Tonight's Lineup in Saint John

[themouthofthesouth]

the first thing i'm gonna say is don't blame that loss on Lavigne. he played well. we didn't do diddly poo offensively, we didn't forecheck, we couldn't dump and chase, we didn't try to dump and chase, tolles got caught up ice a couple times, herr is almost 100% useless and didn't do as well as he should've in his fight against leduc (and that was probably leduc's first fight of his life). Dimitruk had what i would call a mediocre game. anybody who's been comparing him to Keith Yandle wouldn't say that after tonight. edward stephens floated for much of the game and maybe that's because he already has a spot on the team. Mangan, Lepage and Sill were the only guys going hard to the net. Bezak played well until he got injured and did not return. for those who were wondering, Lamoureux played up front. Baca seems to want to shoot every time he gets the puck. never tried once to work it around in the offensive end. first goal was a lousy bounce. second was partly tolles's fault 'cause he missed a check in the neutral zone, but then again, it wasn't all his fault as the other defenceman out there was kelan herr. the third goal hit something, lavigne got a piece of it, but not enough. as for bezak, he came in over the blue line, made a drop pass, was looking at the net, mike thomas comes flying in from one end of the rink to the other to hit him to the head (i can't say if it was an elbow or not, it happened pretty fast), charges from one side of the rink to hammer a EURO! ballsy, mike. very ballsy! all that aside, Mangan should deffinately be one of our 20s and keep Lavigne and let him and Riopel battle for the #1 job. as for the enforcer role, Lamoureux tried to get alex grant to dance, but grant wouldn't go. i'd cut kelan herr, and if Lamoureux doesn't want to or isn't good enough to be the fighter, i'd sooner burn a 20 on a guy like Dylan Garrioch or Brad Gallant as opposed to having 3 skilled 20s and having kelan herr be the fighter. if herr's gonna be the fighter, we'll be dressing at least 7 D every game!

[mvp]

i must not see the same player everyone else on here sees when looking at dimitruk all of his passes are horible all saucer passes and most of them waist high even when theres a passing lane he seems to lift the puck he looked to have some abaility to stick handle a little of what ive seen but someone gotta tell him to keep the puck on the ice

[wildcats]

kyle macneil is on the block from victrouville he 19

[digitalman]

I just got back from Saint John and what was a mildly entertaining game. I wan't expecting much in terms of cohesion and good teamwork but I was still hoping a few players would really standout which wasn't really the case. In the end there was basically one guy that really impressed me, Martin Baca. He's gonna be a monster! He does it all, he plays good defensive coverage, he hits, he rushes the puck well and he's a good point presence. He has a hard shot but he definitely has to work on his accuracy. He must have shot the puck 7 or 8 times but never actually hit the net once. I can see him on the first power play unit with Barberio as the set-up man. The Sea Dogs fans sitting in front of us were impressed with him too as they kept asking about him.
Also, Cody Wilson played a very steady game. He makes good breakout passes and never really gets his team into trouble which is really all you can ask for from a rookie free agent from junior A, but he exceeds that IMO. He's very calm and doesn't panic at all like Tolles and Goyens sometimes do. He played a much better game than Gomes who seemed very slow and a bit lost out there. I had better hopes for Gomes after the intrasquads but he might just need a bit of time to adjust.
Tolles just can't put a pass on the tape or anywhere close. All he can do is rush with the puck anytime he gets it. His defensive awareness is very lacking also. I think he'd be better off as a forward but it's no use at this point.
I actually find Herr played somewhat of a solid game considering his capabilities. He was paired with Barberio which obviously helped him out but I didn't notice him making any obvious mistakes or giveaways which is all I'm asking for from the Boyle-Herr-Goyens group. His fight was pretty bad, he lost his helmet right away but didn't get Leduc's off at all. There were a couple of swings on each side and then Herr just kinda turned his back and fell backwards onto Leduc. I'm sure in Moncton, the fans would have taken that as a win but it was by no means a win and considering Leduc probably never fought in his life, it was pretty much an embarassment. What is it with Herr going after guys like Firlotte and Leduc who have never fought and still can't beat them?

