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Post by Critical Eye on Apr 16, 2015 6:06:52 GMT -4
Is it just me, or has Connor Moynihan just developed to a different level right before our eyes during the playoffs? Well, out of necessity he's on the ice more.... ... but he still looks like a giraffe on skates LOL!
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Post by SteveUL on Apr 16, 2015 6:39:13 GMT -4
Watt, got hit in the head at the beginning of the second I believe it was probably knocked him out with a concussion Oh was he the guy when Moncton took the checking to the head penalty? For all the skill he has, Ehlers was a workhorse tonight. When everyone else looked to be dragging a piano as the game went on, he was still able to move the legs and generate chances even though you could see it in his face he was wiped. Meier too. I think for all the criticism euro's can tend to take at times when the going gets tough, those two have been playoff horses. Hoping we can get Gadoury, Fortier and Watt back for game 5... not sure on their status. I don't know how much more we can expect from the current squad. The hit on Watt was a bad call. He had the puck and was shoulder to shoulder with Bower skating up the boards. Bower knocks him down ... Watt drops to his knees ... slides into Tibbo who was actually trying to get out of the way once Watt was down. Tibbo made no effort to hit Watt but Watt's face hit Tibbo's hip. The Ref that called it was behind Tibbo and could not really see what happened.
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Post by Captain Obvious on Apr 16, 2015 6:54:54 GMT -4
I don't think you are. I think when Moncton is forechecking hard and moving their feet, they are the better team at 5 on 5 ... hemming you guys in for long stretches. But penalties have tended to switch the momentum back and forth, and they (mainly referring to Moncton) lose that hard driving posture that served them well before the rush of penalties. I found that Moncton would lose their momentum when they'd have to kill 2 and 3 penalties in a short period ... and it took awhile to get it back. They usually got it back when they got a PP of their own. Both teams need to stay out of the box ... as in any series really. Both teams have a good PP and so penalties can easily turn into goals. Plus ... killing penalties wears the players down. Moncton needs 4 lines working hard ... and they'll win. We lost games 1 & 2 because we had too many passengers. If we have passengers tonight ... we probably lose. Moncton may have been the better team 5 on 5 in the regular season, however based solely on the three play-off games between the two, Halifax appears to have the one up on Moncton. Halifax is the better 5 on 5 team in this series. The Cats definitely have not looked like the better team this series overall, even after 2 wins, but they are playing better and gaining momentum, spells bad news for Halifax.
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Post by Captain Obvious on Apr 16, 2015 7:01:16 GMT -4
I can't get over how much the Mooseheads make the 2nd seeded team in the league look so bad. Out essentially the entire 2nd line tonight (Gadoury, Fortier and Watt) and they still take them to OT and nearly win it. Losing Gadoury was the turning point in the series. With 2 one goal losses he would have made a huge difference. While you can be disappointed by the loss you can't be disappointed with the effort Moncton isn't a deep team but they are deeper than Halifax, that's why they are still in it, Cats were without Johnson games 3 and 4 and still won both.
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Post by Captain Obvious on Apr 16, 2015 7:02:47 GMT -4
I'm sure a lot of Halifax fans would have made the trip to Moncton Friday, but not many would go to Freddy 'I'd say. Turns a 2hr 20 min trip into a 4 hour trip, will be interesting to see what kind of crowd is there...
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Post by SteveUL on Apr 16, 2015 7:21:28 GMT -4
I'm sure a lot of Halifax fans would have made the trip to Moncton Friday, but not many would go to Freddy 'I'd say. Turns a 2hr 20 min trip into a 4 hour trip, will be interesting to see what kind of crowd is there... Yes, but that is the typical time for any Moosehead road trip in the Maritimes to anywhere but Moncton.
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Post by Penguins23® on Apr 16, 2015 7:46:00 GMT -4
I can't get over how much the Mooseheads make the 2nd seeded team in the league look so bad. Out essentially the entire 2nd line tonight (Gadoury, Fortier and Watt) and they still take them to OT and nearly win it. Losing Gadoury was the turning point in the series. With 2 one goal losses he would have made a huge difference. While you can be disappointed by the loss you can't be disappointed with the effort Moncton isn't a deep team but they are deeper than Halifax, that's why they are still in it, Cats were without Johnson games 3 and 4 and still won both. A trade off of Johnson for Gadoury and Fortier is a win for the Wildcats.
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Post by novicefan on Apr 16, 2015 8:05:56 GMT -4
Moncton may have been the better team 5 on 5 in the regular season, however based solely on the three play-off games between the two, Halifax appears to have the one up on Moncton. Halifax is the better 5 on 5 team in this series. The Cats definitely have not looked like the better team this series overall, even after 2 wins, but they are playing better and gaining momentum, spells bad news for Halifax. Halifax had momentum coming back for games 3/4 - didn't bode well for them, same thing can happen to Moncton. Watt, Gadoury and Fortier not playing last night could have been the difference. I will admit Moncton's D are definitely adding to their scoring power, whereas Halifax's D are not contributing in that department. Game 5 is HUGE! Halifax was 2-2 with Shawinigan and won Game 5 in Double OT - I still think its anyone's series ...
