no breakaway giveaways last game!
Did Butcher play last night? Thought he was invisible and didn't contribute much to the game.
Tigers played 4 defenceman for the last half of the Edmonton Game Sunday, and they had Penner playing Defense for a bit.
Becker wasn't dressed.
Kyle Burroughs has an incoming suspension from the game against PG.
Ty Stanton tonight received a 5 minute major and game misconduct for a check to the head as well. Looked like he planned to smoke a guy just as he turned around in the corner, but clearly caught the guys head.
I didn't see Burroughs hit. Hits to the head seem to frequently come with standard 2 game suspensions.
basically played with 4 d most of the game, then looked like vanelli got hurt?? but the 4 d really stepped up played a tonne of minutes and played it smart, tough of any level to play that much
Yea I guess Vannelli also suffered an injury.
Staples inj??
Becker inj??
Burroughs (Likely Susp)
Stanton (Likely susp)
Vannelli inj??
They could be down to just 3D tuesday. Probably have to call someone up depending how much time the injured guys need. Burroughs has served 1 game, and his suspension is tbd. Stanton's hasn't been announced yet, but its rare a 5 min major head shot doesn't get suspended.
Lewington Schultz
Quenneville Penner?
callup
Hopefully one or two of those 5 above are ready to go.
I didn't really watch the webcast, just had the sound on, and watched the goals. Butcher had 2 assists and a plus 2 rating.
I really liked Labelle's positioning in front of the net for the Mowbray goal. I would like to see him to do that more often.
On the Mowbray goal, Labelle stood right in front of the goalie His size is almost perfect for screening.
I also like Dryden Hunt on the second line better. He has 8 goals in 9 games. Good move by the coaches
Also there powerplay is trending up. 35% on the PP since switching to burroughs as the #1 PP qb.
Good to see
actually the 2nd PP unit has stepped it up to if you look at the stats - now that butcher and marcus are back it looks deadly too
Any news on what is being done for the defence situation?
Also love Labelles front of net play!
Back to old tiger hockey!
It's like the whl reads my blog and decides to make different punishments...
Burroughs was handed a 4 game suspension. Stanton a 1 game suspension. They will both miss Tuesday's game.
Tommy Vannelli also broke his finger as announced by his twitter account. So he will likely be out for a while.
Liked the new kids tonight! Jevne and Forrest were great!!
Queninville and Schultz are awesome. They have had so much time that will pay off huge next year. Quen is so talented, absolute rockstar!
I thought Jevne looked pretty good out there.
I thought that Brad Forrest was a little bit jumpy/looking over his shoulder for the first half of the game, but settled down after the penalty where he flipped the puck out of play.
Schneider I thought he struggled with his focus during the first period, but looked a lot more focused and ready to play in the second and third period.
Forrest proved he should of never been cut hope now that Stanton is back Penner goes to forward where he belongs and they let Forrest and Staples stay on D
I was actually impressed with Penner on the back-end.
I think he has some real solid defensive instincts to the point where I might even want him back there next season if their is improvement and the depth allows it.
He did make a couple mistakes, but played well considering that was his first full game on the back-end.
I really liked Forrests game once he settled in. I am hoping we see him in a tiger uniform next year. I thought he was pretty solid and played physical at times.
Not sure who we have coming up the pipes for defence other then Skapski but I wonder if our defence is not looking a little small once Lew (and potentially Stanton) are gone. Have to think Stanton is not taking a 20 spot with Cox, Sandford and Hunt being the way they are.
Missed Becker out there. With his improved game this year and his physical play, he can sure make a difference
Are you talking about the burnt toast? Number 17? Did we not watch the same game?
In regards to penner playing defense. Judging someone based on their first game played via mistakes is not a good thing to do. Mistakes stand out, simple plays don't.
Yea he made some mistakes, and you should expect that, the timing is different, and will take an adjustment period.
Like the one pass out of his zone that was picked off, or the time he attempted a rush and got pokechecked (although you could partally blame quenneville, and a forward for not recognizing a rush)
I am looking at his body positioning, his positioning on the ice compared to other players, where his head is looking at, his physical ability and positioning on a 1 vs 1 encounter. He has stood up 3-4 players with hits in the 1.5 games he played
1 game is too short to judge a players ability. From what I saw He has very high defensive instincts, and I was a bit surprised from what I saw. He can also handle a puck pretty well.
