GDT: Calder Cup Finals Game 5 | Syracuse Crunch @ Grand Rapids Griffins | 06/15 | 7:00 PM

[Detroit Sports*]

Hope all the people that hoped for a game 4 loss really enjoyed this one in person...

yeah. thats so selfish to wish for loses so YOU can go to the game. I want to win 4-0 ever series!

 

[bullocks]

Apparently it's a lot harder than it looks for the Wings and Griffins

But yeah you're right, I'm just preparing for another epic meltdown.

Yeah this sucks I'm expecting a choke myself. Shouldn't have got invested in this AHL ****. Frustrating.

 

[Cbdudek]

Just got back from the game and I must say I am very disappointed. Did they have the offensive chances? Yes. However they did not play well defensively and they couldn't stay out of the penalty box. Syracuse is playing hard desperate hockey and the Griffins have not done that yet.

Their effort tonight was an insult to the fans. Especially after the hard hockey they played last night. Tonight, they didn't want it as much as much as the Crunch did and that was embarrassing.

Well, the road team has won 4 of 5 games in this series so far. Lets hope the Griffins have one more win in them on the road.

 

[Detroit Sports*]

Yeah this sucks I'm expecting a choke myself. Shouldn't have got invested in this AHL ****. Frustrating.

if they lose game 6 i aint watching 7

 

[JmanWingsFan]

Hope all the people that hoped for a game 4 loss really enjoyed this one in person...

I just wanted to see a friggin hockey game. Is there something wrong with that? I wouldn't care if they had won yesterday. Go eat dirt.

 

[JmanWingsFan]

Just got back from the game and I must say I am very disappointed. Did they have the offensive chances? Yes. However they did not play well defensively and they couldn't stay out of the penalty box. Syracuse is playing hard desperate hockey and the Griffins have not done that yet.

Their effort tonight was an insult to the fans. Especially after the hard hockey they played last night. Tonight, they didn't want it as much as much as the Crunch did and that was embarrassing.

Well, the road team has won 4 of 5 games in this series so far. Lets hope the Griffins have one more win in them on the road.

The effort was there. They outshot them 40 odd something to 20. It was two turnovers and two penalties that killed them. At the worst possible times too. And then Desjardins just stood on his head.

 

[Cbdudek]

Yeah this sucks I'm expecting a choke myself. Shouldn't have got invested in this AHL ****. Frustrating.

I don't want you to take this the wrong way. I am merely venting here and I am addressing this statement in specific. I have heard many "new Griffins fans" who have said the same thing before they won 2 in a row on the road in the finals. People are now pissed off that they didn't get to see the cup get lifted on home ice. Heck, I am more upset that the team didn't come out and play their best hockey tonight. They certainly didn't deserve it.

Griffins may indeed lose this series, but its far from a choke job. Keep in mind that the Griffins were underdogs in this series. Syracuse has a team full of veterans who won the Calder last season with Norfolk. "New Griffins fans" don't realize these truths and so dropping a pair of games to the defending champs is considered a choke job.

Those "new Griffins fans" who are expecting a choke job and are pissed off about investing time in the AHL just need to turn off the TV or their streaming PC. Trust me, out of 10,000 fans in the Van Andel the last two days, I am convinced that just 5,000 of them were knowledgeable hockey fans that have been watching the Griffins all season long.

 

[Cbdudek]

The effort was there. They outshot them 40 odd something to 20. It was two turnovers and two penalties that killed them. At the worst possible times too. And then Desjardins just stood on his head.

The defensive effort was not there. Turnovers and penalties were major factors as well. As for Desjardins, he did play well, but we got no really good in front chances on him. Meanwhile, at the other end, we surrendered two goals when we let them just walk in and get easy chances. Can't win with an effort like that.

 

[GoAwayDanCleary]

Just got back from the game and I must say I am very disappointed. Did they have the offensive chances? Yes. However they did not play well defensively and they couldn't stay out of the penalty box. Syracuse is playing hard desperate hockey and the Griffins have not done that yet.

Their effort tonight was an insult to the fans. Especially after the hard hockey they played last night. Tonight, they didn't want it as much as much as the Crunch did and that was embarrassing.

Well, the road team has won 4 of 5 games in this series so far. Lets hope the Griffins have one more win in them on the road.

I thought they played with a lot of effort and grit. They were the better team for a good portion of the game. The problem is when they were bad they let up goals quickly and when they were good they just couldn't finish. The outcome of this game had a lot to do with the goalies play.

 

[Cbdudek]

I thought they played with a lot of effort and grit. They were the better team for a good portion of the game. The problem is when they were bad they let up goals quickly and when they were good they just couldn't finish. The outcome of this game had a lot to do with the goalies play.

