Game 32 @ Edmonton

[Scout]

TUESDAY'S GAME: The Swift Current Broncos play the Edmonton Oil Kings for the second time this season, the first at Rexall Place.

The Broncos are coming off a 5-1 loss on home ice against the Brandon Wheat Kings on Friday night...It was the third straight loss to the Wheaties this season and the largest margin of defeat on home ice this season...Justin Dowling tallied his 10th of the season from Matt Tassone and Spencer McAvoy for the lone Bronco goal...Travis Yonkman took the loss in net as the Broncos were outshot 31-30...The Broncos last road game was a 4-3 overtime win in Prince Albert which snapped a 5 game losing skid on the road...The Broncos are starting a 6 game road trip that will take them to BC for 5 games after tonight before the holiday break...In total the Broncos will play the next 7 in a row on the road.

NUMBERS: Eric Doyle leads the Broncos with 29 points...Doyle is third in scoring for WHL defenseman...Doyle leads the Broncos with a plus 18 rating...He has points in 18 of his last 23 games…Matt Tassone and Keegan Dansereau lead the team with 15 goals...Dansereau has 4 goals and 7 points in his last 5 games…Matt Tassone has a 7 game point streak...He has 11 points, including 8 goals in those games…The Broncos are 6-7 on the road and 4-5 versus the Central Division, the Broncos lost back to back games on the road 2 weeks ago in Calgary and Red Deer…Mark Guggenberger is 2nd in the WHL in save percentage with .919 and 6th in the league in Goals Against Average with a 2.60…The Broncos are 10-1 when leading after two periods…The Broncos have not been shut-out in a league best 110 games…Keegan Dansereau and Eric Doyle lead the team with 7 multi-point games…Spencer McAvoy tied his highest point total in a season with his 15th point on Friday...He has points in 6 of his last 8 games...Keegan Dansereau and Eric Doyle lead the team with 13 points each on the road.

REGULAR SEASON VS. Edmonton: Tonight is the 2nd of 4 meetings between the two clubs, and the first in Edmonton...The Broncos are 0-1 against the Oil Kings losing 5-2 on October 24th.

MILESTONES: Ryan Molle is 1 game shy of 150 for his career…Matt Ius is 3 games shy of 100 for his career…Spencer McAvoy is 2 points shy of 50 for his career…Head Coach Dean Chynoweth is 3 wins shy of 250 for his career, he is 5th among active coaches for all-time wins…Eric Doyle is 11 assists shy of 100 for his career.

SPECIAL TEAMS: The Broncos power-play is 26 for 154, 16.9% (13th) and the penalty kill is 83.6%, giving up 25 goals on 152 tries (8th).

HOMECOMING: The Broncos have 9 Alberta born players and 3 players from the Edmonton area as Matt Tassone and Spencer McAvoy hail from St. Albert and Dillon Wagner is from Duffield.

UNDER-17 CHAMPIONSHIP: Broncos forward Christian Magnus will represent Team West and Broncos assistant coach Tim Kehler will be the Head Coach for Team Pacific at the Under-17 Championships in Alberni Valley BC at the end of the month.

ROSTER: The Broncos roster currently consists of 25 players...The team has 4 – 20 year old players, 6 – 19 year old players, 6 – 18 year old players, 7 – 17 year old players, and 2 – 16 year old players.

INJURIES: Cody Eakin (ankle), Jordan Peddle (concussion) and Jesse Dudas (knee) are all out of the lineup for the Broncos.

UPCOMING GAMES: The Broncos head to west to take on all BC Division teams starting with Prince George Wednesday night.

DRAFTED BRONCOS: Ryan Molle (New Jersey ‘07)…Matt Tassone (Dallas ’08)...Geordie Wudrick (LA ’08).


Scout

[Link Dog]

Anyone watching the webcast will realize we have now found the biggest, most whining play by play guy in the league! Not enough kleenex in the world for this cry baby! Makes Pederson sound neutral.

