Komets coach takes high road after loss

Thursdays day off guarantees us 4 of 6 points for the week.

Good to see Giosa back; but he was no where near game shape...

I missed watching Firman play.  The guy just hustles and works hard every shift...

Lets not mention defensive lapses from the rest of the team, only the 2 norfolk guys.....    What a joke.

Where was the defensive stalwart Smith (and center of that line) during those plays you mentioned Lasch and Caputi in?  If you are gonna point them out like that, you need to lump their centerman in with them...IMO

Yeah, kinda bs attacking the only guys doing any scoring lately.

JR you have a point. Everyone should be held accountable. But I would say if these guys (Norfolk Connection) are thinking of a long term career they are in for a surprise. They should be coming to Fort Wayne full of "I am going to do what it takes to get back."  Doesn't sound like that is the casse.  And you can bet the brass right up to the NHL club knows exaclty what these guys are doing. It could be, collect the bigger cheque this year and look for the team in the "E" they think they could play for next year.

I am looking forward to seeing the team first hand over the New Year.

Merry Christmas everyone. All the best in the New Year.

Mike

JR, Smith was back in the zone taking his man on the 5-3 rush that resulted in a goal.  His two wingers weren't back in the zone and their d-men beat them up the ice.  Those two were the last guys into the K's zone.  Last night they looked very lazy. I understand that you don't think they are the only ones not playing as hard defensively as they need to (and they aren't the only ones), but there is no defending their lack of hustle on the defensive side of the puck.  It's obvious.  Flying our zone before the puck is out of the zone is a no no and they are constantly doing it.  Reminds me of Aquino-no one denies his offensive skill, but his lack of defense left much to be desired.  I guess you learn to accept the good with the bad, and hope to get them to improve and buy in more...

Lasch and Caputi are covering Dmen at the point...  How many times is the other team scoring from the point?  Not too often, to tell the truth.  The Komets main problems are Dmen pinching at terrible times creating odd man rushes (oddly never mentioned before) and terrrible crease coverage by the Dmen.  IMO...

The goal that went off of Hegarty's leg resulted in (among other things) Henley chasing his guy way too high (a player a forward was also covering) in the D zone leaving 2 forwards down low.  Hegarty could only cover one... 

Mike, I agree with you that these contracted guys "should" be doing all the little things out there and they are not; but I would also like someone to name one Komets player who gives 100% every shift and is always in the correct position per the system....  The answer would be ZERO... 

Blaming the multitude of defensive lapses on 2 players is ludicrous.  Have they played their part in the debacle?  Yes; but singling them out and making them appear to be the only problem is just wrong.

"Tired is for losers."

Sometimes we just have to admit that  some teams are just better than the Komets.  Cincinnati proved that to me last night.  They were quicker, passed the puck crisply, had a good power play and, generally, had a game plan which they followed with discipline.

The Komets do not have the skill level to take "stick" penalties.  Their powerplay is non-existent. The passing is exceptionally sloppy.  Not many good traits on this team, and I'm afraid this will be a long season. 

I don't think Al Sims or David Franke has an answer right now.  They may realize what is wrong, but may feel they are backed in a corner with little or no ability to change things,  The affiliation agreement with Anaheim-Norfolk has been a disaster.  Their hands are tied.   There is plenty of room to place fault.  It just doesn't lie with Caputi or Lasch, as some reporters would like you to believe.  The Komets are hemorhaging from the same disease that has plagued them all year.  The lack of scoring. too many penalties, no power play. 1/3 into the season and this great experiment may have failed.

Attendance is dwindling.  5260 last night? Maybe tickets sold. Aside from New Year's Eve, let's see how they do at the ticket office.  There are a lot of $20-$25 dollar bills disguising themselves as empty seats right now.  Something for the owners to consider and be worried about.

Wow! Barely 3 full months into a season in a new league and panic is in full swing. It sounds as if we aren't at the top of the standings we should consider this a failure and find all the possible negatives that exist with our team and players. We can't win championships every year...we are not at the bottom of the standings..yes there is alot of work to be done...improvements to make, decisions to be made...but this team has shown it can compete. It is not the season we hoped for but wanting to call it a disastrous mistake this early on when we are right in the middle of the pack record wife...is just silly. This might be a year we struggle all year, we might realize that we just didn't have a strong enough team to be at the top. Good thing all
teams below us in the standings don't consider it a mistake being in the echl and bail next season...just because the team is not winning as much as the fans think they should be.

