What are the Canes going to do this season?

[HURRICANE'S ROCK]

Just my take on the next couple of weeks:
Starting tonight against the Broncos the Canes have 6 games in the next 12 days, 5 of which are at home. Lethbridge then has a long 8 day break. All but one these 6 games, that being the one against the Ams, are conference opponents so they are 4 pointers and as such will go a long way in determining the Hurricanes season. With this many games in a relatively short period of time and then an 8 day break, I think a lot of decisions as to the immediate and long term future of the team may, or should be made in about 2 weeks time. Are we moving up on anyone and did we win or lose most of these half dozen games?

With 3 of the 6 games being really tough ones to win, those being Calg & Tri @ home and the Tigers in the Hat, the other 3 home games with Speedy Creek, the Ice and P.A. are must wins for the Canes. Those last 3 teams are the ones we need to catch in the standings and even though the season has a long way to go, we absolutely must win them. It is preferable to win these games in regulation time to gain ground on the opposing teams..

I think the best we can hope for is 6 or 7 points out of a possible 12 from these 6 games. That would keep us within shouting distance of 7th or 8th place in the Conference. If we only win 1 or 2 of these next 6 games we are getting to the point where a playoff spot is going to be really tough to get. Remember, 5 of these game are 4 pointers so losing to teams we need too catch will drop us a long way behind them.

Having stated earlier that a decision should be made at the end of this 6 game stretch, the hard part of Preston’s decision may come if the Canes get decent results and still only get 6 or 7 of 12 points. With 6 or 7 points the team is still kind of mired in the same spot that they now, which is at or near the bottom of the Conference. Then what is the plan going to be? Probably wait a few more weeks and see what happens. On the other hand, If we do poorly and lose most of these games, or do really well and win most, I think The G.M.'s decisions are easier to make, one way or the other.

To summarize, the next 12 days may go a long way to determining the Canes future.

[HURRICANE'S ROCK]

So we did what we needed to do and that is win the game last night. The problem is we did not make up hardly any ground on anyone. With 2 points for a win and 1 pt for an O/T loss the teams in our confernece picked up 14 out of a possible 16 points. Out of the 10 teams that played, everyone except the Hat got at least 1 point. With all the 3 point games in this league it is hard to make up ground quickly on anybody. I stiill would like to see a 3-2-1 point system. Win in 60 minutes and get 3 points.

[Bocephus]

Can Austin Fyten not receive a pass?
How frustrating was he to watch tonight?
Anyway, beaten by a club that is argueably the best in the league is no shame. I just found that many players on the Canes tonight never competed including the coaching staff.
When it comes down to it we were beaten by some beautiful shots and a team that has unbelievable speed.
Next game please.

[shushu]

why is the younger kids sitting when this lump is getting ice time...to put it plain and simple he would look good in a U of L jersey and it would benifit the youngsters a ton with the extra ice time..........my favorite is when they put him on the pp...lol

[HURRICANE'S ROCK]

While Anderson seemed to play pretty good, 2 of 3 that beat him "might" have been saved if say Rowat was in net. Not saying those 2 goals were all Anderson's fault. Guys left open to take quick shots is tough for any goalie but all 3 clearly beat him. If you get 1 or 2 big saves at the right times it can make all the difference to a team.
As usual tonight's game with the Hat is huge. If we win in regulation we are 7 points back of them with 3 games in hand. Not a bad spot be in and and it makes catching the Tigers still seem somewhat realistic. Lose and we are 11 behind and fading from a shot at 4th spot fast. With all the 3 point games, 11 points is a long way to go.
Oh well we have 4 out 6 points with three 4 point games to go. Should win at least 2 of them so it would give us 8 out of the 12 I talked about. Keeps us in the hunt for now if we do that.

[Bocephus]

why is the younger kids sitting when this lump is getting ice time...to put it plain and simple he would look good in a U of L jersey and it would benifit the youngsters a ton with the extra ice time..........my favorite is when they put him on the pp...lol
I really don't understand why Tot and Reners sit while Henke, Sutter, Orfino, and Tarnasky dress and also Max Ross plays forward. Just my frustrations perhaps.:confused: It must destroy the confidence of these two youngsters!
The team will have an interesting problem when Rowat returns. It appears all three goalies offer quality now.

