Just as the Montreal Canadiens are regaining flight, after a disappointing Centennial season so far, just down the road, only ten minutes from the Bell Center something else special is happening on an ice surface.
The ‘something special’ comes in the form of QMJHL team The Montreal Junior. Last night the Junior played Game Five of their first round playoff series against the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. You thought the Habs were fun? The Junior accounted for seven goals last night, and their top Blues prospect goalie Jake Allen, let in a total of zero goals.
The Verdun Auditorium was magical last night. The entire arena was sold out, a feat in itself, as it so rarely is. Half way through the second, when the Junior were only up by one, something extraordinary would happen.
The wave.
The wave began to make its way around the auditorium, lifting just about everyone from their seats. The wave is not one of my favorite things hockey fans do during games, but in this particular instance this wave signified the start of something special.
People were catching on. Not to the wave itself, but to the Junior.
Montreal had a great, exciting hockey team in 2009. The problem was, was that no body knew about them. They weren’t a storied, one hundred year old franchise. Quite the contrary, they were in their inaugural year, struggling to get their name in the paper, relying at best on word-of-mouth.
But what they had hoped for all season finally looks to be coming to fruition. The playoffs, and being successful and exciting (thus far) have helped bring in the capacity crowds. The air is electric, and the chants of “Let’s go Junior!” no longer needs to helped along by a pre-recorded version to fill in the empty air.
It helps that the Junior have some exciting players, a dynamic coach, an assistant coach who also anchors RDS’ Canadiens panel Joel Bouchard, and five NHL drafted players, including star goalie Jake Allen, drafted 62nd overall in last June’s draft, and first QMJHL player chosen.
The Junior’s season, which happens to be their first ever, began with a draft day trade that saw the acquisition of local homeboy hero Angelo Esposito from the Quebec Remparts. You’d have to consider owner Farrell Miller, who was surely looking at an advertising advantage, propelled this move. It’s easier to market Angelo Esposito than it is to market Guillaume Asselin. You know, number 17, the Junior’s first round draft choice? My point exactly.
It’s not easy for this team to find their fan base, and while some argue they aren’t exactly competing with the Canadiens, a part of them is. Do you save up to get those Habs tickets, or do you go to a few Junior games? There is a mix of young and old, but this is truly a hockey-fans dream: good, hard-hitting hockey and cheap beer.
The Canadiens misfortunes this season has slowly translated into the Junior’s fortune. More and more people are coming to see this exciting team play. Often times, I’ve heard people express relief in watching a Montreal hockey team actually succeed, be exciting and be worth the price of entrance. Not much can be said of the 115$ tickets I purchased for a Habs vs. Leafs game, which I left early to attend the final period of a Junior game.
If the bonus for adults is the cheap beer, the bonus for kids is that they have a chance to meet the players after every game. The players are extremely approachable, and sign autographs at the end of every game, no matter how many kids are waiting for them.
While the Habs are fighting to stay in contention, a team just down the road is already in search of a cup. So while if the Junior defeat Rouyn-Noranda tomorrow afternoon, you won’t see the same kind of riots in the street that the Habs beating Boston erupted last season, it may be the start of the only second round series this city may see this year.
Scouts in Attendance Last Night:
Anaheim x 4
Pittsburg
Montreal
Los Angeles Kings
Chicago Blackhawks
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Oh Captain! My Captain!
The remedy is rather simple: Play 60 minutes.
In these fragile times, that’s all you can really ask for.
Or maybe not.
Play 55 minutes in regulation, give up two goals in the five you fall asleep, and then play 5 minutes overtime? That equals 60, right? I was never very good at math…
Tuesday night it was Carey vs. Kari (Lehtonen). In this round two of Carey vs. Karri (Ramo) it was only made interesting in the last five minutes, when the Habs decided it might be more fun to play an extra five, after holding Tampa to 19 shots (the fewest shots allowed by an opponent for the first time this season... thats 74 games in...)
Building off the win on Tuesday night, the Habs seemed to have regained focus, and remembered that hockey is a team sport. Not an individual effort. The first half of the first period, you may as well have sold seats on Carey Price’s side of the ice. It certainly wasn’t being used for a hockey game. Tampa Bay was completely dominated by the Habs, something that hasn’t been seen in a while. Total domination by the Habs? Who knew it was possible.
Just as fragile as the team is, so are the fans. I don’t know about you, but whenever the games are as close as they were tonight, I’m just waiting for the breaking point. You know, the Komisarek slap shot from the point, that’s blocked two feet away from him, and turns into a break-away going the other way. Or perhaps the nifty move Kovalev will pull through five guys that will inevitably end in a turnover. Or perhaps even an own-goal on a delayed penalty. If you wait for it… it will come.
