Second time in three games they have lost a two-goal lead at home. TIm Haun did not have his best night. Over the last two weeks, Kevin Bertram is plus-9 and Bobby Phillips is plus-5 and everybody else on the team is something like minus-4. I think Phillips has been the Komets' best player besides Haun of late.
Matt Syroczynski looked great. Other than that, did you guys think anyone looked good? I felt like the Komets went to the net for the most part, but didn't see much paying the price to force one in as the IceHawks controlled the front. Other than Schrock, I can't remember too many hits.
I'm not seeing much chemistry on the ice at either end. Can't remember the last time the Komets forwards cycled down low to set up anything. Does it seem like all the rookies have plateaThey play five of their next six games away from home. I'm not sure all the guys coming back from IR are what is going to solve the problems.
Comments
From the games I have been able to see either in person or on B2 I comment on the chemistry aspect. Like you Blake I don't see that chemistry or that grity play in front of the net. While I think Mac coming back will help some it takes more than just one guy. I think the next couple of weeks will tell if the K's have the right mix or not, but they are not far off with what they have. I only saw Warner play a couple of shifts tonight, is he hurt or just not the noticeable tongith?
I wasnt at the game tonight because of work; but listened and the K's, to me, lack character or character's for that matter...
Have the rookies plateaued or are they following the vets lead and putting it in cruise control?
Blake, you are dead on in one area, the K's dont hit. I think the K's need a couple board rattlers at forward. Guys that keep opposing D-men's head on a swivel when on the ice. A pesty type player would do wonders for this team, IMO.
I think someone else asked the question if the K's have any D-men who worry opposing forwards and I would answer that question with a no... The K's need a D-man who has a lil bit of a screw loose. Some snarl to make forwards think twice about crashing the K's net...
The eternally optomistic K's fans will call me a naysayer because I dare to type my opinions on the teams weaknesses; but the K's need some energy and snarl, IMO. Its not all about playing your systems you also have to get the other team off thier game and energy players can do that...IMO
I agree about all of that Blake... Phillips has looked really good, Schrock is our hardest working player, and there seems to be no chemistry out there...
I think that toughness is definately a big factor that is lacking right now on this team... It seems like all of our forwards except Syro are 5 feet nothing and 100 lbs soaking wet, they cant really put the body on anybody, or bang in the corners or in front of the net... Schrock is the only guy out there who can/is doing it right now... Mac should help out a lot when he comes back, and i dont want to concentrate on who we dont have, but a whole lot of this would improve with Mitch Woods in the lineup...
Im not pushing the panick button by any means, just my observations over the last few games...
BTW, how many shots were blocked or deflected by PH and did not make it to the net tonight...
P.H. blocked alot of shots, especially HANSEN, who we let go. Haun was suspect tonight, but Guy was terrible. I think his age is showing more than ever now. Outmuscled for 2 goals against (2nd and fourth) and several bad plays and turnovers that a 20 year guy should not make-maybe a rookie can, but not a guy with that experience.
Oh, according to Elmiras newspaper, Tyler Sims is heading to the Jackals.
Agreed. I said it all night long and most every game this year so far, this team will not hit anyone. They play EuroHockey. I would pay extra at this point to see a shift where every Komet player on the ice makes a body-check. It will never happen. These guys don't give a rat's arse whether they play hard or not. They will go out and skate around, dump the puck, take 40 shots from the blue-line, avoid contact, and collect their paychecks in front of crowds that have averaged around 8000 all year so far. Nothing is exciting about this bunch right now. I think it is time that Al calls some of them out, or makes some changes. After they got the 2 goal lead tonight, they put it into "safe" mode and let Port Huron take that game over. I saw no effort at times, and everyone looks so dang un-happy to be there. Are these girls in the middle of some fight inside the locker-room? This group's body language has looked horrible the last 2-3 weeks...they look like they have given-up or like someone's cat got ran over or something. Anyone else notice that they are always hanging their heads? No one celebrates good play. There is absolutely no energy. No one sticks up for their Goalie that has played 14 straight games and continues to get ran by the other team. No one makes hits consistantly, I contend everyone that skates a shift should play the body, no excuses. Port Huron's players did tonight. I don't know what it is....something is not right, and it needs to be fixed or this team will swirl down the toilet quickly.
Mac will help the intensity.....but the rest of the team needs to pick it up alot. Way too many guys right now that aren't going after it. It is obvious. Everyone sees it. Hope Al can fix the problem soon. It should be fixable. It might be time to make an example of a player or two that are dogging it.
Sorry to be negative, I still support the team, but enough is enough with the poor effort.
FINALLY people are admitting changes need to be made. It wasn't even a week ago that a lot of people were called naysayers and gloom-and-doomers for daring to say this team wasn't cutting it. I think everyone that writes on here loves the Komets, but sometimes things need to change for the better of the team, whether your favorite player(s) is/are included in those changes or not. I know there are a few on here who have posted they've thought these last few games have been good to watch, but I think they are becoming more and more of the minority. I know none of them are sitting in any of the sections around me on game nights from what I'm hearing from other fans. I just hope it all gets figured out, whether that involves making changes or people waking up/trying harder and playing with intensity. One way or another, GO KOMETS!!!!!!!
