I would have said every time Dayton or any other team comes to town the Komets owners should pay a play for every solid body check they make. Last night was horrible.
Jererygirl
Sat, 01/07/2012 - 9:26am
Nice article Blake :)
Alan
Sat, 01/07/2012 - 12:38pm
Warning...warning!! This is going to be a long post so skip it if you don't want to spend the time reading it.
OK, lets go.
A few weeks ago an article was written by Blake ( I believe ) on how the Komets would respond when an inevitable "bad" streak would engulf the team. ( Personally, when I read the article, I couldn't help but think that either they were being extremely proactive or jinxing themselves by putting a "negative" in their minds. Well, guess what? The bad streak is here. Guess what again? Most of it is their own fault.
If you were present at the game last night you probably noticed that the Komets never really controlled the puck and the play for the first six minutes of the game. Dayton totally out hustled and out skated them the entire game. The first five minutes should have been particularly embarrassing to the team, Sims, and the Franke's. Last night the Komets showed the worst passing I have seen for a long, long, time. Lets see, they've basically had the same team together for eight weeks, practiced together an innumerable amount of times, yet looked as if they had never met and were still strangers to each other.
Chris Auger, who probably is the nicest surprise ( along with Rizk ) this year, is again on the IR with what is described as "concussion like" symptoms. This is serious because no one can really tell when he is completely healthy or guarantee that this will not be reoccurring all year long.
His health, of course, is the most important thing for sure. But part of the trouble the Komets are having right now is scoring goals. Chris Auger has been a key component on offense and now he is gone. In Justin Cohn's article he points out that the Komets have only scored two goals in each of the last two games. Justin's point is correct, but his facts are not. The Komets have scored two goals in each of the last THREE games. ( Remember that on New Year's Eve they only scored two in the 2-1 win over Bloomington).
This team is getting real limited on offense. Thirty games have been played and some forwards are just not carrying their weight. Mele, Schrock, and Thomas are three that come to mind real quick. To some extent, some may point to Bennefield but he has a proven track record in this league and was hampered by his foot or ankle infection. A month ago I would have included Thorne, but he is terrific on the penalty kill and has scored two or three goals shorthanded. ( I think he could have gotten another last night as he and another Komet went in on Stirling and the other guy did not feed him a pass.)
Scoring has become a problem but the defense isn't exactly innocent either. Two or three times last night the defense coughed up the puck and allowed Dayton to cruise right in on Boucher. Where did the "trap" go, by the way? Dayton never seemed to have a problem coming right through the Komets into the attacking zone. Let's get Starencky out of the "doghouse" and onto the ice for gosh sakes. He makes mistakes, sure, but at least he plays with passion.
Now on to and about Larry Stirling. No one wants the Komets to win more than I do. I know that Larry Stirling is a quirky guy. Maybe a little off balance even. But the main thing is he can stop the puck. Without him suffering his concussion a few years back in the IHL finals, the Komets would have never come back from three games down. I think Komet fans just get him more determined with their chants and inspire him to play his best. I'm not sure how that helps the Komets and, boy, were the Komet fans a little more subdued as the game went on. Quick question to Jerseygirl: Are you a Komets fan? Are you related in some way to Stirling? Why do you seem to hate Boucher? Just wondering.
Look, I realize the Komets have only lost two in a row. It isn't just the fact they've lost, it is the way they are playing and their effort I'm questioning and I don't want it to continue as the Franke's, Sims, and the players need to wake up. Colin Chaulk's comments seem to make me want to give pause also. Something is wrong and I can't put my finger on it.
The Franke's better start searching for another scorer or two. Mele, Schrock, and Thomas have all played themselves into the position where the have become expendable. A weakness has appeared on the defense also. The Franke's would do good to reognize it and do something about it now.
Oh yes, I almost forgot. I don't mind the burnt orange uniforms at all, but would someone put white numbers on the back of them instead of the near invisible black numerals?
Jeremy Enright
Sat, 01/07/2012 - 1:25pm
I'd like to add a thought on Sterling. He had possession of the puck when the game ended last night. As he skated off the ice, he attempted to toss the puck to a child in the stands. Classy move. But, an idiot adult caught the puck instead and threw it back at Larry. So, Larry skated across the ice to retrieve the puck, found another child, and tossed the puck to him. Very classy, Larry. My hat is off to you. I apologize for the idiot in our stands.
