From the series preview:

Also, Larry is a good goalie.. If the K's dont start getting some bodies in front of the net especially on the PP then he's gonna continue to come up big. Way too much perimeter play on the PP, if the current guys getting the PP time cant or wont sacrifice and screen Larry then get some guys in there who will. IMO

Pretty simple concept stay out of the box and make them pay when they take penalties. We are not doing either. The other think is we have been ahead for better part of the series, today was the first time the K's have trailed with 5 minutes left in the 3rd period. We at times seem to lack that "killer" instinct or should I say shut down mentality. The other thing is the goal post has been Larry's friend as we have hit it 5 times over the course of 3 games. Wednesday becomes a must win in their barn.

Hmm...You also said that Hukalo had to make a huge impact in this series. Where has he been? my other question is, why did Sims put Mac in with 3 or so minutes left in the game when he has been benching him and Woods for the last 2 games, what purpose did that serve? Its about time we play Komet Hockey and stop playing down to Port Hurons level. We passed them in the regular season for a reason. It a new day tomorrow, Let pick it up and play some real Komet Hockey!

Woods would screen the goalie= syro won't

I agree sgriffith, the K's do seem to lack that killer instinct right now. I had to watch via B2 tonight; but it seemed like the K's sat back a lil once they got the early 2 goal lead.

Get some bodies in front of Larry and maybe stop waiting for the perfect pass opening and pepper him with some blistering shots from guys like Drouin, Dupuis, Warner, etc... and pounce on the rebounds...

Again, the defense is not the problem. How many penalties did the defense take to give up power plays? 1. How many forwards took penalties in the offensive zone or neutral zone? A ton. The defense is fine. The forwards have to pull their heads out.

Another thing to consider, if the Komets win Wednesday they are 2-2 in the first round for the third straight year.

I wasn't referring to the defensive end of things, I am talking about forwards supporting the Defense and guys going to the net. At times we play that way in spurts, but not consistently something that has haunted them all year. While 2 goal leads are sometimes hard to hold onto, those leads for the K's should be "golden" for them to close out. Instead of waiting for PH to make mistakes and capitalize on them the K's are the ones making mistakes and that includes penalties. The other thing is our penalties are rarely in our defensive zone they happen in the offensive zone and neutral zone places you can't take them.

The Komets looked great, played hard and gave it their best.

I don't believe that, but I don't want to be considered "negative". Guy is skating fast and keeping up. Brandon Warner is the MVP at this point. (+5!!!!) And Syro is putting his 6'5" frame to good use.

I would have started Boucher. Haun has done a fine job. Bouch has won 2 Cups in a row.. How do you sit that guy?

The Komets definitely need to play better if they want to win this series. After going up 2-0, the intensity died. PoHo did a great job clearing the puck by shooting it up and over the defenders, ya can't stop it if it's 5 feet over your head. Too many mistakes, penalties, and not burying the empty nets. Having the ref physically extend his arms to push down a player in the final minute and then not moving so he could get up definitely didn't help either. It's amazing Chewy didn't punch Welker right in the mouth, he wanted to, that's for sure.

You HAVE to put a body infront of Larry, and when I say in front I don't mean standing 3 feet to either side of him. Yes, I'm talking to you Syro.

UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that is all...

The komets need to quit crying to the ref the whole game and just play, playing hockey my whole life and being an amateur ref, im telling you, no ref likes teams that whine and cry to you every time you get touched.

Amen!

I am sure they see it as "working" the ref...

Agreed, Marian. Chewy's mouth has been running as fast as his skates lately. Actually, I shouldn't say that since he seems to be slowing down each and every game.

As I have been a Warner-basher for quite a while, I will come out and say as of late I have seen him playing well. He still makes some mistakes out there, but so does everyone, that's why it is minor league hockey. You can't argue with the assists though.

I watched warner tonight and he played pretty good, i thought that he looked like he was finally playing like he was getting his confidence back, he was hurt last year, put on forward early this year and never seemed to get settled in on D this year, until now. the ks should still take this series, they are the better team.

