Owen Sound Attack 2019-20 Season Thread

[leafsrdue]

A Spits Attack playoff round would be fun. If they play like they did last night, the Attack would have a chance.

 

[Pond Hockey]

A Spits Attack playoff round would be fun. If they play like they did last night, the Attack would have a chance.

I agree, wouldn't mind seeing that matchup at all. Attack played well against the Spits in their other meeting this year, too (OS lost in their barn in OT). Would be a good battle. I do think the Attack have the potential to upset a top-4 seed if they're on top of their game.

Windsor may be playing their worst hockey of the season right now, but that said the Attack did very well to capitalize on the chances they had. Lots of finish last night, a nice turnaround from Friday in Kitchener. Chenard settled in nicely after that first goal, I liked that it didn't seem to affect him at all the rest of the way. And nice to see contributions from the young guys, too.

Seems like this weekend was a microcosm of the whole 'tale of two teams' thing this season that many people have identified.

 

[PensFan101]

I wondered the same thing. Superbowl? Nice to see the young guns get some goals, esp. LeSage's first goal. Kid has been patient waiting for his turn to play. Nice win by Chenard although I'm sure he would want that first goal back. Sun Times articles indicates that Attack looking to rest Guzda closer to playoff time so looks like Chenard may get more playing time.

That would be huge for the team, and something that's long overdue given how well Chenard has been playing all season. Guzda has already looked tired at times this season so the more they can keep his schedule balanced the better.

Nice situation to have with two capable goalies.

 

[Millpond]

I like Chenards game. We've got a good one folks.

League played in North Bay, and I thought he was a catalist for the win there.

Good on him, working hard in practice.

I have a feeling, once he gets in some games, it will be hard to keep him out.

 

[KFawcett]

I agree, wouldn't mind seeing that matchup at all. Attack played well against the Spits in their other meeting this year, too (OS lost in their barn in OT). Would be a good battle. I do think the Attack have the potential to upset a top-4 seed if they're on top of their game.

Windsor may be playing their worst hockey of the season right now, but that said the Attack did very well to capitalize on the chances they had. Lots of finish last night, a nice turnaround from Friday in Kitchener. Chenard settled in nicely after that first goal, I liked that it didn't seem to affect him at all the rest of the way. And nice to see contributions from the young guys, too.

Seems like this weekend was a microcosm of the whole 'tale of two teams' thing this season that many people have identified.

I thought the Boys played a very good game in Kitchener. A couple hard off the bar and a Goalie that made some stupidly incredible saves and the fat lady was warming the vocal chords. If they faced a Goalie that had just a good game they win that one.

 

[AttackBeacher]

I thought the Boys played a very good game in Kitchener. A couple hard off the bar and a Goalie that made some stupidly incredible saves and the fat lady was warming the vocal chords. If they faced a Goalie that had just a good game they win that one.

Agree, not really sure they played any worse on Friday, no turnaround needed. They played well both games. Even in Erie they probably deserved both games.

 

[Pond Hockey]

I thought the Boys played a very good game in Kitchener. A couple hard off the bar and a Goalie that made some stupidly incredible saves and the fat lady was warming the vocal chords. If they faced a Goalie that had just a good game they win that one.

They they played well for sure, just no finish.

 

[Pond Hockey]

Agree, not really sure they played any worse on Friday, no turnaround needed. They played well both games. Even in Erie they probably deserved both games.

My point is simply that they finished chances on Saturday vs. Windsor, but they did not on Friday vs. Kitchener. That's all.

 

[AttackBeacher]

My point is simply that they finished chances on Saturday vs. Windsor, but they did not on Friday vs. Kitchener. That's all.

Kitchner is something like 20 - 1 since the coaching change and id think that 99 percent of that is the goalie they have. He has been outstanding.

Sometimes goalies win games and there's nothing anyone can do about it, we've seen it with McNiven and at points with Guzda this year. When a goalie is playing at that level, there is no 'finishing chances' really, you just tip your hat and move on because there is nothing you can do, chuckle and move on.

I was at the game in Kitchener, there literally was nothing different they could have done, Ingham was insanely good.

 

[Pond Hockey]

So, you agree with me then that the Attack finished more scoring chances on Saturday? Because that's all I'm saying.

 

[AttackBeacher]

So, you agree with me then that the Attack finished more scoring chances on Saturday? Because that's all I'm saying.

They played the same way, they just didn't have an all world goalie to shoot on.

 

[Pond Hockey]

They played the same way, they just didn't have an all world goalie to shoot on.

And I never said they played markedly differently on Friday, only that they finished more chances on Saturday (6 goals, including 2 on the PP) than they did on Friday (1 goal, with 0 goals on the PP despite a 5-on-3 for 2 mins and a 5-on-4 for 4 mins), which I thought was nice to see. Still can't agree with that? Really, I'm not sure what your hyper-criticism about my post is all about.

 

[Pond Hockey]

Kitchner is something like 20 - 1 since the coaching change and id think that 99 percent of that is the goalie they have. He has been outstanding.