And it came.
It came in the monster form of Evgeni Artyukin.
Two all, five minutes to go. Who’s surprised?
Here’s the deal. When you have eight power-play’s to the opponents ONE, the score should not be 2-0. Not when you’ve had an advantage the whole game. Eight powerplays compared to Tampa’s one, 57% of faceoff won, and the game is tied at two? Against Tampa? The only thing I took solace in knowing was that Price had already let in his SGPG (soft goal per game), so chances are another one wasn’t coming.
Blow and two goal lead and lose in overtime? Not on my Centennial.
Not on Saku’s either.
Stop his shot once, shame on him. Stop his shot twice, I don’t think so. Backhand, narrow angle, melee in front of the net? No problem. Make no mistake, this is Saku Koivu’s team. Oh captain, our captain, thank you for (another) season saving goal.
Say hello to a well-earned “W.”
It’s been a while.
In these fragile times, that’s all you can really ask for.
Or maybe not.
Play 55 minutes in regulation, give up two goals in the five you fall asleep, and then play 5 minutes overtime? That equals 60, right? I was never very good at math…
Tuesday night it was Carey vs. Kari (Lehtonen). In this round two of Carey vs. Karri (Ramo) it was only made interesting in the last five minutes, when the Habs decided it might be more fun to play an extra five, after holding Tampa to 19 shots (the fewest shots allowed by an opponent for the first time this season... thats 74 games in...)
Building off the win on Tuesday night, the Habs seemed to have regained focus, and remembered that hockey is a team sport. Not an individual effort. The first half of the first period, you may as well have sold seats on Carey Price’s side of the ice. It certainly wasn’t being used for a hockey game. Tampa Bay was completely dominated by the Habs, something that hasn’t been seen in a while. Total domination by the Habs? Who knew it was possible.
Just as fragile as the team is, so are the fans. I don’t know about you, but whenever the games are as close as they were tonight, I’m just waiting for the breaking point. You know, the Komisarek slap shot from the point, that’s blocked two feet away from him, and turns into a break-away going the other way. Or perhaps the nifty move Kovalev will pull through five guys that will inevitably end in a turnover. Or perhaps even an own-goal on a delayed penalty. If you wait for it… it will come.
And it came.
It came in the monster form of Evgeni Artyukin.
Two all, five minutes to go. Who’s surprised?
Here’s the deal. When you have eight power-play’s to the opponents ONE, the score should not be 2-0. Not when you’ve had an advantage the whole game. Eight powerplays compared to Tampa’s one, 57% of faceoff won, and the game is tied at two? Against Tampa? The only thing I took solace in knowing was that Price had already let in his SGPG (soft goal per game), so chances are another one wasn’t coming.
Blow and two goal lead and lose in overtime? Not on my Centennial.
Not on Saku’s either.
Stop his shot once, shame on him. Stop his shot twice, I don’t think so. Backhand, narrow angle, melee in front of the net? No problem. Make no mistake, this is Saku Koivu’s team. Oh captain, our captain, thank you for (another) season saving goal.
Say hello to a well-earned “W.”
It’s been a while.
They say all Hab fans are coaches....
On the eve of handing over a check that my bank account has no business accounting for, I wonder how quickly the money will be returned. Signed over to The Montreal Canadiens, my playoff ticket purchase seems like a joke. I could use the money for other necessities, perhaps pay off my school loans, pay the landlord, or even a down payment on a car. But you see, this is where as a Habs fan black and white blur to gray: somewhere along the way paying 3000$ for playoff tickets becomes more essential than paying your rent.
Welcome, to my life.
Only a year ago, sitting pretty after 73 games I thought there was a chance that I was investing in a Stanley Cup. I skipped my way to the admissions office at the Bell Center, and smiled at the teller. Yeah, we both thought the same thing to ourselves, “This is the year.”
My oh my, how things have changed. I’m waiting until the last day possible to hand in the check, and am pretty positive I’ll be reimbursed for most, if not all of it. I fear being reimbursed. Yes, fear. You heard me right, I’d rather not have my 3000$ returned.
But let’s evaluate the chances here. The team as has 2-3-1 under Coach Bob. Not exactly a promising record. The team plays five of its final nine games against teams that won’t make the playoffs. After having gone 21-11-3 against these teams over the span of the season (as of March 26th) it seems doable…
Easy, right? Wrong.
Despite a moral boosting win on Tuesday night against the Thrashers, this team has started the playoffs three weeks before the rest of the league. Nothing under .500 hockey will do, and even that is pushing it. Anything is possible, but this team needs to screw on their heads, stop partying and realize that they’re not just playing for the crest on their jersey, they’re playing for the mental stability of an entire city.
