2013 OHL Final

[krazy kanuck]

Figure there should be a dedicated place for Colts fans and Knights fans to clash as our teams are clashing on the ice. Discuss!

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[krazy kanuck]

Open Letter To Dale Hawerchuk

Dear Dale Hawerchuk,

If you were unsure as to whether our third line can handle the Knights top line, after Horvat's post you should know that they can't. Please don't do that anymore.

Thanks,
All Colts Fans

 

[krazy kanuck]

Well that sure was an exciting way to start the 2013 final! The Knights are relentless...thankfully The Hamburglar was on his game. Great efforts by Camara and Schiefele, but also nice to see the guys coming back next year really contribute - in particular Yuill, Ekblad, Laser and Bradford. Looking forward to Sunday night!

 

[aresknights]

Good job Barrie. Did what they had to to grab game 1. This is going to be good.
Knew I was worried bout this goalie for a reason. But Barrie's team earned the W

 

[NHL Fanatic]

Mathias Niederberger is a fantastic goaltender, the fact that he hasn't been signed is astonishing. If Barrie wins, he deserves playoff MVP.

 

[JL17]

Boy Schiefle got a lot of credit during the WJC for his one on one battles.... What I saw tonight was guy who as soon as he felt contact went down.

Neiderberger was solid and made some big saves at key times.

London was too passive and wasn't hard on the puck. Domi was a turnover machine last night. Some guys need to cut down on the shift length. 45 seconds and off not add another 45 to that.

 

[krazy kanuck]

Mathias Niederberger is a fantastic goaltender, the fact that he hasn't been signed is astonishing. If Barrie wins, he deserves playoff MVP.

He's small...scouts get their ideas about what a guy looks like and sometimes that over rides their actual play. Unfortunate, but it happens all the time. If the Colts had had some big time 95s on their roster this year he might have been scouted by accident...but maybe this playoff run will get him the exposure he needs to get signed.

 

[aresknights]

Hes the goalie thats worried me most as a Knights fan all POs and weve seen some good ones.
Im sure hes on the socuts radar, I guess it just depends on how they see him at the next level. Im not even going to take a stab at projecting a goalies NHL potential, not something Id be good at. But he is a real good one at this level. Im sure he gets a shot with someone

 

[RyanHPscout]

Niederberger has been great in almost every game I've seen him play. It is the size that hurts. He's quick and I love his glove hand, but the size does hurt.

Regardless I'm surprised a team didn't draft him late in last year's draft, or at least sign him as an invitee like we've seen with some of the other smaller junior goaltenders who have moved on to play pro in North America. Safe to say he won the battle against a very talented, but shaky 2nd Round NHL pick last night.

Stolarz is a great kid and I hope he rebounds. He generally does after a rough performance. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow night's game.

I'm hoping the Pittsburgh/NY Islanders game doesn't go to overtime so I don't have to decide between leaving late or missing overtime

London looked like they were gonna run away with Game 1 in the first, Mathias stole that period and ultimately helped Barrie to the win. London took more perimeter shots later on, which really didn't help them. They need to stay away from Mathias' glove and jump on those rebounds out front. Barrie's defense is doing a good job clearing the garbage in the slot and their forwards in general were doing a good job getting back. If Barrie is going to win, that's how they're going to win. With a total team effort and some big saves from Niederberger.

 

[krazy kanuck]

A little over 1/2 hour to game time. The Colts have been able to weather early pressure and then pull ahead for two textbook road playoff wins in a row (although the last one was a lot more nerve wracking at the end than game 7 against the Bulls). I'm looking for a similar game plan tonight without the needless Lemieux penalty...

 

[krazy kanuck]

Well that game shows just how perfectly the Colts are going to have to play to beat the Knights. A decent first and a solid third washed out by a terrible second period. Camara is going to be suspended I'm sure so that is probably be it for the Colts. Regardless, they have to do a better job staying out of the box or this is going to be a bloodbath. Get twice as many penalties as the Knights and it's going to end poorly. Well right back at it tomorrow!

