Ouch!
- That one stings. The Calgary Hitmen were full marks for a dominating 6-1 win over the Kelowna Rockets Thursday night in game five of the Western Hockey League final. The Hitmen fired 50 shots at Mark Guggenberger, who received little to no support in goal. The Rockets still lead the series 3 games to two, with game six Saturday night at Prospera Place.
- Had Guggenberger had an off night, what would the score have been?
- Despite being badly out shot, the Rockets had a handful of chances when the game was close. Evan Bloodoff and Ian Duval had tremendous chances, but failed to bury the puck in the back of the net. In the first three games the Rockets were making the most of those opportunities, now the Hitmen are finishing those chances.
- The Hitmen have out-scored the Rockets 12-3 in the last two games and are playing like a desperate team, which they indeed are. For a second straight game they staved off elimination and did it handily. When will the Rockets play like a desperate team? If the players don't believe they need to be, they are fooling themselves.
- Where has the Rockets power play gone? After going 2 for 3 in game one, the power play has failed to score a goal in the last four games. Over that period they are 0 for 14.
- While the power play has vanished, so has the teams physical play. While the Hitmen are forcing the issue physically, the Rockets aren't pushing back. And if they are, in most situations they are taking trips to the penalty box because of frustration. The end result has the Hitmen with 5 power play goals in their last 14 chances (35.7%).
- How valuable is Jamie Benn to the Rockets overall success? After back-to-back losses the question is being answered. Benn has missed games three-four and five, with the Rockets losing two of those three. The team could use an emotional lift. Having Benn back in the lineup would do just that.
- Hitmen forward Ian Schultz got off lucky with serving a 2 minute minor for a head shot to Rockets defenceman Tyson Barrie. Barrie crashed to the ice at the Hitmen blue line on the Schultz hit. It appeared the Rockets bench was calling for a deliberate attempt to injure penalty, but referee Matt Kirk sided with just a minor penalty.
- Despite inconsistency's in the way the game was called, the officials had little baring on the outcome of the game. On this night the Rockets were at fault and the Hitmen should be credited with the solid effort.
- The two teams again took the same charter back to Kelowna following the game and arrived at around 11:30 pm local time.
33 comments:
I have to say take off your rosey glasses and actually look at what happended on the ice. The Schultz hit could have been worse but he let up. The hit was also at the Kelowna blueline as it happended right in front of his bench. Keep your head up next time Barrie and you won't have it. BTW since we want to talk about hits that people find offensive I guess Karma does have away of coming around.
Game On... I luv playoff hockey for the drama...BOY OH BOY..How do we operate under pressure now we will find out...If they can simplify the game and finish their check without penalty we are in for an awesome game ..Adversity is good if you can play thru it it makes you stronger ...I hope Jamie is in uniform it would be a tremendous boost for our boys . Backlund Duval and Grantham have to crank it up anotch or two.. Lets see some emotion...
SEE YA AT THE GAME
regan there playing like they given up
wow just brutal
So that's what it sounds like when you talk out of the other side of your mouth.
Read below in response to your hypocritical and asinine comment posted in your blog regarding Shultz's hit and a reminder regarding cooments you made on both hits on Fadden and Shira.
Hockey 101, NEVER, EVER skate through the neutral zone with your head down and exposed to a big hit, especially leaning forward and your head no higher than chest level.
Secondly, please review the tape and see that Barrie was bent forward, head no higher than chest level and Shultz was gliding, not in stride and actually eased up when it could have been a hospital shot.
Thirdly, when Barrie was aware it was only a two minute minor, actually got up immediately, after going down like he was shot and started beaking pretty clearly as was evidenced on the jumbotron.
It's clear you and other PBP guys are paid by team owners or radio stations that are rights holders and thus are obligated to be homers, however doing so in the printed word just leaves you so open to the obvious hypocrisy you espouse.
C'mon Regan, he got planted and though it sucks being a Rocket homer, he is okay and lives to play the next game unlike Fadden and Shira could have were they not eliminated and craig hadsn't been destroyed by a much more devestating and possibly dangerous hit.
Inconsistent refereeing? They were left no choice by the severely undisciplined play of the Rockets who were getting dominated physically between whistles while the Rockets decided to act stupid after the whistles (think Cody Almond with Seabrook).
I'll have to take a look at it again on video, but what I saw in 'real time' is what the officials saw too. It was a hit to the head, that we can both agree on. Was Barrie bent over when the hit came, I can't say. As I stated, not even the officiating could have turned the Rockets game around. The Rockets play was nothing short of bad.
GO ROCKETS GO
We all still believe all we need is one more game!!
