Tomahawks swept by Titans 5-6, 0-3

[BrianV]

Tomahawks drop opener 6-5 in overtime.

It was a pretty exciting game, but not very pretty.

Tomahawks scored five times, but they were all on the power play. PK killed off 6 of 7 penalties, including most of a 5-minute major. So, the special teams worked well, but the even strength performance was lacking. Johnstown has size this year, which is a welcomed change, but the energy level was noticeably low.

Gwillim played well in net. He made a couple big saves on breakaways and odd-man plays early in the game. He reminds me of a Mark Scally in that what he lacks in technical skill he generally makes up for in heart. He seemed to be the only one playing for the first ten minutes. On the first two goals he slid out to cut down angles on odd-man plays, but they were more-so defensive lapses. Fourth goal was through a screen and he never saw it. He was kicking himself for the overtime goal: he was a bit off his angle, he saw it the whole way, and he almost got his glove down to it in time. The defense just gave Birzitis too much time. Wrist shot from the faceoff circle.

Logan Hudson was mostly solid and his fight with Andrew Durham was well timed. It didn’t help us, unfortunately, but the team needed a spark. What’s more, it was one of the best fights we’ve seen in the NAHL. Actually punches were thrown and not just dancing.

Attendance was a disappointing 2339. The new lights in the arena are wonderful. It’s so much brighter and they don’t have the start-up lag time like before. The players like the new boards because they absorb hits better. Benches and penalty boxes are also bigger. The step-down that visiting teams used to make when entering the ice is gone. The boards from Dallas don’t have doors in the same spots, and that one is now gone, which wakes for a much longer walk to the ice for the visiting team.

I didn’t see this spearing they called on Alger in the second. They were tussling behind the play. The linesman made the call and ejected Alger. If he did spear him, it must not have hurt too much because I never ever saw the other guy react. Titans scored on the major penalty as a deflected shot arced over Gwillim unnoticed.

Second period was nothing but penalties. What is that <counts it up> 22 minutes not including 3 misconducts? We maybe played a couple minutes at full strength.

The high sticking against Schuler late in the third was a Godsend. He was chasing the defender behind the net on a PK forecheck and was careless with his stick. Contrary to the shamefully inaccurate Pointstreak site, it was actually a double-minor for blood. The Tomahawks scored on both minors to tie the game. That’s a big time power play performance right there. If nothing else, the ‘Hawks were certainly opportunistic tonight.

It’s good to see scoring and it’s good to see size, but they’re not gonna win much unless they decide that winning is important to them. Not that there weren’t some good players tonight (Horn was noticeable on the ice; Galambos looked confident) but the team generally looked mentally unprepared for the game. I don’t think we’ve won a home opener yet.

Bobby Hull dropped the ceremonial first puck. Very cool.

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[doncherrysgrill]

watched this one on fasthockey last night, two really solid teams going at it and definitely an exciting one!

 

[BrianV]

Titans win Saturday 3-0

Titans win second match 3-0.

This weekend felt like a Hockeyville hangover. I think “disinterested†would be a good work for the weekend. The off-ice production seemed half-hearted. The on-ice performance was also lackluster. The fan support was disappointing as well. Snow flurries cancelled some of the pre-game outdoor activities. Overall, it felt like a forgotten weekend. (Perhaps I’ve just been to too many games) Maybe we should try this home opener thing again in a couple weeks when Wilkes Barre is in town.

I like the goaltending duo. DeSimone played solid in net. Very little exertion and he seemed to be in the right spots. The first goal came after he stopped Gelatt’s breakaway. The puck went to the side of the net and Gelatt bounced it off DeSimone into the net. The second goal was a careless move by one of our forwards who put the puck in a dangerous position down low and lost control of it. Third was an empty net. Based on the admittedly-small sample size of these two games, I’m comfortable with either goalie in net.

Beyond the crease, the Tomahawks looked like a pick-up team. You’d swear they had never seen each other before. They felt confused and disorganized. I’m not sure if that contributed to their hesitations and low energy or if that is a separate issue, but the combination of the two made for a boring game.

Is it bad coaching or bad playing? I’m not sure yet. I did get the impression that the Tomahawk players were not thinking the game fast enough. There were several passes (to open ice) that were theoretically good, but the player who could have received it was a few steps behind. It felt like a lot of the players were reacting to plays but anticipating them. If this were the first game of the season, that would be understandable, but we’re already into double digits. I was expecting a more focused team.

The Titans played well and worked hard for the win. They won a lot of puck battles, forced an uncountable number of turnovers (particularly on dump-ins and behind the net), and were strong on the blue line. Tomahawks struggled mightily to clear their zone.

I think they added additional compressors for Hockeyville, so the ice is theoretically harder and faster than in previous years. Does that explain why it seems like the puck is faster than the players? The whole weekend it felt like we were literally chasing the puck, particularly when passes were made or received poorly. It’d get kicked out somewhere and we’d never catch up to it.

Galambos was a -2 but you can see why he’s listed on the NHL watch list. I feel good when he has the puck (excluding the 3 consecutive turnovers he made leading up to the empty net). Hudson has played with some heart and seems to be taking his captaincy seriously. Seningen had a decent game and generated some chances for us, particularly in the second. I’m becoming a Tommy Horn fan (and not just because he’s wearing my number). He’s looked focused and has been strong on the puck.

As a small guy myself I feel okay saying that Smith seems too small, although he showed a few moves. What is up with Romano? I remember him contributing more last year, but he’s looked out of his league this season. Defenders had an easy time with him tonight.

Offense is still a concern of mine as it has been for the past four years. I know we’re near the top in the league so far, but we didn’t see much this weekend. All of the goals were on the power play, and even-strength chances were few and far between. It doesn’t seem like we have anyone who really wants the puck and can get himself some space. (Thinking of Bednard from a couple seasons ago) If we do in fact have someone like that on the team, I hope he shows up next game.

Onward and upward to Alaska. Hopefully the long trip will give them time and opportunity to work out the organizational problems. We’re gonna be seeing a lot of home games in November/December including an ungodly six against this New Jersey team. (Six? Holy moly, they might was well start forwarding their mail here) We’ll need a much showing to compete with them in those games.