OHLTG
Registered User
I'd give it until at least November before looking at anything. Right now, all seems much better than last season and that's a bonus for us.
Windsor Spitfires 2019-20 Season Thread
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I'd give it until at least November before looking at anything. Right now, all seems much better than last season and that's a bonus for us.
OHLTG
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TheGremlin
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scokan
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A couple of thoughts after this game. I would start Medina twice next week. Not demoting Piironien yet but I view them as 1 and 1A. We saw Piironien twice this week, its Medina's turn next week.
I would also move McDonald up to play with Foudy and Cuylee. That line seemed to click last year in the limited time they played together.
I would also move McDonald up to play with Foudy and Cuylee. That line seemed to click last year in the limited time they played together.
OHLTG
Registered User
Kari played well on Thurs against them. I'm chaulking this one up to a team effort - PK issues, discipline, and inability to score on two (2) chances, two-on-zero, while SH.
3-1 is a solid start. Now, get ready for a pretty good Ottawa team on Thurs and the return of WR on Saturday night.
3-1 is a solid start. Now, get ready for a pretty good Ottawa team on Thurs and the return of WR on Saturday night.
I would also say Piiroinen had very little help tonight. Medina has one game in the league and played extremely well. Last year Piiroinen play well in his first few ganes but one bad game, with a poor team performance in front of him changed the way Letowski handled him.
I would keep Medina at one of every three games for his first five starts then proceed based on how both are performing.
I would make a few changes to the lines. I like how Foudy/Cuylle/McDonald started coming together after the U17s until they stuck McDonald on the fourth line and pretty much forgot about him until his injury.
I would put Afanasyev/Foudy/Maggio together and Cuylle/???/McDonald together. A solid playmaking centre would be a nice addition between Cuylle and McDonald. I don't think they have the right fit on the roster at the moment. Zito or Johnston might be there next year but it's probably too early to expect either of them to step in now.
They spent a couple of 2nds to bring Maggio in and McDinald is hoped to be a bigger contributor this year yet they are being rotated in and out. If there are bigger expectations on those two then playing limited minutes on the fourth line while sitting out every fourth game doesn't make sense.
I've also heard from a couple of people who didn't renew their season tickets because their kid's hockey games are now on Thursday nights... they went from full season tickets to either a flex pack or just going to a couple of games
Let's not entirely blame the coaches. Starikov didn't do the work in the summer and came back out of shape resulting in him being put in the situation that he was in. If you put the work in, you are rewarded
Not a big deal that they lost. The way they performed though.... Both teams were playing 3 in 3, Erie is really banged up for being early in the year. Spits botch 2 2-0 SH breakaways. Spits facing a rookie goaltender. Spits fork over 2 2nd rounders for Maggio to have him sit with the fans??? Piroinen has to be better as well. Seemed like if they won great but if they lost who cares because they had won the previous 2.
Cfaub
I dont think you will see McDonald rotated in and out the lineup again ,based on his play the last 2 outings,2G,1A,Zito also 1G,2A they play well together,I would put Damico between them,move Maggio to the Bolka and Playfair line,move Afanaseyev to play with Foudy and Cuylle ,and Douglas with join Douglas and Angle.
If that dont work for you then move Purboo to Foudy line,and Douglas to Angle line,in the past those guys all played well with one another .
I agree with your goaltender rotation proposal, though with 3 of the next 5 at home,I would play Piironen vs Ottawa,Thursday,Medina vs Barrie Saturday, Piironen in Mississauga Sunday
and in Kitchener Friday,back to Medina Sat October 12 vs Sarnia
Then take from there.
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OHLTG
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That's what my thinking was. You look at the goals tonight - I can think of a couple that Piiroinen should have had (such as the shot from the point that went low glove). When you've given up six PP goals in four games, including three tonight, there's an issue. Looking through the goals... first goal, no chance backdoor. Second goal, Drysdale one-timer, no chance. Third goal, slapshot that skated in, no chance. Fourth goal, slapshot from the point, probably should have had that. Fifth goal, one-timer almost identical to Drysdale, not much you can do. Sixth goal, made the save, bounced off Ladd and into the net. Right there, that's five goals that the defence didn't help him (the point shot was the lone issue).
Give Piiroinen support and we've seen what he can do. He's done well up to this point. Medina gets one start a weekend for the time being and re-evaluate come late November or so. This coming weekend, there's Ottawa and Barrie at home, then Mississauga on the road. I expect Medina to start at home against Barrie, while Piiroinen starts the other two.
Erie played very well, despite third-in-three. Windsor looked tired, also third-in-three. Get back to the drawing board and figure out how to avoid 1.5 PPGs against per game.
I don't think there's an "if they lose, so be it, as they won the rest of the weekend" attitude. The other two games were very, very solid. This game had some pretty ugly issues, but I'll still take four points on this weekend. Now, you go into practice this week working on the PK, working on the odd-man rushes, and working on defensive assignments.
TheGremlin
Registered User
Lets not think these goals that are being scored against Kari he has no chance on. I’m seeing the teams we are playing goalies making saves they shouldn’t be. He has played well and is better then last year but there is also a point where he NEEDS to find a way to make a few of those. His anticipation may be a little off or he isn’t fully aware of who is where.
In terms of rotating the goaltending what you laid out is fine. The only start that's debatable would be Barrie and Missy games. The Missy game may be the better start for Medina as his second game but it would be nice to get him his first start at home against Barrie as well. If Piiroinen has a tough game against Ottawa then give Medina the Barrie game, if he doesn't then I would wait for the Missy game.
