Not a good game to watch from a Tigers point of View.
Too many turnovers and Bad Decisions. You can't blame your goaltender when your team is giving up 40+ shots.
Bright Spots
I thought Spenser Jensen and Patrik Parkkonen played pretty well, and Emerson Etem of course scoring a hat-trick. 3 Goals away from 50 and 5 points back from the whl scoring leader Ty Rattie.
Also Boston Leier had a pretty good game scoring a decisive win in a fight vs Rebel Cory Millette.
I 100% agreed with Emerson Etem's Comments on the Radio after the game saying each player needs to be accountable, whether it be thier pre-game routine, preparation, or sleep patterns and work on doing all the small things right.
The Rebels dressed a young 15 year old Haydn Fleury. He saw some ice time in the first period alongside Alex Petrovic, but didn't see much ice after that. The Rebels were missing Mathew Dumba who is away at the top prospects game, and 3 other players including Adam Kambeitz and Justin Weller
Edit
Kale Kessy is listed as out week to week on the Injury Report that Just came out today.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Hitmen Defeat the Tigers 5-2
First Period
The First two Hitmen goals came off a 4 minute powerply after Matt Konan sticked a guy in the face......It was a little unfortunate because about 7 seconds prior Curtis Valk had been sneakily tripped up behind the net by Hitmen Victor Rask.
The First Hitmen goal Tyler Bunz would have liked to have back. A bad angle shot from the lower circle somehow found its way past Tyler Bunz. 2 minutes later on the same powerplay A point shot from Collin Bowman was deflected in by Danny Gayle.
2-0 Hitmen
By the end of the period the Hitmen had put on a ton of pressure and were starting to control the game.
2nd Period
The Tigers came out with a better effort. On the Powerplay James Bettauer did a nice job at getting open down low and Emerson Etem fed him a perfect cross Ice pass. Bettauer buried the one-times wrist shot scoring his 18th of the season.
2-1 Hitmen
Curtis Valk would walk out from the half wall and fed it to Emerson Etem down in the corner. Etem passed it out front and Hunter Shinkaruk managed to get a stick on it potting it into the half open cage despite being partially tied up.
2-2 TIE
Every single goal scored at ths point were powerplay goals. Tyler Lewington took a tripping penalty late in the 2nd period....dun dun dunnnnnnn......
Third Period
The Hitmen would cash in on their powerplay again, as Alex Gogolev rifled a perfect shot top corner over bunz on the short side.
WTF Just Happened
Now a very confusing scnenario happened, and I wasn't sure what happened till I re-watched the webcast....Calgary Forward Trevor Cheeck fired a shot on net from the top of the circle that handcuffed Tyler Bunz. Cheek saw the puck go in and put up his hands to celebrate however the puck would end up going completely through the net and play continued quickly up Ice.
Hunter Shinkaruk would whack a puck out of the air which was saved by the Hitmen goalie Brandon Glover......after the whistle the refs went upstairs to review the play.....everyone was a little confused as to why the Shinkaruk shot was being reviewed as it looked like a clear save (Turns out they were actually reviewing the Trevor Cheek goal).....
After the refs reviewed the play the ref signalled a goal and the arena erupted in cheers after the scoreclock operator added a goal to the Tigers side making it 3-3.
They dropped the puck and we all thought the game was tied.....half a minute later the Arena announcer says "Hitmen Goal scored by #29 Trevor Cheek....we looked up at the scoreclock and it then read 4-2 for the Hitmen......really weird play.....fans had erupted in cheers thinking it was a tie game...only moments later to see that it was the Hitmen who were credited with the goal....First time I've seen an opposition goal being cheered on by the fans ROFL.
The Tigers would pull thier goaltender but Hitmen Forward Joe Kornelson fired a rolling puck down the Ice. It looked to be going wide but curved its way right into the middle of the net. Final Score 5-2 Hitmen
Thoughts
Tyler bunz didn't have a sharp night tonight. But anytime the opposition fires more than 30 shots on net..let alone 39.....you didn't play well defensively. The Hitmen didn't play any different than what they have been playing like recently. Last week the Tigers caught them on an off game when they won 5-1... tonight the Hitmen played their systems well and played smart hockey. They dont have any stars but they are very good away from the puck at getting open and creating passing lanes.
