Thrashing in the Hat
It's been a while since we were able to witness a thrashing like that. The Tigers in the past have typically been a small speedy team. This season they are just as fast but have a better mix of size and speed.
I'm pretty sure we saw more big hits in the first period than we did all of last year. Rubins and Gally Both 6'5 Monsters were standing up on the blueline and crunching guys all over the place.
Missing Players
The Canes this weekend were without their top line Burke, Estephan, and Wong. They were also missing newcomer offensive defenceman Brennan Menell. Compared to the Tigers who were missing their starting goaltender, John Dahlstrom, and David Quenneville.
Zach Fischer
Zach Fischer had 3 goals tonight. Last season his 3rd point was on February 23rd. It's great to see he has continued his strong play from the end of last season.
The Butcher
Chopping up opponent defenses, The Butcher recorded a 6 point night and brought memories back reminiscent of Tyler Ennis. He was dominant.
New Defenceman
It's only 1 game but I was highly impressed with Rubins, Gally, and MacPhee. Rubins and Gally had the ability to stand up at the blueline and throw some big hits. I thought Rubins showed a very strong skating ability for a player his size. Rubins Impressed me a lot and looks like he has the potential to be a top pairing guy.
James Hamblin
He looks like a completely different player this year. His speed was on showcase and looks like a guy who wants to get drafted into the NHL.
McGovern
Looks pretty big and mobile in net. Seems like the Tigers found themselves a good young tender. Their were a handful of close calls and McGovern was able to keep most of them out. Joey Frazer on the radio mentioned he thought he seemed quite similar to Tyler Bunz.
Weekend Games
The Tigers outshot the canes 83-38 in the two games. Both teams were missing key players but I think that is a pretty good start to the season. The Canes are the pre-season favorites and the Tigers looked very good against them.
Improvements
I thought their were times where the Tigers forwards were a bit scambly in their own zone. They were bunching up and hesitant on which players to take. Their were occasions where the Canes spread out in the offensive zone and had periods of pressure that the Tigers could have protected against it better. Later in the Home Opener the Tigers were better, but they also had a big lead.
Next Up
The Tigers are home to Saskatoon on Friday, then Travel to Swift Current on Saturday.
Love old school WHL hockey, that line brawl was awesome! Lol
ReplyDeleteFlames have released Schneider.
ReplyDeleteThe Calgary Flames announced today that they have assigned Brayden Burke (Lethbridge/WHL), Aaron Hyman (Calgary/WHL), Matthew Phillips (Victoria/WHL) and Nick Schneider (Medicine Hat/WHL) to their respective junior teams.
John Dahlstrom has also been sent back to junior from the Blackhawks camp.
ReplyDeleteDavid Quenneville is not playing tonight for the Islanders VS Philly game. However the Islanders have a split squad game on tuesday which he could very well play in.
ReplyDeleteI imagine the islanders will make cuts shortly after that.
Great home opener! Love the looks of the team, love that we have a nice mix of skill and some toughness. Hope to hear of Clouston and Mowbry landing somewhere. 2 good kids and good players.
ReplyDeleteConner Clouston is still listed on the WHL site under the tigers roster. Waiting for a trade? Any news as to any interest in Mowbray or Clouston?
ReplyDeleteLethbridge/Medicine Hat fined each for $500.00 for multiple fight situation
ReplyDelete$500 seems cheap for the entertainment it provided. Well worth it.
ReplyDeleteQuenneville will be in the lineup this weekend.
ReplyDeleteMowbray and Morrissey are no longer listed on the Tiger roster.
ReplyDeleteSounds like the Tigers will have there full lineup for the weekend games.
ReplyDeleteWhat ever happened to Marshall Skapski? As I recall he was a 3rd round pick of ours and I think his brother played for the Ice. He was not at camp? As a 3rd round I figured that we would hear about him or at least see him at camp. Did he not pan out? Or did we trade him?
ReplyDeleteHe was dropped last yr, now playing for the Merritt Centennials of the BCHL.
DeleteTigers started very slow against Swift. Swift brought some speed early in the game. Tigers were a bit sloppy in their own end and Schneider was the reason they didn't fall behind. He made some really big stops.
