Dogs vs. Bears

[Gas]

Well.....I can't really say too much. Mostly, I just want to type 'Fire Don Lever' and leave it at that.

This team's powerplay is a joke. That's the best I can say about it. It's bumbling. It's also mind boggling. I'm beginning to think that they don't practice it.

The puck control in the offensive zone is almost non-existant. Passes are never on the tape. The point shooters never seem to be on the right point. Corey Locke loves to fall down or give the puck away.

It needs some serious work. A power play quarterback is desperately needed. We had one last year, but Fatty Sanford decided to eat potatoes and buttery lobster all summer.

Couple notes on the game:

Good: Maxim Lapierre, Johnny Ferland and Yann Danis all had good games. The penalty kill continues to be very good. Even Kostsitsyn kills penalties.

Average: Kyle Chipchurra played very well for 50 minutes. He took a very bad penalty late in the game and muffed a clearling attempt that almost led to a goal. On the brightside, he seems to be near impossible to knock off of the puck. He's very strong on his skates, he has a good hockey mind and he works hard. I do believe he and Maxim Lapierre will be our Bob Gainey and Guy Carbonneau for the future.

I finally got to see Mikhail Grabovsky. He's very fast, but oh so small. He's a wait and see, I think. An inconclusive first impression.

Andrei Kostitsyn played alright. The guy has some magical hands and can be very creative. He seems to play at the level of his environment. When he's up in Montreal he plays very well, but in Hamilton......In Hamilton he plays with Corey Locke. I don't need to say anymore on that. I would love to see Andrei play with Kyle Chipchurra. The Kat needs a smarter hockey player to play with.

Bad: The defence. They have been poor in the first two games. In all honesty, I don't believe Andre Benoit will ever be an NHL player. As far as Ryan O'Byrne goes, he's a long way away from the big time. Having him partnered with Traverse is a bad idea. Traverse, as always, made bad plays. I have no confidence in him when he's on the ice.

Corey Locke. I'm so tired of this guy. He's so frustrating. The best I can say about Corey is that he's a disappointment.

As far as tonight's game goes...the Dogs played two very good periods. They sat back in the third period and were outshot 22-4. Not the best way to close out a game. 2-1 lead with 5 minutes to go. A Dog tried to block a shot with his stick and it deflected into the net. Yann had no chance. The Bulldogs had a power play with less than two minutes to go. A pass to the point had both defencemen go to the puck and then both decide to let the other play it. It scoots down to our blue line. Yann plays the puck and shoots it right at the Bears forward who then has the easy shot into the open net with just 4 seconds left to play.

I'm so distraught.

FYI...

Andy Murray was at the game. Something tells me that if Bob has enough of Lever....we may see Andy step behind the bench. That would be good for these kids.

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

Great report.

I agree with your assessment of Kostitsyn the Elder. He does seem to need linemates who can make the most of his creativity and skill. A knock against him in his first season witth the Dogs was that he always seemed to want to do it all himself when he was out there - probably in part because he was used to carrying the Belarus national team on his back, and in part because he had no supporting cast. He's worked at improving his defensive game - last season he tied for the team lead with two short-handed goals. He certainly didn't look out of place during his call-up last season; still a bit rough around the edges, but he'll be ready for peime time soon enough.

Chipchura. I loved the pick when he was drafted. He was a man among boys and now at his tender age he's a man among men. That he's not outstandingly gifted in any area doesn't matter (he's got talent enough) because he's more tactically savvy than many (especially at his age), works harder than most, and has a burning desire to win. Plus he's taking French lessons.

[chief6]

In general, the whole team played pretty poorly Friday night. I can't help but wonder if the ice was bad, which may have contributed to all the bad passes Hamilton was making. That said, Hershey didn't seem to have the same trouble. And in the end, it was a lesson for everyone on the Hamilton bench in the need to play for 60 minutes.

Part of that falls on coach Don Lever, and I agree with Gas that the brass may be looking to Andy Murray down the road. Or, at the very least, that's the hope. Lever really reigns his players in during the third period when they have a lead, and with the young guys Hamilton has, it's tough to sit on a lead since they just don't seem to fully understand team defense yet. During Lever's tenure, they've blown a lot of leads (one memorable five-goal lead at home against Toronto last season), and a big part of the reason is that he reigns in the forecheck during the third period. It's not working, and I know the main goal of a minor league team is to develop the players, and winning is regarded as secondary, but these guys aren't figuring it out defensively as a whole. Besides, Hershey never stopped forechecking, and they ended up wearing Hamilton's players down and coming away with a win Hamilton appeared to have salted away. If you can't play defense, you might as well try to keep the other team in their own end.

Another messy situation is the power play. Going 1-for-9 with the man advantage has to be regarded as unacceptable. Yes, it comes down to execution. But if the system is too complex for the players, or if the system is simply failing, the system needs to change. I would suggest a constant inability to make it work falls on the system rather than the players.

Individually, also a shaky night. Without a doubt, Kyle Chipchura is the best thing to happen in Hamilton in the Montreal era. He really gets it, and yes it was his turnover that led to the game-winning goal, but I have to put that turnover on the two defensemen that converged on and refused to play the puck. Again with the bad penalty, but it was also a pretty questionable call.

Jonathan Ferland is a guy that really should be in the National Hockey League. I wouldn't be surprised to see him as a part of any trade Montreal makes this season. The guy is tireless and kills penalties so well. The only knock I have against him is his tendency to leave his feet and/or get an elbow up when he's finishing his checks.

And other than Ferland and Chipchura, only Yann Danis, who made 37 saves on 40 shots and Maxime Lapierre, who once again was able to trap an opposing powerplay in their own end for more than 10 seconds really stood out. I've a sneaking suspicion this is a trend that will continue for much of the year.

[montreal]

nicely put chief6, I have had a dislike for Coach Lever since last year. Don't like how he called out a few players on the radio, never seem to understand how he chooses who to bench. Sanford was the leading scorer on defense, yet how often did he ride the pine, while Benoit continued to get ice while in a major slump, imo.

Hated some of the line combos especially on the PP. PP was brutal, looked really out of whack but I think they will get it going since they have a lot of skill on the team imo.

Impressed with Chipchura, Lapierre the most. Hoped for more from Grabovski. Locke's goal was nice but then he was floating a bit on the PP, same with Kostitsyn imo.