[Ree_21]

Anyone watching the webcast will realize we have now found the biggest, most whining play by play guy in the league! Not enough kleenex in the world for this cry baby! Makes Pederson sound neutral.

I loved the two minute rant about how the refs are horrible and how apparently the league is after the oil kings... lol I had to mute that dummy and turn on keen.

Agreed, and the penalty to Claffey was definetly not a major, he tripped on his own skates. Yes Claffey gave a little tap on the back but not enough to put a player off balance.

[CrazyGeorge]

I notice Ius wasn't in the lineup and Peddle was...did Ius replace Peddle on the injured list? Healthy scratch?

[Toswammi]

I notice Ius wasn't in the lineup and Peddle was...did Ius replace Peddle on the injured list? Healthy scratch?
Ius has a hip issue

[Big Ern]

Hmmmm....just a tidbit or two...

Let's start with a statement from Asst. Coach Tim Kehler in the post-game show:

Jon Keen: "The Dansereau/Tassone/Dowling line got two shifts in that third period....was Dean (Chynoweth) maybe sending a message to those guys tonight?"

Kehler: "Two shifts is two more than they deserved. Our top guys need to be the locomotive that propels us on the rail...not derail us like they did."

I would say that's a pretty strong statement from Tim Kehler, who is usually pretty good at bringing out the positive points of view versus the negativity.

I don't think anyone who watched the game could disagree with that. Not just that line though. The Broncos' veteran defensemen are seemingly running around out there more often than not of late. Another shorthanded goal against tonight would indicate that. They are left to unsuccessfully fend off the ensuing fireworks in those situations, resulting in high-scoring games. The Broncos have come up on the short end of a few of those this year.

No one really sounded like they were too enthused about the long bus ride to PG tonight, but hopefully the guys find a way to get it done tomorrow night.

LET'S GO SWIFTY!!!

A NOTE OR TWO:

-I can't disagree with any of the above fireworks directed at Oil Kings' announcer, A.J. Jakubec. The guy has problems staying with the game and not wandering off on other subjects. Tonight's officiating was bad in the first period but not bad enough to completely be caught looking on one of your team's scoring plays like A.J. was on that second Oil Kings goal. He announced the game for a total of about 15 minutes during the first 40 minutes of play. Seriously. Had I not been watching the webcast and just listening to the audio, I don't think I would have known the score in the game. Oh well....

***

The electricity in my area of town has been out for an hour now....so I'm tapping out this post on the trusty Palm Treo. Hopefully sooner rather than later, the city will shed some light on the situation. :)

I'm out.


Sent via PDA on the 1X Network.

[bronco rep]

Don't look folks, but we are holding down last spot in the eastern conference. If we keep playing like we have been we won't have to worry about any playoffs taking place in 2009. Maybe we should have had the worlds here this yr. God i watched that game last night & something has to be done to this team & in a quick hurry. Getting out shot by Edm at one point 33-10 brutal. I am getting sick of these lackluster efforts. I wonder why the kids are not ready to go? Come on people i want to hear from all the hockey experts on why this team is not playing full out. I will keep my opinion to myself.... which i think most people know how i feel. Lets sound off hear.

[CrazyGeorge]

Two words....coaching change!!!

[#1fan]

Leadership comes from all levels. To replace the coach and not address the player situation have you really accomplished anything? The team appears to be micro managed, Dean answers to way to many people and I'm sure at times feels like a deer caught in the head lights. We have a number of vets who are playing like rookies. Tim's comments in the post game show backs that up. The Vets are not providing the leadership or displaying the desire to play that they should be. It is the rookies who have stepped it up, showing both the desire and the will to win. They/the team are constantly being let down by the vets who for one reason or another do not show up on a consistent basis. When they decide to show up, they appear to be more interested in their own points rather than the team. Peddle Vause, Wagner to name only a few rookies want to be here. They want to play every night and actually appear to be excited to be on the team and in SC. IMO its time to look at trading some of our vets who clearly don't want to be here. Lets bring in some new energy build on a great rookie core and move forward. We didn't really expect to be contenders this year did we?????? We have to bring our rookies up to the next level so they can compete and take this team forward to being a contender in the next couple of years.

