Wednesday nite game...

[playa]

Not the greatest result tonight, but were there any positives to note for the night? Any guys beginning to fit into a role? How was Egener? I couldn't even be near my computer to listen to the game. I will be at both games this weekend though!!!

[Rebrevs]

It wasn't pretty to watch, that's for sure. The Dmen struggled to say the least. Kamloops put on plenty of pressure and our guys....struggled. The first goal of the game was scored by Kamloops from a deflection off of Egener. Not a real good start. He looked like a 17 year old dman. There were flashes of promise. I thought he got more into the game as time went on. Pretty nervous at first. Hasn't played that much so things will take time. Overall, can't give kudos to anyone in particular for exceptional play. Coach Sutter was missing from the bench. Flatters scored a goal for Vancouver....

[Tinner]

The only positive at last nights game was that the Westerner still has the best soft ice cream around.

Reb Tape rating: 1

[D.A.]

I don't know - the Mihalik fight was kind of fun.

Hard to pin most of the goals on the goalies in this game. One was deflected in by Egener and three were just perfect snipes. I don't think I've seen so many well-placed shots by one team in the same game.

On the other hand, the "bad blazer" contest was kind of fun and the friend I brought to the game won a jersey, so it wasn't all bad. I give it a 3.

[tiny]

All things considered, the best things about the night was seeing family and friends and even though I didn't pick the player scoring the first goal, the pot carries over AGAIN.

I would rate this one a 3.5. Kamloops played very well after their loss in Calgary.

Positives:
a) I did see Vandermeer go to the net a couple of times (and take quite a crosscheck one of those times). Pieper and ? were in front on Rome's goal.

b) I quite enjoyed Mihalik's set-to. Nice to he can have a feisty side and see he can handle himself well. Lamoureux's too. Nice to see emotion get some fans off their hands.

c) I didn't think Reimer did poorly.

d) Egener showed flashes but needs time and experience.

e) I thought Kurceba ( although having some glitches in his game) played quite well. He was hung out to dry by his D partners a couple of times.

f) good to have some consecutive home games to see.

Negatives:
a) getting down early on an unlucky goal.

2) posts and "almosts" with "perfect sniping by the opposition".

3) 5 on 3 power outage

4) MacIsaak (sp??) We seem to be headed back to the hook-clutch and grab play we were to be leaving. People tried to warn me were would just drift back to it but I wouldn't believe it. I gave refs the following rating so far this year Herman>8, McLeod>8, Zalaski>8, Thompson>6.5, and MacIsaak>4. downhill slope??

5) Half the concessions were closed so the line-ups were twice as long. (Icecream is still great)

6) Two accidents (one looked quite bad) really slowed traffic last night. Did the speed of the traffic, new traffic lights, and no police flashing lights have an affect.

Back at it Friday Rebs and former Rebs

[Courtney08-]

it was not by any means a good game to watch, it was terrible!!! If sutters setting up deals i wonder who's going next.. this is going to be on lonnnnnggg year

[frontrow fan]

You could tell from the time the guys came out onto the ice for warm up that it was going to be a poor showing.. I don't think they connected a pass at all in warm up!! There is no enthusiam by any player... they seem to be just there to take up space! I have nothing positive to say about this game, it was dull, and slow. It would be one thing if we were losing games that we actually competed in, but to lose and have a bad effort put forth is just plain frustrating! Giving Kurceba the star, I thought was unfounded as well, I don't see what everyone else sees in this player, it should have gone to Mihalik for at least putting 10 seconds of excitement into an otherwise BORING game!
don't jump on me....it's just my opinion!!! ( p.s. the ice cream was good!)

[hockey4]

Yes it was not pretty. I could definatly see sutter trading players like rome becasue his leadership is brutal. That fifth goal was his turnover. I thought kurceba was the worst playr on the ice. Howveer to stay postive, i would say that if everyone clicks on the same game, we will be good. I thought egener was alright, a definite upgrade from who we had. All in all though we were not a great skating team lats night and our young kids wer our best players. I have a feeling we are gonn apull and upset against moose jaw. If not the trade winds could be a blowin

[Courtney08-]