Sometimes goalies win games and there's nothing anyone can do about it, we've seen it with McNiven and at points with Guzda this year. When a goalie is playing at that level, there is no 'finishing chances' really, you just tip your hat and move on because there is nothing you can do, chuckle and move on.

I was at the game in Kitchener, there literally was nothing different they could have done, Ingham was insanely good.

Furthermore, if there was nothing more the Attack could have done Friday vs. Kitchener, then why was Letang so clearly frustrated by what he called a lack of execution by the players? Looks like he didn't get the memo about tipping his hat to the goalie. Quick strike Rangers sink Owen Sound

While we're on the subject of lack of finish (certainly not my intention to draw it out, but here we are), it's been discussed here by multiple people who follow the Attack that the team has a tendency to dominate the shot clock, control the puck possession game, and take a relatively high number of low-percentage shots from the perimeter. I recall some recent comments from Hill that speaks to this...

“A lot of times we come in here and put up 45-50 shots on goalies and sometimes we make them look better than they are . . . putting it in their breadbasket and not getting any traffic on net,” Hill said. (Motivated Attack explode in 7-5 victory over Guelph)

In other words, there's more to it than simply dismissing a loss to a 'hot goalie' as nothing more could have been done to win. The question has to be asked, did the goalie legitimately steal the W for his team, or did we make him look better than he is? (e.g., many perimeter shots, etc.) For the Kitchener game last Friday, judging by Letang's clear frustration about what he called lack of execution, I think it's very difficult to make a case that nothing more could have been done. Letang obviously doesn't think that way, and the boys responded on Saturday, which was great to see!

 

[leafsrdue]

It's been clear all year that the Attack don't have an elite sniper. That is why we see lots of shots going high and wide or into the crest of the goalie. The only way to counteract that is to get traffic in front and bang in some rebounds.

 

[AttackBeacher]

I'm not sure what your hyper-criticism about my post is all about.

If you think that is hyper criticism, you don't get criticized that much

 

[AttackBeacher]

In other words, there's more to it than simply dismissing a loss to a 'hot goalie' as nothing more could have been done to win. The question has to be asked, did the goalie legitimately steal the W for his team, or did we make him look better than he is? (e.g., many perimeter shots, etc.) For the Kitchener game last Friday, judging by Letang's clear frustration about what he called lack of execution, I think it's very difficult to make a case that nothing more could have been done. Letang obviously doesn't think that way, and the boys responded on Saturday, which was great to see!

You're right, the goalie wasn't that good Friday. Im not sure what myself, the rest of the Attack fans where were in attendance and evidently social media posters were thinking



After every loss the coaches send a message though the paper about why they didn't win, its irrelevant about how well or poorly they played. Like clockwork. And I think most get it, they don't want to give excuses.

To the posters points earlier (I didn't post it, but others did and i dont think they are wrong), there are some that only complain on here and there are some that have a more balanced look. I don't get why they run on here after a loss to complain but when there's a win, there is nothing but dust.

 

[AttackSound]

Team played about as picture perfect of a road game as you could get in this league, yes we can look at the simple fact that yes Niagara did sell off at the deadline by moving 2 big pieces and yes would Niagara have been different if their tender didn't get hurt earlier in the season maybe, and DD did a minor tweak at the deadline.

Having said that there's no doubt you take out the PP goal against and you couldn't get any more of a textbook road win, they shutdown the Ice Dogs chances limiting their opportunities and clicking on their own throughout the night.

The impressive thing was even though not getting the edge on any of the 4 PP chances for the night 7 different guys hit the back of the twine and MG stood on his head with the limited grade A dangerous chances that the Ice Dogs took.

The amazing thing is the guys only took two penalties all night and out of both of them the guys played 4 on 4 with an even up call to the Dogs. Now onward to Erie Saturday night and a chance to close out another tight weekend.

 

[Pond Hockey]

If you think that is hyper criticism, you don't get criticized that much

That's what you quoted about that post? Nothing to say about the lack of execution on the PP, or anything hockey-related?

Not sure you know what hypercriticism means. The spirit of my original post was about praising the boys for moving on from that Kitchener loss and finding the back of the net vs. Windsor, and you're choosing to nitpick about why the team lost to the Rangers last week (good goaltending vs. lack of execution/finish ability). I don't think its worth being hellbent on arguing about something so extraneous--and it seems like arguing for the sake of arguing--but if you want to do that, that's your choice.

 

[Millpond]

Statistically, the best game of the season.

Subtle things happening here. More and more rookies getting into the lineup, and contributing.

The PP continues to struggle, something you really need come playoff time. Maybe, as previously stated, due to lack of a sniper ?
Popov is looking more and more like a steal for the Attack.

Nice to see everyone put on work boots and dig in .

Keep that monentum going in Erie, fellas.

Well done !!