It's a matter of honing that through experience, although he will be back up at forward as soon as everyone is healthy. I kind of want to see more from him on defense, to see if its a position he might excel at.
Been away for awhile and have noticed Langhammer hasn't played in a while and he's not on the injury list. Anyone know what the issue is?
Just a comment on Penner playing back on defence. It's a much tougher transition from forward to defence than going the other way. I'd cut him some slack and give him props for doing it in the first place
He has a groin pull...Those things can heal 90% quickly but take forevor to fully heal.
He has a groin pull...Those things can heal 90% quickly but take forevor to fully heal.
Where have all the fire the coach people gone to?
based on last few games with all the D missing think the team in whole has played excellent, think that Lewington has shown why he leads this team in the last 3 games with the ice he has played, not many teams can miss 3 of their top D and keep trucking, actually had 4 top D missing for the one game too, not sure when this team will get healthy , but should look real good when they do, cause have looked good limping along
The coach is finally bringing up AP,s to the line up so we will kep him for now...Fire longtime fan instead!
Anyone know how long Becker and Vannelli will be out?
Not a fan of Langhammers play since around Christmas. He is excellent at times and then brutal at others. Seems there is a lot of goals because he is out of position, like every game he gives up a weak one or two. Again tonight, a handout of a goal, cost them the game. He is a 20 and should not be outplayed by a far lower ranked goalie. Not sure what they do, but I hope they get JF in to sort it out. I just find I am losing confidence in him when in net. Preferred watching Schneider. He plays simple and solid.
Becker "upper body". News report says day-to-day, but that could mean 3 days to 2 weeks.
Vannelli - Broken Finger - whl report says week to week. So likely out a month
Burroughs served his 4 games and should be back for the Brandon Game Wednesday.
Tonight against Spokane was a bit of a weird game.
All 3 Tigers goals bounced in off of Spokane Players. Spokane scored one where a puck that was whipped around the boards hit a bump and with langhamer behind the net bounced right in front of the goal.
Sanford had a chance to win with a penalty shot with 30 some seconds left, but got stopped, as well as on his shootout attempt.
Only in Medicine Hat with the team having the third best record in the league would someone want a coaching change. Make sure those ankles are taped, jumping on and off that wagon can be hard on joints.
Never understood why everyone blames Clouston. He does nothing but make playoffs every year. Other teams would jump on hiring him before he even left the arena. Shake your heads
Anon 11:13 I'm guessing you're saying the goal Spokane scored when Langhammer had gone behind the net was the one weak one you are talking about. That play would have happened to every goaltender in this league because every one of them would have come out to stop that puck from going around the boards.
Longtime fan I am not talking about that play. Although that sucked it was bad luck. Langhammer seems to not be playing as well since December. Goals against must be higher then this time last year. In general more weak goals and odd plays. I guess maybe a bit back to his European style a bit compared to late last year and playoffs when he has suppressed that a bit and was playing with a bit more positioning
Big game tonight.
Brandon has won both games against the Tigers. 4-0, and 3-2. Brandon's goaltender was a 1st, and 2nd star in those games.
Fortunately for the Tigers, unfortunately for the wheaties they have some injuries as well John Quenneville and Jayce Hawryluk will be out, both impact players for Brandon.
Young Brandon defenseman Kale Clague will liekly return to Brandon's lineup for his first game since november with a wrist injury.
The Tigers missing: Vannelli, Owre, possibly Becker and Ast (not sure how close the last 2 are to returning)
This game was a real disappointment. The Tigers just didn't have their usual jump and the goaltending was mediocre at best. Maybe play Schneider until Langhamer realizes he has to play up to par. Schneider has won 6 straight and now with Langhamer we have lost 2 in a row. I'm not laying the blame totally on him, but your goaltender at least has to make the saves when he can, and most of the goals tonight were right on him, no screen. Also the first line didn't look good at all.
