It's been a bit since the last post, though with amount of times the Ice have played the Hitmen you could almost leave the headline and the result is the same... Couple of things, looks like D Luke Paulsen, D James Martin and wingers Drew Czerwonka and Brock Montgomery will all be back this weekend... G Mackenzie Skapski was named to Team Pacific for the U-17 tournament in Winnipeg despite playing for the 7-14 Ridge Meadow Flames of the Junior B PIJHL - joining fellow goaltender Devon Fordyce as the other non-WHL roster player to be named the team. Forward Jared Iron was also named to Team West... Finished the last leg of a brutal road trip for the Peewee T2 team (champs in Kelowna this weekend!) due to the fact that the Memorial Arena is still closed for renovations. The next two months of PW hockey at home so the blog updates should be a little more frequent... (yes, it's a shameless plug)...
The club enters a key stretch in the season with the next 9 of 10 games on the road through the tough U.S. Division and the East after that. If the club emerges in relatively the same position I would argue the pressure would ramp right up for this team to load up for a playoff run before the January 10 trading deadline. An impact forward would be on the shopping list. But again, who? Does Regina let Jordan Weal go? Is Schenn available from Brandon if he's coming back or are the Schenn to Calgary (Flames) rumours for Iginla taking the first round pick out of the WHL equation? With two first round Bantam picks for the 2011 draft (one is Vancouver's for the David Musil deal), is Ice G.M. Jeff Chynoweth willing to part with one of them to get an impact forward before the deadline? Is there a player in the WHL's Top 20 in scoring available? Is there a team other than the Hitmen that is in rebuilding mode to part with a premier forward? Will the Hitmen win another game? Is there anyone outside of Calgary that is shedding a tear for them?
Questions, questions, questions....
For HockeyNow...
Ice roll-on despite injuries
by Jeff Bromley
Having played their arch-rival Calgary Hitmen a remarkable five times in the club’s first 21 games and three times out of the last four games Ice head coach Kris Knoblauch doesn’t mind the fact his club will have to play someone else over the coming weeks, but don’t get him wrong, he’ll miss their big city counterparts. “Nope, not all,” offered Knoblauch after his club dumped the Hitmen 6-2 in Calgary Sunday evening. “It might be different if we weren’t playing so well against them but it’s gone very well and we’ve never taken them for granted and have been fortunate enough to get victories in all five games.”
In a reversal of fortunes that has seen the Ice move to the head of the pack through the WHL’s quarter-pole with a 15-4-0-2 record and 32 points to put the club on top of the Eastern Conference standings, Knoblauch’s charges have taken advantage of the defending WHL champions – who occupy the WHL’s basement with only four wins and who are clearly entering the rebuild portion of the junior hockey cycle. The record has garnered the club nationwide attention and moved them into 8th spot in the CHL Top Ten rankings.
But if the schedule-maker has been rather kind to the Ice to start the season with the plethora of games against the league’s cellar-dwellers, the road is about to take a much tougher turn as the second-place Saskatoon Blades visit the Rec Plex Friday night. “I don’t think it’s something I need to tell the players,” Knoblauch said of the litmus test that will be the Blades Friday. “I’m sure they understand the importance of it and what kind of challenge it will be.”
The two-game home set – the Prince Albert Raiders are at the Plex Saturday – kicks off a brutal stretch in the club’s schedule that see them play nine of the next ten games on the road starting November 23 in Red Deer and then trips through the U.S. and East Divisions, respectively, sandwiched around one home game over the next three weeks. If there’s any question as to the club’s quest to be deemed contenders for a WHL championship this season, the schedule over the next three weeks will go a long way to answering it. “This weekend kicks off a very difficult part of the schedule.”
The five-point outburst Sunday against the Hitmen by 20-year-old Kevin King notwithstanding, scoring for the Ice this season is done by committee. With no names in the WHL’s top 20 scorers the lack of a Dustin Sylvester or home-run hitter style of player in the line-up doesn’t bother the rookie head coach. “It’s definite strength to our team,” he said. “I feel comfortable with everyone out there and with the forwards, there have been games where the top two lines haven’t scored and it’s been just our third and fourth lines. There’s guys in slumps right now but the nice thing to have is guys that are fighting the puck a bit but we’re still winning.”
Another place the club’s leading the league is in the injury category with only a handful of games where the club has had any healthy scratches not playing. The injuries have taken a toll but Knoblauch looks at it as an opportunity. “At this time in the season, if it has to happen, this is the best time,” said Knoblauck. “The amount of good players we had a camp and those with us that have been give the extra responsibility have handled it very well. There’s no way we could have the record we have now if those younger, secondary players didn’t step up to the challenge and they absolutely did.”
Quick Hits – D Brayden McNabb was named to Team WHL in the CHL/Russia Challenge series for the second game in Prince George November 18… Ice prospects G MacKenzie Skapski of the PIJHL’s Ridge Meadows Flames was named to Team Pacific (BC and Alberta) while forward Jared Iron of the Saskatchewan Major Midget League’s Beardy’s Blackhawks will play for Team West (Saskatchewan and Manitoba) at the World U-17 Challenge in Winnipeg Dec 28 – Jan 4… NHL Central Scouting released their fall rankings this week and Ice back-up goaltender Brett Teskey is slotted fifth among WHL goaltenders… Forwards Brendan Hurley (hand) and Eric Benoit (knee), both 17, are out of the line-up for this weekend’s games. D Luke Paulsen (shoulder) is questionable while D James Martin (broken nose), LW Drew Czerwonka (shoulder) and RW Brock Montgomery (concussion) should all play this weekend.