Maybe this is the year where we finally get caught with vets getting to old and the rookies are doing a decent job but only mediocre. might be time for a roster shake up!
Guy was indeed the difference last night.
I've been extolling the virtues of Bobby Phillips all season. He leads the team in +/- and has 3 minor penalties in 20 games. He's not hooking and holding to keep up...
Hansen looks great in a Port Huron jersey. I'm glad he's there.
Why do we have both Warner and DeAngelis? They are pretty much the same guy.
I'm about 99% sure that's a different Hansen
I stand corrected, it is the same guy. he looked good last night.
Instead of calling it the jungle, lets just start calling it the botanical gardens. I'm sorry, but this lack of effort is just toally unacceptable. I feel sorry for the fans, they pay good money and deserve better, especially coming out on a night like last night.
What a waste.
I, like others, have previously mentioned the lack of energy and physicality on the team. Body checks are almost non-existent, and even when behind in the score with 10 minutes to go, there is no urgency, or fire. You always expect the team to pick up the pace and start banging, and start "playing hockey", but it never happens. There does not appear to be any veteran leadership on the team this year. The vets, who should be setting the pace, are not doing anything, and these same vets are apparently not exhorting the junior members of the team to do anything either. Everyone appears flat, blase, and carefree. It's like, oh, we were just were scored on. Okay. Oh, we're behind in the score. Okay. Oh, we just lost. Okay.
Get mad guys. Show some emotion. Build on it.
If we're going to be successful this season the accepting attitude needs to disappear. Colin Chaulk needs to exercise his assistant captain, player coach leadership role and get the players going. If they don't want to play with energy, it's time for them to move on.
Retirement is staring some of our vets in the face, and it shows. When Guy Dupuis gets consistenly beat like he did last night, what are you supposed to do? PC Druin likes to takes hard slapshots from the blue line, but is he really adding anything else to the team?
In my opinion, with roster cuts looming, I'd rather look at getting rid of non-productive vets than dumping up-and-coming rookies and younger players. If we're actually resigned to losing (and it's beginning to appear that we are), let's keep an eye on the future. Sooner or later a bunch of our vets will retire and we're going to need a core bunch of younger players to carry on. We need the energy, spunk, drive and physicality that players like Lincoln Kaleigh Schrock provide, not the tiredness and complacency that the older leaders are currently serving up. The vets either need to prove their worth or be prepared to look for other accomodations.
I agree. Give em a bottle of Geritol and a walker and send em to the old folks home. We have enough vet's now to fill a small bus.
Excluding Mac of course.
It's obvious some of them are waiting for Medicare and Social Security to kick in.
So let me get this straight. The team has played 20 games and some are ready to throw every vet under the bus. I guess if we did that we could call ourselves Quad Cities. Vets have a valuable place on this team. Have you have had a bad day at work? Give these guys and break and I'll quote my hockey playing son here. Think you can do better, go put on a pair of skates. Calm down and relax. We are in better shape then we were last December when the same bunch of you had the same comments on the same blogs. Can't be positive? Please don't go home and hit your dog.
The boys coulda skated around with a carton of eggs and not broke any!!!! Euro hockey gotta love it!!!!!
Last nights game was definitely disappointing. Another 2 goal game by the Komets and then to let Port Huron score 4 unanswered goals is appalling. On paper, the Komets should be the best team in the league. But reality is showing something different. I don't feel that the Komets are lacking ability. I believe they are lacking passion. Anyone who has ever played a sport, whether it is just for recreation, or for a team (high school; college; minors) realizes there are days when you're tired, sore, hurt, just not feeling it. But on those days, you have to dig deep inside yourself to perform to your best. I don't see that. I really feel that the play of some verterans hurt the Komets last night. They should be the leaders. Leading by example is how others will learn, but (according to last nights stats) when the veterans have fewer points and more penalties, then the question of leadership needs to be addressed. As some of you have already stated, the lack of physical play, energy, and emotion is troubling. Someone (veteran or not) needs to step up. There is still time to turn this around, but that is going to take a lot of work. Just because 1 or 2 years ago the situation was similar and it worked out does not mean the same will happen this year. Resting on your laurels won't cut it. Practice hard, work hard, remember the basics, and perform.
Very well put, Andrea.
Addressing another post above, I don't think too many of us on here are saying we could do a better job on the ice, at least I haven't read that anywhere. However, it should also be remembered that we are not professional hockey players getting paid to put their best efforts out on the ice. In other words, THAT IS THEIR JOBS to go out there and do that. Do you have a job where you can go half-assed just because you did a good job last year and you'll stil get paid the same, if not more? If you do, are they taking applications?? I've said it before, as have others, but it's not ability for most of these guys that's hurting the team, it's complacency.
Guy needs to retire and we need to get three more Bobby Phillips. How long can we take all these younger players skating by Guy. He has to hook them or trip them to slow them down. Guy was the best D man in the league for many years. Now its time for him to go.