------------------------------------------
Miles Koules
Looks like the NCAA North Dakota Fighting Sioux is making a real strong push for Tigers Prospect Miles Koules. The Tigers recently aquired his rights at the whl trade deadline in exchanage for Reid Petryk.
According to his twitter feed he Visited North Dakota's Campus last week.....
His Twitter Profile Reads..."LA native. Hockey player for Team USA u18. North Dakota Fighting Sioux for the fall of 2012."
One of his recent Tweets...
"Great win for the Sioux last night vs Wisco. Such a fun visit. Can't wait to start playing here."
...
The First two Hitmen goals came off a 4 minute powerply after Matt Konan sticked a guy in the face......It was a little unfortunate because about 7 seconds prior Curtis Valk had been sneakily tripped up behind the net by Hitmen Victor Rask.
The First Hitmen goal Tyler Bunz would have liked to have back. A bad angle shot from the lower circle somehow found its way past Tyler Bunz. 2 minutes later on the same powerplay A point shot from Collin Bowman was deflected in by Danny Gayle.
2-0 Hitmen
By the end of the period the Hitmen had put on a ton of pressure and were starting to control the game.
2nd Period
The Tigers came out with a better effort. On the Powerplay James Bettauer did a nice job at getting open down low and Emerson Etem fed him a perfect cross Ice pass. Bettauer buried the one-times wrist shot scoring his 18th of the season.
2-1 Hitmen
Curtis Valk would walk out from the half wall and fed it to Emerson Etem down in the corner. Etem passed it out front and Hunter Shinkaruk managed to get a stick on it potting it into the half open cage despite being partially tied up.
2-2 TIE
Every single goal scored at ths point were powerplay goals. Tyler Lewington took a tripping penalty late in the 2nd period....dun dun dunnnnnnn......
Third Period
The Hitmen would cash in on their powerplay again, as Alex Gogolev rifled a perfect shot top corner over bunz on the short side.
WTF Just Happened
Now a very confusing scnenario happened, and I wasn't sure what happened till I re-watched the webcast....Calgary Forward Trevor Cheeck fired a shot on net from the top of the circle that handcuffed Tyler Bunz. Cheek saw the puck go in and put up his hands to celebrate however the puck would end up going completely through the net and play continued quickly up Ice.
Hunter Shinkaruk would whack a puck out of the air which was saved by the Hitmen goalie Brandon Glover......after the whistle the refs went upstairs to review the play.....everyone was a little confused as to why the Shinkaruk shot was being reviewed as it looked like a clear save (Turns out they were actually reviewing the Trevor Cheek goal).....
After the refs reviewed the play the ref signalled a goal and the arena erupted in cheers after the scoreclock operator added a goal to the Tigers side making it 3-3.
They dropped the puck and we all thought the game was tied.....half a minute later the Arena announcer says "Hitmen Goal scored by #29 Trevor Cheek....we looked up at the scoreclock and it then read 4-2 for the Hitmen......really weird play.....fans had erupted in cheers thinking it was a tie game...only moments later to see that it was the Hitmen who were credited with the goal....First time I've seen an opposition goal being cheered on by the fans ROFL.
The Tigers would pull thier goaltender but Hitmen Forward Joe Kornelson fired a rolling puck down the Ice. It looked to be going wide but curved its way right into the middle of the net. Final Score 5-2 Hitmen
Thoughts
Tyler bunz didn't have a sharp night tonight. But anytime the opposition fires more than 30 shots on net..let alone 39.....you didn't play well defensively. The Hitmen didn't play any different than what they have been playing like recently. Last week the Tigers caught them on an off game when they won 5-1... tonight the Hitmen played their systems well and played smart hockey. They dont have any stars but they are very good away from the puck at getting open and creating passing lanes.
------------------------------------------
Miles Koules
Looks like the NCAA North Dakota Fighting Sioux is making a real strong push for Tigers Prospect Miles Koules. The Tigers recently aquired his rights at the whl trade deadline in exchanage for Reid Petryk.
According to his twitter feed he Visited North Dakota's Campus last week.....
His Twitter Profile Reads..."LA native. Hockey player for Team USA u18. North Dakota Fighting Sioux for the fall of 2012."
One of his recent Tweets...
