It's 0-0 after one period, and there have been a few flashes of brightness. Pascal Morency is continuing what he's been doing all week in practice, Mike Dombkiewicz has had a few big hits, and I've liked what I've seen from defenseman Jonas Gabrielsen who is 6-2, 191 pounds and plays like it. He's very good at using his body to keep people away from the puck, and he can skate. Kelly Miller has looked sharp early as well. Dan McWhinney looked calm in goal, but he really hasn't been tested much.
I'd be interested in seeing what everyone else thought when they get home from the game.
Comments
How many fans at the game?
I would guess about 1,500.
1-1 on a pp goal by Voorhees off a nice point shot from Gabrielsen.
It looks like what you'd expect, a scrimmage type exhibition game.
Exactly...people on a Wednesday night are not going to pay full price for hockey that's not meaningful.
1500??? There are more season ticket holders than that! I wonder how many walk up tickets were sold?
They will probably announce 3500+
Wahoo Komets win in a shootout!
Jonas Gabrielsen was by far the best defenseman on the ice tonight. He is certainly a keeper. Does he qualify as a rookie?
Boy, Miller sure looks like a guy that doesn't deserve a vet spot!
Let's see, throws a killer check in the first, skates circles in the zone holding the puck, and makes a killer move in the shoot-out to score. What a waste of a spot, eh?
Way to go Miller!!!!! Great game all around for the whole team! I didn't see many holes that needs plugged. I can't wait till Friday!
the new coach is great behind the bench,he was coaching and he was the last man on the ice after the game, giving the players pats on the back. great new look.
Of course Hoss isn't partial to Kelly Miller.... lol.
Did you go to the game JM? I wasn't the only one that was partialto Miller. He had the loudest cheer in the shoot-out when he came off the bench.
You gotta love a guy that plays with heart!
Miller did look good tonight. I would like to see Miller and Morency on the same line. They both bring energy and seem to be the same type of player.
The best thing about Gabrielsen? He can also play forward.
And they didn't announce an attendance.
I would have bet it was closer to 2,000 than 1,500.
I was very impressed with the play of Arthur Kiyaga, #3. He moves the puck well and didn't seem to get out of position. The question mark on him is probably his lack of size, but I liked what I saw of him a lot. McWhinney looked very sharp in goal. Ljung didn't get as much work, but he only allowed the first shooter to score in the shootout in order to get the win. Speaking of that, when is this league going to get with the program and have a 4 on 4 5-minute sudden death OT before the shootout????
i thought that #3 was not good at all liked #91
JOHNSON, BIG SNAKE, BACK IN THE ICEHOGS MIX
Take it easy Hoss.. Miller had a good game, I was just pointing out the fact that your are a huge Miller fan. I can't say a bad thing about his game tonight, I was just busting your chops.
McWhinney the Pooh looked really good in net. He kept the team in the game early on with some really nice saves. He has really good instincts. Kelly Miller was basically Kelly Miller again...he played his tail off and it showed once again. Morency is a very hard worker. He worked the heck out of the corners fighting for pucks. He will be a favorite of everyone for sure. And Voorhees looked like he has a good eye for the puck. He skated well and goes to the net. Blake, who was the guy at mid-ice that threw the huge hip-check for the Komets? I missed who it was. That was a good one. And the coach looked like it was in the game. He was constantly teaching and coaching his players. I think that was Richardson behind the bench also, right? He was coaching the guys alot too...That is a big improvement from last year and beyond. I liked how Bingham went onto the ice and shook hands with each of his players. I believe that was a statement that was sent loud and clear to what type of coach and character he is.
Will we see some of the guys that didn't dress tonight on Friday? Hope so.
Hit...the hip check at center ice was from Jonas Gabrielsen.
Thanks...I thought that was who it was but wasn't positive. That guy made lots of nice plays. Tonight looked like pick-up game type hockey, but it was guys that have never played together that have basically no systems in place that are trying to show the coach something. I am excited to see what the regulars look like together. That should be exciting.
I was impressed by David Besner(82), even before he scored the game winner in the shootout. He seemed to be willing to use his body, and he skated all-out when he was out there. His shifts were short, and that could be the coaches call, or stamina, but either way, I feel he's a keeper. All in all, a very sloppy scrimmage, but nice to see all the new blood.
Overall, a good showing considering all that were not in the lineup. It looked like they made more effort to actually get to the net instead of taking shots from the blue line....just needed some more flow....a lot of shots hit the posts. I think Friday will give a better preview. We got to meet Coach Bingham after the game. Even though I only spoke to him briefly....I found him to be very personable and outgoing. You all are going to like this guy.
for 3 days of practice and the guys who are expected to make the team not playing, i liked what i saw. Really liked the hits, hope they keep coming during the season.
Coach LOVED Kiyaga, that was also Ljung's first shootout ever. Pretty amazing.
There were some vets who played tonight who better get their heads in it or they may not be playing here very long. You can figure out who they were.
I have said it before and I will say it again, this team would be in a better position down the road if it could be under the vet cap. It would allow for much easier roster movement down the road both from a cap and a vet rule perspective. So if the young guys can show enough to displace the vets, so be it.
By veterans, I might not have necessarily meant "Veterans.''
By veterans you must mean guys that have played a couple years, i.e. David Hukalo. I wasn't impressed much with him tonight at all. Positives tonight: 1) Morency works hard and I think he leads by example: 2) David Besner holds onto the puck well and drives the net; 3) Miller worked hard and played well but I think there were numerous times when he could have finished his checks and he didn't; 4) I think Vorhees can put in 20-25 goals this year and 5) The rookie goalies looked solid...i give the edge to McWhinney right now.
Come on Blake, don't leave us in the dark! Who is underperforming? You are allowed to post the bad along with the good!!
There are a few guys who I thought played really well for the 1st preseason game...Gabreilson, Blanchete, Besner, Morency.... I thought Kyiaga looked out of position tonight, thought he got moved off the puck too many times; but showed he liked the offensive end of the ice. I thought Bozoian had a terrible nite and except for a couple hits I thought Domber had a bad game... Loved the hustle.. Voorhees is gonna need a bigtime playmaker to get him the puck, should be good on the pp. I know Hukalo was in the lineup; but didnt make much of a statement out there.... Just a few thoughts...
Most impressed with Besner. Seemed to be in the right place at the right time. Some very good chances and didn't seem to give up on a play as was the norm last year. Was also very excited to see some actual coaching going on over at the bench. Didn't see Richardson (assume it was him as asst.) quiet all night and very animated! Good to see a coach who seems to care about the guys... even if he knows who is and who isn't going to make the team.