Honey_b
Sat, 01/07/2012 - 1:43pm
Larry also helped Milam up when he got high sticker (no call). He isn't a horrible guy....
breslyn
Sat, 01/07/2012 - 3:42pm
I like Larry. He not only did the two kind acts already mentioned above last night, but he also puts up with the Komet fans every time he comes to the coliseum. He has had very few (I recognize there have been some.) breakdowns even though he is harassed continuously not to mention he speaks kindly about the Komets as far as I know. I wouldn't mind seeing him in orange and black someday if the cards fall in that direction. I would definitely be a supporter.
JB
Sat, 01/07/2012 - 5:02pm
I overheard someone (not a regular attendee) sitting near me last night ask their spouse if something had happened that had upset the entire team. She said they all look like they are dead tired and/or don't want to be here. I did not watch the Bloomington game, but if this is how the Komets played that game too, it is understandable that the two worst teams in our Division have beaten us. Wondering if trades and/or selective IR's have hurt morale. Hopefully, our guys will pull it together and come our playing with intensity and passion on Saturday and Sunday. I don't like losing a hard fought game, but watching a losing game like Friday's was agonizing.
RunningKomet
Sat, 01/07/2012 - 6:22pm
I can't say I agree about the part of Larry bringing fans into the Coliseum when he comes to town. What was attendance last night, 7,400 something? Larry does seem to be an alright guy though. I love the pic I've seen bouncing around of him holding the Komets flag. I think the vast majority of these players, even the ones we can't stand, are really good people. They take what is shouted at them with a grain of salt, despite what some bloggers have written in the past about it really getting to them. Like Larry even said, "It's fun."
just a fan
Sun, 01/08/2012 - 4:34am
That was me that took the pic with larry in dayton . was from a few weeks ago .... and I went tonight and he was comming out and we asked him for a pic and he said " ok but I am really in a hurry" ..... and the man stayed taking pics with fans Ft Wayne AND Dayton fans for about 20 mins. My daughter was standing with him and I said you know who that is? she said no I said thats larry .. she said you mean LAAAARRRRRRYYYY he laughed and gave her a high five.
Comments
I would have said every time Dayton or any other team comes to town the Komets owners should pay a play for every solid body check they make. Last night was horrible.
Nice article Blake :)
Warning...warning!! This is going to be a long post so skip it if you don't want to spend the time reading it.
OK, lets go.
A few weeks ago an article was written by Blake ( I believe ) on how the Komets would respond when an inevitable "bad" streak would engulf the team. ( Personally, when I read the article, I couldn't help but think that either they were being extremely proactive or jinxing themselves by putting a "negative" in their minds. Well, guess what? The bad streak is here. Guess what again? Most of it is their own fault.
If you were present at the game last night you probably noticed that the Komets never really controlled the puck and the play for the first six minutes of the game. Dayton totally out hustled and out skated them the entire game. The first five minutes should have been particularly embarrassing to the team, Sims, and the Franke's. Last night the Komets showed the worst passing I have seen for a long, long, time. Lets see, they've basically had the same team together for eight weeks, practiced together an innumerable amount of times, yet looked as if they had never met and were still strangers to each other.
Chris Auger, who probably is the nicest surprise ( along with Rizk ) this year, is again on the IR with what is described as "concussion like" symptoms. This is serious because no one can really tell when he is completely healthy or guarantee that this will not be reoccurring all year long.
His health, of course, is the most important thing for sure. But part of the trouble the Komets are having right now is scoring goals. Chris Auger has been a key component on offense and now he is gone. In Justin Cohn's article he points out that the Komets have only scored two goals in each of the last two games. Justin's point is correct, but his facts are not. The Komets have scored two goals in each of the last THREE games. ( Remember that on New Year's Eve they only scored two in the 2-1 win over Bloomington).