[ZAMBONI-PHONEY]

the next 11 games (including tonight's) will take the Canes up to the Chrismas break.Those 11 games include 4 road and 7 more at home. The Canes will be playing 4 of those games against Saskatoon and Medicine Hat (3) both clubs being over the .500 mark. The other 7 games are against teams who are either currently at .500 or below. They trail the 8th seed Red Deer by 4 points. I would think that depending how the club does between now and December 19th (last game prior to the break) will determine who gets moved or not. The top commodities will be: Sbisa, Aston, Bancks, Rowat and maybe Mestery. If the Hurricanes are going to "make hay" within this division and conference they had better do it now as all 11 games are against conference teams. As they say (whoever they are) THE TIME IS NOW!
:groovy:
WHEN IN DOUBT: SHOOT THE REF!

[jkanes]

The top commodities will be: ........... and maybe Mestery.:


lol mystery a top commodity lol haha :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: haha

[moon]

Great job by the Canes to be able to get a point at home against a kick ass Ice team.

You can really see the great coaching job that Preston has done to get the team to spot they are in the standings so far this year.

Also great to see the real contributions of the new guys like Donaghy, Reddington and Valchar (oops that's right he is already gone). Couldn't have lost that without them tonight.

[ZAMBONI-PHONEY]

lol mystery a top commodity lol haha :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: haha

There is a contending team that is interested in Mestery. I don't see why, but apparently there is interest in him.

Two guys that should be gone are Orfino and Henke and even Sutter. As mentioned earlier why not let the young guys (who are your future) get more ice time and thus experience. Tot, Moser, Reners and Jackson.

Power Outage for the Canes! They should decline the penalty rather than go on the power play. Currently 2/33(6%) in their last 5 games and 7/59 (11.8%) in their last 10 games. Way too many penalties again. The ICE had 9 powerplays. Not good for keeping your lines rolling and too much pressure on the penalty killing units.

:groovy:

WHEN IN DOUBT: SHOOT THE REF!

[Bare Bear]

I guess that right now it must be some kind of a balancing act for management. You don't want to trade away all of your future to perhaps make the playoffs and you don't want to trade all of your "A" class commodities to tell the paying fans you have given up on this year. Rich is doing the right thing right now in that a little tinkering here and there is helping a bit, but not enough. Look for a medium sized trade before Christmas and then the block buster in days leading up the trade dead line. I think that all his moves will be for the future without hurting the club for this year. Luca will most certainly not be back next year and there are a number of clubs that consider themselves contenders. That should make for an interesting bidding war. Z-P is right, the next number of games will be very interesting indeed, not only for us but for the contenders that are looking for that last piece of their puzzle. Should they suffer any kind of injury problems or slip a bit, the auctioneer will have a field day. Mr. Preston is really dumb... yea like a fox. He is playing the cards he has been dealt like a pro. I think the rest of us should just sit back and watch him work his magic. He has a great staff behind him and we will soon be filling the barn to the rafters. While I don't care for the results the last three games, I can forgive a lot as the Canes beat the Hitmen the other night which made up for almost half of my losses from last year. I just wish I could post the pictures of the guys parting with their hard earned dollars last Wednesday. Wednesday's game will show a lot. If the 'Canes come out like they really want to win, and then do so, then that will be a great stepping stone for the "Christmas Rush" Good luck "Canes. I will touch base again in a couple of weeks.

BB

[scrawny69]

If there is ANY contenders out there with intrest in Mestery>>>>I say trade him for a bag of used hockey pucks!!!!vc124

[Connected]

I notice a lot of attacks on individuals, but one problem we are having seems to be the team playing as individuals. Comments can be made about each member because they've all had their problems. Friday Sbisa couldn't keep the puck in the offensive zone (about 6 times it trinkled past him), Ashton wasn't passing until the lane was clogged and wasn't back checking, stupid penalties in the offensive zone, poor sportsmanship, to many men, etc. etc. Time to send a message to the team about the penalties I think.

Fyten had some good games last week I thought, and he's been scoring more frequently that most. Henke had a better game last night than the past couple, and he seems to win a decent amount of battles in the corner. Reners has had a bit of ice time but I don't think he's playing as confidently as he needs to, and Tot's been sick I think I heard. Mestery baffles me at times but he's playing better than last year at least.