"Great win for the Sioux last night vs Wisco. Such a fun visit. Can't wait to start playing here."
...
Friday, January 27, 2012
Tigers Destroy Canes 8-2
Emerson Etem and Curtis Valk both had hat tricks tonight. Emerson Etem flew into calgary and met the team in Lethbridge for the game tonight.
Their were so many goals tonight that I'm just gonna point out some thoughts.
Curtis Valk
Curtis Valk had a really rough first period taking a hit from behind and a stick to the face early in the game. He made the Canes pay for it popping in 3 goals. (2 on the powerplay). Again this kid has really stepped his game up another notch. He takes a lot of punishment and its good to see him being rewarded for his efforts.
Kale Kessy
After Hurricanes Player Spencer Galbraith got rid of the puck at the point Kale Kessy came charging in to deliver a hit to the canes defender. Spencer Galbraith had anticipated the hit and both players had thier mitts and sticks up high. Galbraith knocked Kessy off his feet. Kessy would get up and fall over woozily before making his way to the bench. He left the game and did not return. I expect he will be out with a concussion. Tough loss for the Tigers as IMO Kessy had been turning a corner and improving quite a bit recently.
Canes bring their B game?
I thought the canes stuck with the Tigers for the first 20 minutes but for the first time we've seen them this year they didnt bring their A+ game for the full 60 minutes. Every game this year the Canes have played the Tigers extremely tough and I thought tonight the Tigers finally were able to capitalize on their scoring chances and bury their many chances they have had on Canes Goaltender Damien Ketlo.
Etem, Bettauer and Valk all had 4 point nights. The Tigers are on a 6 game winning streak.
Up Next
Tigers Next game is at Home Saturday Night vs the Surging Calgary Hitmen. With Kootenays 7-6 OT Loss to Prince Albert The TIgers take sole possesion of 3rd place...2 points back of Moose Jaw who defeated the blades 2-1..the Hitmen and Ice are 3 points back with a game in hand.
Their were so many goals tonight that I'm just gonna point out some thoughts.
Curtis Valk
Curtis Valk had a really rough first period taking a hit from behind and a stick to the face early in the game. He made the Canes pay for it popping in 3 goals. (2 on the powerplay). Again this kid has really stepped his game up another notch. He takes a lot of punishment and its good to see him being rewarded for his efforts.
Kale Kessy
After Hurricanes Player Spencer Galbraith got rid of the puck at the point Kale Kessy came charging in to deliver a hit to the canes defender. Spencer Galbraith had anticipated the hit and both players had thier mitts and sticks up high. Galbraith knocked Kessy off his feet. Kessy would get up and fall over woozily before making his way to the bench. He left the game and did not return. I expect he will be out with a concussion. Tough loss for the Tigers as IMO Kessy had been turning a corner and improving quite a bit recently.
Canes bring their B game?
I thought the canes stuck with the Tigers for the first 20 minutes but for the first time we've seen them this year they didnt bring their A+ game for the full 60 minutes. Every game this year the Canes have played the Tigers extremely tough and I thought tonight the Tigers finally were able to capitalize on their scoring chances and bury their many chances they have had on Canes Goaltender Damien Ketlo.
Etem, Bettauer and Valk all had 4 point nights. The Tigers are on a 6 game winning streak.
Up Next
Tigers Next game is at Home Saturday Night vs the Surging Calgary Hitmen. With Kootenays 7-6 OT Loss to Prince Albert The TIgers take sole possesion of 3rd place...2 points back of Moose Jaw who defeated the blades 2-1..the Hitmen and Ice are 3 points back with a game in hand.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Tigers Defeat Raiders 6-5
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Edit: No Recap for the P.A Game.
Kootenay Lost, and Edmonton Lost In Overtime Wednesday So the Tigers gain some ground on those two.
Etem missed the game because he went back home to California, since he missed the christmas break at world junoirs.
MH News Article
http://www.medicinehatnews.com/local-sports/nines-go-wild-for-tigers-raiders.html
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Kellan Tochkin
Prince Albert SK – The Prince Albert Raiders have announced that 20-year-old right-winger Kellan Tochkin will be out for 4-5 months with a broken wrist.
Tochkin will be seeing a specialist in Vancouver in the coming days, and is set to undergo surgery next week.
