Pats vs Blades..

[Some_Arrogant_Jerk]

Pats win 5-4 in overtime, with the game winner being scored by duval, from festy and some other guy. Fairly slow game until the end, and sooo many penalties :( throughout the game. a bazillion 5 on 3s on the pats at least :dead: . The pats had a good start, they were dominating at first, then took their foot off the gas pedal and let the blades coem back into the game near the end of the 1st. The pats got back into it kind of and lucked out in over time, I was hoping for a shootout, but oh well.

Kyle Ross was basically invisible until the end, did not seem aggressive tonight. Reinhart was reinhart, which means he didnt do anything productive, and was a liability. He actually finished a saskatoon one timer to almost give them a game winner with 5 minutes left. We SERIOUSLY need to get rid of this guy! He isnt making acceptable progress and is more of a liability than a help. Maybe we could trade him to red deer or something, they desperatly need d-men, and we could fool them into taking him ;) . Maybe get a hockey stick and a pylon in return, which seems like a fair exchange to me. Duval, despite chipping in 2 goals, did not impress me that much. He didnt really hustle and seemed to only be at the right place at the right time. Also Lind needs to stop taking so many stupid penalties, in the first he was in the box around 3 times.

On the positive side of things, Jordan Eberle was awesome tonight, netting 2 goals and an assist. He was the best player on the ice on both sides, which is amazing news for a '90 born player, look for him to be a factor this season. Festy was good but can do better, and Mcdonald played decent tonight too. Leffler, despite losing alot of weight, still laid the body on a few guys, and had a few flashes of brilliance. Ross and Deck were solid on defence , and so was the rest of our defence, except for a certain someone, and delahey, who made the occasional mistake, but nothing too serious. Bosch was decent for a kid his age, but reekie had to go in for him. Both did well.

I wasnt watching the saskatoon players much, but I noticed that Holtby is a solid goalie and is ready to be a starter this season. I'd say the equivilant of Rowat at least, no huge saves but solid all around. The new euro konecny is really fast and has good acceleration. Did not see him shoot but Im sure he will be a top 6 player for saskatoon this year. Colton Gillies, despite the hype of him being the best prospect since anyone, was completly invisible except for a few defensive plays that I saw. Saskatoon did fairly well for missing all their big guns, and probably deserved the win, but too bad :D .

All in all, its only the preseason, and most of these mistakes by the pats can be corrected, that is the purpose of it after all, getting back into the game. I could tell the pats are missing last years Grade A europeans, but we can and will adjust.

I wont be at the game on friday, so it would be nice if some guy could make a thread similar of their thoughts. Not too homerish and it doesnt matter if its too long, I wont mind. Thanks.

[patsfan33]

they dressed Reeks instead of Rowat?! like what is that?...lol jk...both tenders were solid in net tonight and made some huge saves to impress

as previously mentioned, Festy, Duvie and Eberle were pretty noticeable out there..in a good way...each showed exceptional speed and hard work when fighting for the puck. Festy had a beautiful goal after deking around a few blades.

Defence was decent as well, Deck and N.Ross were the best pair out on the blueline tonight. Anyone clock how many minutes Ross got...that kid rarely sat on the bench. His (goal) streak ended tonight...but the kid notched three assists to compensate. Good enough for me. And yes i too noticed Reinhart's mistakes out on the ice..i just sighed, shook my head..clapped slightly when he sat in the box...sorry it had to be done.

Other notables from the game...severely lacking in the checking department...come on boys...i need to see some hits....

...and my Friend's son made the sports preview on Global...ah cutest kid ever.

See ya all Friday!

[nivek_wahs]

I wont be at the game on friday, so it would be nice if some guy could make a thread similar of their thoughts. Not too homerish and it doesnt matter if its too long, I wont mind. Thanks.Man you hardly even mentioned the Blades in you "report." Gillies Konecny and Holtby and that's it. Homerish? Just bugging :laugh: .

I will post my thoughts about the game when I get them gathered. That's where I will have to disagree with some of what was posted in previous 2 posts :clown: .

[PrairieIce]

who picked the stars last night? duval got an assist and two goals, including the overtime winner, but no star?

[Fight Guy]

Reinhart was reinhart, which means he didnt do anything productive, and was a liability.