Effort and grit on offense maybe, but the defense letting Syracuse just walk in and get prime scoring chances was not gritty. The Crunch had a very gritty performance in the 3rd period when the Griffins got 0 shots through the first 10 minutes of the final frame. Thats grit right there.

Its hard to put this effort on Mrazek when the Griffins are leaving the far side man unattended like they did in game 3 on the game winner and game 4 tonight two times. We didn't get a single chance like that in this game because of the tough defense Syracuse put on us.

I look less at the shots and more at the quality chances. While we had more shots, the Crunch easily had more prime scoring chances.

 

[norrisnick]

I just wanted to see a friggin hockey game. Is there something wrong with that? I wouldn't care if they had won yesterday. Go eat dirt.

And I stated that I hoped you enjoyed it. Did you?

 

[JmanWingsFan]

The defensive effort was not there. Turnovers and penalties were major factors as well. As for Desjardins, he did play well, but we got no really good in front chances on him. Meanwhile, at the other end, we surrendered two goals when we let them just walk in and get easy chances. Can't win with an effort like that.

I disagree. It was just good ole' fashion Red Wings "untimely penalty/turnover" that sent an otherwise good effort down the crapper.

 

[JmanWingsFan]

And I stated that I hoped you enjoyed it. Did you?

You're not wiggling your way out of this. It was quite obvious you're just trolling.

 

[Cbdudek]

I disagree. It was just good ole' fashion Red Wings "untimely penalty/turnover" that sent an otherwise good effort down the crapper.

I guess we can agree to disagree then. As I said before, you want to see a solid defensive effort, look at the Crunch. I bet the Griffins had 10 or less prime scoring chances. Every shot was to the outside and easy first stops for Desjardin.

 

[nik jr]

He overcommits on shots like nobodies business, notice how often he ends up 2 or 3 feet outside the paint after even a simple shot or a toe-drag, he needs to get much better at playing angles and staying in front of the net before he can be moved to the NHL.

i haven't seen him play in AHL, but in WJC, he overplayed shots regularly.

vasilievski was clearly better in that event, imo, and should have been voted top goaler, but probably wasn't b/c makarov also played well and vasilevski had a meltdown in 3rd vs canada.

 

[bullocks]

I don't want you to take this the wrong way. I am merely venting here and I am addressing this statement in specific. I have heard many "new Griffins fans" who have said the same thing before they won 2 in a row on the road in the finals. People are now pissed off that they didn't get to see the cup get lifted on home ice. Heck, I am more upset that the team didn't come out and play their best hockey tonight. They certainly didn't deserve it.

Griffins may indeed lose this series, but its far from a choke job. Keep in mind that the Griffins were underdogs in this series. Syracuse has a team full of veterans who won the Calder last season with Norfolk. "New Griffins fans" don't realize these truths and so dropping a pair of games to the defending champs is considered a choke job.

Those "new Griffins fans" who are expecting a choke job and are pissed off about investing time in the AHL just need to turn off the TV or their streaming PC. Trust me, out of 10,000 fans in the Van Andel the last two days, I am convinced that just 5,000 of them were knowledgeable hockey fans that have been watching the Griffins all season long.

I disagree. Going up 3-0 and losing is certainly a choke job. Now if the Crunch were head and shoulders above the Griffins then yes it wouldnt be but IMO the Griffs are slighly better or atleast even so it would be a colossal failure if they can't get a 4th win.

This isnt the Wings going up 3-1 on a very good Hawks team which wasnt a choke in my eyes.

 

[Henkka]

4/5 of the games have been road wins. It could be just an advantage to go back to Syracuse. Lot less stuff going around, when everybody expected a home Cup Win.

Griffins also looked exhausted. Yesterday's game was 9th in 15 days, lot worse than Syrecuse had before finals. They will be a different team again after 2-day break.

I some kind of like that they didn't get an easy win. Of course, yesterday I was pissed of about the loss, but when I'm thinkin... This pushes them to limit, teaches things, how to handle this situation mentally. This could be just a good thing for Red Wings future if you think the big picture.

2008 Red wings had same situation against Stars at WCF. They led 3-0 and had a chance to clinch twice, second time at home at game5. They lost, had to travel back to Dallas and won game6 with a dominating effort.

 

[mindfly]

So looks like the Griffins will be dropping a 3-0 lead after all

 

[Cbdudek]

I disagree. Going up 3-0 and losing is certainly a choke job. Now if the Crunch were head and shoulders above the Griffins then yes it wouldnt be but IMO the Griffs are slighly better or atleast even so it would be a colossal failure if they can't get a 4th win.

