The Thomas Milne era in Newmarket begins in less than ideal circumstances as the Hurricanes have not earned a point since Sept. 16 - a seven-game losing skid - and have four straight opponents coming up with win percentages north of .722. Up first. the South Division leading Oakville Blades come to the Ray Twinney Sports Complex Thursday night with the Southwest Conference's Player of the Month for September, Ryan Foss, in tow.
For their part, head coach Mike Tarantino's Blades are 7-2-0-1, and the scary thing is that despite that shiny record, the club as a whole knows they have not hit anywhere near their stride. Foss' line, with his committed mates of Bryce Misley (Vermont) and Jackson Bales (Merrimack), have been extremely consistent, combining for 21 of Oakville's 49 goals so far, and all three have at least 17 points through the club's 10 contests. The next highest point-getter is Clarkson commit Drew Worrad, who has 11, and while this doesn't specifically trouble the Blades' staff, the significance rests with the fact that this roster has so much more potential than it has shown so far.
Oakville's well-prepared staff will know that if the underdog Hurricanes are going to cause them trouble, it will either come through the highly skilled combination of Todd Winder and Alex Ierullo, or the impressive power-play acumen of Newmarket captain and defender Christian Dedonato. Newly acquired offensive-minded defenceman Cole Thiessen has not disappointed either for Newmarket, and could be an X-factor for the Hurricanes on the night.
The Blades, on the other hand, cannot wait for the combination of Christian Rajic and Jack Jeffers to really explode, and they appear to be slowly finding the right track with each nabbing points in their last three games with the physical grinder Tyler Hildebrandt on their wing.
Chris Elliot was strong in net in Oakville's last game, a 4-1 win at the often tricky confines of Port Credit Arena in Mississauga, but expect veteran Brendan McGlynn to get the call. The dimensions will be more to the Blades' liking in Newmarket, as the ice surface, though not as big as at Sixteen Mile in Oakville, is still at least regulation size.
Aidan Doak came in relief of Jesse Hodgson in Newmarket's latest contest in Cobourg, and did well, allowing one goal on 21 shots. Both have struggled this year, but I expect the more veteran Doak to get the start on Thursday in Milne's first game behind the Hurricanes' bench.
My prediction is that on paper the Hurricanes are in very tough, but the high-powered Blades have a history of not fully showing up in games that are perceived as mismatches - both teams have a chance to prove that assessment wrong.
Thursday, October 6, 2016
Saturday, October 1, 2016
Neugybowl Previews: Game #1 - Toronto @ North York Oct. 2
Another year, another Neugybowl. Is it self serving to create such a thing? I don't know. It's been a fun joke among people that know what I'm talking about, so let's keep it going!
Last year the Oakville Blades were the clear winners of the Neugybowl, taking seven wins from nine games with a tie thrown in. North York got the silver medal by going 4-3-1, while Toronto limped to the bronze at 1-7-1. This year there is a fourth entry into the event, the Newmarket Hurricanes, so competition, and potential for more difficult math for Jamie, is increased.
I will endeavour to write game previews for each Neugybowl clash, and the first one goes Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. at Victoria Village Arena when the Rangers and Patriots do battle for the first time this year.
Head coach Mario Cicchillo and general manager Mark Joslin seemed to have successfully righted the Toronto ship. Clearly they started where all hockey teams need to be started, in goal, and in their platoon of Tyler Fassl and Cam Gray, I can say they are happy beyond a doubt. Both the Texan Gray, and the newly acquired Sauble Beach-native Fassl were brilliant at the showcase, the former stuffing the high-powered Whitby Fury, and the latter doing just enough to clip the similarly emerging Kingston Voyageurs. Which of the two they have the most confidence in at this point is uncertain, but surely both are wins on the part of the Pats. Fassl was excellent in a Friday night road win in an often-tricky Lindsay Recreation Centre, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's Gray that gets Joslin's old organization the Rangers Sunday afternoon.
To give Fassl's brilliance so far some context though, he is 3-0 with a 2.24 goals-against average, and a league-best .940 save percentage - not too shabby.
A major key to the Pats turning it around is the emergence of an excellent top defence-pairing in league second-year man Nick Kalpousos, and rookie Ryan Wells. Wells sat out in Lindsay for rest, and to give guys in suits some playing time, but this mobile, intelligent pairing will see big minutes on Sunday. Those around the league, especially those that saw Newmarket last year and the Young Nats midgets before, knew what Kalpousos could bring, but Wells was a bit of a wild card, and the Pats clearly hit a home run on that young man. Beyond them, Graeme MacLean has been very safe, smart and involved all over the ice, despite a lack of points, and always seems to show up in big moments for the Pats thus far, especially at the defensive end. Who will Cicchilo match up against Keegan Blasby and Chris Sekelyk, should those two NYR monsters be on a line together? Could be Cicchilo' own physical defensive monster Josh Chiarot. We will have to find out!
