OttawaOilers
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Edmonton seams to be fine even when they were said to be down and out after Winning the Championship.
2014-2015 WHL Regular season talk
- Thread starter JC Numminen
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Edmonton seams to be fine even when they were said to be down and out after Winning the Championship.
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- Aug 25, 2003
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Portland 0-4. There are going to be a LOT of teams that are going to enjoy smack talking and beating up on the Hawks this season if this continues.
On the other side, Kelowna is probably going to rip right through the WHL this year.
Brandon looks very strong, Calgary should be in the mix when it's all said and done as well.
Oil Kings I expect to be a playoff contender, not sure if they have the depth to be a 50 win team again.
On the other side, Kelowna is probably going to rip right through the WHL this year.
Brandon looks very strong, Calgary should be in the mix when it's all said and done as well.
Oil Kings I expect to be a playoff contender, not sure if they have the depth to be a 50 win team again.
phillipsj89
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Oh baby is this ever right. PG didnt put up the best fight, but man, Kelowna is solid. EVERYTWHERE. literally every position. They could easily be the best team in the CHL this year.
As for PG. It is hard to get a read on them. Kelowna is a measuring stick for a championship team, PG should be a middling team, with that said, they need to improve their PK TREMENDOUSLY.
Winterhawks getting Bjork back, IMO he's too good for juniors, will destroy Dub defensive cores with that experience, talent, and speed.
As I said before Phillips, even with all the Winterhawks players coming back, Rockets are still the best team no doubt.
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phillipsj89
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Rocko604
Sports will break your heart.
Vancouver with the come from behind 5-3 win over Victoria. G-men 3-0 to start September, albeit with two of those wins over Victoria and one over Hipsterville. Big test against Kelowna on Wednesday.
Bittner wasn't in Portland's lineup today, is he injured? I would've thought he'd be back from the us prospects showcase.
Hordichuk_24
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That was an impressive come back. I wasn't expecting to see that. So far so good. I don't know how long they can keep this up but it's nice to start the season on the right foot. Benson has been great so far. He seems to get better every game.
^ Comeback wasn't that impressive, as Victoria played their 3rd game in 3 nights, and it showed as they were totally gassed in the 3rd. It's not right they should play 3 in 3, especially having to travel for 1 and it being an earlier start.
Emerald City Bruin
I-90 W for 2500mi
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Scariest thing for Hawks fans is that they won't have any of their first round picks for the next few years due to the sanctions. Looks like they'll have to rely on their US recruiting more than ever.
Hordichuk_24
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It was in the sense the Giants typically lose games once they are behind. Especially Lee as he is very susceptible to giving up a really poor goal after losing the lead. The team got into penalty trouble in the 2nd and could have lost the game right then and there. The fact they didn't was impressive to me. Not to mention Victoria took it to them physically (despite the 3 and 3). That latter part is discouraging, not exactly what I want to see but that is unfortunately the type of team the Giants have. They aren't capable of physically dominating teams like they used to in the past.
As for the 3-3 every team has to deal with it so I don't have any sympathy for the Royals. They still played good enough to win. It wasn't as though they were soundly beaten. And they looked much better than they did for the season opener now that they have more regulars in the line up. They'll only get better once everyone returns.
Hope there isn't too much smack talking because when Petan gets back, their gonna continue on racking up points in this league.
Benson has been excellent, his points weren't impressive last night as much as his speed and strength on the forecheck.
Peyton Lee was impressive last night, outside the opening goal that he should have had. Hope he's turned the corner.
And Victoria needs to find more ways to generate offense. They look pretty stale in attack. Might have to deal from blueline strength to add some scoring, although once Magee is back and Blomqvist returns they should be better.
^ The main reason why Victoria didn't generate more offense is because their 2 top scorers were missing.
The Royals came out hard cause they knew they wouldn't have it in them later, so they tried to get a quick early big lead. I don't care who you are, 3 in 3 is going to have a pretty negative effect, so that's BS, I don't think every team has to deal with it, only teams that are far out of the way.
Hordichuk_24
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I'm not holding my breath. I've been a big Lee supporter over the past two years wanting to give him the benefit of the doubt. But I'm starting to lose patience and hope that he is capable of being a starting goaltender at this level. At times he can look very solid and the next night look like he belongs in Junior A. He is way too inconsistent and easily rattled, IMO. If he can somehow improve his mental toughness that would greatly benefit him. Of course that is much easier said than done. We'll see how the next few weeks go. Maybe he really has turned the corner. It's too early to tell.
Hordichuk_24
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It's far from BS. It's part of playing junior hockey. The Giants have played many 3 games in 3 nights as well as many other teams league wide. Sure the travel is more difficult out west but teams and players are used to the grind. And those that aren't will soon adapt. I'm not saying it's easy but it is what it is. I'm not a big fan of it either but I don't see that changing anytime soon.
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Maybe, but there's two things that would worry me as a Portland fan:
1. Petan might not be sent back (this one is less likely but still possible)
2. Their problem hasn't been offense, it's been defense. They're really poor defensively right now, multiple goals have been as a result of a opposition forward (sometimes 2 or 3 even) being left wide open right in front of the net for tips and rebounds. Combine that with an inconsistent Burke in net and you get problems.
I think they'll miss Johnston behind the bench a lot this year.
Hordichuk_24
Registered User
I'm not even sure what you are trying to argue. Obviously three games in three nights is tough. That isn't debatable. But plenty of teams deal with this throughout the season. It's part of the grind. This isn't exclusively privy to Victoria. Travel is tougher in the west but I don't think it's any more difficult for the Royals than it is for other western conference teams. Despite Sunday's game being their third game in three nights they are more than capable of beating the Giants. They didn't and I thought the Giants coming back after being down was impressive. Maybe fatigue for the Royals came into play, maybe not. Nobody can definitively answer that. But I do believe the Giants team last season or the two seasons before wouldn't have won that game. That is what impressed me was their ability to keep composure and battle back. I didn't expect to see that, especially so early in the season.
Hordichuk_24
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In Victoria, yes. But this game was in Vancouver. So that wouldn't apply. Regardless I didn't expect the Giants to start off the season 3-0. It's early yet and it's not as though I expect them to maintain this pace throughout the season but it's nice to see early on. I was simply giving them props for coming back in a game I didn't think they would have won in years past. I still think Victoria is a better team (once they get everybody back) but that is beside the point.
^Of course it applies, they just played Kamloops BTB at home right before the Vancouver game.
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OttawaOilers
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