Dogs vs. Knights. Round two.
Nov 14, 2006 23:33:41 GMT -5
Post by Gas on Nov 14, 2006 23:33:41 GMT -5
Well, the good news is that the Dogs are on a roll and are really playing together as a team. Points in their last 6 games. A new franchise record.
We beat up on the Knights for the second straight game with a 5-0 win. 11-1 combined with the last game. This Omaha team was first in their division, second in the conference and third overall in the AHL. A team that before coming to Hamilton had only lost 3 games.
A solid effort from the entire team. I really don't have anything negative to say about tonight's performance.
Jaroslav Halak was excellent, although he was not tested much as the Knights only managed 20 shots compared to Hamilton's 26. Check out these stats on tonight's second star. 4 straight wins. 2 shutouts and only 2 goals allowed over those four games. Second in the AHL in goals against average and save percentage and in 19 career AHL starts, Little Slav has 6 shutouts. This kid has got talent. Very confident in our goaltending future.
Jonathon Ferland was tonight's first star with a goal and an assist. He combined with Kyle Chipchurra for the fastest two Dogs goals in franchise history. 7 seconds apart. A wicked wrist shot. Ferland played his game tonight and was monster forechecker, threw some excellent checks, killed penalties and just worked very hard and he earned that first star.
Kyle Chipchurra, the third star, continues to play well. He's a very smart hockey player and is so strong on the puck. He scored a beauty of a goal, his first of the year, which turned out to be the game winner.
Maxim Lapierre once again won the Maxim Lapierre hardest working Bulldog award for the eighth time. The kid is a good player. He's all hustle. When he was out killing a five on three....I wasn't worried at all. That's the kind of confidence he instills and it really rubs off on his teammates.
Ryan O'Byrne had another strong game. It only took this kid about 4-5 games to adapt to the AHL and he hasn't had a bad game since. This is all inspite of being paired with Patrick Traverse.
Duncan Milroy has become an excellent skater. He's very fast and will often beat opposing players into their zone. His forechecking has greatly improved and he's really become a leader on the ice.
Mikhail Grabovski scored his third of the season on a nice goal. Drove to the net made a great move that was stopped, but reached back for the rebound and slid it into the open net with one hand on the stick. The extra effort pays off. He's still small and gets pushed around a lot, but this is where he differs from the other small forward, Corey Locke. Mikhail knows he's going to get punished, but skates into it anyway to get the puck into the opposing teams zone. He takes the hit, gets back up and continues to the puck. I think this type of effort will be what gets him into the NHL in the end.
After being scratched for 8 straight games, Michael Lambert popped in a goal and played well....although you could tell he wasn't in game shape.
I think I know why Hamilton has had success as of late. They are a very tough team to play against. Not only do they have a solid goaltending tandem, but the team is ver strong on ther forecheck, back check and penalty kill. With Lapierre, Ferland, Milroy, and Chipchurra consistently working hard, O'Byrne and J. P. Cote playing solid defence and hopefully with the return of Francis Lemieux and Andrew Archer this team will only get better.
Add in some of the guys that aren't part of the Habs organization...Mathieu Roy, Zach Stortini, and Ajay Baines...this is a very frustrating team to play.
A fun game to watch tonight and it makes me feel good about the future.
In Iowa this weekend and at home against the Moose next Tuesday.
We beat up on the Knights for the second straight game with a 5-0 win. 11-1 combined with the last game. This Omaha team was first in their division, second in the conference and third overall in the AHL. A team that before coming to Hamilton had only lost 3 games.
A solid effort from the entire team. I really don't have anything negative to say about tonight's performance.
Jaroslav Halak was excellent, although he was not tested much as the Knights only managed 20 shots compared to Hamilton's 26. Check out these stats on tonight's second star. 4 straight wins. 2 shutouts and only 2 goals allowed over those four games. Second in the AHL in goals against average and save percentage and in 19 career AHL starts, Little Slav has 6 shutouts. This kid has got talent. Very confident in our goaltending future.
Jonathon Ferland was tonight's first star with a goal and an assist. He combined with Kyle Chipchurra for the fastest two Dogs goals in franchise history. 7 seconds apart. A wicked wrist shot. Ferland played his game tonight and was monster forechecker, threw some excellent checks, killed penalties and just worked very hard and he earned that first star.
Kyle Chipchurra, the third star, continues to play well. He's a very smart hockey player and is so strong on the puck. He scored a beauty of a goal, his first of the year, which turned out to be the game winner.
Maxim Lapierre once again won the Maxim Lapierre hardest working Bulldog award for the eighth time. The kid is a good player. He's all hustle. When he was out killing a five on three....I wasn't worried at all. That's the kind of confidence he instills and it really rubs off on his teammates.
Ryan O'Byrne had another strong game. It only took this kid about 4-5 games to adapt to the AHL and he hasn't had a bad game since. This is all inspite of being paired with Patrick Traverse.
Duncan Milroy has become an excellent skater. He's very fast and will often beat opposing players into their zone. His forechecking has greatly improved and he's really become a leader on the ice.
Mikhail Grabovski scored his third of the season on a nice goal. Drove to the net made a great move that was stopped, but reached back for the rebound and slid it into the open net with one hand on the stick. The extra effort pays off. He's still small and gets pushed around a lot, but this is where he differs from the other small forward, Corey Locke. Mikhail knows he's going to get punished, but skates into it anyway to get the puck into the opposing teams zone. He takes the hit, gets back up and continues to the puck. I think this type of effort will be what gets him into the NHL in the end.
After being scratched for 8 straight games, Michael Lambert popped in a goal and played well....although you could tell he wasn't in game shape.
I think I know why Hamilton has had success as of late. They are a very tough team to play against. Not only do they have a solid goaltending tandem, but the team is ver strong on ther forecheck, back check and penalty kill. With Lapierre, Ferland, Milroy, and Chipchurra consistently working hard, O'Byrne and J. P. Cote playing solid defence and hopefully with the return of Francis Lemieux and Andrew Archer this team will only get better.
Add in some of the guys that aren't part of the Habs organization...Mathieu Roy, Zach Stortini, and Ajay Baines...this is a very frustrating team to play.
A fun game to watch tonight and it makes me feel good about the future.
In Iowa this weekend and at home against the Moose next Tuesday.