I was at the game on Thursday and it was yucky. I know it is playoff hockey but I think we had some of the rudest Calgary Hitmen fans around us! I would be embarrassed to cheer for the same team as these fellows, so come on ROCKETS lets win in our own building and serve them up a nice dish of...better luck next year!
Regan, you should have been a dancer because you're avoiding the subject.
I was at the game so also saw it in real time as well as replay and am also aware that the Saddledome press and PBP areas come with replay.
If the referees had believed it was a head shot, he'd have been given a stiffer penalty than a charge, so I don't know where you come up with "they must have thought so too". At best they thought it was a charge, thus no match, double minor or game misconduct.
And to Granny, leave the fan garbage where it belongs because Kelowna doesn't exactly have a great reputation for fan hospitality. ALL RINKS have the good and bad fans.
If in regards to did Barrie take a shot to the head, yes he did, we agree.
If in regards to whether it was even a penalty, we disagree. This is entirely different from a player returning to his own end to pick up a puck, thus inherently dangerous, this is a player who should know better than to be skating with his head down through the neutral zone. Add to the fact, Barrie put his own head ion a dangerous spot, well, you saw the reult. I'd hate to see the day where a player isn't responsible for keeping his head up in open ice and out of a vulnerable position or we'll have everyone skting with their head down so no one can touch them.
I watched the video again and it was clearly a hit to the head. It's a charging call, so clearly Schultz goes a fair distance to take a run at Barrie. Because Barrie is skating with the puck, he is lower, so Schultz hits him in the head. Skating straight up (unless you are a figure skater) is impossible. It's another example of a player taking advantage of an opponent in a vulnerable position. It's playoff hockey, it's going to happen. Just like Seabrook's hit on Benn after he delivers the puck to the net, the hit sends an off balance Benn crashing to the ice. I think it's fair to say both teams have taken advantage of the other in this series, and no one team can say they haven't pushed the limits of fair play. It's the league final, a lot is on the line, should we expect anything less? I thought Schultz should have gotten more than 2 minutes, you don't. Always great debate, which is appreciated on this blog.
Are you serious Regan? LOL. What about the vulnerable hits from Myers on Fadden and Schira? Oh, we won't talk about that now will we. You're unbelievable.
Are you looking at the video?
Clearly you wouldn't say that the position Barrie is in when he gets hit is the way he usually skates are you? No one skates naturally with their head just above waist high Regan, you've seen enough hockey.
Do we take hitting out of the game because a player decides to duck his head when skating through the neutral zone?
Figure skating? Where did that come from? I've played more hockey then you've called PBP Regan and am aware of body position when skating. Tyson wouldn't be a highly rated draft pick if he skated the way he was when he got hit.
Like I said, it won't be hockey anymore if we allow players to drop their head while rushing the puck so no one can hit them. In a normal skating posture, you would be right, head shots are brutal, too bad that wasn't the case last night and there are only about thirty-five people who see it otherwise. Rocket players, owners, coaches, Len and Mrs. Barrie.
It was a head shot and should have been more than I minor but it wasn't. End of storey.
My opinion of Barrie went up a lot when he got up after that one.
Agreed KBF. All three are vulnerable hits - four if you count Seabrook on Benn after he delivers the puck to the net. I am only questioning the time Schultz spent in the penalty box for the crime committed.
Yaw...your obviously a Hitmen fan, of course your gonna defend your guy...The hit was worthy of 5 and a game...weather your a hitties fan or not...
isn't that biased because you're a rockets fan? either way it's done now and there wasn't an injury on the play,so in a sense,both teams evaded some time of loss,barrie wasn't injured and the hitmen didn't recieve a suspension,so it's fair really,whether you guys agree or not,is up to you. all i know is saturday night a team better show up or we're in some deep doo-doo.
Tyson Barrie committed the cardinal sin and skated with the puck in his possession with his head down. The hit by the Calgary player was, in my opinion, a clean hit and had he chose to, could have layed out Barrie much worse. He did not. Had this been Meyers laying out Sonne for example in the same manner I'm sure there would be no end of comments on how fantastic a hit it was. When Meyers laid out Schira in the Vancouver series Schira was criticized for turning his back to Meyers at the last moment. Surely the same criticism can be made about Barrie skaitng with his head down.
