Friday, March 7, 2008: Kingston 5, Oshawa 4 (shootout)
The weather outside was frightful, but the game was sure delightful, with the Fronts scoring twice in the third to force prolongation.
There’s been some optimistism about ‘08-09, since the team probably has played better than .500 hockey since mid-January. Has Larry Mavety really coached for “next year” or to make “this year” more respectable and try to quell the calls for his firing?
Larry Mavety has given the bulk of starts in goal to an overage netminder. The team leader in ice-time, Justin Wallingford, is an overager. Four of the forwards are ’88s, meaning at least one or two guys among Kyle Bochek, Andris Dzerins, Matt Kang and Kyle Paige will not come back in September. (It’s pretty rare for imports to play an overage year, and Dzerins has played his best hockey since New Year’s — when the Fronts started to play better. It’s hard to imagine that a player with Kang’s skills wouldn’t get a good offer from an ECHL or CHL team, or maybe try Canadian university hockey.)
The Front’s improved record also has to be taken with a grain of salt due to the feeling that the Eastern Conference, once you get past Belleville and Brampton, is a complete sinkhole.
By the way, the Fronts are one point behind Owen Sound for ”overtaking” them and sliding from the No. 3 to the the No. 4 draft choice. They also have two games in hand.
March 8, 2008 at 3:30 pm
PLEEEEAASSEE tell me I’m reading that first line incorrectly, “The weather outside was frightful, but the game was sure delightful” this has to be a pigment of my imagination – too funny.
So lets go back to when Cassidy was fired, he complained about not getting OA support. What did Mav do – get OA support in goal. Things sure would have been different had Murray been in the picture back then.
One of the bright pluses of the new arena is that the beer. It helps many things and deadens many pains and there sure is a lot of beer flowing. I have spent more money in the past few games then I have at the old arena, beer, chips, fries….the list goes on.
The biggest complaint is the seating. No leg room and very cheap seats. The seats sag forward, even when I at 175 lbs, sits in them. I am also not use to the ever flow of people coming and going in the stands. Ya I’m anti social so what, I’m working on my issues. Did I mention the beer helps.
March 11, 2008 at 8:48 am
Good point about Murray… maybe they’re in the playoffs if he’s around all season. They didn’t address the goaltending early enough (like back in August).