[ointhecreek]

The team appears to be micro managed, Dean answers to way to many people and I'm sure at times feels like a deer caught in the head lights..
Huh? Dean is the coach and GM so who else would he answer to besides the BOG? He's just not the kind of guy who will take much crap from non hockey people. It's all on him to run this team. For that reason, I'm done trying to defend him. There is something wrong with this team right now and seems like nothing is being done.


We have a number of vets who are playing like rookies. Tim's comments in the post game show backs that up. The Vets are not providing the leadership or displaying the desire to play that they should be. It is the rookies who have stepped it up, showing both the desire and the will to win. They/the team are constantly being let down by the vets who for one reason or another do not show up on a consistent basis. When they decide to show up, they appear to be more interested in their own points rather than the team. Peddle Vause, Wagner to name only a few rookies want to be here. They want to play every night and actually appear to be excited to be on the team and in SC. IMO its time to look at trading some of our vets who clearly don't want to be here. Lets bring in some new energy build on a great rookie core and move forward. We didn't really expect to be contenders this year did we?????? We have to bring our rookies up to the next level so they can compete and take this team forward to being a contender in the next couple of years.
I have to agree with pretty much everything here. Most of our vets haven't done much for quite a while with the exception of Tassone. For some reason McAvoys play has trailed off and Dansaraeu has turned into a floater again. I have noticed that Molle appears to be playing with emotion since he came back from injury. Two fights in two games. Finally playing physical like he needs to do. vc178

[Link Dog]

bronco rep Don't look folks, but we are holding down last spot in the eastern conference. If we keep playing like we have been we won't have to worry about any playoffs taking place in 2009.

In the words of Jim Mora; Playoffs...... playoffs....... you wanna talk about playoffs. I just hope we can win a game.

[Broncs in RD]

Pretty much had our full roster minus Eakin and another lose, not a hard fought lose, but a 6-3 lose and minumal effort. Time to ship some floaters and as ERN always says some vetern Dmen. I will state names, McAvoy as a twenty is a joke, Molle needs to play with toughness and passsion or deal him. Dans I think is one of the most talented 20's in the league when he plays and has some trade value, but when he floats he has no use in the league. Our 19 y/o situation is no better, we need to deal some of them as well for next year.
IMO we need to deal at least 2 20's, and 3 19 y/o's in the coming weeks.
If the players don't want to play, ship them out, if the coach can't get them to play ship him out.
The other funny thing I read on here was that Habs plays a boring trap and that people wouldn't want that. My question to those fans is.....What style did the Broncos play under Tood M? To me we had great teams then while we played the trap. Under Habs the Rockets were WHL champs, more than we can say under our current regime. I am not saying Habs is the BEST choice(he may be), but I think there were alot better choices.

[Broncs in RD]

Classice Link Dog...lmao.

[stick boy]

Right there with ya RD, it is time to toss in the towel and regroup for next season with our crop of 17's.

We have lost something like 10 of our last 13, it ain't working!

Can't help but think that this road trip will be the beginning of the end for at least a few people in the organization.

We need to unload one goalie, at least two veteran defensemen (to let the younger guys play and develop) and a few older forwards, possibly Dansereau.

Bring in Ernst for the rest of the season and Scarlett when we get the chance and lets start thinking about next season.

And how about Big Ern for GM/PR/play-by-play/color/blogger/etc just to change things up.

[In The News]

You want changes? Then maybe we should have changes. What I don't like about some of the posts here is you get way too personal. If you have a beef with the Chairman of the Board, then take it to the Chairman. Don't bash his business or livelihood. Just because he is a high profile person in town doesn't really give you the right to make these comments personal.
You have every right to question the Chairman of the Board or any other director but keep it at the hockey level.
The last I checked this site is for hockey fans to discuss their hockey opinions and there is no place here for the other.