ReplyDeleteTigers took over in the second half of the game. 2 powerplay goals and 1 shorthanded marker. They outshot swift by a 3:1 margin in the last 2 periods.
Man, its has been great tigers hockey so far this season! And for the guys to already get recognised with individual awards - Butcher with player of the week and Schneider with goalie of the week, pretty awesome! Hope the boys can keep it up! Nice to see some chemistry on the ice!
ReplyDeleteThis team is exciting to watch! I always think its good when a team seems to have a bit of chemistry from the get go. Keep it up Tigers!
ReplyDeleteIs Caleb Fantillo injured? Odd that he hasn't played since the 1st. Would have to think he would be ahead of some other kids at the bottom of the depth chart.
ReplyDeleteMcGoven needs a bit of work. Blazers goalie played real well but looked like the tigers were unsure of the guy in our net. I guess McGoven needs experience. Just thought he should have had a couple of those.
ReplyDeleteThey were unsure of the guy in our net. What does that mean? First goal was a broken play that led to a lucky break for the Blazers, then poor puck management on the power play cost them two shorties. Chysowskis goal is probably one he'd like to have back but other than that thought he played okay.
ReplyDeleteI agree with
ReplyDeletefan! That game sure wasn't McGoverns fault
Fisher is a surprise to me this year. Playing so well! Nice to see.
ReplyDeleteI could very well be mistaken so don't quote me on this but Tuesday's game against victoria only had 3552 people attend. Is that the first game where the 4006 mark was broken?? (previous arena sellout mark)
ReplyDeleteAlso Connor Clouston was listed as being deleted off the Tigers roster. I believe The overage Deadline day Is Today (Wednesday) as listed by Brandon's Newspaper
http://www.brandonsun.com/sports/hockey/overage-deadline-arrives-in-western-hockey-league-396745971.html?viewAllComments=y
So their might be some movement today regarding overagers.
The tigers have been terrible in the last 2 games and I don't know why! They seem slow, outshot and outplayed. But they can play so well. Been frustrating to watch. And not surprising, numbers dropping, the bad play can not be helping.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the last 2 games frustrating to watch. Just as soon as there is any adversity on the ice Clouston shuffles the lines. How can the players build chemistry/familiarity with each other? So tired of Clouston's style.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, they shuffled the lines against Moose Jaw and came back from 4 down to win in ot.
ReplyDeleteDon't think those 5-1 scores in the last two games are indicative of the way the games went. The Kamloops game they controlled the play for the most part but were sloppy with the puck on the power play and Connor Ingram was real good in the Kamloops net. Last night they wernt sharp to start but in both games every mistake they made ended up in the net. That and the power play that was scorching hot has cooled off.
Caleb Fantillo traded to Saskatoon for a draft pick.
ReplyDeleteYes shuffling the lines worked once.
ReplyDeleteOn the surface this move seems a bit odd as it leaves the Tigers with only 1 extra forward, however I feel that this was a mutually beneficial move because Fantillo was later down the line on the depth charts and likely wanted more ice-time than what the Tigers could give him.
ReplyDeleteFantillo will probably develop into a pretty good player, as he has decent numbers as a 17 and could become a top 6 guy later in his whl career. The blades should get pretty good value out of this.
The Tigers do have a bunch of 16/17 forwards that will make the jump next season, so it does give more room for that next season.
Would have been nice to have Butcher for the Van game. Could have used his scoring touch.
ReplyDeleteI do not get why Butcher is getting a suspension on a slash that was not called and really the refs dont now if that was the cause of the other players injury. Pretty soft suspension it seems.
ReplyDeleteI was shocked to hear about the Fantillo trade. Is something else in the works? Seems like a strange trade, he was a good young player. I know we have lots in the pipeline but not until next year. Given that, seems like something must be in play.....
ReplyDeleteRegards to Butcher and "supplemental discipline, the opposing team sends in a tape along with a fee, and the whl determines a potential punishment/non punishment.
ReplyDeleteThe league told Clouston Bean Broke his finger on the slash. Clouston said it was a 1 handed slash and doesn't think it was worth more than 1 game.