I thought they played their A+ game for 10 minutes. After that it was their B game, and their B game isn't good enough to beat a team like Brandon.
I liked the play of staples and labelle. I thought they both stood out in good ways.
Did Blake Penner go down in the game? I didn't recall seeing him in the second and third period?
Caftan were we watching the same game? I suggest you watch the highlites to refresh your memory on the goals scored. First one was put on a tee for the Wheaties player, second a turnover and a two on one, Klimchuk's goal another turnover and a tap in, and another turnover on Shmyrs goal.
Not sure why some fans feel the need to blame one or two guys for losses. I can guarantee that the players don't point fingers. It's a team game where guys make mistakes and against good teams like Brandon those mistakes are magnified.
Penner took a shot off his elbow in the first.
I'm not perfect but I still don't think Langhamer is playing as well as he is capable of. Those goals may be the result of turnovers but I still thought he should have stopped them. Granted he didn't have much help out there and losing Becker and Vannelli is starting to take it's toll.
2 goals on 4 shots. Not good enough. Langhammer has been unreliable and not giving the team a chance to win. I think Schneider should start until Langhammer wins that back. Langhammer did not give the team a chance to win. Deflated the team when your goalie is 0.5 save average and you are down by 2.
It's the quality of shots given up not the amount that counts. To many A one chances due to turn overs.
Plain and simple turnovers cost them 4 goals. Langhamer got beat on all 4, but I don't think there are many goalies in the W that make those saves 9/10 times.
Brandon outskated and outworked the Tigers.
Something that still irks me about this team is their unwillingness to just shoot the puck. Seems to me they constantly look for the pretty play when they are getting good looks with a little bit of traffic in front of the net.
They should fire the coach!!!. Missing all these players over the last stretch it's obviously his fault. People take a breath a season is full of peaks and valley's. When the line up is fully back together and they under achieve then rip on them.
Not really sure why they choose to use Penner over staples initially on defense.
I don't believe this is a scenario where the Tigers made a mistake going for it. Brandon played the better game and deserved the win. I felt the tigers shot themselves in the foot more than anything, and didn't play up to their potential.
A team like Brandon is better at utilizing/creating open space and odd man situations. When lazy and bad habbits/play starts happening, brandon is skilled enough to create advantages off that compared to most teams. Their was a handful of mistakes the Tigers will find on video of tunnel vision and not covering an open guy.
Just noting the differences to when the Tigers were on their game, for the last half of the first, and the first part of the second period, they had Brandon running around, but had troubles capitalizing minus Hunt. Everyone was skating, they had crisp sharp passes, and getting into open lanes, making simple good puck decisions.
When Brandon had the edge, the Tigers away from the puck weren't skating creating open passing lanes, and forcing the man with the puck to pass through bodies, rather than around them, and they left open gaps supporting each other on defense making it easier to maneuver and create speed with the puck.
A big part of their game is transition play. When they aren't effectively skating as a team to get open, their game slides downhill. A good thing to look for indicating their game readiness is stickhandling. When players are on their game their stickhandling speed increases (in general)
The Tigers largely brought their B game, and have a lot to improve upon. Even though this is the 3rd loss against Brandon I feel by the end of the season in a 7 game series, those 3 losses (at this point in time) won't be an indication of how a potential series will play out)
that 5th paragraph should read:
and they left open gaps supporting each other on defense making it easier for Brandon to maneuver and create speed with the puck.
I thought the 5th and 6th goals were ones a dub goalie should have. One was a giant rebound by Langhammer.
The goals in the first he played one man and dos not even look for a second. Again, a dub goalie should know where the players are on the ice.
Still feel Langhammer has been weak for a while. I like Schneiders game better. I would go with him. Langhammer let in 6 goals, you can't honestly look at them and not think a few he should have had. 6 GG generally means you goalie did not play well. There were not that many shots on net so I think the defence, although they could have done better, they can not be blamed for 6 goals
Comparing highlights of Langhammer from last year playoffs to now, he is not even close to that form. I was a huge Langhammer supporter then. He was unbelievable!! I am not sure what has changed. I hope they call JF in to help him a bit. He seems slower or something
After watching the game highlites I've come to the conclusion that those criticizing Langhamer for last nights loss should maybe take up another sport to watch.
