Dogs Win, Halak another S/O...yawn!

[NWTHabsFan]

Dogs win their second straight against the Milwaukee Ads with a shutout win tonight while Huet was stealing the show up in the bigs. Halak is now tied for all time Bulldogs' shutouts after only his 23rd game (if I recall correctly). Amazing actually.

Kosty with a pair of snipes and Grabs with an assist lead the way with two of the three goals tonight. I am sure we will get some reports from first hand views as I was glued to that nail biter in Montreal tonight!

Nice to see a pair of shutouts from our boys tonight...all is well!


stats.theahl.com/stats/game-summary.php?game_id=1002495

[Gogie]

Halak - how good is this kid? Another shut out, this one well-earned. He made several huge saves and stopped Ramzi Abid on a penalty shot while the game was still only 1-0. He plays the angles perfectly and has been controlling rebounds very well. The nice thing about him is he makes it look so easy. Unlike our man Theo, Halak simply takes away the angles from the shooters and always seems to be in position - no need for acrobatics.

AK showed his howitzer tonight. Two beautiful goals, both on great setups by Grabovski. The first was a well-placed rocket of a wrist shot and the second was a monster blast on a one-timer from the slot. As Derek Wills said after the game (I listened to his post game show as I was driving home in the fog) AK is playing the best hockey of his pro career. I'm really impressed that he's come back to Hamilton with the right attitude. I can't imagine that he'll be here much longer.

Milroy continues to play a solid game and is working well with Kosty and Grabs.

Ferland had a very strong game tonight, working his butt off and being full marks for his Maxim Lapierre hardest working Dog of the game.

I like the way O'Byrne is playing in his own end. As I said before, he's showing more and more confidence all the time and he's using his size to advantage.

This team is playing with great chemistry right now. I haven't heard any griping about Lever lately - amazing what a few wins will do for you. I'm thinking more and more that he knew what he was doing all along - it just took the players awhile to adapt.

Off to Grand Rapids for a game tomorrow night and then back home against the Marlies Friday.

[Gas]

Winning is good. It really, really is. Not much better than winning. All the crap I learned about "the only thing that matters is how much fun you have" was so horribly wrong.

Winning matters. That's all. So many times I have left Copps Coliseum over the years wanting to flush my season tickets down the drain because they were awful. Now...I don't drive home angry.

It's nice and much more safe for everyone on the road.

Jaroslav Halak is the best goaltender I have seen play for Hamilton. Hands down. The kid is so confident. With less than two minutes to go in the game he made a stick save and I kid you not.....purposely tipped it up in the air so he could catch it in his glove. He's got some gusto and it was great.

Some stats: Continues to lead the AHL is GAA, Save % and shutouts (4). He has tied Steve Passmore for the Hamilton career lead with 7 shutouts. Little Slav's 7 shutouts have come in only 23 starts. 23!

Andrei Kostitsyn, Mikhail Grabovski and Duncan Milroy realyl have great chemistry together. I love how the Dunkster has emerged as an offensive threat this year. The Belarussian are pretty sweet to watch. Mik has made the Kat elevate his game. The Kat's second goal was a laser that no goaltender was stopping and what made it better was the play leading up to it. Milroy blows a tire behind the net and loses the puck. He gets up and fights for it again, steals it and sends it to the boards where Grabovski sends a no look pass between the face off circles right onto the tape of Kostitsyn's stick. Amazing.

The whole team continues to play well and I still have no complaints about Corey Locke. It's been three games now. I'm concerned.

I'm still not convinced on Lever. I don't think I ever will be. The first impression I got was just so bad. I will continue to boo him when he says his name during an in between period commercial.

Lapierre, Chipchurra, O'Byrne, and Cote have been playing excellent hockey. Jonathan Ferland is outstanding every game. I love it. Still my favourite player.

I'm not sold on Andre Benoit. I don't think he's very good. He's a little small and he makes a few too many mental errors for my liking.

Some good news....Andrew Archer has been medically cleared to play. He needs to get in game shape still, but the defence core has just become that much stronger.

I feel like I've been repeating myself lately with the good comments on our kids. I guess it's better than repeating horrible things.

This is why I don't talk about Traverse.

I'm also pleased how my naming of the Maxim Lapierre Award for Hardest Working Bulldog has stuck and is being used ny others. Sweet.