Drinnan is reporting that Calgary has said Bean is out week to week with an upper body injury. A broken finger generally takes 3-6 weeks to heal depending on the bone and break.
Going back over past suspensions for supplemental discipline, The majority of suspensions are 2 and 3 games. Their are a few more rarer cases where 1 and 4 game suspensions have been handed out. We have also seen a high degree of importance played on how badly a player is injured. I haven't seen the video so I won't comment, but lets hope it is only the 1 game.
----------
Caleb Fantillo - I sounded a little too optimistic in my previous comment about him, although I do think the blades are getting a really good deal. Fantillo is a bit of a late bloomer, however I think has a high degree of potential to turn out better than 6th round value.
I have no inside info, but I would highly bet Fantillo wanted more icetime, and the Tigers couldn't give it to him because of their depth in the lineup. Fantillo had sat out 3 straight games prior to playing against Victoria and was traded a day or two later.
I may be totally off base and completely wrong, I don't know what goes on, but I suspect this was Clouston adapting based on past experiences, knowing he isn't getting ideal returns but trying to keep a healthy dressing room atmosphere and getting some value in return and I would applaud him for that.
Bobby Fox - I have heard that he has taken over the Tigers penalty Kill systems and I want to applaud him for finally getting them to play a more aggressive style. I think a controlled aggressive style much better suits a quicker team.
ReplyDelete2 Years ago when the Tigers had all those star defenceman and Langhamer they sat at 81.3% which is respectable, but perhaps they could have been better.
Last season they were 2nd worst at a 73.9%. kill rate.
Bobby Fox has this group playing at a very respectable 85.7% mind you it is only 10 games in and the sample size is low. Let's hope that rate can continue!
Three games for Butcher.
ReplyDeleteLol.. What a joke
DeleteThe future appears to be bright for the future of this team. No less than 6 drafted players are playing this week in the U16 challenge cup taking place in Calgary.
ReplyDeleteShould be a great game tonight! Sucks though that the flu is going through the room (though it's that time of the year).
ReplyDeleteAt times for certain players there doesn't seem to be any consequences for sub par play. #'s 19 and 21 were a combined -9 last night but were stilled rolled out on their regular shifts. Including the empty net goals David Quennville was on the ice for 7 of the 8 goals against. To me that is unacceptable but to the coaching staff it apparently isn't
ReplyDeleteI was discussing with a fan the frustration that this team is the anti Red Deer. Red Deer plays one style and if you can play the full ice you are gone and you could be their captain and best player, doesn't matter he makes players responsible. The Tigers love to hold on to failed picks in hopes they will turn around where if they would explore moving them to a new culture and introducing a new player who may play the system better. Id love to see Schultz switched out for someone else's struggling 18 year old. The 3 rookie defensemen out play him in almost every game they are dressed.
DeleteThat aside, this team has so much potential to hang with the powerhouse pats like that. I just hope clouston makes a move for a power forward and we go for potential strong contender to a team that can give Regina/Brandon/Lethbridge a ton of problems. Would be really disappointing if they don't upgrade the roster in some way as that entire first unit is probably all gone next year
I agree with your train of thought, that they need to get better defensively.
ReplyDeleteThey are near the top in goals scored, near the bottom in goals against.
I feel They have a group of veteran guys who if all 5 players on the ice commit to defence they will get a lot better in their own zone.
However I also believe their defensive capabilities are only average.
Ryan Chyzowski has replaced Joe Veleno on the CANWhite roster WorldU17. https://t.co/GGBKkAE6ax Future looks bright for this ream IMO
ReplyDeleteI would also like to see Schultz traded for a good solid defenceman. I have never been wowed by his play. He often seems to float along and not have much fire in him. Lacks aggression down low and seems to lack a little fire in his belly to win each shift. Not sure but I think they will have to do something about our weak defence.
ReplyDeleteSchultz shows glimmers of excellence and then at times he is flat and I agree, not very aggressive or competitive at times. I am not sure what the tigers will plan. Seems they have some good defensive talent coming up, getting a senior guy or two would help out this year but also next year!
