The Candy Canes Strike Again....

[TooLoud]

What the hell happened tonight??? Perhaps someone on the coaching staff should let the boys in on a little secret...THERE IS ONLY 6 GAMES LEFT, AND WE HAVE NOT SECURED A PLAYOFF SPOT. For the life of me, I cannot understand why we cannot be ready to play. Tonight was like a playoff game. MJ brought the intensity, and our defence folded like a cheap tent. They were so busy trying to avoid the wave upon wave of Warrior forecheckers that they forgot to play some defense. Our defensemen did not hit, were not agressive, and gave the puck away far too many times. The MJ forwards made our rearguards look like they were standing still way too many times. And, the MJ forecheckers made the defensemen pay everytime they touched the puck. I don't think I saw many "non-finished" checks from MJ. And I don't know if our defencemen finished many. In fact, I think Sofillas and R Maxwell played tougher behind our net than our defencemen did. On the plus side, the Braes, Fyten, Sutter line played well, and their puck cycling keep away efforts were excellent. It was obvious, though, that MJ was well-schooled on who needed to be watched on our team, and there wasn't much room out there for the top line. Way to go, R. Maxwell, it is heartening to see the smallest guy on the team stand in front of the net and pay the price to score. We need the team, as a whole, to show this kind of comittment. We need to match, and exceed other team's intensity levels. I am afraid if tonight was any indication, we are not ready for playoff hockey. Some other observations: Did anyone else think that MJ is one of the dirtiest teams we've seen this year? Does it seem odd that 2 referees could miss at least 1/2 of the vicious elbows thrown tonight? Does M. Maxwell realize that there are 4 other teammates skating with him that are sometimes "open"? Does the coaching staff ever change up the power play system? Does anyone ever tell them that IT AIN'T WORKING? Will B Anderson show us, soon, why he was drafted? Will our team ever get off the bench and be involved in the game around them, like all the other teams do? Will our team ever play the first 55 minutes the way they play the last 5? Will someone tell M Reddington that what he did tonight is what a captain should do everytime? Will our defensemen ever subscribe to Howie Meeker's "You Gotta Take the Man" mantra....Sorry for the rambling, just a frustrated fan wondering if this team is going to start stringing some consistent, good efforts together before it's too late, and prove to their fans that they deserve to be in the playoffs....

[HURRICANE'S ROCK]

That certainley was a statement and a half. Only problem is it is so long , I'm not sure I read it all....hehe.
Other then that .........I totally agree ............ or I completely disagree..........Until I have the time to digest all you have said, I reserve the right to change my answer. Just kidding.

[ZAMBONI-PHONEY]

Is there anything left to say? TooLoud certainly covered all the bases. Oh there was one thing he missed. The blueline brigade for the Warriors is huge, fairly mobile and do not give you much room. They are always rubbing their opponents out of the play and if they happen to get beaten they end up finishing their checks. I have to agree with TooLoud about Moose Jaw being a dirty team, and they are also very good at stiring the pot (so to speak). #19 Brett Lyon leads the way.
Of course the hits to the head on R.Maxwell and Sutter were only minor penalties in the eyes (4 of them) of the refs. Of course being the whiner that I am, had it been the other way around our players would be serving suspensions.

The biggest mistake the Capitals was giving Anderson a contract. His play has not improved one bit. Of course Washington's goaltending depth is poor at best.

If the Canes are out of it by the end of this weekend, then I hope Preston brings up Erkramps, Merkley, Henry and Kovacs who are all available now that their midget teams are done, and gives them a taste of the WHL.

[Stuck in the Penalty Box]

..."Bloody Awful!"

That is my summary of tonight's attempt at getting into the playoffs. According to the assistant coach on the post-game show the Canes played much better on the BC trip. Too bad they left their "A" game in BC.

Now another nail has been hammered into the Canes' Playoff Hopes coffin. Being 2pts down to PA and having 5 games left against much tougher opponents (Cal-MH-ED-KTN-KTN) things do not look very promising.