I actually thought he had some bright spots this game...but that doesn't mean I'd rather see someone else in his place.


Ross and Deck were solid on defence...

I wasn't impressed with Deck at all. Still sits at the blue line and doesnt shoot, he lost the puck at the blue line so many times, and still did some of the "watching the puck leave the zone without making any effort what so ever". He is a good defenceman, but some of the things he does are just frustraing considering his age and experience.


Bosch was decent for a kid his age, but reekie had to go in for him. Both did well.

Just wanted to say that Reekie didn't HAVE to come in for him...they just changed goalies midway. :)

Because I never made it to the blue and white game, I wasnt really into this game too much. I didnt really pay attention as much as I would have liked. I think the fact that there was nothing on the boards, the crowd was fairly small, and the music and all that stuff wasnt really there too much. and dammit do they need to either get a better video card/computer, or get rid of the advertising on the screen when they have the play on the screen. The quality is so crappy that it's not even worth having it there. It looks like garbage on the screen. Thats how I feel anyway.

And expected in September 25th!!! New grey with blue padded seats to arrive and begin installation immidiatly!!! Going to be a HUGE change to the building. It's gonna be very very weird for awhile, thats for sure.

[Some_Arrogant_Jerk]

....expected in September 25th!!! New grey with blue padded seats to arrive and begin installation immidiatly!!! Going to be a HUGE change to the building. It's gonna be very very weird for awhile, thats for sure...

I saw a few seats already done in what used to be section BB(I think it was BB), they were up with the blue seats. They look nice, but are they comfortable? I cant wait to see the place when ALL of the renovations are done

[Fight Guy]

I saw a few seats already done in what used to be section BB(I think it was BB), they were up with the blue seats. They look nice, but are they comfortable? I cant wait to see the place when ALL of the renovations are doneI sat in one of the ones in the ticket office lobby...they are different...but pretty comfy. They feel kinda weird as they are really soft, but sorta spongey aswell. I dont know how to explain it, but they should be good. I'll have to take a looksy at section BB...err...20...something...lol. Again i'll state...its gonna be REALLY weird when they are all in.

[nivek_wahs]

Also Lind needs to stop taking so many stupid penalties, in the first he was in the box around 3 times.For the record Lind had 2 minor penalties both for hooking at 7:25 of the 1st and 5:21 of the 2nd. So in fact Lind was in the box only once in the 1st. :p

[nivek_wahs]

My thoughts…

For a majority of the game BOTH teams looked like they were skating in mud. I dunno if it was poor ice (needed repair prior to the 2nd period along the boards) or the amount of penalties that were called. Each team had their fair share of power plays, the Blades couldn’t capitalize on the 3 5-on-3's they had in the game. Overall the game was okay except for the fact of the “new” rules. For a while it was faceoff-whistle-penalty-faceoff-whislte-penalty… but the players WILL adapt and the league will be okay.

Goalies:
Bosch got the start and look alright in there against the big boys yet again. This kid is gonna have a future. Reekie replaced Bosch midway thru the game and played solid… the Blades 4th goal by Macauley was a beautiful pass by Menei in which Macauley tipped top shelf by a sprawling Reekie, Reinhart had perfect position on Macauley but was able to get a stick on the puck, no chance for Reekie and NOT Reinhart’s fault… Overall good performance by both Pats’ netminders.

Holtby for the Blades looked decent. He looked like a stalwart vet on one shot and a shaky rookie on another. He will come around and turn some heads. Peeters warmed the bench for the Blades

Defence:
Off the top I would like to say that the Pats D looked decent overall. They all had some shaky spots but were able to withstand the Blades attack. Fraipont showed speed and the ability to pass the puck, but also gave the puck up on a few occasions and was laid out twice (hits not worth noting). Deck played a good game, most minutes on the blueline, I agree with Fight Guy that he needs to shoot… with keeping the puck in the zone I think he needs to play his natural left d position rather than the right I think it would help him. Reinhart had a solid game… he is always going to have mistakes and “liabilities” as long as everyone is watching him… He MUST be doing something right to be on the team. Delahey looked like a youngster out there and made some mistakes but also made several good defensive plays and took a couple “lazy” penalties. Nick Ross had a good game… 3 assists nothing to sneeze at… but had trouble corralling the puck in his own zone on a few occasions. Offensively there is no concern as he is getting better every game. Kulchar played a solid game with limited ice… played the body well and didn’t make any huge gaffs. Defence is very solid.