[Bocephus]

And how about Big Ern for GM/PR/play-by-play/color/blogger/etc just to change things up.

He does have enough voices in his head for the color and PBP gigs.
;)
Just poking ya friend.

[Son of a Preacher Man]

I agree there is a problem here and it sounds like motivation. This comes from the vets and the coaching staff. I watch our coach during a game and he is motionless. There is no one to blame and it starts with the coach and g.m. who is one and the same. He said he had a five year plan. Well guess what. The five year plan is up and we seem to be going backwards. Dean was given full control of this team and the board never steps in. This is Deans team now. The board has never interfered in Deans decisions on players and the team but i think it's time they did. Our coach has not had any success in this level including in Seattle. I never thought i would say this but its time for a change and it starts from the top which is our coach. To blame the chairman of the board is wrong. It's just a name and the whole board has to vote on any decision not just the chairman. The guys are not playing for Dean and he seems content on doing nothing when the team is in a nose dive. Make a move for crying out loud and i know board members read this forum so maybe discuss at the next board meeting where the problem lies and maybe cut our coach loose.

[Toswammi]

Bring in Ernst for the rest of the season and Scarlett when we get the chance and lets start thinking about next season.


I was impressed with him last season. Never got a chance to see him this year, but i always hear great things about him.

[Broncs in RD]

Having a beef with a "high profile hotel owner" is hockey related. In case you don't know he is the chairman who has a very good "friendly relationship" with our GM and coach. Do you think there will be any changes with him if Mr. Best Western has his way. Do not delete this as it does have to do with HOCKEY seeing as this is a hockey site. He has a majority say in what happens to this team.
In The News I am sorry if you are offended, but such is life when "high profile" people make decisions with a community owned team and things don't go right, maybe they should have to answer to the public.

[Scout]

I agree with in the news. The chairman only has so much say. He does not run the team but is a voice of i think 12 board members who represents the team for the community. The person who has the most power on the board is a gentlemen who is the governer of the team and is an accountant and is also a member of the board. The chairman chairs board meetings. Yes he hired Dean but so did the other board members who voted on the decision. These board members are volunteers who give their time to keeping this team afloat and making money so it survives in the smallest community in all the CHL. Its not an easy process trying to keep this team afloat and making money. Could we sharpen our pencil and get rid of some dead weight on the team? Sure and i'm sure it's been discussed but the majority of the board has to agree. This is not one mans team and i'm sure they are watching whats happening with the team. Whether you believe one man calls all the shots or not, myself being a shareholder in the team i know when i have attended it has been done by vote. If you want to blame someone then turn the blame on the governer of the team because he wields the most power but i know for a fact decisions are made by the board as a whole.

Scout

[Son of a Preacher Man]

I found this today and found it interesting on how steep a price it would be to land Marc. It maybe is to steep a price for the smallest market plus a community owned team can't give part ownership to one person.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008
THE CANADIAN PRESS

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. -- Marc Habscheid, who led the Kelowna Rockets to the 2004 Memorial Cup championship, has been in contact with the Western Hockey League's Prince George Cougars about their head coaching position.

But it seems the Cougars and Habscheid, who won gold and silver with Canada's national junior squad and has been an associate coach with the Boston Bruins, aren't a fit for the same reason Habscheid reportedly hasn't been for other vacant WHL jobs. Habscheid has had discussions recently with Portland, Regina, Kamloops, Moose Jaw and Lethbridge and his wish has been to cover the dual roles of coach and GM, not to mention gain a piece of team ownership.

And that's not open for negotiation in Prince George.

"We've had interest from guys like Marc Habscheid down to Junior B coaches," Cougars GM Dallas Thompson told the Prince George Citizen. "We've talked to Marc, and where that goes, I don't know.

"I don't think that will be a fit for us, but maybe it will. He wants a lot of things that I doubt many teams would be willing to give up. I could be wrong, but I don't think so on this one.

"We've talked to a lot of people and we're going to continue to do that."