 

[Pond Hockey]

You're right, the goalie wasn't that good Friday. Im not sure what myself, the rest of the Attack fans where were in attendance and evidently social media posters were thinking



After every loss the coaches send a message though the paper about why they didn't win, its irrelevant about how well or poorly they played. Like clockwork. And I think most get it, they don't want to give excuses.

Last one from me on this...I did not say that Ingham did not play well (I think he did play well). A goalie can play well and the opposing team can still not capitalize on its scoring chances--those two things are not mutually exclusive. As for Letang's comments in the paper about lack of execution, I don't think he would have made such comments if there wasn't anything to them; it seems to me that publicly calling out your PP unit and best players is a strange way to 'not give excuses', and I disagree that coaches' post-game comments are "irrelevant" to how their team played. At any rate, I think we'll have to agree to disagree on this.

Again...the gist of my original post was that I was glad to see the team move on from the Kitchener loss and put up 6 goals in the Windsor win. Hopefully we can agree that that is good!

To the posters points earlier (I didn't post it, but others did and i dont think they are wrong), there are some that only complain on here and there are some that have a more balanced look. I don't get why they run on here after a loss to complain but when there's a win, there is nothing but dust.

It looks like you did previously post about this:

It’s odd, they played one of there best games of the year. There’s one or two posters that seem on only post during doom and gloom. Human nature I guess, but surprising

Agreed about wanting to see positivity and balanced posting!

 

[AttackBeacher]

It looks like you did previously post about this:

The original post was from 'Leafsrdue', not me.

Good game from the Attack last night! Where is everyone?

There's a trend from some that love to run on here when they lose and rant and rave, not so much regarding a win. I got a message from someone who posts on here a decent amount mentioning it as well. It is what it is. Even here we are not talking about last night's 11 - 1 win. Based on your previous posts, had it been an 11-1 loss, you would have commented, that's not really balanced.

If they deserve the scorn when they lose, they deserve equal time when they win.

Agreed about wanting to see positivity and balanced posting!

I look forward to you leading the charge then.

 

[AttackBeacher]

I was at last nights game in Niagara.

Third straight game where the Attack basically dominated possession and played a hard, competitive and skilled game. Only difference was they were shooting on Andrew MacLean and not Jacob Ingham, and Niagara isn't Kitchener. Great to see Pearson step up and play well, hes been quite good for the past 6 weeks, have to think hes a lock to be an OA, he's outplaying other 2000 forwards. Popov was strong as well. Really great to see them reward Goure by putting him up on the top line, rewarded with 2 points. Credit to LeSage as well, he was good, in the first they had a shift where they dominated the boards and created a few scoring chances when it was still a 0-0 game.

Felt bad for MacLean, he was hung out to dry after the first period. Looking forward to heading to Erie this weekend.

 

[TO Attack Fan]

A few highlights from Greg Cowan's Sun-Times story concerning last night's big win in Niagara:

"Thursday night the skates were on the other feet as Owen Sound shellacked Niagara 11-1 in front of 4,638 fans."

"It took the IceDogs 15 minutes to get a single shot in the period, and when they did the home fans cheered in mockery."

"After 40 minutes, the Attack were outshooting the IceDogs 36-7."

"MacLean was shown no mercy and was left in for all 47 Attack shots in the contest. He stopped 36."

"It’ll take an accounting major to make sense of the Attack ledger. Only four players failed to ink up the scoresheet."

"Eight Attackers enjoyed multipoint efforts. In all, the Attack earned 32 points in the contest. That’s a new high-water mark this season in the OHL."

 

[KFawcett]

I was at last nights game in Niagara.

Third straight game where the Attack basically dominated possession and played a hard, competitive and skilled game. Only difference was they were shooting on Andrew MacLean and not Jacob Ingham, and Niagara isn't Kitchener. Great to see Pearson step up and play well, hes been quite good for the past 6 weeks, have to think hes a lock to be an OA, he's outplaying other 2000 forwards. Popov was strong as well. Really great to see them reward Goure by putting him up on the top line, rewarded with 2 points. Credit to LeSage as well, he was good, in the first they had a shift where they dominated the boards and created a few scoring chances when it was still a 0-0 game.

Felt bad for MacLean, he was hung out to dry after the first period. Looking forward to heading to Erie this weekend.

That was an astonishing output. Glad to see Goure get some time on first line he did very well it must be hard to jump on the wing with Aiden and Matt as they freewheel so quickly. I guess a positive of Philly being out is it gives some young guy's a look at situations they might not normally get.

 

[AttackBeacher]

That was an astonishing output. Glad to see Goure get some time on first line he did very well it must be hard to jump on the wing with Aiden and Matt as they freewheel so quickly. I guess a positive of Philly being out is it gives some young guy's a look at situations they might not normally get.

I didn't see Philly at the game but it sounds like its a significant injury, a month or so. Same with Wilson. Benefit is we get to give guys like LeSage, Machacek and Lawrence more time. Goure and Burroughs should be top 9 guys the rest of the way with the way they have played.