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Post by Reesor on Apr 5, 2014 8:05:29 GMT -4
I think we silenced the "The Mooseheads aren't battle tested" argument last night. We played a good, tight defensive game, and shut down Gatineau's big guns. We had a solid goaltending performance from Fucale. We stayed disciplined, and we took advantage of Gatineau's undisciplined play by scoring on the powerplay. That's pretty much the step-by-step guide on playing a strong team.
Gatineau played us well 5 on 5. But we can't play as much of a run-and-gun style with Gatineau as we could with teams in our own division. Sometimes you have to play a more defensive style to shut down tough opposition. I'm happy with the effort we put in last night. We still got 33 shots on them, which is more than their season average for shots against (26).
Benoit Groulx called out his top players last night, and of course I expect a better effort from them tonight. I think we'll be ready for them. 4-2 Moose with an empty netter.
Go Moose!!
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Post by stooy44 on Apr 5, 2014 8:54:32 GMT -4
Groulx's psychology sometimes backfires. Gatineau might put in a big effort, but Groulx teams sometimes just roll over and play dead. It is no secret that year after year he is strongly disliked by his players. Sometimes the players rise above it and play for themselves and each other, other times they just quit and show the coach up. Groulx teams are schizo, and you never know which one will show up.
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Post by nibs on Apr 5, 2014 9:07:07 GMT -4
Geez, Reesor. Did you sleep in?
As this series moves on, discipline will be key. It should be a good bet that Groulx has looked at the games tapes and seen that we have a tendency to get rattled when push comes to shove. We could get away with sitting in the box against PEI; however Gatineau has enough fire power to make us pay for any lack of discipline.
Then again, all those "clutch and grabs" and "run minor interference" plays that Groulx's teams are known for caught up to them last night as they were being called. Consequently the Moose made them pay and the PP was the difference in the game. Does that mean the Piques adjust their style of playing on the fence, or stay the course and hope a new set of referees won't call those same plays? Tonight will tell, but I expect more of the same.
Overall, I expect a better performance from Gatineau tonight. But I also don't dismiss the fact that perhaps the Moose didn't allow the Piques to play their game. As others have said, our D is often overlooked because of the names up front.
This is going to be a great nmatch between coaches as well. Who will have their players in sync and best prepared to adapt throughout the game?
Fun, fun, fun ... this series is what junior hockey is all about. I still predict Halifax in 6.
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Post by nibs on Apr 5, 2014 9:10:01 GMT -4
Groulx's psychology sometimes backfires. Gatineau might put in a big effort, but Groulx teams sometimes just roll over and play dead. It is no secret that year after year he is strongly disliked by his players. Sometimes the players rise above it and play for themselves and each other, other times they just quit and show the coach up. Groulx teams are schizo, and you never know which one will show up. Given druthers, I would prefer the "roll over and play dead." But this is the playoffs, I wouldn't expect that. As I read this I have to wonder if Groulx's methods aren't transferring to the Piques fan base?
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Post by stooy44 on Apr 5, 2014 9:25:18 GMT -4
If you read the Olympiques forum you will observe that opinion on Groulx is mixed.
He is the Frank Zappa of hockey coaches, either a genius or a vulgar idiot, with no in between.
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Post by nibs on Apr 5, 2014 9:47:04 GMT -4
If you read the Olympiques forum you will observe that opinion on Groulx is mixed. He is the Frank Zappa of hockey coaches, either a genius or a vulgar idiot, with no in between. I am having fun with you ... much like Mr Groulx is doing with his players. Head games, my friend, all in good fun. I would never suggest he is a vulgar idiot; however... Frank Zappa? Let's hope Groulx's band of players is not The Mothers of Invention! By the way, thanks for posting a perspective from "The Other Side." It is fun to have interesting and passionate fans post with respect and thoughtfulness. It makes the time between games more fun. As mentioned many times, I wish you well ... but not too well!
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Post by hfxfan09 on Apr 5, 2014 10:09:21 GMT -4
6-3 Moose
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Post by Conky on Apr 5, 2014 13:47:43 GMT -4
4-2 moose
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Post by seαωo|f on Apr 5, 2014 14:50:07 GMT -4
If you read the Olympiques forum you will observe that opinion on Groulx is mixed. He is the Frank Zappa of hockey coaches, either a genius or a vulgar idiot, with no in between. I think Groulx is probably the best coach in the QMJHL; one of the best in the CHL. He out-coached MacKenzie in 2003 and he is more than capable of out-coaching Ducharme in this series, as good as Ducharme is.
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Post by Reesor on Apr 5, 2014 15:20:32 GMT -4
If you read the Olympiques forum you will observe that opinion on Groulx is mixed. He is the Frank Zappa of hockey coaches, either a genius or a vulgar idiot, with no in between. I think Groulx is probably the best coach in the QMJHL; one of the best in the CHL. He out-coached MacKenzie in 2003 and he is more than capable of out-coaching Ducharme in this series, as good as Ducharme is. I know we can't lay the results on one game on the coach. But you'd think Groulx would have his guys prepared to play in-your-face, disciplined hockey. Gatineau had our number for the first 10 minutes last night. But one stupid play by Poirier (He punched someone in the head with his stick in his hand and ended up with a high-sticking penalty), and it's 1-0 Halifax. Killed any momentum Gatineau had. Groulx can be reactive and call his top guys out in the paper all he wants. But a lot of the responsibility of getting players in the right mindset falls on the coach. I was a bit skeptical of Ducharme when the Moose played like brats against the Remparts. But he had the Moose prepared for last night. When it comes to hockey knowledge and getting a the most out of his players, Groulx is one of the best I've seen in the Q. So I wouldn't be surprised if we see a different Olympiques team tonight.
