SSM Greyhounds 2019-20 Season Thread

[Houndsfan22]

Considering the hounds have been even worse than I predicted, not better as he predicted, I'm surprised that overconfident homer has even shown his face lately. He owes plenty of us an apology however but I won't hold my breath. But that's ok, the proof is in the results.

You just can’t swallow your pride can you? He doesn’t owe us an apology. If anything I’d say you owe him one.

 

[dirty12]

It's interesting to note that we're scoring more goals that last season and have lowered our shots allowed from about 31.5 in 2018-19 to less than 30 this season.

The Greyhounds defensive system has always had some holes, but the troubles this season have been overstated due to goaltending.

We're actually better than last year on both sides of the puck and that should only improve if Brkin proves to be a calming influence that gives the skaters more confidence.

how would explain being #2 in TSH, improved defensive play? The hounds certainly do not play an in your face style like Barrie.

 

[Fischhaber]

how would explain being #2 in TSH, improved defensive play? The hounds certainly do not play an in your face style like Barrie.

Robert Calisti and Marc Boudreau account for all of the increase and then some. Different players will bring a different style of play from year to year.

Both players, especially Boudreau, draw a lot of penalties with their hustle. That explains why the Hounds hqve had an equally high number of powerplay chances. You're probably making something out of nothing.

 

[DWI Dale]

You just can’t swallow your pride can you? He doesn’t owe us an apology. If anything I’d say you owe him one.

What kind of mental gymnastics does it take to come up with that?

For two months he told us how great the hounds are on paper, and called anybody that disagreed "stupid".

Months later, we are last in the Western Conference and he is still telling us how great we are.

What did I miss?

 

[saska sault]

I don't even comment on this page anymore, it's over run by keyboard warriors going back and forth at each other like old nags. How about everyone just focuses on talking about the Hounds and not the constant battle of who was right and wrong, and who's opinion stinks and doesn't. We are becoming the page on the OHL forum that we all use to despise.

 

[Fischhaber]

I don't even comment on this page anymore, it's over run by keyboard warriors going back and forth at each other like old nags. How about everyone just focuses on talking about the Hounds and not the constant battle of who was right and wrong, and who's opinion stinks and doesn't. We are becoming the page on the OHL forum that we all use to despise.

Putting a couple of people on ignore has done wonders for my forum experience.

So with O'Rourke out, who do you match up against Kaliyev and Jenik? We really mixed it up against Byfield on Wedesday.

 

[Fischhaber]

Cullen McLean in the lineup on Tanner Dickinson's wing.

 

[DWI Dale]

Hamilton can't control our speed so far tonight.

 

[HockeyPops]

Nice game. Having to work for that fourth goal was character building.

 

[DWI Dale]

The penalties were a little concerning but otherwise a solid game.

 

[soo hound girl]

Wow what a difference a goalie makes thought Brkin was solid nice move by Raftis

 

[newhound777]

Wow what a difference a goalie makes thought Brkin was solid nice move by Raftis

I agree with you. After numerous bad decisions, specifically not restocking draft picks last season, but Brkin was good decision. LeGuerrier was a stud last night! Not just the winner, but he truly played a solid game all around.

 

[soo hound girl]

Nice too see some bull dog fans at the game last night

 

[OHLfan200]

Can tell the Generals aren’t used to being behind on the scoreboard . Better get ready for an onslaught here in the third.

 

[Fischhaber]

Can tell the Generals aren’t used to being behind on the scoreboard . Better get ready for an onslaught here in the third.

We didn't see much of an effort from Oshawa in the third. I'm sure they are tired from a long road trip.

This game really reminded me of the October 5th loss to Sudbury and the November 1st loss to Guelph. We effectively shut down our opposition and gave up very few scoring chances, while dominating puck possession. We would have lost this game 5-3 with Propp.

The difference here is that we didn't give up a goal on every other shot. Bailey Brkin is so steady and makes the routine saves. That's what this team needs and they have been playing inspired hockey in front of him.