.500 hockey is an acceptable thing to ask of the team (my, have we lowered our standards since the beginning of the season), but in order for that to happen, improvements need to be made. We know it’s sometimes too much to ask of the team to show up for a full 60 minutes (who knew the game had three periods?!), so if they can’t accomplish that, night in night out, I’ll at least offer a few pointers on what I think needs to happen in order to make the playoffs:
1. Call Carbo.
2. Hype up Markov on some DayQuil– The teams defensive anchor, the teams MVP, and the teams top paid player needs to be on his game every night. As Markov goes, so go your Habs.
3. TKK – Keep this line together. Kovalev, Koivu and Tanguay produced 11 points on Tuesday night, and keeping these three puck-hogs together will keep the other team guessing where the puck is going and who’s going to be the greediest. (I’ll put my money on Kovy, you know this guy loves being the crowds savior.)
The Geriatrics – Schnieder and Brisebois can’t perform at their best every night when they’re playing 16 minutes or more. Slow and steady wins the race for these guys. Play them the minimum and you’ll get the maximum out of them.
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD CLEAR THE PUCK – Look, when the most difficult aspect of a game appears to be clearing your zone, you got problems.
Less Is More – The less shots you allow, the more of a chance you have to win the game. Expecting Halak and (especially) Price to stop 47 shots a game is ridiculous. See: Clear the puck.
Forecheck – def: Skate deep into the offensive end to check the defensive puck carrier aggressively in hopes of forcing a turnover. (The Complete Hockey Dictionary.)
On a positive note, sitting in 8th place wouldn’t be such a devastating place to be. We’d face the Boston Bruins, the only team we’ve beaten in the playoffs since 1996.
That’s 13 years ago, in case you’re not good at math.
Welcome, to my life.
Only a year ago, sitting pretty after 73 games I thought there was a chance that I was investing in a Stanley Cup. I skipped my way to the admissions office at the Bell Center, and smiled at the teller. Yeah, we both thought the same thing to ourselves, “This is the year.”
My oh my, how things have changed. I’m waiting until the last day possible to hand in the check, and am pretty positive I’ll be reimbursed for most, if not all of it. I fear being reimbursed. Yes, fear. You heard me right, I’d rather not have my 3000$ returned.
But let’s evaluate the chances here. The team as has 2-3-1 under Coach Bob. Not exactly a promising record. The team plays five of its final nine games against teams that won’t make the playoffs. After having gone 21-11-3 against these teams over the span of the season (as of March 26th) it seems doable…
Easy, right? Wrong.
Despite a moral boosting win on Tuesday night against the Thrashers, this team has started the playoffs three weeks before the rest of the league. Nothing under .500 hockey will do, and even that is pushing it. Anything is possible, but this team needs to screw on their heads, stop partying and realize that they’re not just playing for the crest on their jersey, they’re playing for the mental stability of an entire city.
.500 hockey is an acceptable thing to ask of the team (my, have we lowered our standards since the beginning of the season), but in order for that to happen, improvements need to be made. We know it’s sometimes too much to ask of the team to show up for a full 60 minutes (who knew the game had three periods?!), so if they can’t accomplish that, night in night out, I’ll at least offer a few pointers on what I think needs to happen in order to make the playoffs:
1. Call Carbo.
2. Hype up Markov on some DayQuil– The teams defensive anchor, the teams MVP, and the teams top paid player needs to be on his game every night. As Markov goes, so go your Habs.
3. TKK – Keep this line together. Kovalev, Koivu and Tanguay produced 11 points on Tuesday night, and keeping these three puck-hogs together will keep the other team guessing where the puck is going and who’s going to be the greediest. (I’ll put my money on Kovy, you know this guy loves being the crowds savior.)
The Geriatrics – Schnieder and Brisebois can’t perform at their best every night when they’re playing 16 minutes or more. Slow and steady wins the race for these guys. Play them the minimum and you’ll get the maximum out of them.
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD CLEAR THE PUCK – Look, when the most difficult aspect of a game appears to be clearing your zone, you got problems.
Less Is More – The less shots you allow, the more of a chance you have to win the game. Expecting Halak and (especially) Price to stop 47 shots a game is ridiculous. See: Clear the puck.
Forecheck – def: Skate deep into the offensive end to check the defensive puck carrier aggressively in hopes of forcing a turnover. (The Complete Hockey Dictionary.)
On a positive note, sitting in 8th place wouldn’t be such a devastating place to be. We’d face the Boston Bruins, the only team we’ve beaten in the playoffs since 1996.
That’s 13 years ago, in case you’re not good at math.
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