Third round: #1 Halifax vs. #8 Rouyn-Noranda

[Libbs]

4-2 RN after 1. Another terribly sloppy period by the Moose 5 on 5. Our defensive zone coverage is really bad. Too many lazy back passes and guys not using the boards until it is too late. Our top line is creating chances again but everyone else can't get any sustained pressure in the offensive zone.

I really wish these refs would learn to recognize diving. Frk's penalty was Desjardins taking a great dive then proceeds to celebrate with his teammate with high fives. Ashley's penalty was also weak as the RN player flat out dropped their stick. Ashley barely touched him.

Our depth needs to get their butts in gear if they want to come away with the win here.

 

[George Maharis]

Game is in OT right now, 4-4. Halifax is on a 5-3pp...

 

[George Maharis]

MARTY FRK WITH THE GOAL!!!!! HALIFAX WINS 5-4 AND TAKES A 2-0 LEAD IN THE SERIES!!!! i

 

[TheTechNoir]

Whoo. My confidence never waned in this one, and series continues how I expected. We have to seriously address a number of things though.

 

[Dgill]

We played much better with Boudreau and Ciampini off the ice. Falkenham was the unsung hero. He has stepped it up so much.

Frk yeah.

 

[TA1 Sports]

We played much better with Boudreau and Ciampini off the ice. Falkenham was the unsung hero. He has stepped it up so much.

Frk yeah.

Falkenham was the player of the game in my eyes, he better have the moose coat! The two blocked shots on the PK were HUGE.

 

[LukeD]

Awesome game tonight. Probable the loudest I've heard the Metro Centre.

 

[Libbs]

You couldn't have asked for a better 3rd period. Completely different team than in the 1st and 2nd. You sit down Murphy, Chiampini and Boudreau (who are as soft as butter) and play your muckers and grinders and you wear down this Huskies team.

What an incredible shift for Ryan/Falkenham/Andrews on that tying goal. Relentless pressure and 10,000 fans chanting "Go Moose Go" resulted in that goal.

Falkenham with the game of his young career. He's often overshadowed by Mack, Jo and Fucale when discussing 17yo's... but he is every bit as effective in wehat he does. 2 huge blocks in OT on the PP.

I thought Lewis had a phenomenal game and it was his tenacity that really kick started the team in the 3rd.

The refs decided to put the whistles away in the 3rd, which was fine... but even with that new standard heading into OT, both RN penalties were just plain stupid and had to be called. What an inopportune time to be undisciplined.

Heading to RN, we won't get last change... so we can't decided to play 20 minutes of hockey and still get the victory. They need to play more like they did in the 3rd period. The fancy stuff works against teams like Saint John and Gatineau. But RN is just as hard working and can capitalize on our mistakes at will.

I hope to see Lovell inserted for Game 3. We need his stead presence, not Murphy's hybrid flash style. Also Lovell will bring another piece of physicality to the defense which has been exposed thus far as being pretty pedestrian.

 

[Brazz]

Wow great game, although I was on the edge of my seat all OT, glad the Moose got the win!

 

[Killahpunk]

Heck of a game tonight. The Metro Centre was rocking! Another strong game from MacKinnon and Drouin.

 

[lavoy]

You couldn't have asked for a better 3rd period. Completely different team than in the 1st and 2nd. You sit down Murphy, Chiampini and Boudreau (who are as soft as butter) and play your muckers and grinders and you wear down this Huskies team.

I hope to see Lovell inserted for Game 3. We need his stead presence, not Murphy's hybrid flash style. Also Lovell will bring another piece of physicality to the defense which has been exposed thus far as being pretty pedestrian.

No. Lovell is not better than Murphy and is a bigger risk in his own zone... Murphy plays physical when he wants to, and Lovell basically gives us 5D from the second half on, which to be fair, is what happened tonight... No offense to him.

Murphy had a bad game, he's not going to be taken out for Lovell though.

Ciampini and Boudreau had bad games (1&2)... Bad time to go cold again... If you go with...

1st line
Ashley - MacAulay - Fournier
Ryan - Andrews - Falkenham

You can beat most teams with the blend of finesse and hard work. Lewis was a horse tonight though, couldn't ask much more from him Duke and Hardie these two games... Doing the best they can to contain the speedsters on Rouyn.