This team is getting real limited on offense. Thirty games have been played and some forwards are just not carrying their weight. Mele, Schrock, and Thomas are three that come to mind real quick. To some extent, some may point to Bennefield but he has a proven track record in this league and was hampered by his foot or ankle infection. A month ago I would have included Thorne, but he is terrific on the penalty kill and has scored two or three goals shorthanded. ( I think he could have gotten another last night as he and another Komet went in on Stirling and the other guy did not feed him a pass.)
Scoring has become a problem but the defense isn't exactly innocent either. Two or three times last night the defense coughed up the puck and allowed Dayton to cruise right in on Boucher. Where did the "trap" go, by the way? Dayton never seemed to have a problem coming right through the Komets into the attacking zone. Let's get Starencky out of the "doghouse" and onto the ice for gosh sakes. He makes mistakes, sure, but at least he plays with passion.
Now on to and about Larry Stirling. No one wants the Komets to win more than I do. I know that Larry Stirling is a quirky guy. Maybe a little off balance even. But the main thing is he can stop the puck. Without him suffering his concussion a few years back in the IHL finals, the Komets would have never come back from three games down. I think Komet fans just get him more determined with their chants and inspire him to play his best. I'm not sure how that helps the Komets and, boy, were the Komet fans a little more subdued as the game went on. Quick question to Jerseygirl: Are you a Komets fan? Are you related in some way to Stirling? Why do you seem to hate Boucher? Just wondering.
Look, I realize the Komets have only lost two in a row. It isn't just the fact they've lost, it is the way they are playing and their effort I'm questioning and I don't want it to continue as the Franke's, Sims, and the players need to wake up. Colin Chaulk's comments seem to make me want to give pause also. Something is wrong and I can't put my finger on it.
The Franke's better start searching for another scorer or two. Mele, Schrock, and Thomas have all played themselves into the position where the have become expendable. A weakness has appeared on the defense also. The Franke's would do good to reognize it and do something about it now.
Oh yes, I almost forgot. I don't mind the burnt orange uniforms at all, but would someone put white numbers on the back of them instead of the near invisible black numerals?
I'd like to add a thought on Sterling. He had possession of the puck when the game ended last night. As he skated off the ice, he attempted to toss the puck to a child in the stands. Classy move. But, an idiot adult caught the puck instead and threw it back at Larry. So, Larry skated across the ice to retrieve the puck, found another child, and tossed the puck to him. Very classy, Larry. My hat is off to you. I apologize for the idiot in our stands.
Larry also helped Milam up when he got high sticker (no call). He isn't a horrible guy....
I like Larry. He not only did the two kind acts already mentioned above last night, but he also puts up with the Komet fans every time he comes to the coliseum. He has had very few (I recognize there have been some.) breakdowns even though he is harassed continuously not to mention he speaks kindly about the Komets as far as I know. I wouldn't mind seeing him in orange and black someday if the cards fall in that direction. I would definitely be a supporter.
I overheard someone (not a regular attendee) sitting near me last night ask their spouse if something had happened that had upset the entire team. She said they all look like they are dead tired and/or don't want to be here. I did not watch the Bloomington game, but if this is how the Komets played that game too, it is understandable that the two worst teams in our Division have beaten us. Wondering if trades and/or selective IR's have hurt morale. Hopefully, our guys will pull it together and come our playing with intensity and passion on Saturday and Sunday. I don't like losing a hard fought game, but watching a losing game like Friday's was agonizing.
I can't say I agree about the part of Larry bringing fans into the Coliseum when he comes to town. What was attendance last night, 7,400 something? Larry does seem to be an alright guy though. I love the pic I've seen bouncing around of him holding the Komets flag. I think the vast majority of these players, even the ones we can't stand, are really good people. They take what is shouted at them with a grain of salt, despite what some bloggers have written in the past about it really getting to them. Like Larry even said, "It's fun."
That was me that took the pic with larry in dayton . was from a few weeks ago .... and I went tonight and he was comming out and we asked him for a pic and he said " ok but I am really in a hurry" ..... and the man stayed taking pics with fans Ft Wayne AND Dayton fans for about 20 mins. My daughter was standing with him and I said you know who that is? she said no I said thats larry .. she said you mean LAAAARRRRRRYYYY he laughed and gave her a high five.