Goal one: after a turn over the leagues leading rookie scorer is allowed to walk into a slapper and buries it top shelf.
Goal two: another turnover at the Brandon blue line and a two on one. Maybe plays the pass a bit and gets beat by the shot.
Goal three: turnover in the slot, shot top shelf.
Goal four: a recurring theme, another turnover at the blue line and Pilon feeds a pass to a wide open Klimchuk for an easy tap in.
Goal five: Brandon power play, burka rats is allowed to walk inside the face off circle and blast one top shelf.
Goal six: another power play goal, makes the first save but the rebound is tucked in.
A turn over is not an excuse to not make a save.
You are seriously defending him on 6 goals against? You are saying that Brandon has 6 perfect shots that could not be saved. Wow, teams dream of that.
Goal six: giant rebound, should have had better control. Cant believe you defend that one.
Way too many turnovers, I agree. Tigers need to be better there. But goalies got to make saves on shots even if it comes off a turnover. Brandon had some turnovers in their end yet their goalie stepped up. Turn overs dont = automatic goals
Hoping schneider gets the start for the Leth game. I really like his game, he has been improving and is on a 6 game win streak. I think you have to go with who is winning. 6 wins vs 2 losses, clear choice! Also pushes Langhammer, not a bad idea! And hope we see less turnovers
People are so quick to blame the goalie....
longtimefan is trying to say that the goals are not langhamers fault. The team in front of him made mistakes.
If Langhamer stood on his head maybe he saves 2-3 of those, but a team can't rely on its goalie for defensive mistakes, that is not the root cause of the issue.
Comments on here are actually pretty typical of Tiger fans over the years and the need to blame players and coaches for losses. Seems like every year people need a whipping boy or two, this year looks like it's Marek. Last year Kyle Becker took most of the heat. Wasn't to long ago that someone was calling for Clouston to be canned when we only had 11 losses. For the most part I think you can chalk up the comments as coming from uneducated fans who don't really appreciate what they have in front of them night in and night out.
All 6 goals? Langhammer has to save some tough shots. He owns some of those. His GGA and save % in that game was poor. He can do better. We have all seen him be awesome and make the tough saves. Because we have seen it then the fans expect it.
After the first in Lethbridge......:still going to defend this goaltending??? Terrible and embarrassing. Bottom feeder team having a hay day on our starter. Time to warm upSchneider
I would agree that the first goal was one he needs to play better. Bad rebound on a pretty harmless looking shot and overplayed the rebound. After that not so sure. Second one was screened, third was a tip in on a pass from the corner.
As Tiger Turf said people are pretty quick to jump on the goaltender when things aren't going well. Fourth goal is a perfect example. Look at the fumbling that goes on before that goal is scored. Three guys in the corner and the cane player is left by himself in front of the net.
Goes to show that who is in the net doesn't matter.
Lethbridge was ready for them, their systems play, they knew what the Tigers were going to do, and did a great job at shutting them down.
It's not like the Tigers played a bad game either. They played fairly hard, and got beat by a better team. Their was a lot of intensity out there. I thought the Tigers overall gave a better effort than in the Brandon game, they just got beat.
I still like Schneider in net. Tonight the first goal, his own player knocked his stick out of his hand and Lethbridge scores. The 2nd at the very end of the Tigers killing off 3 straight minutes of 5 on 3, the third a short-handed breakaway. He made some very good stops all night and was probably the most physical Tiger as the threw a couple of punches and was pushing Canes players all night!
This is a touchy subject, but I don't really like some of the decisions the coach is making.
Cox on the point on the PP.
Cox gave up a pass that gave up a shorthanded goal. (not picking on him but the reason why he was back there)
Using defenceman on the faceoffs
Lewington got kicked out, so they sent in Burroughs and lethbridge got a great chance off the draw.
Using Penner over staples on defence.
Top 2 lines were overplayed heavily. Game like that you send out the grinders to get things going..