 

[JetsColts13]

Well that game shows just how perfectly the Colts are going to have to play to beat the Knights. A decent first and a solid third washed out by a terrible second period. Camara is going to be suspended I'm sure so that is probably be it for the Colts. Regardless, they have to do a better job staying out of the box or this is going to be a bloodbath. Get twice as many penalties as the Knights and it's going to end poorly. Well right back at it tomorrow!

With the way suspensions have been handed out we have seen the last of Camara I think. A few questionable calls but no excuse, they will need to be better tonight.

 

[aresknights]

London point of view. We came out flying in the 2nd, forced the play, drew penalties and took over the game with a 24-4 SOG total.
Barrie point of view. We got undiscplined and handed them the game. Digging a hole too deep to get out of.
1-1 heading to Barrie. If (I think when) Camara gets a couple games, Barrie will have to find a way to replace him on the top line, while maintaining enough balance to leave 2nd/3rd lines competitive. From what Ive read theyve done this before but Londons a deep team and you need your best players avail and playing well. If Bradfords hit gets looked at and hes suspended (i think less likely than Camara- but I do think it was a bad play) could really hurt depth.
BArrie has played well, minus that 2nd period and seem to be well coached. Much harder for the Knights to get to the blue ice than vs. Ply.
London has got stronger every PO series as theyve gone on. They have for 2 years and I think it countinues here. London plays well on the road and dont get intimidated. BArrie will have to match their compete level and stay more disciplined. To tiring to rely on PK for more than 1/2 a period.
Barrie feels good going home tied up.
They have the PO hate going now on both sides
Cmon 7

 

[aresknights]

I think both coaches were good during the post game presser. None of stuff we saw last series. Hawerchuk only looked in the mirror and at his players, and not at other aspects that may have effected the outcome. No trying to deflect or plant seeds. Class.
Hunter didnt go on about the hit. Mentioned it, when asked but didnt get into a hes a head hunter, theyre going after our top guns, dirty play ect....

 

[aresknights]

Fridays game update- For those without sprotsnet1.

They mentioned on the post game show (warmup?) that Sportsnet will allow rogers to carry game in HD on 368 or 369( London area) Friday night. Not sure what ch in Barrie.
Good move, as not everyone has Sportsnet1. The league does think of the fans at times

 

[GangGreen]

Barrie has shown their speed can keep up with the Knights in this series, just a little more depth on the Knights side. I never knew how good that Niederberger was, has to have the quickest glove in the league.
If Barrie stays even in the penalty department with the Knights, I can see a couple of 1 goal overtime games up in Barrie that could go either way.
My preference is that the Knights win the OHL championship and Barrie is awarded next years Memorial Cup

 

[MaximSpiridonov]

Absolutely appalled that Camara did not even receive a single game suspension for such a dangerous hockey play. Rupert was suspended for a quite similar "dumb play" in the past. Assumed London bias aside, you can't allow plays like that or the Bradford hit on the icing. Checking from behind has silently gone from being a 5 and game almost automatically to 2 in most situations and I think that is the wrong move especially in the junior ranks.

 

[OlZamMan]

Fridays game update- For those without sprotsnet1.

They mentioned on the post game show (warmup?) that Sportsnet will allow rogers to carry game in HD on 368 or 369( London area) Friday night. Not sure what ch in Barrie.
Good move, as not everyone has Sportsnet1. The league does think of the fans at times

So far, the Barrie Rogers has shown playoff games on 10, 368 (digital) & 369 (HD).

 

[Rubbers29]

I am very shocked at the lack of suspension here! when someone has already been suspended twice in the playoffs usually they're on a very small leash, it was a clear lunge at an unsuspecting player, even when a player has no prior incidences it would be good for one or two games, to use a reference both London and Barrie fans can relate to, Zac Rinaldo would get 5 games for looking at a player his last year in the O, now obviously Camara is not Rinaldo, I am pretty sure Rinaldo lead in penalty mins every year he was in the league by a fair margin, but I just am saying usually after the first couple suspensions they come longer for a lot less, I mean if you give him 3 games for flipping a puck over the boards, I thought it was a no brainer for this to be 5-10. could be a make-up for the crap suspensions (and lack of against teams they played) Barrie has dealt with so far this post season.
It would be easier to build a full scale working CN Tower model out of toothpicks, than to figure out the system Branch and Co. use to determine discipline, So I guess you just accept it and move on, hopefully we get a good hockey game tonight without any questionable hits like the ones from Sunday so we dont have to spend all day tomorrow speculating whats gonna happen!
These teams seem to have a good hate on for each other already, so should be pretty physical, just hate to see any of these kids leave injured, nice big clean hits, thats all good!