It's pretty easy to be negative after a game like last night. GHockey, the reason poeple are upset is because nothing is getting better. In one sense you are right. Anyone can have a bad day at work. Tim Haun had a bad day at work last night. He has been great all year and I'm not surprised that it caught up with him. My problem is the same that I have posted more than once on this forum. The lack of scoring just puts too much PRESSURE on the defense. Tonight, both DuPuis and Woodard made mistakes and three goals were the result. The offense was not there to "pick them up" and hasn't been there for a long time. Hukalo played a terrible game last night also. The players on IR will not make that much of a difference. Boucher will take a lot of the load from Haun, but as I said earlier, Haun hasn't been the problem. Mac will help with the toughness. On paper Shafranov and Varone should bring some offense but even before they were injured they were not on fire. I have been told by good people with hockey knowledge that I respect, "not to worry until the start of the new year". OK, thats what I'm going to do. I'll sit back and wait three weeks to see what happens. Still, people who are concerned are not "panicking". They see things that aren't being corrected, a lack of scoring that now has extended to almost one-third of the season, and a feeling that some of the veterans may have seen the game pass them by a little. The Komets suffer from a lack of size and when the forwards get shoved around they cannot control the area around the crease. It may be time to unload a couple of veterans, a couple of rookies and bring in some "grittier" forwards. Hopefully one of these can put the puck in the net too. Oh, one more thing. That argument of "if you think you can do it better go put on a pair of skates" is just rediculous. I've paid for my season tickets. My "criticism" is not placed on this blog in a disrespectful manner. But I have every right to state my opinion. Don't take criricism as not being "positive." Most people on this blog are Komet fans (just as you are). I wouldn't want to be in Al Sims or David Franke's shoes today. One thing I do know is that they will both do whatever is necessary to turn this around. I have a lot of faith in both of them. The community of Fort Wayne is lucky to have the Franke's as owners and Al Sims as the coach.
So Alan, how do you take the fact that Sims is quoted as "I thought we played well" and that "we created 42 shots and all kinds of scoring chances"? What game did he see and what is he drinking? I would think he would start calling out some players. I like your post.
I disagree with you Alan on your comment about Haun not being the problem. Last night he most surely was the problem, along with a few other players. He played poorly and the team lost because of it. The players all have FAR more confidence in Boucher, and rightly so. Maybe they will play a little looser when he comes back. I sure hope so. I agree with all the comments about Dupuis being washed up. Mr. Negative, Mac is not a vet, you should check the stats. Also, I heard today that Syro got called back up to Norfolk.
jonndfi, I think Al Sims is trying to protect his players. I think he wants to take the pressure off of them publicly. I wonder what he says in the locker room. I bet it may be a bit different than his comments to reporters!.....and gregsand77, there is no doubt that Haun had a bad game last night. However, if you look at his statistics the last fourteen games he has played, then I think everyone would agree that he has played great. Before the game last night he had a terrific goals against average and save percentage.
i hate to say it but i agree on the bad commets about guy. but what about bertram waste of veteran roster space. had his shot with lawmaster and ran away from that like he has any other confrontation this year and past year.
Yes, Alan, I agree with you on Tim Haun overall performance. He has done a great job handling the duties while Boucher was hurt. Nick is back next week, and I expect that he will take his spot on the bench from now on for the most part. I also think Al is trying to protect the players publicly to some degree. I'm sure he was not happy with the way they played overall, but kept those comments inside the lockeroom, which for now is where they should remain.
Tossing Haun under the bus isn't cool. Look at the defensemen that gave up the breakaways (guy had 2). Maybe Boucher would have stopped one of them, maybe not, but he certainly would have chewed somebody out for it.. I prefer Boucher, but Haun has done a good job in his place.
Of the vets on the roster, Thomas, PC, and Chaulk are the only three we seem to be getting any production out of. 2 have missed several games on the IR (Shaf and Stayzer) 2 are aging defensmen that have lost a lot of speed (Bert and Guy) and Hukalo has comeback from surgery and hasn't scored a lot, but has hussled.
Compare that to the vets in league leading Muskegon. Robinson and Bouchard lead the league in scoring, Galvin is +10 with as many points as Dupuis, and Centomo is statistically the best goaltender in the leauge..
I think the Komets will live and die by veteren production. Guys like Schrock and Phillips bust thier tails and play their roles well, the role of SCORING has been built to be on the shoulders of the veterens.
As I recall, it was around this time last year that people were throwing Boucher under the bus, too.
"Bench Boucher" was the saying as I recall.......WOW!
Ya bench Boucher might have been what fans were saying and that just shows us all how little we all truly know about this game, and especially goaltending. I do know that tim let in a terrible goal from the goal line (banked off him into the net) from an angle that should never result in a goal. And then he coughed up a puck when he had mo business out behind the net. I'm sorry, you can point out all the other errors, but the bottom line is the goalie is there to bail out those errors. I think tim has done a good job while nick was hurt. Last night however, he stunk. I challenge anyone to disagree with that. I don't think you can.....
I'm sure that the K's woeful offense is Haun's fault too....