Dimitrik got very little playing time and it was mostly power play time. He seemed extremely lost out there and was not a factor at all. As somebody already pointed out, he constantly makes saucer passes in all three zones and they're like chin high. I think he's gonna have a big adjustment and probably won't be a much of a difference maker till after christmas except maybe on the pp. At one point, a Dog was coming in on a 1 on 1 against Dimitruk and without even making a nifty move or deke at all got him totally confused and out of position. He looked like a forward scrambling back to play defence or something, he was totally lost. Lavigne saved his ass though. For the time being, I'd put Wilson ahead of Dimitruk on the depth chart but i'm sure that'll change after an adjustment period.

For the forwards, it was a pretty average effort. There isn't really anybody that stood out but if I had to pick anybody, I'd say Mangan and Bezak before he got his clock cleaned. Lepage also played a hard honest game like he always does. Mangan seems to be limited by his linemates but at the same time, if you're gonna be a first line center, you should be able to create you're own offence. I still have doubts about him being the first line center. There's no doubt he'll rack up points if he plays with Marquardt and there's basically not a better candidate already on the roster but maybe that's where the Picard-Hooper rumours join the picture.
Bezak was probably the best forward out there until the big hit. After crossing the blue line into the Dog's zone, he passed the puck to somebody (Mangan i think) and then criss crossed with the recipient of the pass across the center probably looking to go to the net and getting the pass back but Thomas saw it coming from a mile and nailed him right in the trolley tracks as Don Cherry would say. As an objective observer I'd say it was a late hit but I'm sure the Dogs fans think otherwise. I think Thomas was comitted to the hit before Bezak passed the puck and just couldn't resist to hold back even after the pass. I didn't see any elbow. Bezak's helmet flew off in mid air and he hit his head on the ice and stayed sprawled on the ice for a good 5 minutes. There was some blood on the ice. The trainer got him to move his legs and arms. Then Bezak got up under his own power and left the ice with a towel pressed against his head. I'd say the hit probably knocked the wind out of him but the head on the ice was probably what really hurt him. Hopefully there's no concussion there.
Brannon threw his body around a bit but he had no big open ice hits like on thursday. He seems to have a bit of a lack of finish and his hands aren't so hot as he misfired on a couple of close range shots. That could just be rust from the summer though so I won't judge him too quickly.
Stephens looked almost comically out of place in the first but bounced back and had some good moments in the 2nd and 3rd. Coming from a situation were he could probably do everything on his own getting 150 points in midget AAA, he's probably a bit overwhelmed. He did however have some good moments where he took charge of the play as a good centerman does. The one thing I noticed about him is that no matter how overmatched he is by his checkers, he has great confidence in his abilities and he seems to always know exactly what he wants to do. It doesn't always work but it doesn't intimidate him. He definitely backchecks a lot sometimes getting back before the defencemen. I like that Flynn is taking a chance on this guy and even though he might not stay all year, he could be a good center in the Q next year and the year after.
Sill played another good honest game and I think he'll be a fan favorite. His offensive upside is limited but he'll eat up minutes on the pk and should be a good shut-down center.
I've been kinda dissapointed with Labelle's performances so far. He might be coming back from an injury cause he missed the beginning of camp but he seems totally unispired and not improved over last year. It seems to me that having played in all three exhibition games, he'd have shaken off the rust by now but he really seems to be dogging it out there. I had him pegged as the second line center this year but I really don't see that happening if he doesn't pick it up. Lessard, Cameron and even Brenton have shown great improvement from last year but Labelle seems to be falling behind a bit. I guess something not to forget is that he's playmaker and needs good wingers to best use his talent.
Watson played a bit better than thursday but still couldn't get anything going with his linemates. He always seems to start a play but it never works out. I think he's a bit frustrated since offense is his game but he's not getting the right linemates. He started the game with Bezak and Brown but that ended once Bezak left.
Lamoureux wasn't impressive at all. He's very slow and wasn't playing physical enough to earn a spot. I think that with Brannon,Sill, Lessard and Morehouse we'll have more than enough physicality. I wouldn't keep him solely for fighting cause I'd still want a fighter to throw his body around a lot and instill fear into the opponents.
MacLellan and Brown play pretty uneventful games with Brown probably having more flashes.