 

[krazy kanuck]

Rubbers: Just to point out Camara's previous suspensions were not for hits. One for flipping a puck in the stands and another for post whistle extra curricular activities. Not really the same thing as Zachary (and remember he was a Colt too).

Not saying I wouldn't have suspended AC because I would have, but he's not really the repeat offender you're making him out to be.

 

[sbrug]

Goaltending the difference so far in game 3. 3-2 Colts after 2.

 

[HLLYWD99]

The Colts have shocked me! I never saw this coming.

 

[PhlyerPhanatic31]

The Colts have shocked me! I never saw this coming.

Agreed.

I can honestly say I underestimated Barrie...and I'm not ashamed to admit it. They're showing form..the form of a Champion. They're playing tough and the Knights really haven't shown much of what we've seen thus far in the playoffs. I figured it would go 6..but I didn't figure Barrie was this strong. Hats off and credit where credit's due.

 

[krazy kanuck]

I can honestly say I underestimated Barrie...and I'm not ashamed to admit it. They're showing form..the form of a Champion. They're playing tough and the Knights really haven't shown much of what we've seen thus far in the playoffs. I figured it would go 6..but I didn't figure Barrie was this strong. Hats off and credit where credit's due.

When they keep their composure they can run with anyone, but as we saw in game 2 they have to play to their full potential in order to beat the Knights. The nice part was tonight they kept their composure...even when the Knights started to wrack up PP opportunities they kept it together. Regardless of how this turns out it's been awesome to watch - hopefully it stays that way.

P.S. - You better think of something great for your next post - #1,000!

 

[Rubbers29]

Rubbers: Just to point out Camara's previous suspensions were not for hits. One for flipping a puck in the stands and another for post whistle extra curricular activities. Not really the same thing as Zachary (and remember he was a Colt too).

Not saying I wouldn't have suspended AC because I would have, but he's not really the repeat offender you're making him out to be.

What I was trying to point out is once they start hitting a guy with suspensions, they usually find it easier to hit him with whatever they can, that's why I mentioned I wasn't compairing him to Rinny, cause they're not the same situations, I just picked him because I know you Barrie fan's saw the same thing when Zac was there in how he would get ejected for things other players might get a minor for.

Now on to tonights game, that was one of the most pathetic outings I have seen from the Knights all year! Minus some sustained pressure in the last 2 minutes of the second, they looked like boys skating against men out there. almost every goal Barrie scored tonight was because of the Knights defenders doddling back to the puck and Shiefele or AA flying past them and getting the puck to the open man,

Barrie was relentless on the puck tonight, never gave up a battle, Ekblad stopped a great scoring chance from his stomach by not giving up on the puck in the corner and stretched his stick out and got it up to his winger.

The entire defensive core impresses me with ability to pinch at the blue line, the entire game I think maybe 3 shots got out of the London zone from the corner without going for icing, unless someone was carrying them out or they were 10ft in the air they werent going anywhere.

as for the Knight's offence, they seemed to be getting stuck going back to Neiderbergers glove hand, which is lights out, 40-45 shots on net a game doesnt mean much when they're all in the goalies sweet spot, the ones they did manage to beat him on were screens or cross crease passes.

If the Knights can't find a way to get back to the forum they played in the second period of yesterdays game, this series isn't going to last long.

That said, they're a resilient team, I am sure the Hunters saw the same thing I did tonight ( and a bunch of things I missed) and will drill that into them in practise tomorrow, and hopefully they can come out with a little more urgency then they had tonight.

Kudos to Barrie on a great game tonight, they're outplaying a team most barely gave them a chance to keep up with! On to game 4!