Up front, Joslin has finally found success in bringing some depth. The Jeff Joynt, Colton Kalezic, Andrew Petrucci (who is a man, and proved it against Whitby at the showcase) unit has been extremely consistent since training camp, but getting Dante Spagnuolo from Trenton and Oliver Benwell to report has been huge for secondary scoring. Off-season Guisten Annetta is back from injury and is still finding his sea legs, but showed promise on a Kanata Junior 'A' team that really struggled last year. I expect he'll make an impact before it's all said and done for Toronto. Paul Violo hasn't produced so far this year, but the rookie out of the Toronto Marlies has promise and is my sleeper to have a solid first year in the league.
Jeremie Lintner has been excellent in net for North York, and I expect he'll get the start again after a great showing at the Showcase vs. Trenton, and then again Friday night in Buffalo. His numbers speak well for him once again (just like last year), with the athletic goaltender sporting a 2.25 GAA (0.01 behind Fassl, as an aside), and a league third-best .936 save percentage. The Rangers are fine in net.
Key veteran defender Shawn Tessier didn't have a training camp due to an illness, and while he is fully recovered from that, he has yet to fully find his groove. A man with vast junior experience, including 52 games in the Ontario Hockey League, the two-way defender will be great for NYR, he just needs to catch up to the rest of the field after circumstances that were out of his control befell him. One asset he certainly has is the brilliant addition of Matthew Ferrari, a big-bodied, smooth-skater who joins Tessier as the Rangers' No. 1A or 1B defender. I expect these two to take on the Petrucci unit, if Schomogyi has his way.
The club's other returning defenceman, Adam Giacomin, is a key veteran leader, and plays an old-school, physical brand of hockey. His presence alongside the likes of offensively inclined rookies Joey Maziarz and Harrison Toms will be huge for head coach Geoff Schomogyi and staff teaching the young guys how to play at this level. A lot is expected of Cornell committed Peter Muzyka, but the big, rangy defender is jumping straight from minor midget, and that is never an easy jump. He will learn, settle, and be a fine player at this level eventually; I have no doubt.
I mentioned Sekelyk and Blasby earlier, and for good reason: those two can be unstoppable at this level, if they want to. They were absolutely smothered by both Whitby and Trenton at the Showcase, but holding them down long just won't happen this year. They both are big and strong, with huge shots, great hands, and wonderful patience with the puck, and the Rangers need them to be key leaders in the energy and effort area to be successful as a club. It's hard not to enjoy watching the combination of Louis Kereakou, Nick Zanette, and captain Kyle Clarke. Those three play with energy, passion, and very underrated skill, and clearly value wearing the Ranger logo on their chest. They were one of the true underrated units in the league last season, and came up big with a goal apiece on Friday night's win in Buffalo. When they are at their best, this North York team is at a whole other level.
Rookie Rocco Andreacchi and veteran Ryan Hunt have been impressive at times, but like most of this North York forward corps, have yet to find great consistency throughout the first six games of the year.
Despite whatever has happened through the games so far, it is still very early, and the information we have on any of the teams in the league (with the probable exception of Trenton), is still too limited to know for sure what is in store.
My prediction is that it will be a one-goal, hard-fought tight game. The Pats have won four in a row and are feeling great about themselves, while the Rangers are breathing a sigh of relief after the win Buffalo following a rough showing at the Showcase. I'll go the cliche route: whoever is better between the goalies, Gray/Fassl and Lintner, will decide the outcome.
Let the Neugybowl begin.
Last year the Oakville Blades were the clear winners of the Neugybowl, taking seven wins from nine games with a tie thrown in. North York got the silver medal by going 4-3-1, while Toronto limped to the bronze at 1-7-1. This year there is a fourth entry into the event, the Newmarket Hurricanes, so competition, and potential for more difficult math for Jamie, is increased.
I will endeavour to write game previews for each Neugybowl clash, and the first one goes Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. at Victoria Village Arena when the Rangers and Patriots do battle for the first time this year.
Head coach Mario Cicchillo and general manager Mark Joslin seemed to have successfully righted the Toronto ship. Clearly they started where all hockey teams need to be started, in goal, and in their platoon of Tyler Fassl and Cam Gray, I can say they are happy beyond a doubt. Both the Texan Gray, and the newly acquired Sauble Beach-native Fassl were brilliant at the showcase, the former stuffing the high-powered Whitby Fury, and the latter doing just enough to clip the similarly emerging Kingston Voyageurs. Which of the two they have the most confidence in at this point is uncertain, but surely both are wins on the part of the Pats. Fassl was excellent in a Friday night road win in an often-tricky Lindsay Recreation Centre, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's Gray that gets Joslin's old organization the Rangers Sunday afternoon.