Instead of giving up and saying they want to get traded, maybe the guys need to get sick of losing and figure out why they can have awesome games like against Calgary and then revert back to disorganized effort the next night. They have to want the win every game as bad as they wanted it against Calgary to compete in the league, and right now I don't see it.

At least the effort is there and we don't see as much lazy play as last year. I'd rather see them lose and play hard than be lazy and eke a win.

[Gamer]

There is a contending team that is interested in Mestery. I don't see why, but apparently there is interest in him.

Two guys that should be gone are Orfino and Henke and even Sutter. As mentioned earlier why not let the young guys (who are your future) get more ice time and thus experience. Tot, Moser, Reners and Jackson.

Power Outage for the Canes! They should decline the penalty rather than go on the power play. Currently 2 for 30. Way too many penalties again. The ICE had 9 powerplays. Not good for keeping your lines rolling.

:groovy:

WHEN IN DOUBT: SHOOT THE REF!
WOW! Good thing you are not the GM. If we dump Orfino, Henke, and Sutter, we would be down to 10 forwards! These guys are WHL vets who are bigger, stronger, and better than our rookies. I like our rookies and they get experience in practice and games [when the coach plays them.] Paying your dues, is part of being a rookie. Mestery is playing well, so everyone can stop bashing Him.

[PeacefulChaos]

Mestery is playing well, so everyone can stop bashing Him.

I agree, give the guy a break. Mestery is a HUGE improvement from his play last year. I personally think that Yadlowski has been playing pretty lazy/sloppy defence and has been taking some really crappy penalties, but no-one ever seems to complain about him.

[jkanes]

ok i agree we have been a little hard on mestery. This guy has been playing really well the last couple games. But like peacefulChaos said, yads has been playing crappy. He's the reason we lost the last game against kootenay, and hes always been giving up the puck. Maybe hes the rotten one in the bunch.....

[caniac # 2]

ok i agree we have been a little hard on mestery. This guy has been playing really well the last couple games. But like peacefulChaos said, yads has been playing crappy. He's the reason we lost the last game against kootenay, and hes always been giving up the puck. Maybe hes the rotten one in the bunch.....

I agree with your thoughts on "yads" he is always coughing up the puck or shooting it over the glass or tripping over the blue line !! :mad:

[ZAMBONI-PHONEY]

Gamer said.......WOW! Good thing you are not the GM.

Certainly you need the vets on a club, but you also need them to lead by example which they have not been on a consistent basis.

That is the fun of being a fan, you can be the GM, COACH without running the risk of being fired.

Yadlowski did cough up the puck that led to the winning overtime goal, but it was also Mestery whose weak clearing attempt up the boards resulted in Boomer's unassisted goal which tied the game 1-1.

Here's a question for the rest of you GM's and arm-chair coaches; "Do you think Sbisa is trying to do too much on his own and are the rest of the defense also expecting him to do too much?

:groovy:

WHEN IN DOUBT: SHOOT THE REF!

[Gamer]

I agree with Z-P about Sbisa. His agent is probably furious that Luca is not playing on the Blades, Americans,Wheat Kings,or Hitmen. But the funny thing is that we are still in the hunt and we need Luca here to win games. Here's hoping we can start another winning streak, 5 or 6 games would be nice.

[canes77]

I just wish I could post the pictures of the guys parting with their hard earned dollars last Wednesday.
BB

No wonder they had no energy in Thursday's practise or against Tri-City on Friday nite, that was the worst game Ive seen in years! I wish I had an NHL contract to help me spend hundreds out on the town...

[Bocephus]

Beginning to become convinced the Canes are not a very good team.

[ZAMBONI-PHONEY]

Beginning to become convinced the Canes are not a very good team.

effort like tonight they certainly do not look like anything that resembles a very good team. It appeared to me that most of the veterans were going through the motions. There was no engery, no consistent offensive pressure and quite frankly it was a very boring hockey game. The only engery came from the Tarnasky rush with Moser.

I almost get the impression that some of the vets are sitting back waiting for a big trade that will see them moved to contenders. I know I have said this before, but Sbisa is trying to do way too much and it is hurting his game. If Anaheim has been watching his play they would not be impressed.