The Raiders acquired the Abbotsford, British Columbia native in late October from the Medicine Hat Tigers. In 29 games with the green and gold this season, Tochkin scored 14 goals and 15 assists for 29 points while recording a plus 7 rating. In his WHL career, the Vancouver Canucks prospect has recorded 243 points, including 91 goals and 152 assists, in 256 games.
http://www.raiderhockey.com/article/raiders-tochkin-out-4-5-months/114640
http://twitter.com/toch16
Edit: No Recap for the P.A Game.
Kootenay Lost, and Edmonton Lost In Overtime Wednesday So the Tigers gain some ground on those two.
Etem missed the game because he went back home to California, since he missed the christmas break at world junoirs.
MH News Article
http://www.medicinehatnews.com/local-sports/nines-go-wild-for-tigers-raiders.html
-------------------------------------------
Kellan Tochkin
Prince Albert SK – The Prince Albert Raiders have announced that 20-year-old right-winger Kellan Tochkin will be out for 4-5 months with a broken wrist.
Tochkin will be seeing a specialist in Vancouver in the coming days, and is set to undergo surgery next week.
The Raiders acquired the Abbotsford, British Columbia native in late October from the Medicine Hat Tigers. In 29 games with the green and gold this season, Tochkin scored 14 goals and 15 assists for 29 points while recording a plus 7 rating. In his WHL career, the Vancouver Canucks prospect has recorded 243 points, including 91 goals and 152 assists, in 256 games.
http://www.raiderhockey.com/article/raiders-tochkin-out-4-5-months/114640
http://twitter.com/toch16
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Tigers Beat up on the Hitmen 5 - 1
No Recap for the Tigers Vs Bronco Game
MH News Article Link: http://www.medicinehatnews.com/local-sports
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The Calgary Hitmen came into the game with an 8 game winning streak.
First Period
Kale Kessy would get called for a phantom elbow penalty, after trying to squeeze along the boards to pick up the puck. The Tigers would kill it off.
James Bettauer fired a shot on net and Brendan Hurley was Johnny on the spot scoring on a rebound with a wide open net. 1-0 Tigers.
Second Period
The Tigers would get off to an incredible start. 11 Seconds in Shorthanded Emerson Raced down the Ice as the Hitmen won the Draw and his hard pressure forced the Hitmen defenceman back behind his net and a bad pass up the wall. Dylan Bredo scooped it up fired it back over to Etem who beat Hitmen Tender Brandon Glover blocker side. 2-0 Tigers
43 Seconds later ( 1 second after calgary;s PP expired) James Bettauer made a heads up play and fired a slap shot on calgary's net from his own Zone. GLover kicked out a huge rebound, and Curtis Valk would pick up the puck and fire a shot on net. Valk's first shot was stopped as Glover slid out of his net on the stop. Valk would pick up the uncovered puck and shoot it into the empty net. 3-0 Tigers
3 Minutes later the Hitmen would get on board. On a 4 on 4 Hunter Shinkaruk being the high forward chased his man deep into his end and it left the point slot open. Jimmy Bubnick would receive a pass and fired a one-time howitzer from the top of the circle..Bunz didnt have much chance. 3-1 Tigers
Emerson Etem would pot his 2nd of the game and 39th of the season after Picking off a pass from Hitmen Defender Peter Kostermann. Etem walked in alone and fired a shot top corner. 4-1 Tigers
From here the Tempers started to flair.
FIGHT ETEM VS RISSLING
Etem would get a chance to score driving to the net. Jaynen Rissling would finish the check after the whistle. Etem turned around and challeneged him and they dropped their gloves. Etem threw a flurry of rights and landed 1 through the face shield. Risling would adjust his position and threw a right that missed. They would fall to the Ice after Rissling threw a punch that either missed or hit the back of Etems Helmet. They would get up briefly as Etem threw a nother punch.
Largely a draw, small edge to Etem.
Hitmen Spencer Humphries would get called for cross checking after taking out Brendan Hurley. Grbavac tried to step in and challenge him but nothing happened.
Right off the Faceoff the puck went behind the Hitmen net. Kale Kessy came chargin in and caught the side of the Hitmen Goalie who came out to play the puck....and it started a big kufuffle.