Blades D was led by Logan who was very hot and cold in this game… had trouble controlling the puck on the powerplay especially. Played a decent defensive game hardly ever out of position. Ward was overall the Blades best D-man, played good all over the ice, showed some good speed and decent shot. Funk was good in the offensive zone but really shaky on d. Visnak is TINY and fast… had a terrible time with the puck always seemed to be fighting it but has a nice shot. Zahn took a couple minor penalties as he seemed to quit skating and laid the lumber (hook and slash) on a couple Pats… old habits die hard. Clements, I honestly didn’t notice him out there.

Forwards:
Some_Arrogant_Jerk; how do you not notice Kyle Ross? O ya his linemate was Jordan Eberle :D.

Justin Scott will be a penalty killer as he showed very little offence even when he was put on the PP in the game. MacDonald played a good game, pretty much a “checker” the whole game. Kyle Ross kept the Blades occupied so Eberle could work his magic… Ross had a very strong game, played both zones really good. Festerling has a good game playing on the wing, picking up a goal and 3 assists... was all over the ice (as per usual). McDonald played a good game but was mostly a checker but had a couple decent scoring chances. Duval had a really strong game, continuing his offensive breakout. Logged a ton of ice and seemed to work well with Eberle on the PP. Leffler is as big as he was before he got sick, used his size and deceptive speed to get a couple of good chances (hit the crossbar once). Lind looked slow and out of place… maybe it was due to it being his first game action or what but looked sub-par. Eberle is a little dynamo, he’s fast, can stickhandle and can shoot. He even saw some PP point time in the game. Metz had an okay game but had limited ice and was mostly a checker when playing. Hulak is probably one of the fastest Pats, played well with Eberle and K. Ross… when that line was on the ice they had the bulk of the play in the Blade zone. Jagow played well, fast grinder-type game played a lot as a penalty killer. Overall the Pats scored 5 goals and all were scored by the forwards. Some improvement will be necessary but seem pretty close (even without Snellman and Bernhardt and Kalus).

One guy I noticed a lot for the Blades was Wintoneak, he was all over the ice and forced a few turnovers by the Pats D, he is going to be a good one. Konecny seemed to float quite a bit but is a good passer, didn’t seem to want to get involved in the play too much. Gillies played good game, scored a goal but didn’t use his size advantage much at all, although he did draw a couple obstruction type fouls. McCrae is fast and was all over the ice, he seemed to have trouble on the PK as he seemed to look lost at times. Menei was probably the best Blade forward, he played in all situations and rewards the Blades with 2PP goals and a nice assist for his effort. Macauley was okay until his sweet tip in goal with just over 5 minutes remaining in the game, other than that he wasn’t spectacular. The rest of the forwards didn’t stick out in either a good or bad way.

[Some_Arrogant_Jerk]

Im planning on going to the game tonight, plans got cancelled. So if I dont fall asleep, like I did last game in the second period( tired :dead: ), I might write up another stupid thread about my post game thoughts. :p


For the record Lind had 2 minor penalties both for hooking at 7:25 of the 1st and 5:21 of the 2nd. So in fact Lind was in the box only once in the 1st. :p

Ehh... whatever.. I noticed last year he took more than he sould have, and this year, so far, is no different.
.


Some_Arrogant_Jerk; how do you not notice Kyle Ross? O ya his linemate was Jordan Eberle

Yeah really;). Ross could have done better in my opinion, its probably because its only preseason, my expectations of him are high.


Im curious as to what line this Eberle kid will play on, and with who would he play with. I thinking 3rd liner primarily. Because of his lack of experience, Im not sure if he would start the season against the top lines of other teams yet. Even if he has John tavares talent( not sure about that one yet..), he is still a rookie who needs to ease into his role. He definatly has the skills to player top 6, but he needs to work on all aspects of the game to player on a top 2 line, I could see him going at least 2nd line later in the season.

He could go good with someone who can get him the puck, and can lay out the body, because I dont think I saw eberle make 1 hit last night. Players like Snellman, or Leffer have good hands, and are big n mean. He could also possibly go with Ryan Mcdonald, who I think he would have good chemistry with, or even duval.

Thoughts?