I just hope in one of the two last home games that Klein gets to ref! Too bad the WHL does not post the ref assignments or there would be a big crowd to welcome the "Show Stealer" to Lethbridge.

[Bocephus]

TooLoud, I couldn't agree with you more on #6. The only thing wrong with your comment though was that you said he had 4 open linemates. Did you notice at the end when he had 5 open linemates due to Tait being pulled and #6 still chose to go goalline to MJ blueline without passing to open linemates and then lost the puck, of course. I won't be at all sad to see his final game.
If I was a linemate of his there would be fists flying in the dressing room for sure. No way would I put up with it. Selfish prick. Softest guy I've seen since the Euro VanTulip a few years ago.
Rant Over. Who's wants the soapbox next?

[metalrules]

Well I sure do agree with the M. Maxwell comment, but I want to comment on the other one. I love how Russell competes but he wants to play in the hard areas he will have to learn that he will take big hits, punches, and such. I don't agree with the high hits, but the dman is 6'3, Russ is 5'7, you do the math on where the elbow is even on a clean hit.

But that being said he does not get a free pass on the selfish 10 minute misconduct he took. He has shown maturity beyond his 16 years this season, don't start acting like a child on a temper tantrum because someone took a liberty on you. Your captain stood up for you, pay him back by scoring a goal.

And before the backlash happens, just know I love the way Russell plays and competes, I just want him to learn the hard lessons now so when he is our captain in 2 years he know how to true leader.

Anyhow agree or disagree, I don't mind just my opinion.

[Bocephus]

Agree

[TooLoud]

Well I sure do agree with the M. Maxwell comment, but I want to comment on the other one. I love how Russell competes but he wants to play in the hard areas he will have to learn that he will take big hits, punches, and such. I don't agree with the high hits, but the dman is 6'3, Russ is 5'7, you do the math on where the elbow is even on a clean hit.

But that being said he does not get a free pass on the selfish 10 minute misconduct he took. He has shown maturity beyond his 16 years this season, don't start acting like a child on a temper tantrum because someone took a liberty on you. Your captain stood up for you, pay him back by scoring a goal.

And before the backlash happens, just know I love the way Russell plays and competes, I just want him to learn the hard lessons now so when he is our captain in 2 years he know how to true leader.

Anyhow agree or disagree, I don't mind just my opinion.

I certainly agree with you. R Maxwell, if he wants to succeed in this league, certainly has to pay the price, just like any other player. And, I think, for the most part he does. He is getting better at avoiding the big checks, and like last night, seems to be willing to take the crap to score the goals. And, yes, it was certainly a selfish penalty he took. However, I take exception to the height differences amounting to a clean hit. The MJ defenders were very gung-ho about coming in with the elbows held high, and it is their responsibility to keep the hits away from the head. With the size of some of the MJ defensemen, and the speed that they were flying around, elbows held high, it's lucky no one was seriously hurt last night. I guess my point was, and is, that this team should not be depending on the smallest, youngest guy on the team to be setting the intensity level. And while I applaud Reddington for stepping up and defending his teammates, I sure would like to see our whole team play with some fire, some passion, and some desire. Not just after the play, but during it. And, I sure wish that the visually impaired comedians that we call WHL referees would start penalizing teams for these types of hits before someone gets seriously hurt or killed.

[Stuck in the Penalty Box]

A couple of questions that could be asked following last night's game include:

If that was a coaching audition for Matt Kabayama, did he flunk the test and therefore after Preston gives up the coaching part of his job, will Matt be overlooked?

If they had a team race to see who was the slowest player to come back from an offensive rush, who would be the slowest player? Mitch Maxwell or Alex Kuvavev? Acutally it does not matter because neither will be back next year.

[Bocephus]

Anyone on here heading up to Calgary for the game tomorrow? The price sure seems right.