Series Talk: Iowa vs MKE (AHL Playoffs)

[Wabit]

4-4. Now make all the saves, Hammond.

Fixed it.

 

[Wabit]

OT.

 

[Wabit]

Here was the starting lineup for tonight. Shaw out, injury.

 

[Wabit]

5-4 MKE in OT. Game 5 on Monday.

 

[PanniniClaus]

Shaw out tonight?

 

[DeagleJenkins]

sakolov in as the wildcard!

 

[a79krgm]

Big game for Iowa tonight. It would be nice to see a long playoff run here as I think Des Moines needs to showcase hockey a little better and establish a hockey tradition there. Go Wild!

 

[tomgilbertfan]

Good win.

 

[Wild11MN]

Awesome. I was hoping they didn't choke it away. Best of 7 the rest of the way? Or still best of 5?

 

[Mickey the mouse]

Awesome. I was hoping they didn't choke it away. Best of 7 the rest of the way? Or still best of 5?

Best of 7
Weds - Thurs in Chicago vs Wolves

 

[a79krgm]

Congrats to the Iowa Wild! On to the 2nd round.

 

[DANOZ28]

after pounding them the 1st 2 games im not impressed they squeaked by.

 

[Wabit]

after pounding them the 1st 2 games im not impressed they squeaked by.

Home ice makes a difference. Hammond didn't play well in G3 and G4 either.

 

[Wild11MN]

Iowa loses game 1 in OT. 5th game in 8 days tomorrow.

 

[DANOZ28]

should we be concerned they haven't rotated sokolov into the lineup yet?

 

[Wabit]

should we be concerned they haven't rotated sokolov into the lineup yet?

Concerned about what?

 

[DANOZ28]

if you were a player and the coach made you a bench warmer maybe you'd ask to be traded?

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

If I was the GM I’d ignore that request pretty easily.

 

[Wabit]

if you were a player and the coach made you a bench warmer maybe you'd ask to be traded?

Or he could get better at hockey and force his way into the lineup. He's not being sat out of spite, the guys on the ice are better than him.

 

[Bazeek]

Or he could get better at hockey and force his way into the lineup. He's not being sat out of spite, the guys on the ice are better than him.

Yeah, I'm hoping this is actually good for him long term. This whole season was about him learning what it takes to be a professional and rounding out his game. The fact that he hasn't been handed anything and (at least judging by that midseason interview) seems to remain committed is a good sign.

A lot is going to come down to how he approaches the offseason and how he comes in next year. Guys like Kunin, Greenway and Donato will be fully graduated and he should know what he needs to do to seize the opportunity.

 

[Goose312]

if you were a player and the coach made you a bench warmer maybe you'd ask to be traded?

What has he done to demand ice time? He was 7th on the team in forward scoring, 3 NHL caliber players came down bumping him to effectively 10th on that depth chart, and while he has taken steps he has serious questions around his conditioning and complete game, both of which are liabilities in typically closer and more intense playoff games. He was an obvious lift out when the 3 joined the roster. If he comes back next year after a summer improving on his weaknesses and has a 60+ point campaign only to get benched in the playoffs again then has a reason to be upset.

 

[DANOZ28]

being benched for 6 straight playoff games is a major red flag for me. mn isn't overloaded with talented prospects

 

[zellmatic]

being benched for 6 straight playoff games is a major red flag for me. mn isn't overloaded with talented prospects

What are you expecting him to be? There were already a number of red flags with Sokolov. That is why he was a 7th round pick.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

being benched for 6 straight playoff games is a major red flag for me. mn isn't overloaded with talented prospects

No, but my guess is that they wanted to with responsible and experienced in the bottom 6; and Donato, Kunin and Greenway really shortened up the top 6 spots.

He's 20 years old and has plenty of time to progress.

 

[Wabit]

being benched for 6 straight playoff games is a major red flag for me. mn isn't overloaded with talented prospects

He's not really a talented prospect. He has 1 + skill (shot) and everything else about his game is a -.

He needs to work on his skating, hockey smarts, d-zone play, and conditioning. He is/was a boom or bust pick. Now that he has a year of pro hockey under his belt, he should know what he needs to do this offseason so he's not in the pressbox at all next year.

He sat plenty of AHL regular season games in the pressbox this year. Sitting in the Playoffs shouldn't be much of a surprise, especially with a full line coming down from the NHL. If all of Donato/Kunin/Greenway (and/or JEE) had spent the year in Iowa, Sokolov wouldn't have seen near as many games as he did.