 

[bigdirty]

Glad to see Falkenham getting the credit he deserves. Always seems to just outwork other players. Remember that this is the guy who was killing penalties in last year's playoffs while Andrew Ryan was a healthy scratch, and Falkenham was one of the youngest players in the league back then.
Surefire captain for the Mooseheads in the near future, maybe even next year, depending on the overagers.

 

[kalvincline]

No. Lovell is not better than Murphy and is a bigger risk in his own zone... Murphy plays physical when he wants to, and Lovell basically gives us 5D from the second half on, which to be fair, is what happened tonight... No offense to him.

Murphy had a bad game, he's not going to be taken out for Lovell though.

Agreed. Murphy's 1st period couldn't have gone much worse. He caused the first two goals. On the third goal, he was late getting back after a poor pinch and was out of position as a result which left a man alone in front of Fucale. That being said, I don't think Lovell has the foot speed to keep up with RN's top guys but it would be nice to see him hand out some lumber.

Ashley(not so much), Boudreau, and Ciampini are a non-factor in this series. One could argue they're more of a liability. With the last change for the next two games, I suspect RN are going to eat the "ABC" line alive if they continue to play like this.

The top line...sweet jesus they're good. Frk has a target on his back and deservedly so.

Note on Game 1: Something has to be done about Langille, and Maillet. They're ruining games. I almost tried to start a "Bullsh!t" chant ....on calls for the Moose. Brutal. They loose control every single game. If I was that bad at my job they would take me out back and shoot me....and I'm in IT.

 

[Reesor01]

Agreed. Murphy's 1st period couldn't have gone much worse. He caused the first two goals. On the third goal, he was late getting back after a poor pinch and was out of position as a result which left a man alone in front of Fucale. That being said, I don't think Lovell has the foot speed to keep up with RN's top guys but it would be nice to see him hand out some lumber.

Ashley(not so much), Boudreau, and Ciampini are a non-factor in this series. One could argue they're more of a liability. With the last change for the next two games, I suspect RN are going to eat the "ABC" line alive if they continue to play like this.

The top line...sweet jesus they're good. Frk has a target on his back and deservedly so.

Note on Game 1: Something has to be done about Langille, and Maillet. They're ruining games. I almost tried to start a "Bullsh!t" chant ....on calls for the Moose. Brutal. They loose control every single game. If I was that bad at my job they would take me out back and shoot me....and I'm in IT.

It's amazing how different fans feel about the refereeing. The conspiracy movement is in full swing in Rouyn Noranda. Apparently the reffing has been so bad against RN that they think the league wants Halifax to win. The 5 on 3 has people extremely ticked off.

 

[OMG]

no call

can't believe they didnt call a ps on the hardie penalty after calling the one for drouin in the first game!!!! thats what you get when you get a ref whos highest level played is High School(piccott)...no feel for the game at all...same could be said about langille

 

[ClemQ]

i'm sure halifax will get a warm welcome from the refs in RN.

looking at the bigger picture....i think halifax will have a tough time to win this series and the finals if they keep allowing 4 goals per game. Both Armada and BC have much better defensive teams and they can score equally as well as RN.

I'm thinking Girard in BC wont let Mac and Drouin get 4 points per game each night. And IMO, Armada have the best defense group in the Q.

No matter who you cheer for, both series are great hockey, the best players are lighting it up and the refs keep it interesting! What else can a hockey fan ask for

 

[Reesor01]

i'm sure halifax will get a warm welcome from the refs in RN.

looking at the bigger picture....i think halifax will have a tough time to win this series and the finals if they keep allowing 4 goals per game. Both Armada and BC have much better defensive teams and they can score equally as well as RN.

I'm thinking Girard in BC wont let Mac and Drouin get 4 points per game each night. And IMO, Armada have the best defense group in the Q.

No matter who you cheer for, both series are great hockey, the best players are lighting it up and the refs keep it interesting! What else can a hockey fan ask for

The Moose sucked defensively in the 1st period. But after that we clamped it down and the Huskies had 7 shots on goal in the final 40 minutes of regulation. Ice was definitely tilted down towards Belanger. It was encouraging to see us not get discouraged by one bad period and get back to playing the kind of hockey we know we can play. I'd be quite happy with Halifax allowing 4 goals/game if they keep scoring 5.