 

[DWI Dale]

what a great hockey game and great weekend.
rock solid goaltending, a commitment to 2-way hockey, and a well deserved 3-game win streak.

 

[BehindSooNet]

While he hasn't been named a star in any of the three games in which he has appeared, Bailey Brkin certainly deserves a People's Choice Award for the impact he has had on the Hounds! Losing streak broken, winning streak started - this season may not turn out to be so bad after all! Will be interesting to see how many points we pick up next weekend ...

 

[Houndsfan22]

What kind of mental gymnastics does it take to come up with that?

For two months he told us how great the hounds are on paper, and called anybody that disagreed "stupid".

Months later, we are last in the Western Conference and he is still telling us how great we are.

What did I miss?

Uh huh. The hounds are good. Sometimes it takes a single piece to get a team rolling. On paper they’re pretty fantastic. IN emotion they didn’t seem to support the goalie situation.

 

[HockeyPops]

Three straight without O'Rourke. Our defense has really stepped up.

 

[Bear54]

Three straight without O'Rourke. Our defense has really stepped up.

Couldn't agree more. A total team commitment to backchecking on turnovers, sticking to their roles in the d-zone and using their strength to regain possession. I think that Sat. night was the first game since Oct. 26 against Flint that we had fewer pim than our opponent.
The biggest improvement has to be the addition of Bailey Brkin in net. I'm sure he has given the team a boost in confidence. I can't remember a goalie with his on-ice communication skills!
Welcome to the Soo Bailey.

 

[Marj44]

Though Oshawa did not appear to play a great game, it’s important to notice how well the greyhounds played last night. The score could have been much higher as the hounds had about 4 chances that would be goals 99% of the time. There were a few major differences in last night’s game vs previous games;
- As mentioned above, penalties seemed to be reduced, especially lazy ones. The team seemed to step it up and use a little more hustle.
- The physical play was on display. Guys we’re finishing checks and we’re battling along the boards, something that’s been severely lacking. Shout out to Tye Kartye cause that guy came out flying and using his body.
- Obviously goaltending has been a major change. Brkin seems to have all the abilities of a great goaltender. He’s keeping things loose with teammates and officials while taking pride in stopping each shot. I still believe Ethan Taylor can be a great goalie, he has lots of skill. Hopefully he doesn’t get in a low and instead uses Brkin as a measuring stick and tries to play above his mark!
- There’s less scripted plays. I have HATED the scripted plays the hounds have done for the past number of years. They got away with it with high skill guys like Frost, Katchouk, Senyshyn, etc. Sometimes you have to just improvise and stay in your assignment. Teams key in on scripted plays easily and when the other team has equal or higher skill then it’s tough to make them work.

I’d still like to see a defensive right hand shot defenceman brought in, maybe one who’s 17 or 18. But kudos to the current team on standing a little taller and taking more pride in their game last night!

 

[Marj44]

Gotta think the next 4-5 games is probably the most important stretch of the season. The boys are going to have to play good hockey for a while here to recoup some of the losing skid they were on. I’m excited to see Taylor have a huge game when depended on during this stretch.

Thursday is important, hope the young men remember that Windsor made them look like a peewee team a few weeks ago. That game and others affected; personal draft rankings, team standings, their pride and a lot of fans thoughts about the team. Time to show up and hammer them hard on the scoreboard!

 

[HockeyPops]

Not to mention the next 4 games are all against divisional opponents.

 

[newhound777]

Three straight without O'Rourke. Our defense has really stepped up.

Our defense looks solid because they are playing defense first and looking to score second. Making tape to tape passes out of the zone, letting the forwards focus on offense instead of covering the blue line and not giving up the repeated odd man rush. The recipe for our success!

 

[Radar9]

Is Hayton destined for the OHL? -- RUICCI COLUMN

Is Hayton destined for the OHL? — RUICCI COLUMN