The Cougars fired head coach Drew Schoneck a week ago. Prince George is fourth in the B.C. Division of the WHL's Western Conference with a 12-18-0-1 record heading into its home game Wednesday night against Swift Current.

Thompson said Wade Klippenstein, who assumed the head coaching duties after Schoneck was dismissed, will remain on the job until season's end.

"This is not a great time to find a guy, and we might try to find him some help (in the form of an assistant coach)," said Thompson. "Wade has some good ideas, he's been a head coach (in the WHL) and he's seen a lot of different parts of the game in different leagues.

"I thought he brought a lot of things together last week, and he had some fresh ideas that the players were excited to see. Drew had his own ideas, and for whatever reason things were getting stale."

.The decision to keep Klippenstein behind the bench is a popular one with the players.

"Things weren't going well and it's been nice to have the change," said captain Dana Tyrell. "We see a little bit of a different side (of Klippenstein) as a head coach.

"He has different systems, different ways he wants us to play, and he's forcing us to work harder."

[ointhecreek]

Different teams call for different situations. Marc has said so himself. I doubt he would ask for ownership in Swift because he knows it is not possible with a community owned team. His asking price here, IMO, would be a lot different simply because it is home for him. His kids and wife wouldn't have to start over in a new town. He would still want control of the team, which is what Dean has now. I'm not saying he's the answer to our problems but just clarifying things a bit.

[Broncs in RD]

I was not intending he calls all the shots, but he is a big reason why Dean is still here and why he was hired, so yes if people have ever been on a board they know votes sway pretty easily. As of know his friendship is a key reason of why he is still here.
I don't think Dean is horrible, I am more frustrated on how this team is in limbo and no answers are ever given out,. If this team is community owned I feel that it is the right of the community to know what the plan of this hockey club actually is. Is he still sticking to his 5 year plan or is he going for a 6-7 year plan?

[Big Ern]

PRINCE GEORGE -- Don't file the Marc Habscheid-to-Prince-George discussion under "impossible."

The 45-year-old former head coach of the Kelowna Rockets and Kamloops Blazers is indeed curious about the opportunity to work for the Prince George Cougars. Why? It's his close ties to the Brodsky family that owns and operates the Western Hockey League franchise.

"I'll never say never, if it works for both parties and is the right situation, even right now, yes I'd go," Habscheid said Wednesday from his hometown of Swift Current, where he is spending time with his family while awaiting his next hockey opportunity.

"(Cougars owner Rick Brodsky) and I have been good friends forever -- what is it, almost 30 years? I billeted at his place (as a player for the Saskatoon Blades) and I know (daughter and team business manager) Brandi (Brodsky) and Rick's wife very well. They were at my wedding. Rick is a great man, and we're good friends.
"We talk all the time, and we've talked about one day getting the chance to work together, that it would happen one day. I've talked to Dallas."

Habscheid and the Cougars have broached this subject before, and that was when Lane Lambert's term as coach came to an abrupt end in the summer of 2005. The tires were kicked, but nothing serious materialized and Mike Vandekamp was hired.

The Cougars are looking at a potential overhaul of the coaching staff after firing Drew Schoneck last week and lifting Wade Klippenstein into the role of head coach. The expectation is the Cougars will have a whole new coaching staff in place for next season, with Klippenstein reassigned to other duties within the organization.

Habscheid’s last hockey job is still paying him, and handsomely. He has this year and one more season under contract to the Boston Bruins, who had him on the bench as associate coach to Dave Lewis for the 2006-07 season, but that coaching staff was swept out in the summer of 2007 and Claude Julien took over.

Unlike the road block that kept the Cougars from having a serious opportunity to land Trent Yawney two seasons ago -- Yawney had been fired as head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks -- Habscheid’s deal with the Bruins allows him to find other employment.

“Right now, it’s my kids who are driving the bus,” said Habscheid, who has a son, 16, and daughter, 13.

“It’s been good to be able to spend so much time with them. My son, by the time he was 15, had moved 10 times. But they’re both getting into that age now where they are OK with us going somewhere again if the situation is right.”

