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View Full Version : Rebels-Warriors brief thoughts (Oct 28th 05)



Rebel66
10-29-2005, 12:16 AM
Tonight was the first look at the all new Red Deer Rebels hockey club. Three new players arrived in town mere hours before the game while another has been here for less than a week.

All in all it was a much better effort from the home team than the last loss against Kamloops but the result was the same; another lopsided loss with the Moose Jaw Warriors skating away with a richly deserved 4-1 win.

The Warriors look like a very good team. Lot's of explosive firepower and for my money one of the best players in the league in Troy Brouwer. Throw in the likes of Dustin Boyd and McArdle and you have the makings of an elite team.

Random thoughts:

Not sure why referee Matsouka is allowed to ref Rebels games as his dad is a Rebels scout. Not that he does the Rebels any favours. Usually he goes in the opposite direction so he doesn't come across as biased! I'm not particually complaining about his performance on this night but a couple of calls were dreadful.

The Warriors connected three times on the PP and their other goal came shortly after another one expired. Their powerplay looks awesome at times. Blair Jones's setup for Brouwer's first goal was a superb behind the back pass right onto the tape. In fact all of MJ's goals were quite pretty, especially their second. On that move Jordan Henry made a great dart into the offensive zone deftly stepping around Smith and centering a perfect pass for the onrushing Brouwer who scored easily. Very nice goal that received the applause of some of the Rebels faithful too.

Warriors notes:

Not much more to say about Brouwer as you know I'm sold. He's pretty much the complete package. He's got size, strength, and skill. Excellent player who had a great game. Obviously the deserved No.1 star.

Dustin Boyd was named the No.3 star, but much as I rate the player, I thought there were other more deserving choices on the Warriors team tonight. Don't get me wrong he did play well and made some great offensive moves though.

Jordan Henry deserves mention as he was very steady back there and set up that great goal as previously stated.

Blair Jones, well known to Rebels fans, notched a couple of nice first assists and was a constant threat all night. He even got into a fight with new boy Egener. What's with that?

Jesse Zetaruik looks like he's found a good home. He had a very steady performance as well on his return to Red Deer.

Perricone was solid in net too although he wasn't overly tested.

All in all it was just a good all round road game for the Warriors. They controlled the play for long periods, sometimes outclassing the young Rebels. That said, the Rebels to their credit never gave up and kept working hard. Considering the moves that were made this week it looks quite promising. To judge them on a first game against a powerhouse like Moose Jaw is not really fair.

Rebels notes:

New boy Brett Sutter looks like a great pickup. He plays in all situations very well and is already an assistant on this team. He scored the only Rebels goal on his debut too.

Kris Versteeg looks like he'll be a good one too. I like his speed and hands. He could be a player that brings the fans out of their seats (Hard to do in Red Deer!) Erat was probably the last player to do that!

Brennan Chapman is another good acquisition for the team. He seems like exactly the type of steady defenceman they require. It was quite amusing to see Chapman, at 5'10", standing alongside Vladi Mihalik, at 6'8.5"

Speaking of Mihalik I thought that he had his best game that I've seen him play as a Rebel. He's coming along and is a much better player imo than some Rebels fans give him credit for. The kid has had lot's of adjustments to make and hopefully he's now getting there.

Interesting to see that they didn't even bother trying to differentiate the two Sutters. Of course what could they have done anyway as their first initials are both B?

Well that's all I've got time for tonight. Given my (kid) situation my recap/thoughts output has been way down of late. Hopefully I'll manage a few more before the season is out.

WHL Rules
10-29-2005, 12:36 AM
Thanks, Rebel66! Greatly appreciated. :)
I saw on the game sheet that Brandon Sutter got a major fighting. What happened?

Rebel66
10-29-2005, 12:53 AM
Thanks, Rebel66! Greatly appreciated. :)
I saw on the game sheet that Brandon Sutter got a major fighting. What happened?

He basically got jumped on by Wray from my, admittedly poor, viewpoint. Brandon acquited himself quite well too.

Strange that there were three instigator penalties out of the four fights tonight. That doesn't happen often.

Sorry, I'm not much of a fight recapper. Perhaps someone else can provide a recap on the fights.

WHL Rules
10-29-2005, 12:58 AM
No that's ok. I'm not that interested in the fights either. I just wondered, that's all.

Tinner
10-29-2005, 06:34 AM
Yes, it was a better effort, and unfortunately, the result was the same. The new players made a difference/impact in the Rebels game and as they get more accustomed to the team it will be noticable. Milhalik did have his best game of his short Rebel career. Hopefully his effort will soon rub off on Frere, who has been the weak link lately. I thought that we deserved a better fate as a bounce early in the game may have lifted the boys to a higher level. Lots of chances early and no results hurt.

Lastly, Matsouka (spelling, ref) seems to like to be the show everyone comes to see. If the new rules were put in place to eliminate the clutching, grabbing, holding, crosschecks in front of the net and speed up the game, they forgot to tell him. I guess we're headed back to the old way again. And by the way, his dad retired/quit working for the Rebels as of a couple if weeks ago.

Rebel Tape: 6

D.A.
10-29-2005, 07:29 AM
Agreed on Mihalik. He made a few dreadful giveaways, but otherwise looked solid. A few things occured to me in watching him last night:
--he's not particularly fast, but his long stride makes it look much worse than it really is.
--he doesn't lay out the big hits, but he doesn't have to. If you watch, he either simply pushes the opposing player away or uses his sheer size to stop them. Not as exciting, but just as effective.
--he was very good last night at controlling the puck - not in skating with it, but stopping on at the blueline on the power play and such.

I also thought all the new guys looked pretty good, especially for their first (or second) games.

Others that I liked what I saw from were Gillies (he's going to be a good power forward in the future) and Reimer (will he overtake the #1 spot this year?).

Rebrevs
10-29-2005, 07:36 AM
Apparently, Matsouka senior has left the Rebels organization(scout) involuntarily. It kind of puts a new light on some of the calls Matsouka junior made against the Rebels last night.

Tinner
10-29-2005, 08:36 AM
good word revs......involuntarily, I also heard a couple of other scouts have also left.

3rebels
10-29-2005, 09:51 AM
Hmm, just a thought!! Could it be that Coaches Sutter, Guame and Wallin are dis-satisfied with the direction the coaching staff was going or is Randy Petersons direction not sitting well with some of the "former" scouts or vice-versa???
Liked the new guys. The new trades bought in some speed and ability, sorely needed. Hope it doesn't take to long for everyone to gel.
And CONGRATULTIONS to Teddy Vando. EXCELLENT choice in my eyes. :thumb:

Rebel66
10-29-2005, 09:54 AM
Apparently, Matsouka senior has left the Rebels organization(scout) involuntarily. It kind of puts a new light on some of the calls Matsouka junior made against the Rebels last night.

Well that makes it all the more interesting then. Matsouka, at times, did look like he was on a bit of a mission last night! :spineyes:

frontrow fan
10-29-2005, 10:06 AM
definately a better game to watch!! I see Pierre-Paul sporting a "beauty" of a shiner!! "OUCH!!"
I watched Versteeg the other nite with Kamloops, I really think this guy could be a huge asset to our team..not to mention Sutter2!! (that's what we're calling him!) I thought Walker stepped it up a few times, but not consistently again. I thought Mihalik played better as well. Now if they could all just play well on the same nite............we'd have ourselves a good team!!
As for Matsuoka.............all I can say is :turkey: last nite was a one team hockey game for him!!!