Lavigne played a less spectacular but still very solid game and probably won himself the backup spot but we'll know by Monday. He doesn't go down untill the very last second and is very focused. He did let in a weak goal as Didomennco's slap shot from the top of the face-off circle deflected off his trapper and in but the shot came out of nowhere as it was kind of a spin and fire shot.

[habh8er]

mc2006 said:

How did Lavigne play, the goalie?

He played a real good game ....only goal he looked weak on was the one by Dido. Didomenico got the puck on a semi break ...kinda got free between the dots for a second, and took a quick shot on the trapper side...it bounced in off his arm or his wrist ...real close to a save ..but it just went through him...too much power I guess

[habh8er]

mvp said:

number 18 got hit hard

Number 18 got hit REAL hard...hope he's ok....I was sitting behind the Moncton bench and when he walked by me he wasn't seein' nuttin... he was probably wondring if someone got the # of that freakin' truck. Ouch!!...came down pretty hard on his head ...and his helmet was gone, they have to make these kids tighten those straps before its too late!!

[canucklehead]

As a Sea Dogs fan just wanted to say the hit was alittle late I won't disagree but it did appear that Thomas had already commited to the hit and likely felt maybe he was just finishing his check. The big issue is the guys need to strap those lids on because they don't do what they are supposed to when they aren't worn the way they are intended.

Regardless everyone in the building didn't care about the hit after watching a young man lay on ice like that (myself included) and we were all very happy when he got up and everyone cheered for him. These things are very scary you just do not cut across the ice like that with your head down.

[elementz]

Here is a nice video highlights package that Tcats14 made up. Somewhat hard to tell, but the Thomas hit looked fine to me. He never went for the head, looked like it was shoulder to shoulder.

I cringe when I see young players cut up the middle of the ice without paying attention. Ask Lindros about that.

[mik]

Does a hit like that deserve a suspension??

[mik]

Sholder to sholder doesn't make cuts to the head

[mik]

What was the penalty for???

[bikerboy]

here is the link for all the highlights

and in my opinion yes it should have a suspension and it was a cheap shot the player did not have the puck .

[canucklehead]

bikerboy said:

here is the link for all the highlights

and in my opinion yes it should have a suspension and it was a cheap shot the player did not have the puck .

Maybe watch the video again it's shoulder to shoulder what gave him the cut was his helmet not being strapped on tight enough and his head hitting the ice. It's not a suspension type play it was barely even late the guy dropped the puck off to the guy coming in behind him.

The bottom line is the guys ok it wasn't a shot to the head. Thankfully he's ok that should be the primary concern.

[themouthofthesouth]

canucklehead there sounds like a typical saint john high graduate. one: it was clearly a late hit. two: bezak did NOT have the puck. three: does flattening a EURO make thomas feel like a big man? that's like destroying a kicker in football. very unimpressive! four: the way Bezak's helmet flew off, there obviously had to be contact with his head. and five: i don't give a damn if thomas is suspended or not. he's a dirty player and whether it's now or later, he will see a suspension or two this season.

[canucklehead]

themouthofthesouth said:

canucklehead there sounds like a typical saint john high graduate. one: it was clearly a late hit. two: bezak did NOT have the puck. three: does flattening a EURO make thomas feel like a big man? that's like destroying a kicker in football. very unimpressive! four: the way Bezak's helmet flew off, there obviously had to be contact with his head. and five: i don't give a damn if thomas is suspended or not. he's a dirty player and whether it's now or later, he will see a suspension or two this season.

Actually I'm not a Saint john graduate not sure what that's suppose to mean I assume you believe something is wrong with graduating from SJ? I couldn't care less your going to see things how you want to it wasn't like he waited 5 -10 seconds after the drop pass it was literally 2 seconds in real time after the pass. His helmet came off so easy because it likely wasn't on tight same thing as the guy Grant hit it wasn't an explosive hit but his lid still popped off it doesn't mean Grant's was a head shot. It doesn't have to be the shoulder that hit his head if they are not on the correct way.

What does it matter that he's a Euro player not sure where that's going either your putting down your own player?