Yes, there will be a test after this.
The Komets will be either the sixth or seventh seed when the playoffs start in two weeks, mostly likely sixth.
They are currently two points up on Quad Ciity for seventh and four up on Motor Ciity for eighth. The Komets cannot finish eighth because they own the tiebreaker of total wins with Motor City. They also hold the tiebreaker with Quad City.
Motor City plays Port Huron twice and Quad City plays Richmond and Flint.
If the Komets win at Missouri on Wednesday they will finish sixth and play the No. 3 seed in the first round. That would be either Danbury or Rockford, most likely Rockford in a rematch of last year's classic series.
With a week to go in the regular season, Muskegon and Kalamazoo have 107 points, Danbury has 103 and Rockford 102. Rockford hosts Flint and Muskegon, while Danbury travels to Roanoke for two games where the Vipers have the league's worst record.
If Rockford and Danbury each win both games, the Komets will travel to Rockford to start the first round.
The loser of the Muskegon-Kalamazoo race will be the No. 4 seed in the first round because the division winners are the first three seeds. Muskegon plays at Fort Wayne and at Rockord, and Kalamazoo plays at Missouri and at Fort Wayne.
Comments
Blake,
How does the Komets hold the tiebreaker with QC..QC won the season series..do they go by wins first or head to head...im confused..
It goes by overall wins first and then head to head, fewest head to head regulation losses and the most goals, fewest goals and a coin flip.
Boy I wonder whats gonna happen when Chaulk takes that first good slash to the back of the legs come playoff time.....I wouldnt put it past anybody on those other teams to do it since they know the full extent of his injury....hopefully Joe's got something planned to give a lil bit more protection to that area...
Good point JR. I would think there will be something back there for some protection regardless but Chaulk position doesn't put him in places to get whacked in the back of the legs. He is also a VERY intelligent player when it comes to body positioning. One of the best in the business.
Aside from that, I think Chaulk has enough respect league-wide. Teams are not game planning Chaulk whacks. I know the nervous nellies out there are already concerned about Chaulk getting liberties or St. Pierre getting rolled in the crease. Relax. We don't need to be on goon-alert yet. Play the game and if happens then we'll deal with it.
What is going on with Milam? Did we sign him? Over the weekend I "heard" that his last game with us was Saturday..but he played yesterday!
Milam is going to be a weekend player because of his classes. He'll be back on Friday.
Scoops, I dont think a coach would send one of his players out there to intentionally whack at Chaulks injury; but I do think that there are plenty of guys who would do it on thier own...Littlejohn, Ralgh, Watson, Lawmaster, Big Snake, just to name a few... Thats why at this time of year you normally dont get specifics on injuries, just generalized comments letting you know that the player is banged up, because coaches and general managers know that opposing players use that info to thier advantage....
You're right Scoops, no one would ever go after one of our guys. Ask Frenchy last year at Muskegon. Ask Troy a couple of years back against Quad City. They are also so afraid that one of our guys may beg them to fight after a cheapshot. Oh the humanity. LOL
Well said, Hit... Frenchy gets ran in game one and we can kiss the playoffs goodbye. Fear not, Jorde will be there to save the day after Blake issues a challange to any would-be opponents. We don't have an enforcer and it will be VERY noticable in the playoffs.
Jungle Monkey, the other teams respect our players so much that no one will take a run at them. Too bad that our own team doesn't respect each other to stick-up for one another on the ice. Those opinions make us fans of the WCW and Ultimate Fighting, now doesn't it. I hate both of those things. I guess Justin Cohn is in the same boat as us too. He has commented about the lack of our guys being tough enough to not allow other teams to beat us up all the time. Oh well.
For every instance to where you think someone didn't ride in on a white horse to save someone's day, I can think of a few times where it did happen. A few I can think of was when Chaulk took a slash against Port Huron (I think)and Gabby flew in a fought the guy instantly....and got tossed. Gabby takes a cheapy from TJ Reynolds and Jorde jumps in a beats him to death....and got tossed. And Worly...he was always there for a teammate as that was the only icetime he got.
You guys are right, the team doesn't always bring a tough, physical presense. Inconsistant early, but better later in the season, especially against the heavyweights. If they don't bring that game every night in the playoffs I don't think we will survive long and it won't matter if #91 is playing or not.
I fell confident the the boys know what is needed to win. I am hoping to see a playoff preview Friday and Saturday.
You are right Scoops. I would hope that they would look at the two games this weekend as warm-ups for the playoffs to get them ready. Those two teams coming in will look to kick our arse and are playing for the league championship and top-seed. It will be a sure test. We come out looking to hide in either of those games, we'll be done in the first period.
Euro hockey does not work in the playoffs.
Right, Carl. This is why, historically, Puhalski's teams have been early outs in the playoffs.
The exception being 2003 when I think they won in spite of him.
His teams are designed for the marathon of the regular season. The playoffs are a sprint -- first to 4 (or 3). All season he drills into his teams to control their emotions. When it comes time for the playoffs, his teams are so conditioned not to, they can't turn it up.
What's so bad about playing emotionally? How many times did Andre Roy get benched because of "his temper?" If you can find him now, ask him if he remembers.