Warner had a sick assist on Syro's goal tonight. I'm not sure exactly how, but we only had one d-man below the blue line and PH sent three guys into forecheck. A bad pass and we're looking at a three on one, which is probably why PH came when there was only one d-man back.

Warner had a great pass off the glass and got us the odd man rush the other way.

Welker was talking to the players quite a bit during the game. He tried to establish some order to the game early in the second period, but it didn't turn out that way.

I thought bad calls went both directions for a chunk of the night. Hansen laid out to block a shot, had the puck under him, and then got called for a trip as a Komets player's shooting momentum took them into Hansen. I felt pretty good about our chances once Hansen went to the box for the entire third period. The stuff with Chewy at the end of the game was pretty bad as well.

I thought the last goal that Timmy gave up was a soft one on the rebound, but otherwise he played pretty solid. Two of the other three he had no chance on.

Larry made some good saves. I enjoy yelling his name, and I have to admit he played well.

Gonna have to win a game at their place. Certainly is possible. Will be interesting to see if Sims sticks with Boucher if he wins game 5.

Glad to hear that something was wrong with Rodger--that's why he wasn't dressing. I've enjoyed watching him all year.

I'm glad Tab Lardner isn't playing for PH. I think we can step up the pressure these next couple of games and hopefully move on. It's been enjoyable playoff hockey to watch.

If boucher wins at Port huron, i would throw a curve and keep him back in there on friday at the war memorial.

Boucher should have been playing the whole series. I think tonight Haun showed why you can't take regualr season success as playoff success. 4 goals on what? 26 shots? ouch. Goalie of the Year should be better than that.......

Those 4 goals only game in a span of the last 16 shots on goal, Port Huron wasn't able to score until the 12th shot of the game. Then it seems like Haun got frustrated, as did everyone else on the team. They played horrible the second and third period. Haun also had no solid defense in front of him the last half of the game. It seems Welker did all he could however to make sure he took the game out of the komets.

Yeah, all the penalties the K's were taking against the #1 PP in the league this year was Haun's fault........ Why do you think Drulia was complaining about the officiating after game 1??? Their best chance to score is on the PP and the K's played right into thier hands last night....

We need to use our giant foward to screen Sterling if we're going to be shooting from the blueline.

I think it is time for some soul searching for the Komets.

I am tired of reading in the papers from players that 'we need to stay out of the box'; 'we need to crash the net', etc. Instead of repeatedly saying this, do it.

To be up by 2 goals, blow the lead, and in essence fall apart is unacceptable. Where is the grit from the team? Granted, some players look like they are playing to the best of their ability every shift, but winning a game, let alone a series, is not an individual effort. This is a team effort, and as we know, a team is only as strong as its weakest person.

Please don't tell me on the news or in any media format that 'we've been down 2-1 and 3-1 in series before and came back to win'. That's the past. I care about the here and now. What are you going to do NOW? Every game, from this point on, needs to be played as if it is the last. Play hard, take the shots, don't look for the perfect pass. Crash the net, get in front of the net and hold your position; stay out of the penalty box; make the other team play your game and not vice versa.

To say last nights game was a huge disappointment is an understatement. Instead of the players saying they are going to do better, it is time to prove it.

Nicely said Andrea! Let Go Komets!

I agree we need more traffic infront of Larry.....

Oh and they scored on the 6th shot of the game and had TWO by the time they had 13 shots. Guess you weren't watching Digger.

Andrea: You couldn't have said it better. Well said!

wow gregsand77...I guess I wasn't, SOOOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY maybe i had confused the second goal with the first one... I never thought to write all this down and take pictures, I didn't think a statistician was going to critique my work. Next time I'll rethink my postings. Or maybe watch the game, because apparently I missed the entire game. For a minute I thought we won 7-2. but then I read the blog and started making things up.

Andrea very very good points that you made. You know as well as I that being down 3-1 and winning a series is a once in a longtime thing. Shutting their mouths and sucking it up and winning Wed. nite makes it 2-2 and that is a LOT easier to handle. Again good post Andrea!!