I hate playing the Marlies. We'll see how Friday goes.

[habmeister]

gas said:

Winning is good. It really, really is. Not much better than winning. All the crap I learned about "the only thing that matters is how much fun you have" was so horribly wrong.

Winning matters. That's all. So many times I have left Copps Coliseum over the years wanting to flush my season tickets down the drain because they were awful. Now...I don't drive home angry.

It's nice and much more safe for everyone on the road.

Jaroslav Halak is the best goaltender I have seen play for Hamilton. Hands down. The kid is so confident. With less than two minutes to go in the game he made a stick save and I kid you not.....purposely tipped it up in the air so he could catch it in his glove. He's got some gusto and it was great.

Some stats: Continues to lead the AHL is GAA, Save % and shutouts (4). He has tied Steve Passmore for the Hamilton career lead with 7 shutouts. Little Slav's 7 shutouts have come in only 23 starts. 23!

Andrei Kostitsyn, Mikhail Grabovski and Duncan Milroy realyl have great chemistry together. I love how the Dunkster has emerged as an offensive threat this year. The Belarussian are pretty sweet to watch. Mik has made the Kat elevate his game. The Kat's second goal was a laser that no goaltender was stopping and what made it better was the play leading up to it. Milroy blows a tire behind the net and loses the puck. He gets up and fights for it again, steals it and sends it to the boards where Grabovski sends a no look pass between the face off circles right onto the tape of Kostitsyn's stick. Amazing.

The whole team continues to play well and I still have no complaints about Corey Locke. It's been three games now. I'm concerned.

I'm still not convinced on Lever. I don't think I ever will be. The first impression I got was just so bad. I will continue to boo him when he says his name during an in between period commercial.

Lapierre, Chipchurra, O'Byrne, and Cote have been playing excellent hockey. Jonathan Ferland is outstanding every game. I love it. Still my favourite player.

I'm not sold on Andre Benoit. I don't think he's very good. He's a little small and he makes a few too many mental errors for my liking.

Some good news....Andrew Archer has been medically cleared to play. He needs to get in game shape still, but the defence core has just become that much stronger.

I feel like I've been repeating myself lately with the good comments on our kids. I guess it's better than repeating horrible things.

This is why I don't talk about Traverse.

I'm also pleased how my naming of the Maxim Lapierre Award for Hardest Working Bulldog has stuck and is being used ny others. Sweet.

I hate playing the Marlies. We'll see how Friday goes.

any televised games coming up?

[Gogie]

Friday's game against the Marlies will be on Rogers Sportsnet East, Ontario and HD. If anyone is interested in attending the game in person I have a few ticket vouchers that will get you in the door free. Let me know by PM.

[chief6]

I have been wondering lately if it would be in the franchise's best interests to look at the possibility of coverting Andre Benoit to a forward. Sure, the Habs need another small forward like I need another hole in the head, but while Benoit's defensive game is lacking, he has some good instincts in the offensive zone. He pinches in from the point wisely, and he usually does a good job of keeping possession of the puck. He showed early last season that he has a nose for the net, and I think he could work out very well as a forward. If he's ever going to advance beyond the AHL level, it will have to be as a forward, since he can't play a lick of defense.

Milroy's steal to set up the second Hamilton goal was plainly, simply awesome.

And, I guess, other than Benoit, my only other gripe, which is very small, is that Max Lapierre seems to have reached a plateau. He's still playing his game, and he's still one of the best players on the ice every night, and one of the hardest-working players, too. But I really think he'll need to find another level to really make a leap in the game. Lots of other Hamilton players have been finding that next level on a nightly basis during this hot streak, and they all look like they're moving beyond Max now. Or maybe I'm just being too hard on the guy.

Lever still sucks. The team is winning in spite of his coaching, although the line-juggling that was a real sore spot the last two seasons has really fallen off, and he's finally giving the hot goalie the work. So maybe he's learning, too. But it's in writing here that if this team wins the Calder Cup this year, I will boo Don when he lifts it.

[Gas]

chief6 said:

Lever still sucks. The team is winning in spite of his coaching, although the line-juggling that was a real sore spot the last two seasons has really fallen off, and he's finally giving the hot goalie the work. So maybe he's learning, too. But it's in writing here that if this team wins the Calder Cup this year, I will boo Don when he lifts it.

I will stand beside you and boo Don Lever.