This isnt the Wings going up 3-1 on a very good Hawks team which wasnt a choke in my eyes.

There wasn't a single pundit or fan that picked the Griffins to win this series. Syracuse only lost 1 game in the playoffs prior to this series. Its nothing short of a miracle that the Griffins won the first 3 games. I am not surprised in the slightest that Syracuse won the last two.

Lets just face facts here. The Wings choked against the Hawks, plain and simple. The Griffins lose this series, and its also a choke job for sure. Lets put things in perspective though.....the Wings and Griffins were both underdogs in their respective series though. So its not like the Wings losing in 6 against Edmonton in 2006 in the first round after the Wings won the Presidents trophy and the Oilers made it into the playoffs on the last day of the regular season. Or the Bruins sweeping the Pens out of the playoffs this year. Those kind of epic choke jobs only come around every couple years.

I was merely addressing the "casual Griffins fan" more than anything. Many people are upset that Grand Rapids didn't lift the cup at home, and I am one of them. However, some of these people haven't watched the AHL or the Griffins ever. They blame the Griffins because they had to invest time and money to go to a game in which they lost. My attitude about it is the same as any other casual fan that decides to join a team for their playoff run. If you haven't attended or watched at least a few of the games before the finals, then you have no right to *****.

Lets address the "choke job" when the "choke job" is complete. So far, its only half way, and with 4 of 5 of the wins going for the road team, this may very well go 7 games.

 

[Shoalzie]

I've finished throwing up after being subjected to that 'effort' last night. They looked like they didn't want that game last night. If I was a coach of a team up 3-0 or 3-1...you win tonight so you don't have to play the other games. You can't approach those extra games as extra chances. You can't keep giving the other team an opening to steal the series from you...especially a team that won the title last year.

On the bright side, the Griffs are 2-0 in Syracuse but you have to win Game 6 because Game 7 has disappointment written all over it. The Crunch are off the mat and are throwing their own fair share of huge punches. Plunge the dagger in them on Tuesday or else.

 

[Jacko95]

This is an amazing series, 5 great hockey games (though 3 had the wrong team winning from my perspective ).

But from now on this will be a lot thougher for you guys. We get Gudas back into a lineup which could be a serious problem for some of your smaller forwards as they have yet to play against him and he could destroy them hard.
And our guys are more experienced in this high pressure situation as most of them did go through it last season.

At the end the goalies will decide this series IMO. If Desjardins keeps it up and Mrazek doesn't come back to the performance of the first 3 games, which was really impressive, you guys will have some trouble.
If Mrazek comes back on track the advantage will be on your side.

Anyway both clubs deserve it and both teams make soo much fun to watch.

 

[GoAwayDanCleary]

This is an amazing series, 5 great hockey games (though 3 had the wrong team winning from my perspective ).

But from now on this will be a lot thougher for you guys. We get Gudas back into a lineup which could be a serious problem for some of your smaller forwards as they have yet to play against him and he could destroy them hard.
And our guys are more experienced in this high pressure situation as most of them did go through it last season.

At the end the goalies will decide this series IMO. If Desjardins keeps it up and Mrazek doesn't come back to the performance of the first 3 games, which was really impressive, you guys will have some trouble.
If Mrazek comes back on track the advantage will be on your side.

Anyway both clubs deserve it and both teams make soo much fun to watch.

Mrazek has had some bumps in the road during each series and so far has bounced back every time. His most valuable asset is his mental game in which he usually thrives in big pressure moments. So as the series gets more competitive the better I expect Mrazek to play.

 

[Run the Jewels]

Griffins also looked exhausted. Yesterday's game was 9th in 15 days, lot worse than Syrecuse had before finals. They will be a different team again after 2-day break..

I agree, the Griffins have a great shot at winning a championship with the two days off to rest and prepare for game 6. This is where Blashill proves he's a big time coach who can win a big game with a championship on the line. I think he gets it done.

 

[Brick Top]

I've finished throwing up after being subjected to that 'effort' last night. They looked like they didn't want that game last night. If I was a coach of a team up 3-0 or 3-1...you win tonight so you don't have to play the other games. You can't approach those extra games as extra chances. You can't keep giving the other team an opening to steal the series from you...especially a team that won the title last year.

Would it have been too much to ask for you to give that advice to Babs against the Hawks?

 

[Cbdudek]

Would it have been too much to ask for you to give that advice to Babs against the Hawks?

I agree. It is never this easy. Especially when you have two coaches and two teams doing the same thing. Something has got to give thats for sure.