vs. Warriors

[nivek_wahs]

This game had it's moments and many of them were extremely dull and boring. Whatever happened to the "gong show hockey" that the 2 clubs used to participate in? The only scrap was with Elder and Delaronde (decision to Elder). There was lots of pushing and shoving but nothing else really. I also think that many officials have forgotten what a hook is.

When the Pats took the play to the Warriors in the OT and Perricone stoned them my first thought about the shoot out was.... Not again! Props to Rowat for actually making a couple Warriors think in the shoot out. Eberle's goal in the shoot out was just sick. I feel that Gross will step it up and make his name be known more and more each game. Good win for the Pats.

[nivek_wahs]

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/sports/story.html?id=da1a4ae1-0ca7-4886-b158-bda01f3b9046


Pats pepper Perricone en route to one-goal win

Greg Harder, Leader-Post
Published: Saturday, December 15, 2007

Goaltender Joey Perricone saved the streak on Friday night but he couldn't quite save the Moose Jaw Warriors.

Cody Gross's controversial shootout goal -- his second of the night -- spoiled a brilliant performance by Perricone, who made 34 saves in a 3-2 loss to the Regina Pats before 5,459 fans at the Brandt Centre.

With the shootout loss, Moose Jaw still picked up a single point for the 11th straight game.

"We weren't surprised (about Perricone's performance)," said Pats interim head coach Terry Perkins. "In his past 10 games I think his save percentage is about .965 which is unbelievable. That's a tribute to him and the team that's playing in front of him. It was one of the things we talked about early in warm-ups is that we had to be intense in our shooting, we had to try to get rebounds, but don't expect him to let any easy ones in tonight because he's on top of his game."

Perricone turned back wave after wave by the Pats, including breakaways by Troy Ofukany and Kirt Hill. Ofukany did everything but score on a night when he was also robbed from the doorstep early in the third.

Tim Kraus took his turn being stymied by Perricone early in the five-minute overtime, which was dominated by the home team.

Gross ended the suffering in the shootout on a goal that hit iron and popped back out.

"I thought I saved it but if the ref said it went in, it went in -- I guess," said Perricone. "I definitely thought I saved it but that's the way the cookie crumbles."

Even Gross didn't know, initially delaying his celebration.

"At first I wasn't sure but all the guys on the bench said it was in," he explained. "I'm sure the Warriors are saying it wasn't in, but there's still another game (tonight at the Civic Centre). I'm just happy to get the two points."

Gross and Tim Kraus scored in regulation for the Pats, who held leads of 1-0 and 2-1 before Joel Broda potted his second power-play goal of the night at 14:29 of the third period.

It was Kraus's seventh goal of the campaign, snapping an 18-game drought which dated back to Oct. 30.

Jordan Eberle added Regina's other shootout tally while Linden Rowat stopped three of four attempts in the breakaway competition. He finished with 24 saves and picked up a much-needed win in the shootout, an area in which he has struggled during his three-year career.

"It's not his strength I don't think," said Perkins. "It was great to get him a win because Joey Perricone I don't think lost a shootout last year. When that started I wasn't feeling that great about going into it. Eberle is unbelievable at those. One of these days he's not going to score, we know that. I'm just glad it wasn't tonight. We tried a couple new guys in there and Cody Gross ended up getting the winner and that was outstanding for him to go along with the goal he got in regulation. It's nice to see him have some success."

The Pats and Warriors conclude their first-half schedules tonight at the Civic Centre. Regina has 11 days off before visiting the Brandon Wheat Kings on Dec. 27.

EXTRAS: Both teams were without their captains -- Regina's Logan Pyett and Moose Jaw's Riley Holzapfel -- due to world junior commitments. Warriors D Keaton Ellerby was in the lineup after being cut Thursday by Team Canada's coaching staff, which includes Pats bench boss Curtis Hunt ... Pats D Nick Ross, who seemingly didn't leave the ice in the absence of Pyett, annihilated Warriors D Giffen Nyren with an open-ice hit in the final seconds of overtime. Nyren wheeled around one defenceman and was cutting to the goal when Ross came across and lowered the boom ... Pats LW Jared Jagow missed his second straight game with an ankle injury.




© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2007

[nivek_wahs]

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/sports/story.html?id=361fdf43-1b1d-4215-b424-3e75b80c0482


Shootout couldn't save a very dull game

Rob Vanstone, The Leader-Post
Published: Saturday, December 15, 2007

One unsettling question arose as the Regina Pats and Moose Jaw Warriors prepared for Friday's shootout: Will somebody dump it in?