To give Fassl's brilliance so far some context though, he is 3-0 with a 2.24 goals-against average, and a league-best .940 save percentage - not too shabby.
A major key to the Pats turning it around is the emergence of an excellent top defence-pairing in league second-year man Nick Kalpousos, and rookie Ryan Wells. Wells sat out in Lindsay for rest, and to give guys in suits some playing time, but this mobile, intelligent pairing will see big minutes on Sunday. Those around the league, especially those that saw Newmarket last year and the Young Nats midgets before, knew what Kalpousos could bring, but Wells was a bit of a wild card, and the Pats clearly hit a home run on that young man. Beyond them, Graeme MacLean has been very safe, smart and involved all over the ice, despite a lack of points, and always seems to show up in big moments for the Pats thus far, especially at the defensive end. Who will Cicchilo match up against Keegan Blasby and Chris Sekelyk, should those two NYR monsters be on a line together? Could be Cicchilo' own physical defensive monster Josh Chiarot. We will have to find out!
Up front, Joslin has finally found success in bringing some depth. The Jeff Joynt, Colton Kalezic, Andrew Petrucci (who is a man, and proved it against Whitby at the showcase) unit has been extremely consistent since training camp, but getting Dante Spagnuolo from Trenton and Oliver Benwell to report has been huge for secondary scoring. Off-season Guisten Annetta is back from injury and is still finding his sea legs, but showed promise on a Kanata Junior 'A' team that really struggled last year. I expect he'll make an impact before it's all said and done for Toronto. Paul Violo hasn't produced so far this year, but the rookie out of the Toronto Marlies has promise and is my sleeper to have a solid first year in the league.
Jeremie Lintner has been excellent in net for North York, and I expect he'll get the start again after a great showing at the Showcase vs. Trenton, and then again Friday night in Buffalo. His numbers speak well for him once again (just like last year), with the athletic goaltender sporting a 2.25 GAA (0.01 behind Fassl, as an aside), and a league third-best .936 save percentage. The Rangers are fine in net.
Key veteran defender Shawn Tessier didn't have a training camp due to an illness, and while he is fully recovered from that, he has yet to fully find his groove. A man with vast junior experience, including 52 games in the Ontario Hockey League, the two-way defender will be great for NYR, he just needs to catch up to the rest of the field after circumstances that were out of his control befell him. One asset he certainly has is the brilliant addition of Matthew Ferrari, a big-bodied, smooth-skater who joins Tessier as the Rangers' No. 1A or 1B defender. I expect these two to take on the Petrucci unit, if Schomogyi has his way.
The club's other returning defenceman, Adam Giacomin, is a key veteran leader, and plays an old-school, physical brand of hockey. His presence alongside the likes of offensively inclined rookies Joey Maziarz and Harrison Toms will be huge for head coach Geoff Schomogyi and staff teaching the young guys how to play at this level. A lot is expected of Cornell committed Peter Muzyka, but the big, rangy defender is jumping straight from minor midget, and that is never an easy jump. He will learn, settle, and be a fine player at this level eventually; I have no doubt.
I mentioned Sekelyk and Blasby earlier, and for good reason: those two can be unstoppable at this level, if they want to. They were absolutely smothered by both Whitby and Trenton at the Showcase, but holding them down long just won't happen this year. They both are big and strong, with huge shots, great hands, and wonderful patience with the puck, and the Rangers need them to be key leaders in the energy and effort area to be successful as a club. It's hard not to enjoy watching the combination of Louis Kereakou, Nick Zanette, and captain Kyle Clarke. Those three play with energy, passion, and very underrated skill, and clearly value wearing the Ranger logo on their chest. They were one of the true underrated units in the league last season, and came up big with a goal apiece on Friday night's win in Buffalo. When they are at their best, this North York team is at a whole other level.
Rookie Rocco Andreacchi and veteran Ryan Hunt have been impressive at times, but like most of this North York forward corps, have yet to find great consistency throughout the first six games of the year.
Despite whatever has happened through the games so far, it is still very early, and the information we have on any of the teams in the league (with the probable exception of Trenton), is still too limited to know for sure what is in store.
My prediction is that it will be a one-goal, hard-fought tight game. The Pats have won four in a row and are feeling great about themselves, while the Rangers are breathing a sigh of relief after the win Buffalo following a rough showing at the Showcase. I'll go the cliche route: whoever is better between the goalies, Gray/Fassl and Lintner, will decide the outcome.
Let the Neugybowl begin.
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