Kessy threw down his gloves right away and Peter Kostermann Obliged. Kessy threw a big haymaker and that was all for that fight. WIN Kessy.
Jayden Hart was right in the middle of the Action as he had two hitmen players clawing at him. Hart would drop his gloves pretty much fighting off 2 hitmen. 1 was bear huggin him from behind the other thew down his mits and landed a shot. Grbavac came in and picked off the 2nd hitmen player who then suddenly had no more will to fight....Meanwhile Hart wrestled his man to the Ice.
...phew
3rd Period
Cole Grbavac would end his ten game goal drought. Tigers had a 2 on 2 up the Ice. Curtis Valk skated hard to the net while Grbavac slowed down just passed the blueline. Grbavac cut across the Ice and fired a top shelf shot past Brandon Glover. 5-1 Tigers
Fight
Rob Trzonski would give a little cross check to Busenius bending him over Tyler Bunz. Busenius took issue with it.
Dylan Busenius Vs Rob Trzonkowski
Busenius did a very good job at Tieing Trzonkowski up. Managed to land a couple rabbit punches to the face. Trzonski would then land a couple off the top of Busenius's helmet. Busenius would land another short punch at the end.
Decision: Busenius.
Thoughts
Tigers kept up their high energy work ethic, and took it to Calgary. Emerson Etem had about 7-8 really good scoring chances and was in the zone. Its great to see his high energy attack back. The Tigers cut down on the turnovers near the blueline, and generated 45 shots on goal.
I thought the Tigers did a really good job from the forwards scooping up loose pucks in their end and getting it out on the first chance. Defence was a little sloppy in the first period but Tyler Bunz' strong play kept the Tigers in the lead.
Curtis Valk looks like he has taken his game to another level. He has looked real dangerous on the Ice for the past few games. James Bettauer also had a really good game offensively despite only getting 1 assist.
I thought the Tigers generated quite a bit of their early offence from their defenceman who were getting pucks on net. In the first period the Defence was a little sloppy but they got much better in the 2nd and 3rd as the forwards did a great job at picking up loose pucks and creating offense out of it.
The Tigers remain in 4th with the win. Their next game is Friday on the road against Regina, and Back in the Hat Saturday against Swift Current.
MH News Article Link: http://www.medicinehatnews.com/local-sports
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The Calgary Hitmen came into the game with an 8 game winning streak.
First Period
Kale Kessy would get called for a phantom elbow penalty, after trying to squeeze along the boards to pick up the puck. The Tigers would kill it off.
James Bettauer fired a shot on net and Brendan Hurley was Johnny on the spot scoring on a rebound with a wide open net. 1-0 Tigers.
Second Period
The Tigers would get off to an incredible start. 11 Seconds in Shorthanded Emerson Raced down the Ice as the Hitmen won the Draw and his hard pressure forced the Hitmen defenceman back behind his net and a bad pass up the wall. Dylan Bredo scooped it up fired it back over to Etem who beat Hitmen Tender Brandon Glover blocker side. 2-0 Tigers
43 Seconds later ( 1 second after calgary;s PP expired) James Bettauer made a heads up play and fired a slap shot on calgary's net from his own Zone. GLover kicked out a huge rebound, and Curtis Valk would pick up the puck and fire a shot on net. Valk's first shot was stopped as Glover slid out of his net on the stop. Valk would pick up the uncovered puck and shoot it into the empty net. 3-0 Tigers
3 Minutes later the Hitmen would get on board. On a 4 on 4 Hunter Shinkaruk being the high forward chased his man deep into his end and it left the point slot open. Jimmy Bubnick would receive a pass and fired a one-time howitzer from the top of the circle..Bunz didnt have much chance. 3-1 Tigers
Emerson Etem would pot his 2nd of the game and 39th of the season after Picking off a pass from Hitmen Defender Peter Kostermann. Etem walked in alone and fired a shot top corner. 4-1 Tigers
From here the Tempers started to flair.
FIGHT ETEM VS RISSLING
Etem would get a chance to score driving to the net. Jaynen Rissling would finish the check after the whistle. Etem turned around and challeneged him and they dropped their gloves. Etem threw a flurry of rights and landed 1 through the face shield. Risling would adjust his position and threw a right that missed. They would fall to the Ice after Rissling threw a punch that either missed or hit the back of Etems Helmet. They would get up briefly as Etem threw a nother punch.
