Scout
10-23-2007, 04:36 PM
Blades goalies skating on thin ice
Cory Wolfe, The StarPhoenix
Published: Tuesday, October 23, 2007
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Saskatoon Blades coach-GM Lorne Molleken took a hard stance on soft goals Monday.
Following a morning skate at Memorial Coliseum, he challenged goaltenders Braden Holtby and Garrett Zemlak to step up their games.
"The way those two guys played last year as 17-year-olds, I thought goaltending would be the strength of our team," said Molleken, who's a former puck-blocker himself. "They've got to be better. They've made great saves, but every game they're letting in soft goals."
Molleken yanked Holtby 8:30 into Saturday's game against the Tri-City Americans. The Saskatoon goalie gave up a shorthanded softy when he failed to get his mitt on an unexceptional wrister by T.J. Fast.
The previous night in Spokane, Holtby couldn't squeeze his pads on a Tyler Johnson shot late in the second period. That goal tied the game 2-2 and Saskatoon went on to lose 3-2.
"He needs to step up and do a job for us," Molleken said of Holtby. "He has to be able to handle these pressures and perform. This is a huge year for him for a lot of different reasons. No. 1, it's important for our team; No. 2, there's the possibility of a world junior tryout; and No. 3, it's his draft year."
That's why Molleken is giving the sophomore netminder a chance to work himself out of this funk. Holtby gets the start -- his sixth straight -- tonight against the Portland Winter Hawks.
"I've kind of gotten caught up in looking forward too much and not focusing on the game at hand," Holtby confessed before practice.
When he's on, he's an intense and fiery competitor. But Holtby's off-ice persona is the antithesis of that. He's soft-spoken and polite, and he takes a studious approach to his craft.
"I worked a lot on my game in the off-season to not have to make those desperation saves a whole bunch," said Holtby. "Now it's just the little ones that are squeaking through.
"Sometimes it's bad luck and sometimes it's losing focus, but it is not in the back of my mind that those goals are going to happen again."
Of course, there's also the matter of the Blades' impotent offence. The team's aggressive play has generated plenty of scoring chances in the first two games of this five-game trip, but Saskatoon's conversion rate is woeful.
"We know that we've played some good hockey in the last two games," said winger Colton Gillies. "It's a matter of finding the net better than we have been."
Gillies and Derek Hulak were among the Blades on the ice early Monday to take extra shots before practice.
Despite a lack of results, the Blades "haven't been outworked in any of these games," said Molleken. A physical style has allowed all four Saskatoon lines to win battles along the boards.
"That's part of our identity," said Gillies. "Pretty much everyone here is over six feet tall, so there's no reason why we shouldn't be hitting out there."
BLADE BITS: The Blades expect to have D Teigan Zahn back in the lineup tonight. The 17-year-old Bethune native suffered a concussion Oct. 12 after being hit by Red Deer's J.D. Watt. Watt was slapped with a six-game suspension for the head shot . . . After tonight's game, the Blades bus to Everett for a Wednesday clash with the Silvertips.
Cory Wolfe, The StarPhoenix
Published: Tuesday, October 23, 2007
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Saskatoon Blades coach-GM Lorne Molleken took a hard stance on soft goals Monday.
Following a morning skate at Memorial Coliseum, he challenged goaltenders Braden Holtby and Garrett Zemlak to step up their games.
"The way those two guys played last year as 17-year-olds, I thought goaltending would be the strength of our team," said Molleken, who's a former puck-blocker himself. "They've got to be better. They've made great saves, but every game they're letting in soft goals."
Molleken yanked Holtby 8:30 into Saturday's game against the Tri-City Americans. The Saskatoon goalie gave up a shorthanded softy when he failed to get his mitt on an unexceptional wrister by T.J. Fast.
The previous night in Spokane, Holtby couldn't squeeze his pads on a Tyler Johnson shot late in the second period. That goal tied the game 2-2 and Saskatoon went on to lose 3-2.
"He needs to step up and do a job for us," Molleken said of Holtby. "He has to be able to handle these pressures and perform. This is a huge year for him for a lot of different reasons. No. 1, it's important for our team; No. 2, there's the possibility of a world junior tryout; and No. 3, it's his draft year."
That's why Molleken is giving the sophomore netminder a chance to work himself out of this funk. Holtby gets the start -- his sixth straight -- tonight against the Portland Winter Hawks.
"I've kind of gotten caught up in looking forward too much and not focusing on the game at hand," Holtby confessed before practice.
When he's on, he's an intense and fiery competitor. But Holtby's off-ice persona is the antithesis of that. He's soft-spoken and polite, and he takes a studious approach to his craft.
"I worked a lot on my game in the off-season to not have to make those desperation saves a whole bunch," said Holtby. "Now it's just the little ones that are squeaking through.
"Sometimes it's bad luck and sometimes it's losing focus, but it is not in the back of my mind that those goals are going to happen again."
Of course, there's also the matter of the Blades' impotent offence. The team's aggressive play has generated plenty of scoring chances in the first two games of this five-game trip, but Saskatoon's conversion rate is woeful.
"We know that we've played some good hockey in the last two games," said winger Colton Gillies. "It's a matter of finding the net better than we have been."
Gillies and Derek Hulak were among the Blades on the ice early Monday to take extra shots before practice.
Despite a lack of results, the Blades "haven't been outworked in any of these games," said Molleken. A physical style has allowed all four Saskatoon lines to win battles along the boards.
"That's part of our identity," said Gillies. "Pretty much everyone here is over six feet tall, so there's no reason why we shouldn't be hitting out there."
BLADE BITS: The Blades expect to have D Teigan Zahn back in the lineup tonight. The 17-year-old Bethune native suffered a concussion Oct. 12 after being hit by Red Deer's J.D. Watt. Watt was slapped with a six-game suspension for the head shot . . . After tonight's game, the Blades bus to Everett for a Wednesday clash with the Silvertips.