And sure enough, the Warriors' Jordan Knackstedt almost lent credence to a facetious comment when the puck dribbled off his stick and trickled harmlessly toward the corner on an attempted deke during the climactic session.

Moments later, Cody Gross scored what proved to be the winner in a shootout that included eight participants but only seven shots. The Pats won the shootout (2-1) and the WHL game (3-2).


But the drama of the shootout, which included picturesque goals by Moose Jaw's Joel Broda and Regina's Jordan Eberle, could not save this game.

This contest was so excruciatingly bad that not even four-on-four hockey -- the only salvation for a declining sport -- failed to generate much excitement during a five-minute stretch that preceded the shootout.

One of major-junior hockey's top rivalries was unusually placid. The Pats and Warriors spent more time fighting the puck than they did one another.

It was just another night in the Western Hacking League. While seated in the arena's upper extremities, I could only lament: "I deferred the 139th Kent Austin column for THIS?''

Granted, the game began in promising fashion. There was a semblance of pace -- if not necessarily style -- for a considerable portion of the first period, with the Pats controlling the play and the tempo. After that, however, the game degenerated into the numbing "whack-whack-whack'' that is all too representative of the WHL.

The eyes glazed over as the teams resorted to the usual uninspired tactics, such as puck-cycling, puck-chipping, dumping-and-chasing, etc, etc., etc. Passes routinely ended up in the skates of the unfortunate recipients. The game was virtually bereft of finesse.

Above it all, there were the banners, bearing the good names and acknowledging the brilliance of Pats legends such as Dennis Sobchuk, Dale Derkatch, Bill Hicke and Doug Wickenheiser. (And where's Fran Huck?)

You look at the ice and wonder what became of the aesthetics. How could a theoretically free-flowing game be reduced to such sludge? Is there any hope?

The presence of Eberle provides some reason for optimism, but one 17-year-old cannot do it all -- especially when an opponent's stick is seemingly imbedded in his midsection, without the detection of the officials.

The fans deserve more. The players deserve more. The ice should be a forum for the players, but their skills are latent in too many cases.

The skaters have outgrown the playing surface. Recognizing the limitations, coaches opt for cookie-cutter tactics. It does not help that the ice surface is more conducive to broomball.

The result is what people endured on Friday evening.

Perhaps you attended the game and have a different view -- to which you are entitled. This is but one opinion.

Maybe a Pats victory over Moose Jaw is enough to placate a crowd in which Reginans predominate. Perhaps this purism is unrealistic or simply delusional.

But, honestly, there has to be a better way to play this game.




© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2007

[Some_Arrogant_Jerk]

I felt the same way about the game. Still fun to beat those cocky warriors. Decent reffing. At least they let us play the game this time.

And by the way, if I am not mistaken, that was mr kevins birthday yesterday? Weirdly enough, it was also my mothers birthday yesterday too.

[Fight Guy]

Yeah...wasn't the best game...but it was more entertaining to watch that the past few. The Pats actually played for most of the game this time around. The only time I really noticed them turn it off was in the last 10 minutes. Almost like they were trying to defend their one goal lead :p

And I do believe Kennedy and Prokop fought as well. Decision going to Kennedy there too, though not much of a fight. Kennedy kinda speed bagged Prokop a little then got tied up and went down. Never noticed Prokop get anything decent in, but I could be mistaken. Elder and Delaronde wasn't too special either...but right against the glass in front of us...so can't complain.

Hope tonight the Pats turn it up some more and see more rough stuff yet. Got pretty damn chippy last night I though at times. Looked like they were gunning for Eberle as well...to the extent that something could have erupted if he had gone down by several of the high hits on him. He's a trooper though. Sticks to the game, and I like that.

And I desperately want to see Ross's hit in OT again as well. Absolutely obliterated ...not sure who it was, but he looked like he wasn't gonna get up.

As dirty as Frazer McLaren was with a lot of his hits as well, he is pretty damn good. Not sure if we've seen him in Regina yet...except for maybe last year. Pretty good pick I would actually say.

And reffing wasn't great, but that's because they let the teams play, so that was good. Some stuff could/should have been called, but nothing too ridiculous.

[Some_Arrogant_Jerk]

I also couldnt get over at how crappy our replay screens are. It doesnt help that the screen is fairly dark, and hard to see, but the replay is always from 100 miles away, and at a bad angle. Sometimes they only show the players celebrating instead of the actual play itself, and last night, instead of showing a replay, they show some ******* in the audience winning some irrelevent prize that most people didnt give 2 ****s about. I was waiting to see the replay(the PP goal?), and instead see this guy handed some prize. I guess that was more important.

I guess thats my daily rant. I hope Im not the only one who is bothered by that.