Largely a draw, small edge to Etem.
Hitmen Spencer Humphries would get called for cross checking after taking out Brendan Hurley. Grbavac tried to step in and challenge him but nothing happened.
Right off the Faceoff the puck went behind the Hitmen net. Kale Kessy came chargin in and caught the side of the Hitmen Goalie who came out to play the puck....and it started a big kufuffle.
Kessy threw down his gloves right away and Peter Kostermann Obliged. Kessy threw a big haymaker and that was all for that fight. WIN Kessy.
Jayden Hart was right in the middle of the Action as he had two hitmen players clawing at him. Hart would drop his gloves pretty much fighting off 2 hitmen. 1 was bear huggin him from behind the other thew down his mits and landed a shot. Grbavac came in and picked off the 2nd hitmen player who then suddenly had no more will to fight....Meanwhile Hart wrestled his man to the Ice.
...phew
3rd Period
Cole Grbavac would end his ten game goal drought. Tigers had a 2 on 2 up the Ice. Curtis Valk skated hard to the net while Grbavac slowed down just passed the blueline. Grbavac cut across the Ice and fired a top shelf shot past Brandon Glover. 5-1 Tigers
Fight
Rob Trzonski would give a little cross check to Busenius bending him over Tyler Bunz. Busenius took issue with it.
Dylan Busenius Vs Rob Trzonkowski
Busenius did a very good job at Tieing Trzonkowski up. Managed to land a couple rabbit punches to the face. Trzonski would then land a couple off the top of Busenius's helmet. Busenius would land another short punch at the end.
Decision: Busenius.
Thoughts
Tigers kept up their high energy work ethic, and took it to Calgary. Emerson Etem had about 7-8 really good scoring chances and was in the zone. Its great to see his high energy attack back. The Tigers cut down on the turnovers near the blueline, and generated 45 shots on goal.
I thought the Tigers did a really good job from the forwards scooping up loose pucks in their end and getting it out on the first chance. Defence was a little sloppy in the first period but Tyler Bunz' strong play kept the Tigers in the lead.
Curtis Valk looks like he has taken his game to another level. He has looked real dangerous on the Ice for the past few games. James Bettauer also had a really good game offensively despite only getting 1 assist.
I thought the Tigers generated quite a bit of their early offence from their defenceman who were getting pucks on net. In the first period the Defence was a little sloppy but they got much better in the 2nd and 3rd as the forwards did a great job at picking up loose pucks and creating offense out of it.
The Tigers remain in 4th with the win. Their next game is Friday on the road against Regina, and Back in the Hat Saturday against Swift Current.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Tigers Defeat Warriors 6-3
Very entertaining hockey game at the Arena tonight. Tyler Bunz recorded his 100th career win.
I thought Kale Kessy had his best game of the season. Very physical and also created some offense. He played very smart, kept his energy up the whole game, and showed why he is an nhl draft pick. Oh yeah he had 2 fights and kept battling and playing tough even though he took some licks in that first fight. Earned hardest working player for sure. Good Work Kale!
Curtis Valk scored a highlight reel goal undressing warriors defenceman Dallas Ehrhardt....probably going to be on the whl plays of the week.
Jayden Hart picked up his offensive game, He drove to the net twice, and created two really good scoring chances. He managed to score on one of them as Brendan Hurley was also drving to the net creating havoc in front. I'd lke to see more of that type of stuff from Hart.
I thought Mathew Konan, and Patrik Parkkonen had very good games on the back-end.
The whole team played pretty well. It was nice to see a full 60 minute effort. Moose Jaw has some real good depth on their roster and some very big physical defenseman. The Tigers offense picked their pockets quite a few times, and created quite a few good scoring chances. They had extremely quick transition from D to O in the first period
Brendan Hurley looked much better. Finished every hit, I still see that Kootenay system ingrained in him.
The Tigers made a few too many turnovers near their blueline..they cut that down and they cut down on a lot of shots.
Tyler Bunz looked tired...but then again he faced 38 shots.
Just looked at the standings and wow. 2 points seperates 2nd from 6th.