I hope Rome gets out of Red Deer worst leader i have seen in Rebel history, that guy gets hit and falls to the ground and crys he is the biggest pus i have ever seen .. its terrible to have someone like that representing your team he is brutle at being a captain.. i remember hearing a comment come straight from his mouth saying "Man, its so easy to score in the Dub, its a joke" What kind of leadership is that.. He truely is the JOKE
Mihlak or whatever his name is terrible as well, I swear i saw the puck go past him a good 20 times, he doesnt hit.. he wont touch a player.. guess what Its CANADIAN HOCKEY we HIT OVER HERE!!!! his fight was brutle as well.. Kurceba didnt play well either did not deserve the star by anymeans i think anyone off Kamloops should have got it over Kurceba.. Roman wick.. What happened to that kid.. cant get the puck to the net.. he was an allstar last year and this year i never even notice him as well with Pieper totally forgot he played on our team.. WHERE HAS OUR TEAM GONE.. these players were good, dedicated, strong players last year.. this year its discusting..
Kurceba has his nights, last night not being one of them

Lamaroux-Is gunna get traded if he keeps up with his brutle penatlies as well he is a big guy why cant he shoot,.. or even just do his job and keep the puck out

Eric Frere- I havent noticed him out there??

Rome-Always been the baby of the team.. soon everyone will come out with soothers in there mouths at the rate hes going

Sutter-A key player to the rebs, he has determination, he truley is a great player!

Knackstead-came out being the lil snipper in the begining of the year he has truley improved i am very impressed with him the majority of the time

Walker-he picks the games he wants to play, if he doesnt want to come out and play he wont..

Pieper-Like i said earlier..I didnt even realize he was on the team anymore thats how impressive he is

Vandermeer-Great season this year, im am very impressed with him..!!he's nota big guy but he is doing very well

Gillies-Played terrible in the exhibition.. and still i have yet to see improvment

Cline-Good player, he is like sutter, i love to watch when he's on the ice, he knows whats going on

Wick-What has happended to that kid..Wow so much talent last year and none this year..

Leslie-WOW what is going on with him.. maybe he just looked good last year up against Festa since we were used to peeters up against Festa but he is showing his true colours and it aint pretty

as for the rookies

This new guy..Egener-I cant judge ive only seen him play once

Milhalk-Gronky, Lanky, Big Huge guy..but cant seem to stop a puck or a player if his life depended on it.. I have yet to see any good come out of him

Hansen-(Isnt a rookie but new to us) Played AWFUL in exhibition.. and is now injured i hope he comes out of his injury strong and well and shows what how he can apparently play because i am definatly not impressed with his skill (from what i have seen)

Poulter-Good lil player, he too reminds me of sutter i like his presences on the team
Scott-I like what i have seen so far

Smith-I have yet to see much out of him ... apparently a skilled and developed player but i havnet seen that from him

Klym-Sutter must like his stat keeping ability because thats all he seems to do
Klotz-Well.. umm.. exhibition i was so sure he'd be gone.. again not impressive by any means he too is lanky and not coordinated

Leblanc-I like him, Good hockey player, small but is pretty impressive so far! he hasnt exactly put the numbers on the board but at least he is entertaining to watch and has some sort of skill

Reimer-He has his nights, I feel for him to have all that stress put on him in his first year to comeo ut and be the next cam ward like everyone said he was, its tough but im sure he has a lot to offer red deer, he just isnt fully confident yet

All in all these are my opinions, you may or may not agree, they may be harsh but I have been watching the sport since i was a baby and i have been watching the rebs for as long as i can remember, as well im going to school to work in the hockey industry... We all have our own opinions and these are mine
all in all our defense is terrible, and our offense needs to learn to work to gether and put the puck in the net they have the capability they just are having a hard time meshing together.

[RDRebelsfan]

I hope Rome gets out of Red Deer worst leader i have seen in Rebel history, that guy gets hit and falls to the ground and crys he is the biggest pus i have ever seen .. its terrible to have someone like that representing your team he is brutle at being a captain.. i remember hearing a comment come straight from his mouth saying "Man, its so easy to score in the Dub, its a joke" What kind of leadership is that.. He truely is the JOKE
Mihlak or whatever his name is terrible as well, I swear i saw the puck go past him a good 20 times, he doesnt hit.. he wont touch a player.. guess what Its CANADIAN HOCKEY we HIT OVER HERE!!!! his fight was brutle as well.. Kurceba didnt play well either did not deserve the star by anymeans i think anyone off Kamloops should have got it over Kurceba.. Roman wick.. What happened to that kid.. cant get the puck to the net.. he was an allstar last year and this year i never even notice him as well with Pieper totally forgot he played on our team.. WHERE HAS OUR TEAM GONE.. these players were good, dedicated, strong players last year.. this year its discusting..
Kurceba has his nights, last night not being one of them

Lamaroux-Is gunna get traded if he keeps up with his brutle penatlies as well he is a big guy why cant he shoot,.. or even just do his job and keep the puck out

Eric Frere- I havent noticed him out there??