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They didn't get beat by a better team, they got beat by a hot goalie that made 37 saves!!! .865 save % in weekend series with Lethbridge , won't get you out of the 1st round!!
Agree with your comment about the way the bench was used. Can't play 10-11 guys and expect to make a push in the third.
Let's be honest though, injuries are starting to take its toll on this team. Both Becker and Vanelli supply a lot of offence from the back end. Along with Owre that's over 90 points missing from the lineup, not to mention the teams depth taking a hit.
I believe Lewington could be facing a suspension for receiving an instigator penalty at games end.
Skinner will be a future star in this league. He will be a big pain to deal with in the years to come...
Looking at the Tiger shot quality, most of their shots were easy saves. Their best chances they missed the net, or got poor wood on their chances. A lot of the Tigers shots were to the outside. I didn't feel like skinner was the reason the Canes won.
I don't agree with that, 37 saves is 37 saves period, quality wood or not, he was Leth best player on the ice and was the 1st star of that game, the only time he wasn't busy was on the Tigers PP's
Going to agree with TT about Skinner. Had a relatively easy 40 save night. About half of those shots hit him in the chest and he had little traffic to contend with. He's a good goalie but didn't have to be great tonight.
Either way they have some big games coming up with some teams that's are coming up fast in the standing in Regina and Calgary.... Hope they break the funk
LikedSchneiders game a lot better. Plain old goaltending. None of this strange out of net action that has the whole crowd worried. And that over and over again. Also less weak goals.
As for team play, I think we need a few more guys back. Not sure if they are tired and over being double shifted. Everything seems off. And for the love of God, take Cox off the point in the PP!!!!
I do not know what this team needs but the last 2 games were an embarrassment. They got to figure something out.
Always been an Ast fan. But have to admit this year his injuries have been a problem, he is a guy the team can not rely on being on the ice. We need all the guys we can get. So when there are a bunch of big injuries, it sure hurts you when you have Ast off, yet again, with something. I guess in hindsight a bad trade. If that guy was healthy more games then not, he would be a great player.
Can the tigers not bring Forrest up for the rest of the year?
I think that more than anything the team looks tired. Lots of pressure on the top 3-6 to win the game everynight. The problem is the Tigers would have to distribute more ice to the other lines. I am blown away at how well Cox,Sandford, have played logging all those minutes.
Any word if Becker is to return for the Regina game? And Ast? If those two would return I think we would find a bit better results. Becker has been physical and we are missing that.
In the WHL a contender should be able to beat the basement dwellar 100% of the time even with a depleted lineup, with the exception of close rivals.
The rivals play each other more often, and close games can occur, so the occasional loss is understandable
I think the coaches should evaluate themselves after the last few games.
8-6-0-1 in their last 15 games since the trade deadline.
Hunt, and Burroughs aside from Cox/Sanford have been very consistent.
A contender should not loose to teams like Saskatoon, Vancouver, and Lethbridge (twice) on a consistent basis. If they were playing kelowna, Brandon, calgary regularly an 8-6-0-1 record would be understandable.
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My honest opinion is that I am concerned that Clouston is overworked, and needs another hockey mind to help make decisions or see things that happen on the ice.
I feel that the Tigers game is too one dimensional, and it feels like the opposition had finally found this out.
Just looking at the lethbridge game the Canes put 2 forwards up high on the same side to defend against the Tigers going up high in the offensive zone. Most of the Tigers offense is started up high creating open ice.
Lethbridge using this different approach, it left the lower opposite corner undefended, and the Tigers failed to adapt and generate anything off of it.
Dont know about you all but I never deal with negativity well when I am down and out. Tigers can not play their best 100% of the time, so they are going through a rough patch. Lets support them, be teh 7th man, not tear them down.
Big game tonight.
The pats although losing their best players at the trade deadline, have thoroughly squashed the Tigers in their last 2 meetings, and have points in their last 5 games.
None of my posts are intended to be negative, but constructive criticism. I love this team so much I started a fan blog, and have run it for 7 years...Gese next week the blog will be 8 years old.
Tigerturf, did not at all mean that your blog was negative! Was just trying to rally some fans to be the 7th man out there for the guys. We all know they are frustrated, sometimes a loud barn can sure help the team overcome that!
