Friday, 23 February 2018

Hockey Soapbox - Season 3 Week 20 - Four points will do nicely


Welcome to this week's Hockey Soapbox. On the panel this week are your Editor Mark plus contributions from Jay, Sarah, Fay, George and Nathan.

1. Five Words On Saturday

We somehow got a win
2 points desperately needed lads
Not a real Steelers game
Good strong home regulation win
Typical Mid Table Bore Fest
Good to be back winning


2. Five Words On Sunday

Turned up after 1st period 
Very lucky with the win
Good strong away overtime win
Great Comeback From 3 Down
Stunning come back. Go Mags!
What an incredible comeback win

3. Did Thompson drop the wrong player to accommodate Frets, and if so who would you have dropped and why?

Jay:  Yes I think he dropped the wrong player! He may have been playing better of late but I would have dropped Jonas "the Wasp" Westerling and made sure we had a great defence to work from. 
George: No. Fitz is a good enforcer, but he is currently wearing a face mask, which stops him from fighting unless he wants to risk another dental appointment, it also makes his vision a bit poorer, meaning he won’t perform at the best of his ability. Good decision for me.
Nathan: If Fltzgerald isn't 100% then Coach made the right decision. However, if he dropped him of Ronnberg for mobility reasons then the bloke has a screw loose. Obviously one import had to make way but as to who and why can only be answered by the chap masquerading as Head Coach behind the bench. 
Fay: Well, can’t say it was the wrong choice because we won both games... but I’d have dropped Ronnberg, just don’t see what he brings to our team. I saw a tweet that highlighted how many goals conceded with and without him here and it wasn’t a positive one. Apparently had the “Best” +/-  but I just don’t think he’s what we need. Slow and doesn’t really use his size to any advantage.
Mark: I think he did. I was half expecting Franssila to be dropped if it was going to be a defenceman but Gromit seems to be bulletproof when it comes to his spot in the team. 
Sarah: We’ve got 7 D so it made sense and did Fitzy come back too early from his injury? Who knows. Fitzy is much more mobile than Ronnberg but then we’ve got too many D men jumping into the play and leaving 1 D on the blue line. Fitzy puts his body on the line every single game and would benefit from a rest. I was disappointed with Fretter this weekend to be honest, I’m not sure if there’s a place for him on the team anymore. He just seemed to hog the puck and then ended up losing it. 

4. What did you reckon to Thompson’s post game interview Saturday?

George: Honestly, didn’t listen to it. However from what I am seeing in tweets and there being questions asked of what is happening within the club. It is worrying, however I was near the dressing room on Wednesday as I was on media duty for my work placement, honestly I heard nothing out the ordinary other than a happy bunch. Think people should stop worrying. Also, we needed to drop someone. That someone happened to be Fitz. We need to stop crying about it and realise we got a four point weekend without our enforcer.
Nathan: I reckon he saw a different game to me!
Fay: Annoyed me, but don’t think it was his decision so he just tried to brush it under the carpet.
Mark: It was another players under the bus interview, very harsh on Zack indeed.
Sarah: Thommo isn’t great with his words sometimes but we’re running with extra imports so he’s got to make the difficult decision. No matter who he left out wouldn’t have been a good decision for everyone. 
Jay:  I don't buy the reasons he gave for leaving Zack out at all. To me if Zack's fit, then you play him its as simple as that, looks like a whole set of excuses to me..

5. If you could replace him, who would you have and why?

Nathan: A replacement for Thompson? The greatest coach in the known universe? How can you possibly replace him? Seriously though for me it would be Pete Russell but I fear he may be headed to the dark side.
Fay: Rob Wilson - think he’d build a hungry, passionate side that will entertain us every week as well as win trophies.
Mark: I'll give you two names, one Brit and one overseas. For the Brit option I would have Peter Russell; even he's gonna be Neilson's replacement in the land of the Bears next season (world's worst kept secret probably); as he coaches a very fast and entertaining side - results haven't gone for a MKL team who are getting used to life in the big league. Overseas, and my number one pick: Rob Wilson. Knows the league and the club. Would be amazing if we got him but I can't see him leaving the DEL. He'd bring passion and is someone we can all relate to.
Sarah: I don’t think I would replace him. Tony Smith wanted a GM and coach and he got that with Thommo. I liked G but we need the club to grow and that will happen with Thommo. 
Jay: No point discussing this one. Yes I would replace him, I am not a scout or team owner so no point trying to come up with a name, other than maybe let Zack Fitzgerald be in charge till a replacement is found, bring in Sarich as a assistant and see if he can get his brother to go through his NHL contacts book to help with the coaches replacement...
George: Thompson? Probably Pete Russell. Did a very underrated job at MK. A poor squad does a lot of damage to a manager.

6. Suppose Moose doesn’t come back next season, name a replacement for him and why?

Fay: Caps goalie Tyler Beskorowany(?) - thought he was great when he came last week. Would do really well with a full team in front of him
Mark: Same as everyone probably, I'm going for Beskorowany. He's young and impressed no end in the game on Valentine's Day. Would be a great addition here.
Sarah: Early signs but I like the look of the new Edinburgh nettie. If Moose doesn’t come back, I’d expect Thommo to sign someone not from the league already. I’d be happy if Moose signed for another season though, he’s won us many games. 
Jay: Tyler Beskorowany if possible, sounds like a great netminder and I bet he would jump at the chance and at this point would probably be a shrewd buy at a reasonable cost...
George: Edinburgh goalie, looked very very good. The goalie can only be as good as the defence in front of him. We should get him for me.
Nathan: Easy. Tyler Beskorowany. Ok so he’s 34 possibly 35 by the start of next term but the Caps netminder seriously impressed on Edinburgh’s last visit and played a blinder in Belfast last weekend. Put a decent D in front of him and we could become contenders again.


And that's the Soapbox for this week. Join us for more next time.


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