I thought Kale Kessy had his best game of the season. Very physical and also created some offense. He played very smart, kept his energy up the whole game, and showed why he is an nhl draft pick. Oh yeah he had 2 fights and kept battling and playing tough even though he took some licks in that first fight. Earned hardest working player for sure. Good Work Kale!
Curtis Valk scored a highlight reel goal undressing warriors defenceman Dallas Ehrhardt....probably going to be on the whl plays of the week.
Jayden Hart picked up his offensive game, He drove to the net twice, and created two really good scoring chances. He managed to score on one of them as Brendan Hurley was also drving to the net creating havoc in front. I'd lke to see more of that type of stuff from Hart.
I thought Mathew Konan, and Patrik Parkkonen had very good games on the back-end.
The whole team played pretty well. It was nice to see a full 60 minute effort. Moose Jaw has some real good depth on their roster and some very big physical defenseman. The Tigers offense picked their pockets quite a few times, and created quite a few good scoring chances. They had extremely quick transition from D to O in the first period
Brendan Hurley looked much better. Finished every hit, I still see that Kootenay system ingrained in him.
The Tigers made a few too many turnovers near their blueline..they cut that down and they cut down on a lot of shots.
Tyler Bunz looked tired...but then again he faced 38 shots.
Just looked at the standings and wow. 2 points seperates 2nd from 6th.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Oil Kings Defeat Tigers 6-2
The Oil Kings looked really good. They reminded me quite a bit of Tri-City. Very very quick and smart offensively. Not only using a north south game, but also combining a east west game, then hesitating when needed to find trailers and create space.
The Oil Kings were very good at using their speed, slowing down, then finding passing options. I thought they also did a very good job at blocking shots from the Tigers defenceman making it really hard for the Tigers to generate tips and rebounds.
Dylan Wruck impressed me with his cannon of a wrist shot. Mark Pysyk had a very good shift where he had an end to end rush blowing past Etem and Konan, then finding Dylan Rachinski streaking past the new Tiger Brendan Hurley covering on Defense. 3 blown coverages...can't expect to win when you play like that.
It was mentioned on the radio that the Oil Kings didn't buy this year at the trade deadline because they felt that next year will be their year.
I thought Edmonton's quickness ripped open a lot of holes and the Tigers looked uncomfortable in their own zone.
A couple bright spots I thought Etem finally looked like his old self again. Trevor Cox scored a real nice goal with some good work from Cole Grbavac. The game really didn't blow open untill the late second period. The video of this game will be a very good tutorial on being smarter defensively.
Brendan Hurley
It was obvious that he looked a little unsure of where to go at times. The systems he was used to in Kootenay are probably a complete 180 of what the Tigers use. It may take him a couple weeks to adjust.
I thought this was really the first game this season where the Tigers looked outmatched.
Moose Jaw on Saturday. Moose Jaw is just as good if not better than Edmonton
The Oil Kings were very good at using their speed, slowing down, then finding passing options. I thought they also did a very good job at blocking shots from the Tigers defenceman making it really hard for the Tigers to generate tips and rebounds.
Dylan Wruck impressed me with his cannon of a wrist shot. Mark Pysyk had a very good shift where he had an end to end rush blowing past Etem and Konan, then finding Dylan Rachinski streaking past the new Tiger Brendan Hurley covering on Defense. 3 blown coverages...can't expect to win when you play like that.
It was mentioned on the radio that the Oil Kings didn't buy this year at the trade deadline because they felt that next year will be their year.
I thought Edmonton's quickness ripped open a lot of holes and the Tigers looked uncomfortable in their own zone.
A couple bright spots I thought Etem finally looked like his old self again. Trevor Cox scored a real nice goal with some good work from Cole Grbavac. The game really didn't blow open untill the late second period. The video of this game will be a very good tutorial on being smarter defensively.
Brendan Hurley
It was obvious that he looked a little unsure of where to go at times. The systems he was used to in Kootenay are probably a complete 180 of what the Tigers use. It may take him a couple weeks to adjust.
I thought this was really the first game this season where the Tigers looked outmatched.
Moose Jaw on Saturday. Moose Jaw is just as good if not better than Edmonton
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Thoughts on the Trade
Essentially they traded for Hurley to replace Petryk, and traded a 3rd rounder for everett List player Miles Kouls.
Tigers are basically saying either the prices were ridiculous and we didnt want to pay them, or we are content with our history of icing good teams every year and are patient enough waiting for a couple years when the young core develops into whl stars.