ReplyDeleteGood play by all the tigers in the last 2 games. Good to see some good road games. Hope they can keep it up for the rest of the road trip!
ReplyDeleteI agree and have thought that there has been a bit better defensive play.
ReplyDeleteI agree I saw more players hustling back into their end the last 2 games, good work.
ReplyDeleteThey will have a tough test on Wednesday against PG.
Great Win Against PG tonight!. Percentage wise PG was 2nd best in the league, although I don't think many people watched with game 7 of the world series on tv.
ReplyDeleteTheir were some shenanigans at the end of the game.
Their was .4 seconds left in the game with the Tigers up 6-4. Off the faceoff PG player Kody McDonald 2 handed slashed Chad Butcher. McDonald received a 5 minute major and a game misconduct. McDonald is likely going to receive a suspension Butcher looked no worse for wear.
Also it was off camera but once the camera panned in Sam Ruopp was standing over Steven Owre who somehow got knocked to the ice, and Sam was ragdolling Owre on the ice. Owre was the first star of the game with a goal and 3 assists. Ruopp got 5 for fighting and a game misconduct.
Other penalties handed out during the scrum was Josh anderson and Jesse Gabrielle of PG as both received 2 minute roughing penalties. The only tiger to get a penalty was a 2 minute rough by Zach Fischer as he fended off an aggressive Anderson off the faceoff.
Tigers have a day off and face Kamloops friday, and Kelowna Saturday. Both teams are a game above .500
Kody McDonald should have the book thrown at him, he's only out there for one thing at the time and it's to cause crap. It's no accident he had 137 PIM last year.
DeleteSo glad they won in PG but have to say it was not their best game. They are capable of better play then that. They were a little slow and lazy to defend at times. If they put in full effort who knows what they would be capable of!
ReplyDeleteI only watched bits and pieces, but the PG guys mentioned they were taking advantage of the Tigers and not keeping tabs on the 3rd forwards and generated some offense in the second and third off of that.
ReplyDeleteSam Ruopp also suspended for one man fight in last five minutes of game. The length of the suspensions should come down in the next day or two.
ReplyDeleteSam Ruopp 8 games
ReplyDeleteKody McDonald 3 games
Richard Matvichuk fined 500 dollars.
Cougars fihed $1,000.00
Well the fines are automatic. The mcDonald slash seems about right. I think Ruopp got 8 games because he is a repeat offender. Last season he was suspended twice for kneeing majors. 2 games, and 5 games.
ReplyDeleteHeck of a road trip! Well done tigers! I think had Schneids been in net we would have taken every game. McGoven will need more games......I feel unsure he will be ready to take the reins next year. I really hope we have Schneids for another year.
ReplyDeleteWOW
ReplyDeleteLooks like Lethbridge is having troubles in the dressing room. Peter Anholt has stated publicly that their were issues last week. Their are rumors that canes players were involved in a fight somewhere in the community.
They just traded highly touted 19yr old scoring forward Brayden Burke (109pts last year) to Moose Jaw for a 17yr old defenceman + a 2nd, + a conditional pick.
I've heard the said fight happened in the states before their October 28th/29th game.
DeleteDoes not matter how talented the guys are, if they have a bad attitude or are disruptive in the dressing room then they need to go. Good on the Canes for making the move, hope it helps them get stability. They have come so far in making that club better, I am not a fan by any stretch of the imagination but I dont want to see the team go backwards.
ReplyDeleteI feel for them, I feel the tigers have had their fair share of less then ideal guys in the dressing room over the last 5 years. Nothing like what is coming out of Leth (fighting in the community) but it is tough when a talented guy is a bad apple.
ReplyDeleteHow many games do we have to wait for another TT write up?
ReplyDeleteGood point it's been a while. It's already the 25% mark of the season, so I'll try and cook something up here shortly.
ReplyDeleteHaven't had a favorite Tiger in awhile, love Shaw kid has game and isn't afraid of anybody depisite his size.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to #19, I dunno, he is +4 on the season so far, chips in a lot offensively. I agree in that his defence needs ongoing work. But any kid who is chipping in and still on the positive side of plus/minus - I am not so quick to drag his name through the mud.
ReplyDelete