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Post by CrazyJoeDavola on Apr 16, 2015 8:16:08 GMT -4
I won't count this team out for surprises. Moncton may have momentum but they haven't figured us out yet either. No matter who wins game 5, the series won't be in the bag as game 6 in Halifax could go any way too.
Interesting to note: if we assume Rimouski, Quebec and BC all win their series at this point, then a Moncton win would set them up with a Quebec matchup, while a Halifax win sets us up with Rimouski. I doubt Moncton could knock off Quebec based on what I have seen, especially if they are rested, and our playoff run would come to a grinding halt against Rimouski.
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Post by yesisaiditfirst on Apr 16, 2015 8:25:21 GMT -4
For all the critcism about us complaining about officials I thought the officials did a pretty decent job calling the game...penalty wise.
I do not think the Watt hit should have been called it looked unfortunate more than a foul. And the Meier call was probably they were looking to call one. Oftn times fans complain about calls against them and give no credit to ref for all the things they let their team get away with.
However, the linesman calls were once again far from acceptable. Again on both teams just wrong calls but it may have hurt a Halifax odd man rush in OT.
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Post by Penguins23® on Apr 16, 2015 8:27:03 GMT -4
However, the linesman calls were once again far from acceptable. Again on both teams just wrong calls but it may have hurt a Halifax odd man rush in OT. They showed the replay on the screen and even the Moose fans around me agreed it was the right call.
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Post by Fryar on Apr 16, 2015 8:31:17 GMT -4
I was disappointed because Dom had our top line out there but took them off with 4 minutes left in OT and then Moncton comes down and we play the keystone cops in our own end and they score...... I said this right after the goal. Crossley/Falk/Leblanc were out with Garland line for their common 2 minute shift and a moncton guy iced the puck. Halifax sends Ehlers line out against a fatigued Moncton 5 resulting in a 10 second shift then a whistle. Moncton changes to Burke line and Dom puts out the gassed trio of Crossley/Falk/Leblanc again and it's in the back of the net.
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Post by yesisaiditfirst on Apr 16, 2015 8:31:23 GMT -4
The Cats definitely have not looked like the better team this series overall, even after 2 wins, but they are playing better and gaining momentum, spells bad news for Halifax. Halifax had momentum coming back for games 3/4 - didn't bode well for them, same thing can happen to Moncton. Watt, Gadoury and Fortier not playing last night could have been the difference. I will admit Moncton's D are definitely adding to their scoring power, whereas Halifax's D are not contributing in that department. Game 5 is HUGE! Halifax was 2-2 with Shawinigan and won Game 5 in Double OT - I still think its anyone's series ... Mostly Moncton's D on the PP is adding a new dimension to it but they did get that goal 5v5 with the 10 seconds left. On the PP Moncton has been less dangerous off to the sides but they try to get the D to the center and stack two Cats in our PK box lined up in an I type formation. Brassard just can't find the puck when they do that. There are 3 Moose jerseys and 2 Cat jerseys in the way and the shots are getting through. Its less dangerous with one Wildcat in front of him because it does not draw two more Halifax players in the lane to try and block the shot or cover that man that skates in the path. The D will not shoot until that second player is also in the way. They can also deflect it in that way. I would like the defender closest to the point shot to rush out to make him shoot sooner or just pass it.
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Post by yesisaiditfirst on Apr 16, 2015 8:32:23 GMT -4
However, the linesman calls were once again far from acceptable. Again on both teams just wrong calls but it may have hurt a Halifax odd man rush in OT. They showed the replay on the screen and even the Moose fans around me agreed it was the right call. Well maybe it balanced out. There were a few quetionable ones.
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Post by Penguins23® on Apr 16, 2015 8:41:43 GMT -4
I was disappointed because Dom had our top line out there but took them off with 4 minutes left in OT and then Moncton comes down and we play the keystone cops in our own end and they score...... I said this right after the goal. Crossley/Falk/Leblanc were out with Garland line for their common 2 minute shift and a moncton guy iced the puck. Halifax sends Ehlers line out against a fatigued Moncton 5 resulting in a 10 second shift then a whistle. Moncton changes to Burke line and Dom puts out the gassed trio of Crossley/Falk/Leblanc again and it's in the back of the net. Not trying to pick on Ehlers, I'll admit he's the best player in the league but quite the brain fart to take a weak lobing wrister into Dubeau's trapper on that play that you're referring to. That allowed Moncton to make a change.
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