Htmn season ticket hldr here, but ex-ok res & fan of Buckaroos and Wings. Now we see what kind of a team the Rockets really are. Guggenberger's lost his magic - he looked tired last night, as did most of the rest of the team. Regan - you often comment on the refing, but it evens out - Kel got two 1st period PP's last nite on cheap calls + their last reg season trip here they kicked in the winning goal (per the jumbotron, but no review in reg season). Don't know what to make of Schultz / Barrie - it was a legal hit, but close to a decapitation. Schultz is simply a big bruiser (remember Craig Butz ?)Kozun has been putting up with this all year - due to his size. How can both teams be so different in one series ? Keep up good work.
actually Jared, you'd be wrong on all accounts. Because I defend a Hitmen player doesn't make me a Hitman fan.
I currently live in Calgary however am working in Kamloops (where I used to live) and will be moving back there in June.
I am a big fan of many former Rocket players and cannot believe for the life of me how Ryan Cuthbert hasn't had his jersey retired in Kelowna because that kid changed the work ethic, atmosphere, and personality of the Rockets teams IMO previous to his arrival singlehandedly. That kid was the most tenacious worker and best teeammate a fellow player could have. There is no coincidence that his arrival in Kelowna turned the clubs fortunes around. People can give credit to the owners, scouts and popcorn vendors or whomever, however getting that kid in a Rocket uniform was a difference maker for the entire organization.
So don't start throwing around who is a homer and who isn't when you don't know shiite from shinola.
Hockeynut, you have clearly never played the game, if you think the hit in Barrie was a clean hit. For the record, I thought Myers/Shyra deserved the call Myers got. Also, I don't think any of these kids are out to injure anyone, they are kids playing under a great deal of pressure trying their best to win, which is what we all expect from them. The referees (also mostly kids) need to try to keep them acountable.
Yawannago, I agree Ryan Cuthbert should have his jersey # retired. He was a huge part of the Rockets winning the Memorial Cup in 2004 and he never played a game that year for the Rockets. Best Rocket of all time.
Rocketblade, if anyone sounds like they never played the game it would be you.
Hockey 101 baby, never skate through the neutral zone with your head down. Go to youtube and watch some Scott Stevens video then come back once you've educated yourself on the game of hockey.
Hockeynut comes across as someone who clearly has played the game whereas, your posts on the other hand sound like they're written by the local high school guidance counselor.
The problem is, it seems there are quite a few Rocket fans on here, who really don't have much of a clue when it comes to the game of hockey.
There was zero sympathy for Schira and Fadden after they got a blatant cheap shot from behind, and Rocket fans all they did was tell everyone else to get over it. Now the shoe is on the other foot, and we should have a pity party for you guys and Tyson Barrie? You guys are ridiculous.
Btw Rocketblade, you support the 2 Myers cheapshots, but suddenly think Schultz should be suspended or kicked out of the game? LOL, you guys are a freakin riot.
I had to laugh seeing Yawannago say he isnt a Hitmen fan and thet he played more hockey than Regan has called. First of all, you may not be a Calgary fan, Mr Glen Crichton but you hate Jared and only post replies to him in your usual condesending manner. Glen thinks he knows all and feels his opinion is the one that matters, never has he acknowledged that he may be incorrect.
By the way, for a guy who claims to have played so much hockey, the internet must have lost all your career stats. Although kudos on those well-written pieces on fighting (enter sarcasm here)
Nice screen name too Glen, arent you a little old for stuff like that?
Head down bad, head hit bad. It pretty simple Yawanngo.
Our seats were pretty much right in front of the play as it happened.
Barrie had his head down - Schultz hit him cleanly. Should Schultz not have hit Barrie? Should he just have let him skate past, unimpeded? Is that what the Rockets do?
Nobody wants to see a kid get hurt, but Schultz didn't do anything wrong. And hopefully, from here on out, Barrie will keep his head up.
Also, "head hit bad"? Actually, Barrie came up pretty aggressively yakking at the ref and he was back on the ice for the first shift of the next period.
Regardless, Schultz made a clean hit. I'm guessing any Rocket would've done the same thing.
What are you on? Yawwannago is just Glen's login. He's not hiding the fact of who he is.
Keep living in your dream world. It's unbelievable how out to lunch so many of you are in regards to hockey and life in general. Brutal.
I wouldn't say a Rocket would of made a clean hit. Just look at Myers track record.
Glen IS after all the one who said it was 150% positive that Backlund would never suit up for the Rockets. Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Like you're one to talk Jared. You just have sucha grating personality, there is literally, NOTHING to like about you. You make up stories, and you just make the most ridiculous, idiotic statements, that only make you look like a fool. Nobody sticks up for you, and for good reason.
isnt this blog suppose to be about the rockets games??? i dont think your personal arguments have anything to do with how the rockets play and shouldnt be dicussed on here!
Way to go Rockets, that was an awesome game!!!!
Looking forward to the 15 :)
Here we come Mem Cup
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