This is kind of a strange year where all 3 scenarios of: standing pat, selling, or buying have validity. The only cons to staying pat is that an early playoff exit would leave the tigers saying damn we should have been sellers.
Edit: To clarify a little I think they did the right thing in not selling, despite that fans will say we shoulda been sellers, moreso if their is an early exit in the playoffs. So yeah we can be a little disapointed that their were no flashy moves, but the Tigers have a history and a certain way of doing things and they didnt deviate from the plan.
From this point out the Tigers need to concentrate on a couple things.
1. Stop bunching up in front of thier net and get better at swatting away all the rebounds. This includes the penalty kill
2. They need to be aggressive and finish their hits. No need for highlight reel hits, just make the other team know they are going to get hit.
3. Use the defenceman to create space in the offensive zone and get them shooting at the net more for rebounds and tips.
I think a 2nd round in the playoffs would be deemed a successful season. It will be interesting to see if a team like Regina or Brandon can make their was back up the standings with thier significant adds at the deadline. Tigers still have potential to do more damage if they can get consistency in scoring, I think if they hit more and use thier defenseman more they might be able to get that.
Tigers GM Brad Mcewen's thoughts on the trades
http://www.tigershockey.com/video/index/id/baf218c6dc5dcd18ed31909487c24afc
Also swamped with work and fun today, will try to give scouting reports on these players tomorow.
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EDIT TWO
Added Brendan Hurley's Twitter Link ----------------->
Also the CSS Mid-Term ranking came out today. Prior to yesterday none of the Tigers made the list.(The Tigers '94 born players have late birthdays this year, and they have no first time eligible players on the roster)
However Recently Acquired Miles Koules is on the list ranked as the 151st North American Skater
Tigers are basically saying either the prices were ridiculous and we didnt want to pay them, or we are content with our history of icing good teams every year and are patient enough waiting for a couple years when the young core develops into whl stars.
This is kind of a strange year where all 3 scenarios of: standing pat, selling, or buying have validity. The only cons to staying pat is that an early playoff exit would leave the tigers saying damn we should have been sellers.
Edit: To clarify a little I think they did the right thing in not selling, despite that fans will say we shoulda been sellers, moreso if their is an early exit in the playoffs. So yeah we can be a little disapointed that their were no flashy moves, but the Tigers have a history and a certain way of doing things and they didnt deviate from the plan.
From this point out the Tigers need to concentrate on a couple things.
1. Stop bunching up in front of thier net and get better at swatting away all the rebounds. This includes the penalty kill
2. They need to be aggressive and finish their hits. No need for highlight reel hits, just make the other team know they are going to get hit.
3. Use the defenceman to create space in the offensive zone and get them shooting at the net more for rebounds and tips.
I think a 2nd round in the playoffs would be deemed a successful season. It will be interesting to see if a team like Regina or Brandon can make their was back up the standings with thier significant adds at the deadline. Tigers still have potential to do more damage if they can get consistency in scoring, I think if they hit more and use thier defenseman more they might be able to get that.
Tigers GM Brad Mcewen's thoughts on the trades
http://www.tigershockey.com/video/index/id/baf218c6dc5dcd18ed31909487c24afc
Also swamped with work and fun today, will try to give scouting reports on these players tomorow.
-------------
EDIT TWO
Added Brendan Hurley's Twitter Link ----------------->
Also the CSS Mid-Term ranking came out today. Prior to yesterday none of the Tigers made the list.(The Tigers '94 born players have late birthdays this year, and they have no first time eligible players on the roster)
However Recently Acquired Miles Koules is on the list ranked as the 151st North American Skater
Tigers Make Second Trade
Reid Petryk To Everett For Miles Koules. Koules is playing for the American Development team in the USHL. I'll digg up more info after work.
http://tigershockey.com/article/hurley-acquired-from-ice-petryk-dealt-to-everett
http://tigershockey.com/article/hurley-acquired-from-ice-petryk-dealt-to-everett
Tigers Make Trade
Brendan Hurley from Kootenay for a 3rd round pick in 2012. hurley is an 18 year old
http://www.whl.ca/roster/show/id/656.
http://www.whl.ca/roster/show/id/656.
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