Rome-Always been the baby of the team.. soon everyone will come out with soothers in there mouths at the rate hes going

Sutter-A key player to the rebs, he has determination, he truley is a great player!

Knackstead-came out being the lil snipper in the begining of the year he has truley improved i am very impressed with him the majority of the time

Walker-he picks the games he wants to play, if he doesnt want to come out and play he wont..

Pieper-Like i said earlier..I didnt even realize he was on the team anymore thats how impressive he is

Vandermeer-Great season this year, im am very impressed with him..!!he's nota big guy but he is doing very well

Gillies-Played terrible in the exhibition.. and still i have yet to see improvment

Cline-Good player, he is like sutter, i love to watch when he's on the ice, he knows whats going on

Wick-What has happended to that kid..Wow so much talent last year and none this year..

Leslie-WOW what is going on with him.. maybe he just looked good last year up against Festa since we were used to peeters up against Festa but he is showing his true colours and it aint pretty

as for the rookies

This new guy..Egener-I cant judge ive only seen him play once

Milhalk-Gronky, Lanky, Big Huge guy..but cant seem to stop a puck or a player if his life depended on it.. I have yet to see any good come out of him

Hansen-(Isnt a rookie but new to us) Played AWFUL in exhibition.. and is now injured i hope he comes out of his injury strong and well and shows what how he can apparently play because i am definatly not impressed with his skill (from what i have seen)

Poulter-Good lil player, he too reminds me of sutter i like his presences on the team
Scott-I like what i have seen so far

Smith-I have yet to see much out of him ... apparently a skilled and developed player but i havnet seen that from him

Klym-Sutter must like his stat keeping ability because thats all he seems to do
Klotz-Well.. umm.. exhibition i was so sure he'd be gone.. again not impressive by any means he too is lanky and not coordinated

Leblanc-I like him, Good hockey player, small but is pretty impressive so far! he hasnt exactly put the numbers on the board but at least he is entertaining to watch and has some sort of skill

Reimer-He has his nights, I feel for him to have all that stress put on him in his first year to comeo ut and be the next cam ward like everyone said he was, its tough but im sure he has a lot to offer red deer, he just isnt fully confident yet

All in all these are my opinions, you may or may not agree, they may be harsh but I have been watching the sport since i was a baby and i have been watching the rebs for as long as i can remember, as well im going to school to work in the hockey industry... We all have our own opinions and these are mine
all in all our defense is terrible, and our offense needs to learn to work to gether and put the puck in the net they have the capability they just are having a hard time meshing together.

someone sure is insightful

anyway my take on the game was that we had terrible defencive lapses which led to some bad goals, I don't Reimer for the ones he allowed, he could'v ehad the 2nd however.

I thought the team was pretty undiscipline wed. night too, we get a penalty and then Kurceba decides to grab onto one of the Blazers head and drive them into the ice, what kind of horse **** is that!?

As a leader I tihnk Rome has his on nights and his off nights.....temper problems maybe? I dunno. Though as a captain you sohuld be setting an example. He doesn't seem to do that well. IMo best Captain we've had in recent memory was either Derek Meech or Bryce Thoma. What Rome says there in quote sounds cockish too me.

your assessment on Mihalik....i agree with 100% Court. Exact same tohugh as me for someone who is 6'8" over 200lbs should know how to be agressive, he isn't a bad skater for someone his size and is pretty mobile, but that's it..but when it comes to intensity, or aggression, hitting of anykind...Mihalik doesn't impress me AT ALL.

I tohught Kurceba played decent and was probably one of the better d men for us on the night.

Wick...well he had one bad game, don't jump to conclusions

Pieper imo played well he was grinding it out, and to me seemed to be working hard to win the battles.

Frere is still young, give him time he has potential

P.P.....usually a good defencive d man

Leslie played well last night...but from the majority of game sI've seen he is often let out to dry and fend on his own. As someone who's played goalie and knows people who has, last tihng a person sohuld do is point the finger squarely on the goalie.