[wardog fan]

nothing seems to amaze me on here . but anyways to keep things in the spirt of x-mas . the warriors didnt play their best game last night and was brought up by the coaching staff as their worst game of the year. alot of players were called out and questioned about their mentally of playing the big game. hunchuk is no fool let me tell ya, and tonights game shall and will be a much more effort by the warriors, thus saying the pats could be in for you what you guys want a rough style game. but then again lets not forget they are teenagers and should stick to playing hockey then playing for blood. i was utterly distrought by our effort and amazed we still got a point out of it by the sole play of our team mvp thus far joey perricone, our powerplay miss holzy aton and at times we missed his presence . as for the fights didnt see the keenedy and prokop fight but lets just say i think that was prokops first dub fight.lol and as for elder, he jumped delronde and that was that as it shows by the result of the fight , terrence was completely surprised by it. but thats elder for ya, you dont see him doing that to mclaren or grantham. then again give elder credit at the beginning of the year to give grantham a good tilt. back to being nice, i thought eberle is the real deal, he plays under tough circumstances and made the warriors playon their heals all game, him and kraus looked good, havent been able to say that much about kraus, in the games i have seen him play. rowat looked alright, he mis played the puck once or twice almost costing the pats a goal. but he outdueled joey in the shootout, but wow did broda undress him, and again eberle's shootout goal just shows you what kind of kid he is . one word describes his goal , wow... but i agree with mr vanstone the game itself was more less dull. not what you expect from two teams which are what 4 or 5 pts apart and in the same division and the biggest rivarly in the whl. but no crying here , one can never blame reffing at this level, these kids are just that good or sometimes that bad. full kudos to the pats for out playing the warriors for majority of the game. as for trash talking , cocky warriors?? funny that comes from a pat fan. merry x-mas to alot of ya and hope to see ya in the jaw tonight....

[Fight Guy]

I think it was Kennedy's first Dub fight too. Got caught up in an MJ line change and the Warriors weren't being nice, and pushing began and it just erupted from there. And Elder didn't really jump Delaronde. It happened right in front of me and they for the most part agreed to fight. They were face to face pretty much and Elder just started it. Was by no means "jumped".

[SectionNDeserter]

I think it was Kennedy's first Dub fight too.He fought Esposito in Red Deer on the 7th.

[Some_Arrogant_Jerk]

Well....we got our asses kicked tonight, sadly, as expected. Everytime we play well, we play crappy the next game. Everytime we have a couple good periods, we bomb the last one, or vice versa, and so on...( Ironically, the inconsistancy of the pats is becoming predictable). I may care how well we do in the games, but when it comes down to it, at this point in the season, it doesnt really matter. The most important thing is that we need to see a consistant, 100% effort, not necessarly perfect results. The odds are that we are going to most likely make the playoffs anyways, and if we have a good enough team, we should go far. But if we lose by just giving up, or not trying at all, then there is a problem.

The point of these games is to get to know what each player is capable of bringing to the team, and find the best way as to how to use these players. What players stay, what players go, and what players we need. We use this time to put together the best squad we can possibly get after the deadline, and then into the playoffs. It is obvious by seeing our results that someone isnt pulling their weight, or that something is missing, and we need to take care of this as soon as we possibly can, before the opportunity is gone. After all, this is the year we have been building for for quite some time, and we cannot waste the chance while we have it.

This deadline will prove that if Parker fails to get the players we need, or does nothing productive, perhaps he shouldnt be the guy pulling the strings for this team.
It is his job to bring in the right tools for Hunt 'n perky to work with, and if he cant to do that, then all of this building up will be for nothing. It is very important that we fix the problems we got now, instead of just waiting for time to fix it. Now, I cant blame everything on parker. He has brought all these players together, and addressed our needs at the begginning of the year. He is far from being the reason to our current troubles, which seems to be "playing when we feel like it". Thats the big question. Do we want to win? Evidently, by looking at the overall result of our last few games... maybe not.

Now, I cant blame it the problems all on Rowat either, though he has been much less than impressive lately, and frankly, is the epitome of ANTI CLUTCH. Im not sure if he is the guy that we can rely on to take us into the playoffs though, but he has showed he is capable, talent wise. That however, that means nothing if its common knowledge that he will play the opposite next game.

Our defence, despite the offensive ability, are quite average in our own zone. Ross and Valach have got skill, but both could be alot more physical in their own zone (The hit Ross made at the end of the last game is something we need to see more of). Valach has shown he is capable of throwing the body well, but he needs to do it more often too. Same goes for Delahey, who apparently has forgotten to hit as of late. Teubert is doing fine, but needs to keep it up, and play 100 percent instead of slacking off mid way.