And a great blog it is. Listening to hometown hockey on Sunday, they honored Bob Cole. I couldn't help but think what a great job Rids does with all the broadcasts. Tigers will win tonight. Go Tigers Go!
If so then be accurate it wasn't Cox that gave up the short handed pass that led to the goal. You wouldn't know that because you are always quick to critique him!
That was an entertaining hockey game!
That was a great game! They pushed through their struggles and persevered.
A lot of mistakes again tonight from the goal on out but the guys played their asses off from start to finish and got rewarded in the end.
Love the guys just kept at it. Fought through the struggle and got a dirty win! Was awesome!
The newspaper reports Langhammer numbers. Again, last nights game spoke for itself. I am not sure if it is his groin bothering him but he can not be #1 until he earns it back. Team must play defence better infront of him, but if there is a breakdown you need your goalie to bail the team out sometimes. He is just not doing that at all.
I dont even know what to say about the team. I watch bits and think, they are back on track, then other bits I think we are worse then Lethbridge.
Getting Stanton back should help, but really, I am not sure where this is going.
Lethbridge is not the same team they once were. They are currently playing a lot better than what their record indicates.
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I'm running some trending data and the Goals they have scored seems to be leveling out at around a 4 goals a game average. When they had lots of forward injuries it only dipped to 3.7.
Their goals against however has never leveled out. It appeared to be consistent around the 2.5 goals against range, then it climbed a bit when Owre was injured, and climbed some more when Becker/Vannelli was injured.
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The Tigers game relies on transition and when 2+ key pieces to that are out with injuries that makes a dent as the numbers indicated.
I think its a combo of injuries, and its allowing the opposition to gain a slight footstep on what the Tigers are doing...as well as giving tthe opposition a slightly easier time to adjust to the Tigers game.
I think this is a good thing for the long-term as long as their confidence doesn't get shot. It's better to adjust to what the other teams are doing now, than in the playoffs. This gives them a 15-20 game head start to figure out the chess game in play, that they haven't had to deal with yet.
Langhamer also need to be better. Giving up a bad goal in the first 5-10 minutes isn't helping.
Went to the game last night, so don’t look at the box score and jump all over Langhamer. He stood on his head for the entire first period. That can only last for so long. Every goal scored against him he had no chance on. Odd man rushes, a breakaway on a bad change where he got beat by a big league shot, and turnovers barring no excuse. Watching the game, Tiger fans concerns should not be with the defencemen out, but the forwards turning the puck over on the attacking blueline. Last night they turned the puck over at least 15 times trying to enter the Kootenay zone. The majority of the Medicine Hat players were invisible on the ice, with Butcher and Bradley being the only players standing out on offense. Defensivley, they were a mess. Schultz was their best D-man, and unfortunately, for them, Penner was a close second. Everyone else was trying to do too much. Cox also took another selfish penalty that cost the Tigers a goal late in the second period. Not to say the Tigers didn’t have chances, but a lot of their shots were from the outside, while the Ice were able to drive the net and execute quality shots that led into many scoring chances. The Tigers played with absolutely no moxie and looked like a team that was giving up because things aren’t going their way. Teams are making adjustments to the Tigers’ systems, and they aren’t making any adjustments to fix this. They got dominated down low all night and couldn’t create any flow in the offensive zone. The powerplay, well I won’t even talk about that. They scored a goal on a 5 on 3, but other than that they spent more time turning the puck over entering the zone than anything else. Labelle works hard, but he isn’t the same player he was his first couple seasons in the league. He didn’t throw a single hit, and showed zero intent to even muck it up like he used to. He more or less just went 0-100 doing stops and starts all night. For Tigers fans, it looks like they are in trouble unless they can make some adjustments in the near future.
Anon 7:13 I've got news for you, Langhammer is the number one now, will be tomorrow and will be going forward. There's no disputing that. If he's playing real well he probably makes a few more stops but let's be honest here, his teammates have hung him, and Schneider in his last start out to dry. Turn over after turn over all over the ice is killing this team right now and until they cut down on them they are going to continue to give up a lot of goals. Watching the highlites from the last three games where they've given up 14 gaa, except for the bad angle goal against Regina and two power play goals the other 11 all started with a Tiger player giving the puck away during a shift. The alarming thing is it's not one or two guys it's the majority of the team. I think it's fixable if they simplify things and as a poster above said ,stop trying to do things alone and get back to playing a team game.