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Post by sucanushie on Apr 5, 2014 15:26:06 GMT -4
Should be a good one tonight. I had to give my tickets to my sister as I bought concert Tickets last year for a show tonight. I will be the annoying one refreshing twitter all night haha
6-3 moose
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Post by CrazyJoeDavola on Apr 5, 2014 15:34:41 GMT -4
I think Groulx is probably the best coach in the QMJHL; one of the best in the CHL. He out-coached MacKenzie in 2003 and he is more than capable of out-coaching Ducharme in this series, as good as Ducharme is. I know we can't lay the results on one game on the coach. But you'd think Groulx would have his guys prepared to play in-your-face, disciplined hockey. Gatineau had our number for the first 10 minutes last night. But one stupid play by Poirier (He punched someone in the head with his stick in his hand and ended up with a high-sticking penalty), and it's 1-0 Halifax. Killed any momentum Gatineau had. Groulx can be reactive and call his top guys out in the paper all he wants. But a lot of the responsibility of getting players in the right mindset falls on the coach. I was a bit skeptical of Ducharme when the Moose played like brats against the Remparts. But he had the Moose prepared for last night. When it comes to hockey knowledge and getting a the most out of his players, Groulx is one of the best I've seen in the Q. So I wouldn't be surprised if we see a different Olympiques team tonight. I think his teams are usually tough to play, but I certainly don't put him on the pedestal some are lol. I also don't think he gets the most out of all his players per se, but rather he gets the most out of his systems. And as has been mentioned, lots of players end up hating him. Many players probably succeed in different environments for example. As for Ducharme - how many games has this team been sidetracked by emotion to the extent of that Rempart game in 3 years? Never? And we have had some heated games against rivals and playoff series. I doubt there is a coach who has a team as even-keeled as Ducharme does. Team mentality is rarely an issue.
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Post by Reesor on Apr 5, 2014 15:35:20 GMT -4
Should be a good one tonight. I had to give my tickets to my sister as I bought concert Tickets last year for a show tonight. I will be the annoying one refreshing twitter all night haha 6-3 moose I'd better not see a glow from a smart phone at Matt Anderson tonight. If I can't check the score neither can you.
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Post by Reesor on Apr 5, 2014 15:40:05 GMT -4
I know we can't lay the results on one game on the coach. But you'd think Groulx would have his guys prepared to play in-your-face, disciplined hockey. Gatineau had our number for the first 10 minutes last night. But one stupid play by Poirier (He punched someone in the head with his stick in his hand and ended up with a high-sticking penalty), and it's 1-0 Halifax. Killed any momentum Gatineau had. Groulx can be reactive and call his top guys out in the paper all he wants. But a lot of the responsibility of getting players in the right mindset falls on the coach. I was a bit skeptical of Ducharme when the Moose played like brats against the Remparts. But he had the Moose prepared for last night. When it comes to hockey knowledge and getting a the most out of his players, Groulx is one of the best I've seen in the Q. So I wouldn't be surprised if we see a different Olympiques team tonight. I think his teams are usually tough to play, but I certainly don't put him on the pedestal some are lol. I also don't think he gets the most out of all his players per se, but rather he gets the most out of his systems. And as has been mentioned, lots of players end up hating him. Many players probably succeed in different environments for example. As for Ducharme - how many games has this team been sidetracked by emotion to the extent of the that Rempart game in 3 years? Never? And we have had some heated games against rivals and playoff series. I doubt there is a coach who has a team as even-keeled as Ducharme does. Team mentality is rarely an issue. I hate to do this again, but I see your point. . At the end of the day, they're teenagers, and they make mistakes. Which is what we can attribute the Quebec game to. No there hasn't been a game in the last 3 years that went off the rails as much as that game in Quebec did. The home opener against Gatineau last year was close. Poirier plays on the edge, and is going to take penalties. But he doesn't have to play that way to be effective. He's not effective sitting in the penalty box. With the amount of minor penalties he's taken this year, you'd think Groulx would've reeled him by now. Especially in an important game like last night when they had about a week to prepare for their opponent. But the two stupid penalties he took last night tells me he isn't buying what Groulx was selling, or Groulx wasn't selling anything.
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Post by nibs on Apr 5, 2014 15:40:13 GMT -4
Should be a good one tonight. I had to give my tickets to my sister as I bought concert Tickets last year for a show tonight. I will be the annoying one refreshing twitter all night haha 6-3 moose Lucky you - I will be the one forced to go to the theatre for a stage show. You know, the kind of place where they kick you out (sorry, politely ask you to leave) for looking at the BB. Mmm, there's a thought ... I expect a much tougher game tonight and much tighter. 4-3 Moose. No empty net.
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