Ah, the situation -- a sticking point with Habscheid, who has been mentioned with jobs in many WHL locales. His name has been tied to rumours with Portland, Regina, Moose Jaw and Lethbridge, and in every instance it is stated he wants to be more than head coach.

“There’s a perception I want 150 per cent ownership, and full control, and that’s just not right,” said Habscheid.
“Every situation is different, and you have to go in recognizing that. Saying I want all those things is just not true. It was public knowledge that I talked to Regina, but it just wasn’t the right fit. There are a lot of things that have been written, some of it on things like blogs, that just haven’t been right. The facts were wrong. I would go and just be the head coach in the right situation, absolutely.”

Habscheid talked fondly of the games he coached in Prince George, because of the volume in the building and how it adversely affected his ability to run the bench. He, like others around the league, is saddened by the state of attendance at Cougars games, with a new low of 1,923 set just last week. Habscheid recalled having to take his team under the stands during a timeout because the crowd wouldn’t allow him to communicate with his players.
“I’ve only ever had it that loud twice in my coaching career, and the other time was at the world championship in Latvia when we were playing the Latvians,” said Habscheid.
“It was so loud at times I had to show the players with my card, so they knew what line was next. They couldn’t hear me at all.”
Habscheid played his junior hockey for the Blades, then went on to a 15-season pro career that included 345 NHL games, split among the Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota North Stars, Calgary Flames and Detroit Red Wings. A prolific scorer in junior, including a season with 151 points in 55 games, Habscheid had 72 goals and 163 NHL points while developing into a defensive specialist -- a tag that has followed him to the coaching ranks after he retired as a player in 1996.
As a coach, Habscheid jumped from the SJHL’s Melfort Mustangs to the Kamloops Blazers, taking the helm for two seasons starting in 1997-98. His contract was not renewed by the new general manager in Kamloops, and the Kelowna Rockets hired Habscheid in the middle of the 1999-2000 season -- with Schoneck as his assistant coach that season.
With Habscheid on the bench, the Rockets went on a run that included back-to-back appearances in the Memorial Cup, including the 2004 championship on home ice.
Habscheid, who interviewed for head coaching jobs with three NHL teams, left the Rockets to work with Hockey Canada, a natural fit following his involvement as both assistant coach and head coach of the national junior team -- which earned him the notation as the first person to both play for and coach Canada at the world juniors. In 1982, he helped Canada to its first world junior gold medal, and he was a member of the 1988 Canadian team at the Calgary Olympics.
Habscheid was an assistant coach on the 2006 Team Canada Olympic squad and joined the Bruins in the summer of 2006.

(Courtesy Prince George Citizen)

[#1fan]

I was not intending he calls all the shots, but he is a big reason why Dean is still here and why he was hired, so yes if people have ever been on a board they know votes sway pretty easily. As of know his friendship is a key reason of why he is still here.
I don't think Dean is horrible, I am more frustrated on how this team is in limbo and no answers are ever given out,. If this team is community owned I feel that it is the right of the community to know what the plan of this hockey club actually is. Is he still sticking to his 5 year plan or is he going for a 6-7 year plan?

This is a community based team overseen by a board of directors. The board, most likely, is controlled by an executive who basically run the team. The boards primary function should be to set policy and direction for the team, having the GM and his staff carry it out. All to often what happens is the chair through his executive end up making all the decisions both operational and policy. Those decisions are then rubber stamped by the entire Board. It must be hard for Dean as GM/Coach to run this team as there seems to be a lot of meddling by this Board/ Executive. I agree something needs to happen with the team as the chemistry seems to be missing. Without chemistry, it won't matter how talented our team, is coming together to win won't happen. The responsibility to identify these issue clearly lies with Dean. He has to be able to identify what needs to happen. This includes making player changes and motivating this team to get back on track. Some of our vets should be very concerned as the trade dead line is fast approaching. Junior A, trades to other teams or being released entirely become the true reality for some.