I tihnk our O has been fine imo it's our D and goaltending that's been off the rocker.

you seem upset Courtney...perhaps one of those few that isn't in realization that we're now in a TRUE rebuilding yr.

[Nature Boy]

I don't agree with you Court. I think that Mihalik can play a decent game. He is still getting used to the Canadian style of game. I think that he can work on his skating a bit. I agree that he does make a few mistakes out there but at least last night he got in his first fight. He will get better as the season goes on. Brent wouldn't have picked him if he didn't like him. Obviously the Tampa Bay Lightning thought highly of him because they took hime in the first round of the draft. Next year he will be on of Red Deers best defenceman. Court you are just way to used to seeing that Phaneuf guy wearing that number 3 for the rebels. He now wears that number for the Flames and he is holding his own in the NHL. I am a big fan of Eric Frere though. He has a lot of potential.

[playa]

I'm sure I can speak for everyone in saying that losing sucks. However, I am a firm believer in finding positives as well as negatives...even if the boys do make it tough. I wasn't at the game Wednesday so maybe I can't get as fired up as you, but you are very harsh. I guess I'll give me entire feedback after this weekend!

[Shinyshoes]

I'm sure I can speak for everyone in saying that losing sucks. However, I am a firm believer in finding positives as well as negatives...even if the boys do make it tough. I wasn't at the game Wednesday so maybe I can't get as fired up as you, but you are very harsh. I guess I'll give me entire feedback after this weekend!I totally agree with you, Playa!! Nobody likes to lose. However in junior hockey the good years and the bad years cycle. Courtney08 sounds like she has forgotten that we have the majority of our team who are younger than the other teams vets by 3 or 4 years! Courtney08, you had better have the same attitude in 2007-2008 when we are winning more games than losing.

As for your assesment of the players The following are the ones I MOST dont agree:

Pieper - Is one of the most consistant players on our team. He comes to play every night, and has played much of the season with an injury, but he still doesnt back down. Leads by example. With the recent trades, look for him to get the 3rd "A". Would wear the "C" in my books.

Gillies - Gained a lot of weight and size this off-season, and may still be getting used to his "new body", however, he is using his size much better this season, and the way he is driving the net, the goals will start to pour in very soon.

Leslie - Everyone seems to compare our golies to what we have had in the past. Maybe he isnt Martan Brodeur, but he is above average in this league. A lot of the goals against are due to our defencemen not playing up to snuff. Fix that, and leslie will generally make the 1st save for us.

Mikalik - You have to remember that this kid is getting used to a different Ice size, different style of hockey, different country, different school, different friends, different LANGUAGE!! Its tough to tell a kid what he is doing wrong when he cant understand what you are saying. Give him a couple of months to learn English, then watch this kid bloom.

Hanson - Of all your assesments, this one is by far the worst. "Played AWFUL in exhibition"?? I TOTALLY Disagree. Hanson is not here to put points on the board. He was + 37 last season and only had 25 points. He is here to help bring the younger kids along, and keep the puck out of our net. If you are looking for him to fill the shoes of Phaneuf, you will be dissapointed.

There were many positives in this wednesday's game, and others we have lost this season so far. I think in the second half of the season, when the young team we have begins to develop, and everyone has a chance to learn Sutter's system, we will end up winning more games than losing.

Courtnay, What it boils down too, is that If you can't find any good in the team, and dont enjoy a good game of hockey even though your team loses more than it wins, dont come to the games! Its that simple.

Just like you ..."these are my opinions, you may or may not agree, ... I have been watching the sport since i was a baby and i have been watching the rebs for as long as i can remember, ...We all have our own opinions and these are mine"

This is simply my views....

[D.A.]

I'll chime in on our bigger defencemen as well:

Hansen: I didn't notice that he did that poorly in exhibition. In any case, he's going to be a solid player for usI have no doubt.

Mihalik: Why does everyone always expect the big guys to be aggressive? If a mean streak is not what he brings to the table, why are we trying to force that on him? Rather than making assumptions, shouldn't we just watch and learn what his qualities really are?

[Courtney08-]

i do realize the positive if you read i wrote positve about certain players its our vets who are extremely disapointing its nice to see people like Poulter and Leblanc out there they are fresh and exciting to watch.. the vets are just taking this as a joke i think its because i know what the do out side of hhockey that makes it so disapointing if you knew what i do you would understand my statments