Rocket @ Wildcats - November 17 / 07

[CatsFan]

The very rested PEI Rocket make their way over the bridge to take on the Wildcats tonight. Rocket have been off for a whole week as their last game was in Bathurst last Saturday night.. a game that seen the Rocket beat the Titan 6-4. The Cats are coming off a 3-2 OT loss at home last night against the Titan.

This will be the first game we see the Rocket with Guy Choiunard behind the bench. I might miss Jean a little bit.. Will the Cats go with Riopel again? Or will Lavigne play? I'm giving up on guessing.. but my guess is Lavigne will play. Cats win 6-1. ;D

[hockey1981]

Riopel should play, he was Cats best player by far last night.
I'll say another one goal game
4-3 Cats

[Dman]

5-2 Cats. Riopel should be in again tonight after his performance last night.

[t-dude]

Rio in nets

[t-dude]

1-0 Cats
Sill unassisted

[t-dude]

1-1

[t-dude]

Walker gets his second... 2-1 Rocket

Not much chatter here, everyone must be @ the game...

[CatsFan]

truckerdude said:

Walker gets his second... 2-1 Rocket

Not much chatter here, everyone must be @ the game...

Well, meh. That shorthanded goal KILLED us. Could have been a tied game. Nice to see the effort they put forth in trying to tie the game.

[faceoff]

Does Marquardt ever make a pass or does he only flic the puck in the air every time he gets it? I watched the game last night and caught a little of the game tonight and as soon as I tuned in to the game ,what does he do?? He flicks the puck into the air..Talk about a great stick handler

[zambonidriver]

Watch the entire game. He passes, maybe not as often as we would like.

[hockey1981]

Marquardt floats around more then he passes/flic the puck in the air....

[bauer]

Take the non sense move from Pianosi and it is a tied game! Riopel told him in the second period to let him see the shot and get his stick out of the way and what does he do in the next period an excellent tip in! He needs to improve quickly.

[sharrow]

As I check over the standing it appears that the Wildcats are going directly to the basement and will likely miss the playoffs ( they have played a lot of games already ) was this planned to be a down year in Moncton, I had thought that you would have been in the middle of the pack.

[bifocal]

Sharrow, the wc's are small , in the size department, average in the skill department, but are big, in committment, with super coaching. I expect they will, make the playoffs. We are still paying off, on the m/c debt. Reality is , the w/c's did everything, they felt necessary, to win the m/c. I personally supported their efforts ( season ticket holder) at that time & continue to do so .They have professional , high caliber, expensive , coaching/management in place. they likely know more about hockey than I, and a lot of others will ever know. We are aware , " you can't make a silk purse from a sows ear." I have every confidence, " we are getting everything, that is reasonable to expect, " from this edition of the Moncton wildcats. Everyone has the right to be critical, boast or scoff, the real fact is, Moncton is a 1st class orginazation, and will remain such, as long as present ownership is in place.

[Sébastien]

Couple of thoughts:

I thought Lavigne should have played this game. 2nd game in 24 hours after Riopel gets blasted shot wise in the first one. With a usual goaltending philosophy, this would have probably been a weekend where we would have seen both goalies play. But with the "go with the hot hand" philosophy... Can't wait for that one to end. And I say all this without being able to blame Riopel for the loss.

Good on Flynn to put Lessard in the stands, although it's a move that could have been made earlier. His two penalties against Bathurst were of the very stupid variety (offensive zone retaliation slash for example) and he needed to be punished for it. That being said, he needs to re-enter the lineup as soon as possible. Lets not see another Labelle scenario here!

After two games, I see Cameron has picked up exactly where he left off. This guy seems completely oblivious as to where his linemates are on the ice. That's exactly how he was playing before his injury. Still plays on the 1st line though. Why?

Baca had a very good 1st period, with a couple of nice shots on goal and good defensive positioning. Later on, his positioning was ok but I counted 3 giveaways in his zone in the 2nd and 3rd period. Doesn't seem to be very comfortable controlling the puck. Time for some drills during practice for him!

Damn you Geoff Walker...

Where was Barberio for the Rocket's shorthanded goal? He let Morrison skate right to the front of the net without even trying to keep up with him. Weak play that caused the winning goal.

Although Mardquart does float around, he plays exactly how I expect him to and I don't think we can blame him for the losses, even if he is starting to become the whipping boy of some fans. He has certainly picked it up since mid october-ish. Last night, he created good scoring chances for his teamate, got 4 shots for himself and played physical. Don't forget, he is playing with Cameron, who is having a terrible season so far, and Bezak (who is simply not producing) or MacAusland (who is only 16). As to why he hasn't been paired up with Magnan yet is a complete mystery to me.

Speaking of MacAusland, I know he will probably become a very good Q player, but he needs to start driving to the net. Too often he takes the puck along the boards with speed, but instead of attempting to go around the D, he stops in the corner and waits or goes back up the boards towards the blueline. Something that will probably cease with practice and more playing time, but the sooner the better.