Totally agree Anonymous!!! Thanks for posting that, I was going to post one that said something similiar!

The T in teamwork is missing from this team.  They seem disjointed, some games without purpose.  I have read all the prior comments and here is my take.  Caputi and Lasch are in it for themselves...they were afraid to hit guys last night and many nights prior....seem to play by themselves most nights...while they may be scoring they are truly only looking out for their step back up.  

With Chaulk out make Smith the temporary captain...better yet, sit Chaulk for the remainder of the season, make Smith captain and let Chaulk get his coaching experience this year....he has been to slow, taken to many hooking calls and needs to re-evaluate his standing with this team.  Smith is still one of only several mister hustles on this team and is always there to play.

One of the only drop down players with heart is Josh B......hits, skates and plays the game as a team member.  Love to watch him play the game.

Giosa may never be the same...truly do not know how serious his injury was but he was skating very tentatively and will most likley not be of much use the rest of the year.

Love to watch Marino play as well....reminds me of Justin C. from prior year...always in the game.

Thank goodness for our goaltenders or the games would be much worse than they are.

While I feel we are playing ok hockey, we need to solidify that all are part of a TEAM and not playing for individual stats, which many of these guys are.  Most likely to make playoffs but have a tough go against teams like Gwinnett and Cyclones, who are much faster, more aggressive, know our moves (certainly it looked like we played right into their game plan last night) and seem to gel better right now as a team.

I'm not sure I'd consider my post to qualify as being in a "panic"  Just stating some dreadful shortcomings is all.  I've seen enough hockey in my life and in this particular season to be aware  of poor hockey.  I'd like to know and would appreciate someone pointing out where I'm wrong.  Satisfied with scoring?  Satisfied with special teams? Satisfied with passing?  Are you truly happy with the affiliation?  I would agree on a couple of things, Brittain plays hard and the goaltending has been very admirable.

As far as  the "you can't win every year" argument, true enough.  However, I expect a more complete effort to come with the losses.  I expect a smarter grade of play from the veterans and the non -rookies

I want some intensity and if they lose, they lose. 

Other than that everything is just "peachy-keen".

Amen, Alan. 100 percent!

They lose while giving a full effort, no problem. Young players are going to make mistakes. That's how they learn. If you make a mistake hustling, there's no problem with that.

One thing I could not understand is how hard I felt they played Sunday, all of them, and then to come back with that effort was inexcusable. They could have lost Sunday and I still would have praised them because they played hard for the whole game.

Somehow, this team has to realize that is the style of game they have to play to win.

Alan, everything you said about passing, giving effort etc. is obviously true. That is why I said I agreed that things need to be fixed, worked on and I have faith that Franke and Sims will do everything possible to get this team to a consistently competitive level. My point was that you seemed ready to call this a mistake, a failure an only 3 months into the season in a new league.

Hmmmm, while I think there was effort during Sunday's game, most of us in my area felt it was another ho-hum game with no one really seeking to win or lose it.

One other comment on something else not mentioned...whatever happened to putting someone in front of the net as most teams do against us....our play is always perimeter oriented and what interference we do get is from guys like Marino and Smith....you need more havoc in front of the net.  It also has looked lately like we are playing a man down....when they are in our zone, it is very difficult to get them out....sad to say the least, especially with all the talent we suppossedly have.

My hope is that the NHL will either fold or settle so things may be able to get back to some form of consistency....night after night it is a different team.

i thought everybody really played hard defensively, especially considering they didn't get home until 4 a.m. and fourth game in five nights. I saw a lot of blocked shots and sacrificing defensively. Not a great offensive effort, but I felt like they were hustling.

sundays game was a good hockey game.. both teams played hard and competed. several people i sit with tended to agree. one thing we all mentioned, was can you imagine how bad that game would have been in the chl or ihl ? 3in 3 .... 4 in 5... wow! definetly enjoying the hockey in the new league.. the komets are fine.. and will be real fine if and when the nhl returns to action. too many passionate fans here, quick to the draw.

It is not that we are "Passionate fans" here but fans that expect hockey to be played at a certain level all the time respective of how many games in how many nights.  These guys train for this all year long and are expected to be at a certain level during the season....passionate fans indeed.  Best of luck K's.