The club enters a key stretch in the season with the next 9 of 10 games on the road through the tough U.S. Division and the East after that. If the club emerges in relatively the same position I would argue the pressure would ramp right up for this team to load up for a playoff run before the January 10 trading deadline. An impact forward would be on the shopping list. But again, who? Does Regina let Jordan Weal go? Is Schenn available from Brandon if he's coming back or are the Schenn to Calgary (Flames) rumours for Iginla taking the first round pick out of the WHL equation? With two first round Bantam picks for the 2011 draft (one is Vancouver's for the David Musil deal), is Ice G.M. Jeff Chynoweth willing to part with one of them to get an impact forward before the deadline? Is there a player in the WHL's Top 20 in scoring available? Is there a team other than the Hitmen that is in rebuilding mode to part with a premier forward? Will the Hitmen win another game? Is there anyone outside of Calgary that is shedding a tear for them?
Questions, questions, questions....
For HockeyNow...
Ice roll-on despite injuries
by Jeff Bromley
Having played their arch-rival Calgary Hitmen a remarkable five times in the club’s first 21 games and three times out of the last four games Ice head coach Kris Knoblauch doesn’t mind the fact his club will have to play someone else over the coming weeks, but don’t get him wrong, he’ll miss their big city counterparts. “Nope, not all,” offered Knoblauch after his club dumped the Hitmen 6-2 in Calgary Sunday evening. “It might be different if we weren’t playing so well against them but it’s gone very well and we’ve never taken them for granted and have been fortunate enough to get victories in all five games.”
In a reversal of fortunes that has seen the Ice move to the head of the pack through the WHL’s quarter-pole with a 15-4-0-2 record and 32 points to put the club on top of the Eastern Conference standings, Knoblauch’s charges have taken advantage of the defending WHL champions – who occupy the WHL’s basement with only four wins and who are clearly entering the rebuild portion of the junior hockey cycle. The record has garnered the club nationwide attention and moved them into 8th spot in the CHL Top Ten rankings.
But if the schedule-maker has been rather kind to the Ice to start the season with the plethora of games against the league’s cellar-dwellers, the road is about to take a much tougher turn as the second-place Saskatoon Blades visit the Rec Plex Friday night. “I don’t think it’s something I need to tell the players,” Knoblauch said of the litmus test that will be the Blades Friday. “I’m sure they understand the importance of it and what kind of challenge it will be.”
The two-game home set – the Prince Albert Raiders are at the Plex Saturday – kicks off a brutal stretch in the club’s schedule that see them play nine of the next ten games on the road starting November 23 in Red Deer and then trips through the U.S. and East Divisions, respectively, sandwiched around one home game over the next three weeks. If there’s any question as to the club’s quest to be deemed contenders for a WHL championship this season, the schedule over the next three weeks will go a long way to answering it. “This weekend kicks off a very difficult part of the schedule.”
The five-point outburst Sunday against the Hitmen by 20-year-old Kevin King notwithstanding, scoring for the Ice this season is done by committee. With no names in the WHL’s top 20 scorers the lack of a Dustin Sylvester or home-run hitter style of player in the line-up doesn’t bother the rookie head coach. “It’s definite strength to our team,” he said. “I feel comfortable with everyone out there and with the forwards, there have been games where the top two lines haven’t scored and it’s been just our third and fourth lines. There’s guys in slumps right now but the nice thing to have is guys that are fighting the puck a bit but we’re still winning.”
Another place the club’s leading the league is in the injury category with only a handful of games where the club has had any healthy scratches not playing. The injuries have taken a toll but Knoblauch looks at it as an opportunity. “At this time in the season, if it has to happen, this is the best time,” said Knoblauck. “The amount of good players we had a camp and those with us that have been give the extra responsibility have handled it very well. There’s no way we could have the record we have now if those younger, secondary players didn’t step up to the challenge and they absolutely did.”
Quick Hits – D Brayden McNabb was named to Team WHL in the CHL/Russia Challenge series for the second game in Prince George November 18… Ice prospects G MacKenzie Skapski of the PIJHL’s Ridge Meadows Flames was named to Team Pacific (BC and Alberta) while forward Jared Iron of the Saskatchewan Major Midget League’s Beardy’s Blackhawks will play for Team West (Saskatchewan and Manitoba) at the World U-17 Challenge in Winnipeg Dec 28 – Jan 4… NHL Central Scouting released their fall rankings this week and Ice back-up goaltender Brett Teskey is slotted fifth among WHL goaltenders… Forwards Brendan Hurley (hand) and Eric Benoit (knee), both 17, are out of the line-up for this weekend’s games. D Luke Paulsen (shoulder) is questionable while D James Martin (broken nose), LW Drew Czerwonka (shoulder) and RW Brock Montgomery (concussion) should all play this weekend.
1 comments:
Actually, both goalies selected for Team Pacific are non-WHL rostered. The other goalie is listed as playing Major Midget
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