As for line combinations I could see D'Amico or Douglas as trade bait to get a playmaking centre for Cuylle and whoever ended up on the other side.
The remaining players would be lined up depending on who would potentially be moved if they went that path.
If they moved Douglas I would put D'Amico/Angle/Purboo back together and see if they could restore the chemistry they had last year in the first half. I'll admit I wouldn't be a fan of having to play Johnsto/Zito with Boka and Playfair. Zito I think would be fine, he fits their style a bit better but Johnston wouldn't fit well with them.
If they moved D'Amico I would put Johnston and Zito between Douglas and Purboo which would leave Angle lined up with Boka and Playfair. That would create a nice vet line with the way Boka and Playfair are playing right now while giving Johnston and Zito a couple of big bodied vets who should be able to score in Douglas and Purboo but also play a bit slower which would help them acclimate a bit better as they get up to speed. It worked well for a while with Douglas/Foudy/Cuylle last year.
In the end the only way I make a trade is if they are upgrading at centre. If not I would play it out, with some changs to who plays with who until they feel one of Johnston or Zito are ready for the next step in development. I don't see any deals likely happening at this point and it wouldn't have to be a big splash type of move, a straight up hockey trade that works to improve their top six/nine centre depth.
I think the biggest issue last night is they didn't expect Erie, who they just beat two nights before, playing short a number of regulars and also playing their third in three with the extra travel before hand would have as much energy and intensity as they did.
Erie cam out with something to prove and simply played much better and Windsor struggled to get back into it once they fell behind.
Erie was the better team last night in a game very few probably expected them to be while Windsor simply didn't play as well as they are capable of.
Not much more to it than that.
Erie cam out with something to prove and simply played much better and Windsor struggled to get back into it once they fell behind.
Erie was the better team last night in a game very few probably expected them to be while Windsor simply didn't play as well as they are capable of.
Not much more to it than that.
Cfaub
While I would not have a problem with what you said Medina and starting at Missy ,with Windsor playing its 3rd game in 3-1/2 days,would rather him start when the team is fresh, ie Saturday vs Barrie, not unlike this past Friday he started rather then playing Saturday with the team playing its 3rd in 3,and he is the only one rested.
As for possible trade,dont see it happening with either player,though I would move Douglas (19), prior to D!amico(18)
While I would not have a problem with what you said Medina and starting at Missy ,with Windsor playing its 3rd game in 3-1/2 days,would rather him start when the team is fresh, ie Saturday vs Barrie, not unlike this past Friday he started rather then playing Saturday with the team playing its 3rd in 3,and he is the only one rested.
As for possible trade,dont see it happening with either player,though I would move Douglas (19), prior to D!amico(18)
Cfaub
I dont think Windsor expected Erie to get 7 PP opps compared to 3,at even strength Windsor was fine,and if Windsor scores on the 3 missed break ins in the 2nd would have been a different game imo.
Scoring chances were about the same,one teams goalie Erie, outplayed Windsor's, though in fairness the Erie tender didn't face 2 long 5 on 3!s.
In the end score on your opps and you win.
OHL 17
Registered User
Fair enough with Medina, would like to see him get his first home game.
I see Douglas and D'Amico as vulnerable to an early season trade IF one were to happen which I doubt will.
My preference would be D'Amico because of his past inconsistencies later in the season and because Douglas would have higher value at the deadline if they went that route.
It's early and a shake up is needed but start off with shaking up the players you have within the roster and play it out until the 10 game mark and see how things are going. I don't see any early deals coming so as long as they recognize they have some early chemistry issues and try to address them it's a start.
Looked like Letowski tried to make some in game changes last night which is a bit out of character but a good call.
Everyone knows my opinion on the coaches and certain players but credit where due. Letowski has opened things up quite a bit which is good but he either has gone too far the other way or still working on the chemistry, a bit of both most likely. As long as he isn't sitting on his hands and is making adjustments he effort should be recognized.
Just burn that tape of last nites game.
Everyone perforned bad.
Total team effort at sucking.
Just put it out of their minds n move on to next game. Hopefully they didn't thjnk they were going to win them all. Haha.
Everyone perforned bad.
Total team effort at sucking.
Just put it out of their minds n move on to next game. Hopefully they didn't thjnk they were going to win them all. Haha.
I understand the point you're making and Erie capitalizing on their chances when Windsor didn't, especially under the circumstances is what made them the better team last night.
IMO it was the worst game of the first four they've played and the circumstances is what made it ugly.
They're a better team than they showed last night and every team plays a bad game once in a while.
I take the Peterborough game as an exception, they're not going to score nine many nights but they also battled back. The last three, with one being their best, one their worst highlighted some issues that they need to correct and doing so early will only help them.
It's a long year, still a work in progress so let's see them respond to the obvious areas that need improvement.
Agree with you Legend. We score even on 1 of the 2 on 0 breakaways and it's a different game. Special teams killed us, they get 3 powerplay goals and we got none. Angle 2 more stupid penalties. I guess his talk with TL went nowhere. I think freshen up the lines with a tweak. Once Cuylee, Afanseyev get that first goal, I think they will score a bunch. Surprised Playfair is still pointless this season so far. Kari wasn't great but didn't have a chance on many of those goals. Still like to see him stone a couple of those chances to boost his confidence. Last 2 games our 4th line has been arguably the most productive.We are dead last in penalty killing in the West and only Flint's power play is worse than ours.
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