The Blizzard now have the same record versus Waywayseecappo as the score was in tonight's game.
It was a much better game all around for OCN. At no point did the defence completely break down, the Blizzard played a full 60 minutes tonight and it showed.
Of course, as always when called upon Justin McDonald stood tall making a few spectacular saves. One that comes to mind was on the PK early in the first period sliding left to right and making a great pad save.
Edward Bayer has come alive offensively and seems to be gelling really well with Grove and Gray, he has great puck skills, vision and speed also a good passer in tight spaces. Although there were two questionable decisions in the defensive end, but that part will come, he's an offensive guy.
Darien Cardinal had his strongest game of the season in my mind. He back checked ferociously, made good plays on the board in the defensive end and his hands tonight were unbelievable, he seems to have found some confidence and is played very very well.
I thought they played a very uptempo game from the get go. McDonald made several great saves and which helped solidify the W.
ReplyDeleteBayer is starting to come into his own and is starting to show his offensive side.
Petrino looks to have good speed as well and once he starts getting in the grove will only help the team.
It was good to see consistent play.
Congrats guys
Fun game to watch. The score should have been higher. Eddie looked good between Grove and Gray, he is not afraid to grind and go in the corners, but Cameron also looked great with these two. Nice problem to have when you have guys that can move from one line to another and adjust. The ref certainly had Wilson's number but was good to see him skate away from alot of the crap that was going his direction. Brad I certainly agree with your take on the Western Jr. selection. Seems pretty sad that our boys really didn't get a look. We will kick --- this year and then they will have no choice but to see what they missed seeing the first time. Looking through the rosters from the last 6 years of the challenge there is barely any MJHL players on the final roster, mostly BC and Alberta. Let's get another W this Saterday boys. Go Blizz Go!
ReplyDeleteIt was a good game to watch, and you are correct should have been a higher score but Cory Simons played well.
DeleteAs for the WJAC I know that Wilson and Garick both really impressed people at the camp, admittedly TJ told me himself he didn't have a very strong showing.
Glad to see somebody else noticed that Cameron had a good game last night. The Blizz are a young team that doesn't have any 20 year old forwards other than Swampy and i don't think he'll be here after the Dec. roster cut down. Just think about the firepower they'll have next year. I would still like to see them get a goal scorer to play with TJ and Dumais. What i don't like is the fact that we have a team sitting in first place at 12-3 and there was only 450 people at the game, the team works hard and the guys deserve your support.
ReplyDeleteCameron did have a good game, my only problem with it, especially as a rookie role player was the unnecessary penalty midway through the second period after the whistle. Play hard between whistles, but taking penalties after the play is useless. Especially when you're already up and your team has had a hard time holding onto leads of late.
DeleteAs for a sniper for TJ and Dumais the Blizz are still looking but if a deal happens who knows.
And the fan support, I agree. Would have been nice to see a bigger crowd out last night.
The other teams know that we have an aggressive bunch of guys, so they need to keep their cool when their buttons are being pushed. Not many of those guys want to drop their gloves with our team so.... the best we get from these situations are penalties. Going to be a tough decision when we have to cut our numbers especially with some of the local northern boys. With injuries etc the coaching staff need to have the best players ready to suit up and I for one disagree with the above poster that Swampy will be gone after Christmas. We need him and Santorelli to battle the top lines, crashing and banging and helping with PK. If you watched Brad last night he did just that and had his chances at the net. Just my opinion.
DeleteSwampy did have a very strong game last night! And yes they do need to keep their cool! But it'll come.
DeleteAnd to the poster saying Swampy will be gone by Christmas. Let's not speculate about who will be and who will not be here at that time. Not fair to the team, players, staff or their parents. Fact of the matter is Swampy is a 20-year old who's a great guy in the room and tries every shift. This isn't the NHL, it's junior hockey, these are kids. Let's keep that in mind while speculating I know many parents read this blog so let's try to remember that. Deal in facts, not possibilities, especially regarding the Blizzard players.
DeleteI know next year is a long time from now, but I really think we should be looking to shore up our defense with a couple of 3-4 guys or better. We are going to have a huge hole there next year with the likes of Cochrane, Breyre, and Ward Cardinal aging out. I really think there should be some deals being made asap.
DeleteAs for this year, one high end scorer and a couple of high end D would be my choice.
Miller from Way Way comes to mind, the kid is a truck and he is only a 94.
All that being said, Derek and the coaches have done a great job recruiting so far and I suspect they will keep doing so.
I seen Jomar Cruz at the game on the weekend, I am sure it gives him great pride to see the Blizz doing well.
I agree with Miller, I was very impressed with him, but it's 16 games into this season and those three along with Swampy and McDonald are the only ones who are not eligible to return next season. I don't think you start worrying about that now. I think now you worry about this year and a run to the RBC.
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