Offense is limited to Ashton, Maxwell, Bancks, Fyten and Braes. No consistent scoring depth after them. Mestery was a healthy scratch....hmmmmmm is he on his way out? Maybe back to TC?

Power play....does not exsist. Tonite 0/3 and last 6 games 2/36!!!!!

Is it time to pull the pin? Make the deals? The fans know that this team will be lucky to finish out of the basement, might as well move your wanted commodities. Long layoff before the next game, so maybe some moves during that time off.

:groovy:

WHEN IN DOUBT: SHOOT THE REF!

[shushu]

craig bonner was in the building tonight(kamloops gm) so you can bet he was scoping out sbisa and a few other dmen..kamloops has a good pile of forwards but their back end is lacking .. they have one to many weak dmen and leclarc is not exactly a great overage tender...so you can bet he was looking at afew options from the central division...when rowat recovers from his injuries you can bet he will be on the trade frontline along with sbisa to shore up team problems if you may...the play of anderson and kolppanen as of late has made short work of lindens departure imo.....time will tell.............

[caniac # 2]

Beginning to become convinced the Canes are not a very good team.

Stats dont lie, I agree "ceps" on another of your posts , start trading for the future, this year is and always was a write off anyhow , who are we kidding....time to make some moves and so far preston has done a pretty good job of that IMO

[Bocephus]

Beginning to become convinced the Canes are not a very good team.
I repeat!
Had to laugh when I heard this 'if the Canes trade their good players now it is like giving up on the season, how do they explain that to their fans?'
I think I laughed for a solid 10 minutes. They must not be in tune to the fans expectations for this year.:confused:
If there was ever a year the fans would understand it would be this year.

[Bocephus]

Stats dont lie, I agree "ceps" on another of your posts , start trading for the future, this year is and always was a write off anyhow , who are we kidding....time to make some moves and so far preston has done a pretty good job of that IMO
Sad thing is I am also becoming convinced that Preston the Sutterite is operating on delusion. :(

[Bare Bear]

Well, I finally made it to a game in person and I was more than disappointed in the effort given in the first 40 minutes. Sbisa was on the ice for the first three goals and did not seem to be interested. He had a couple of good shifts where he laid out a couple of hits but his urgency in the defensive zone left a lot to be desired. It is obvious to me that he does not want to be here, so Rich, go out and make your best deal. I really don't want a player here that plays for the name on the back of the jersey and not the name on the front of the jersey. Hey, I don't mind losing a hockey game but for crying out loud, let's have a little effort out there. We had no breakout, no sustained pressure and no intensity out there what so ever tonight. You cannot win a game with a 20 minute effort. The last time I checked, a standard hockey game last 60 minutes and should you want to win that game, then let's at least show up. When I see an effort like this, it leads me to believe there are problems below the surface. After all that has happened in the last year or so, I certainly hope not. For the players sitting by and waiting for a trade to a contender, they had better put out or nobody will be interested,

The crowd tonight was pitiful. For crying out loud, support this team no matter how cold it is. Do you remember what it was like when the bus left to Swift Current and we had NO team? That was no fun so support these boys for now and for the future that Rich will bring us in a couple of years. Support this team to keep it as a community owned team because if we lose the team, there is not a private owner in his right mind that would bring a team back to a community that does not support the team through thick and thin. Show me a good effort on the weekend and I might recant a few of these remarks. vc178

BB

[shushu]

I repeat!
Had to laugh when I heard this 'if the Canes trade their good players now it is like giving up on the season, how do they explain that to their fans?'
I think I laughed for a solid 10 minutes. They must not be in tune to the fans expectations for this year.:confused:
If there was ever a year the fans would understand it would be this year.

this one just boggles my mind, any fan that cant see its time to trade and build for the future probably got let out of their padded cell a tad to early.......

[caniac # 2]

SHUSHU

what is the skinny on reners, did you make over to TH's house last friday or was he still power napping ? LOL

[shushu]

SHUSHU

what is the skinny on reners, did you make over to TH's house last friday or was he still power napping ? LOL

and he wasn't there monday, so give me a couple of days and i'l try to pry some info out of him....................