It can be a little bit of a shell shock to coast through the first 2 rounds and then have to play Rouyn Noranda. The Huskies have been fighting for every win, so in all likelyhood they were more prepared at the start of this series. But the Mooseheads showed signs that they have found their work boots, and if they clamp it down like they did in the last 40 minutes of last night's game, they'll be fine. Our offensive depth hasn't shown its stuff yet either.

Oh. and if the Quebec refereeing is tilted towards Rouyn Noranda, then no one can complain about anything can they? Halifax will just have to keep the puck and make the Huskies take penalties like they did yesterday.

 

[OMG]

so your not disputing that the ref blew either of the calls? ps for drouin or the no call on Hardie?

 

[Reesor01]

so your not disputing that the ref blew either of the calls? ps for drouin or the no call on Hardie?

It's your opinion that the ref blew each call. If I disputed it, you'd just ignore it and dispute back. So why bother?

Victo fans complained about the refereeing in Moncton. Moncton fans complained about the refereeing in Victo. Halifax fans complained about the refereeing in Gatineau. Huskies fans complained about the refereeing in Halifax. I'm sure Halifax fans will complain about the refereeing in Rouyn Noranda tomorrow night. See the pattern? It has always been like that, and always will be like that, so I don't stress myself over it anymore. People are entitled to their opinions. If they think the reffing sucked or there's a conspiracy or whatever, then that's their prerogative as fans.

Ask Halifax fans about the suspensions or lack thereof in the past 2 years.... especially when our guys got concussed. I think you'll find examples of good breaks and bad breaks, whether it's refereeing or league decisions.

 

[ClemQ]

It's your opinion that the ref blew each call. If I disputed it, you'd just ignore it and dispute back. So why bother?

Victo fans complained about the refereeing in Moncton. Moncton fans complained about the refereeing in Victo. Halifax fans complained about the refereeing in Gatineau. Huskies fans complained about the refereeing in Halifax. I'm sure Halifax fans will complain about the refereeing in Rouyn Noranda tomorrow night. See the pattern? It has always been like that, and always will be like that, so I don't stress myself over it anymore. People are entitled to their opinions. If they think the reffing sucked or there's a conspiracy or whatever, then that's their prerogative as fans.

Ask Halifax fans about the suspensions or lack thereof in the past 2 years.... especially when our guys got concussed. I think you'll find examples of good breaks and bad breaks, whether it's refereeing or league decisions.

Very well said!! As bad or inconsistent as they can be, they DO NOT decide the outcome of the games. Ask the coaches and they will tell you the refs dont decide the outcome.

 

[NS Bluenoser]

so your not disputing that the ref blew either of the calls? ps for drouin or the no call on Hardie?

Out of curiosity, how was it really a blown call on Drouin? When he went in alone and made his deke and missed, I was like "whaaaaaat? He never misses on that move!".

Then you see the replay, and the guy gives him a good slash as he is making his move. That penalty happened as he was on a clear breakaway.

From what I remember of the Hardie play, the guy had just gotten around him when Hardie took him out feet first. I`d have to see a replay as I am a bit hazy on the play exactly, but unless the guy is on a clear breakaway you don`t see penalty shots called on those plays.

 

[OMG]

Clem thats because they get fined when they speak out...look at the plays again..if drouin deserved one the hardie play definately deserved one

 

[Dgill]

Clem thats because they get fined when they speak out...look at the plays again..if drouin deserved one the hardie play definately deserved one

I agree that Hardie's play deserved a penalty shot. Also got the confidence that Fucale would have saved it. Also, nothing wrong with Hardie did, he did what he had to do on that play.

 

[ClemQ]

Clem thats because they get fined when they speak out...look at the plays again..if drouin deserved one the hardie play definately deserved one

find me a coach that likes all the referee's calls....and you will also find a coach without a job.

Referees dont lose games. Fans sure think so...but they dont. Why do you think teams practice 5-3's, 5-4's and powerplays? You practice so when the time comes you can execute.

 

[Sala90]

All the overtime was a big powerplay for Halifax. But they played with fire. Halifax should have scored sooner. They had so many chances. Now 0-3, Rouyn must be destroyed mentally.