And lastly, We also have the same tired combo that we consistantly rely on for offence, which is not surprising to say that other teams know which players to shut down. That, and we dont have much more to support it, and we shouldnt expect guys like Leffler and Hill to be secondary scorers on a supposed contending team.

Right now, we are looking like a team that needs alot of work done on. We have our work laid out for us, and can only hope that we get our heads out of our asses, and we have the right cast of players if we want to do some damage in the playoffs. It is still early, and we still have time to change things, which is good. We must pick up our play, or it could be a rough 9 games without our captain.

[nivek_wahs]

And by the way, if I am not mistaken, that was mr kevins birthday yesterday? Weirdly enough, it was also my mothers birthday yesterday too.It's actually not until the 19th. I guess it was an early birthday greeting.

[witness]

Wholly negativity!!!

You would think that the Pats are last in the league. The Warriors are a good team and are really tough at home. The Eastern Division is very competitive, there are no easy wins out there. Is this a better team than last year, of course it is.

The Pats are still a very young team (even by WHL standards), they are going to be inconsistant. I thought that the the game on Friday night was the best that I have seen Ross play in awhile. Although, it is nice to lay the big hit, it also takes you out of position and allows for some odd man rushes. The game today, is all about angling your man off the puck (something that Pyett does really well).

I would suspect that the Pats will do something after Christmas. I would think that it would be bringing in another 20 year old. But, to make a major trade would be a huge mistake. This team is young and has a lot of young depth coming in the organization.

My biggest disappointment is the obvious change in style by the referees. In the last month or so, I have seen a lot of hooking and grabbing coming back into the game. Eberle can't skate through the neutral zone without an opposition hooking or grabbing him. It is wearing him out. He needs the break.

[eye4aneye]

[QUOTE=Some_Arrogant_Jerk]


This deadline will prove that if Parker fails to get the players we need, or does nothing productive, perhaps he shouldnt be the guy pulling the strings for this team.

Your comments were very worthy Somehow :turkey: i don't think daddy is gonna fire Brent. just can't see it happening. Man would christmas dinner be awkward.

[Some_Arrogant_Jerk]

Wholly negativity!!!

You would think that the Pats are last in the league. The Warriors are a good team and are really tough at home. The Eastern Division is very competitive, there are no easy wins out there. Is this a better team than last year, of course it is.

The Pats are still a very young team (even by WHL standards), they are going to be inconsistant. I thought that the the game on Friday night was the best that I have seen Ross play in awhile. Although, it is nice to lay the big hit, it also takes you out of position and allows for some odd man rushes. The game today, is all about angling your man off the puck (something that Pyett does really well).

I would suspect that the Pats will do something after Christmas. I would think that it would be bringing in another 20 year old. But, to make a major trade would be a huge mistake. This team is young and has a lot of young depth coming in the organization.

My biggest disappointment is the obvious change in style by the referees. In the last month or so, I have seen a lot of hooking and grabbing coming back into the game. Eberle can't skate through the neutral zone without an opposition hooking or grabbing him. It is wearing him out. He needs the break.

You misinterpret me. Im not throwing in the towel yet.

Im also not saying I expect us to lose every game. What I mean is that our inconsistancy is almost routine at this point, and being a young team or not, the expectations of this team, and the amount of building we put in is high. Overall, we are not where we should be, and quite frankly, it is becoming very typical, and frustrating. Losing 6-1, even to a division opponent, is unacceptable. Looks like we got dominated. It wouldnt bother me if it was just one of those games, but in our last few games, we have been less than spectacular in the effort, and performance department.

I know how early it is, but like you said with Eberle, he needs a break, and some pressure off of him. Him and Kraus are expected to bring in the majority of our offence, and bringing in someone who can relieve the pressure isnt unreasonable. Not necessarily a major trade, but just a little retooling, and tinkering with the small things we need to work with. Adding 2 or 3 players to help lessen the offensive load for those 2, not a facelift like last year.

We have been building up to this year for awhile and right now, this team we currently have isnt built to go all the way in the playoffs. If we dont do what we need to do at the deadline, then all of this building was a waste. Parker owes it to the players, the team as a whole, and the fans to do what he can to make this team ready. If he cannot do that, maybe it should be somebody elses team to build a contending team....not that Parker is going anywhere anytime soon, regardless of what happens.

and with the ross hit. Obviously I dont want to see him go out of position like that to just hammer a guy, but just the physicality that he used to bring last year. The occasional hip check, maybe some of those bigger hits that took down a guy like Negrin, or even just some ounce of aggression. He is a huge part of his success, and it would help us alot if he played more like we know he can at both ends of the ice.