To add to the previous posters comment about Chad Labelle, he hasn't been the same feisty player since he got tagged by Josh Thrower in Calgary last year in a scrap. I haven't checked but off the top of my head I don't think he has been in a scrap since that time.
Undoubted, Schneider played better in the third compared to Langhammer. And the team played the same in front. Nick just weathered it better
I see some positives advances in Labelle's game in the last few weeks. He is also not afraid to go into hard areas of the ice in disadvantageous situations where he is likely to get hit and goes in with no fear. So I'm not sure if I completely agree with you on that, it could be more of a maturity thing.
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A lot of those goals Kootenay scored are mistakes that the Tigers usually don't make. Those things will happen when you have a forward, and 16 yr old rookie defenceman eating 2nd line D minutes. Your goaltender maybe tries to do more by over-concentrating on rebounds because your defence is now having troubles boxing guys out.
(Hunt with a lazy turnover, penner screening his own goalie, young quenneville getting pushed out of the way for a rebound, bad line-change, penner slightly out of position giving reinhart a good shot with a screen, schultz/quennville tunnel vision/lack of communication on a 2 on 1. (can't see what the early mistake was that led to a 2 on 1)
These are all goals from players getting more ice-time, playing more minutes and in situations from what they are not used to against better players.
Combine that with the opposition now adapting on finding a good way to play against them. Their is usually a chess match with systems...their tried a true method is now being blocked, so they gotta find that alternative way that can also work, then switch between them when necessary.
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The opponents are really strongly pressuring the Tigers Defence in the offensive zone. It works doubly because often the Tigers get lazy and don't utilize quick puck movement. They will be forced to now, to go down low, or create set plays up high.
Also your right they are taking more penalties which is often a result of a higher turnover ratio which is certainly happening, and that is a bit concerning seeing as their forwards are relatively healthy now. It does appear that their injuries to defence are affecting them more than having a few forwards out of the lineup.
He has shied away from fights, although when he has fought he has taken on some of the tougher guys in the league.
He has been in 2 since the thrower fight although he got jumped on one of them and the refs gave him 5.
If you can't learn from mistakes and don't change, or try to, how do you expect to improve?
Frustrated watching crap hockey. Not going tomorrow to watch the slaughter.
They almost lost another key defenceman tonight, and I wonder how healthy he really is.
Anon 12:18 sure hope you don't break an ankle jumping off the wagon. "Frustrating watching crap hockey" you obviously weren't around in the 90's and early 2000's for the 15 win seasons, where on most nights they had little to no chance of winning a game. I've said before sometimes I think the people of this city need to go through some tough years to appreciate what we've had for the past 12 seasons. No question this team is in a tough stretch right now and it's not going to get any easier with the upcoming schedule they have.
Just think they need to simplify things. Lots of shots again but as has been the case there is no traffic in front of the oppositions net. Our goalies are having to look through bodies to find the puck but it's usually one shot and done for the visitors.
Hey Longtime fan I think my ankles are fine, look at lethbridge there new coach has them so motivated and they are on fire. Where is the fire from our Tigers someone has got to lighten the mood and provide some spark, Lethbridge is not the best team on paper but when you play with heart you sure can accomplish alot! Dont see any emotion from our coaches since the Hobbs defection!
Lots of shots again from the red line shouldnt count...need more from the inside of the hash marks those are quality chances...but with all the injurys we have had this year guys arent selling out in front of the net recently.
The coaches gotta find new ways to motivate the players...You gotta play with heart...Look at lethbridge new coach has got the troops beating everyone!!
No idea why we are talking about the Tigers team of 20-30 years ago. Nothing to do with this team. These kids were not even born yet!
Difference between then and now is we were #1 and have changed. Those teams started terrible, continued terrible and ended terrible. Apples and oranges
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