www.forums.simcoestorm.com

no question there are challenges on the defensive side, but goaltending needs to be better. no sense in sugar coating it. it starts from there out. confidence is huge when the goaltending is there, allowing defense to play more assertive. also allows forwards to move forward with confidence. but,,, coaching needs to adapt. again, hate to harp, but a major weakness with this team.

Have some faith people. It's hard to believe there is much negativity for a team that went 29-5-2 for the season and finished in first with the best record in both sides of the Niagara loop.

Well, how sweet was that OT goal. Way to go Norrie, great job!!

Negative is one thing, realist is another. Seriously, if you watched any games in the playoffs, do you really think the regular season record has anything to do with it? The difference is, you are not playing teams with losing records 3 out of 4 nites. You are now playing a team with nearly as good a record as you. No cellar dwellers here. This is the real league now. Regular season means little. And actually less than it should. Why in the world would you play all year to gain first place, and start on the road???? That first game, at home is a big game. Just ask Norwich. Yes, they played better last nite, and no doubt, made it a much better game, but it is 1-1. All square. That game has to be every nite now. There is no paris or other bottom team to feast on and get rolling against, the games get tougher every nite.

Now that I have stopped laughing after reading the article in the simcoe paper, I can post. A feeling? A sense that Norrie would get the goal??? Please! The only reason that Norrie was in the game, was because of the injury to Paton. A player that has played well all year long, (along with a couple others) who saw his ice time start to shrink towards the end of the season for no reason. If you read my earlier posts from months ago, I specifically spoke about not playing everyone. Norrie is a perfect example. He gets one opportunity earlier in the game, and loses a faceoff, and a goal is scored, not entirely his fault. But because of the injury to Paton, his ice time goes up where it SHOULD BE, and he gets the cobwebs out and does a great job. Way to go Norrie! But, please, please do not try to snow anybody that it was a vision. If Paton is healthy, we all know it, the poor kid does not see the ice. BS. Make no mistake about it, this was no coaching brilliance, this was a circumstance, and good for Norrie to make the most of it. Hopefully his ice time will go up from here. He is a contributor, and deserves it.

Special tip of the hat to all the players who played their *&%# off during the loss the other nite. Such a short bench with injuries and misconducts, etc. I know losing sucks, but when the effort is like that nite, it is such an honourable thing to see.
Who knows what is next with the shortage of players, but the heart is there. Great job boys.