Birch Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 (edited) I didn't listen to this (just as well ), but here is a brief story. Game summary from the website: Devils See Monarchs Pull Away, 3-0 "LOWELL, Mass. Edited March 25, 2009 by Birch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shtikl Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Had a birthday party to attend so I missed it. They changed the game time from 11 AM to 7 PM and only drew 1027. Bleh. But I did use a voice recorder so you could listen to the game if you actually wanted to. I suppose I will, but I'm backlogged right now. Anyway, here is a summary of what it was like to actually be there. The two or three Monarchs fans who went were boring -- er, bored... Devils see Monarchs pull away, 3-0 (Lowell Devils, 03/24) Bernier extinguishes Lowell's fire (Manchester Monarchs, 03/24) Playoff hopes take hit, Devils Summary (Lowell Sun, 03/25) Monarchs shut down Lowell (WMUR-TV, 03/24) -- wow, they get TV coverage in their little burg... but no coverage of the game in the Manchester Onion Leader... Monarchs dump Lowell to snap 5 game skid (WGAM radio, 03/24) Sounds like the L-Devils have given up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowellDevsFan Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Sounds like the L-Devils have given up. How many times can you say this? And how can you say it after the two games they played over the weekend? Don't get me wrong. It was a BAD game. Just because a team has a bad game doesn't mean they have given up or don't care. It happens to every team at times. New Jersey looked terrible over the weekend in Boston. Have they given up too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titans04 Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Well for starters 18 shots is pretty pathetic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils1985 Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Pathetic is pretty strong. It's bad, for sure, but pathetic; I don't know. Shots are a funny stat; remember all those 30-35 shot games in Trenton last year where 25 of them were at the logo? Have they given up? I don't know; you can't tell that unless you see them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shtikl Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Yep, just 18 shots on goal. That's not their season-worst, but it ranks among the bottom 4 or 5 games for them. If it's not because they weren't trying, could it be because Manchester's defense is that good? Let's have a look: Manchester's workhorse Jonathan Bernier has faced 1223 shots over 2682 minutes for a shots-per-minute average of 0.456 in his 46 appearances this season; Taylor and Quick have done most of the other games (I forget which other guys they've used but this is most of it) and faced, respectively, 0.479 shots/min. and 0.554 shots/min. That accounts for only 4133 of the over 4320 minutes (I didn't know how much overtime they did but it doesn't affect the shots-per-minute calculation!) the team has been on the ice, but it should be a statistically significant sample. So they're facing between 27 and 33 shots on a typical night. To me, that doesn't look like a shut-down defense. Of course there's no telling how many of their shots were "dangerous" and how many were easy saves. Maybe all 18 of the Devils' shots were genuine scoring chances and the only reason they didn't win 5-3 is that Bernier stole the game. I don't mind that they didn't drop the gloves. Fighting can be too much of a distraction. But this is a team that has no sniper. The L-Devils absolutely have to manufacture every goal they score. That means they have to take lots of shots and crash the net for rebounds. They can't wait for pretty, they can't worry about their coiffures and manicures, they can't expect that first shot to go in, and they can't count on getting a fat rebound every shot. Down by 1 goal after 2 periods, they only mustered 4 shots in the final frame. And this was against a team that is ahead of them in the standings. Maybe they haven't given up on the season yet, but they certainly gave up on last night's game. 10 games to go, trailing the two teams tied for that final playoff spot by 3 points, and their last 10 opponents are: Fri 2009-03-27 1044 @ Portland -- 4-3-0-1 but 0-1-0-1 in their last 3 and Portland has scored 6 or more in each of them Sat 2009-03-28 1062 @ Worcester -- 4-4-1-0 but Worcester has scored 27 goals in 8 games (3.375 GAA) Sun 2009-03-29 1066 Bridgeport -- 0-2-1-1, top team in the Eastern Conference and they play 'em twice, 'nuff said Wed 2009-04-01 1077 @ Manchester -- 4-4-0-1 but since January, they're 2-4 Fri 2009-04-03 1088 Portland Sat 2009-04-04 1102 Springfield -- 5-4-0-0 against the 7th place team, 24 goals in 9 games (2.667 GAA) Sun 2009-04-05 1113 @ Hartford -- 4-2-0-0 but they've lost their last 2 Wed 2009-04-08 1122 Providence -- 5-3-0-1 but outscored 3-11 in their last 2 Fri 2009-04-10 1134 Hartford Sat 2009-04-11 1145 @ Bridgeport They don't have any easy games left, and they have a very busy schedule the next 3 weekends. So I think it is fair to measure their determination by how many shots they take, especially in the 3rd period. If they want to win, they have to TRY. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titans04 Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Down by 1 goal after 2 periods, they only mustered 4 shots in the final frame. And this was against a team that is ahead of them in the standings. Maybe they haven't given up on the season yet, but they certainly gave up on last night's game. Having listened to the whole snoozefest I'm sticking with pathetic, I do agree that SOG are often misleading but given me the choice of a loss with 18 shots or a loss with 35-40 and it's a no brainer to me. Didn't Gretzky point out the obvious when he said you don't score on 100% of the shots you don't take? I think the T-Devils even lost a couple with damn near 50 shots if I remember right. At this level and even moreso ours you never know what's gonna happen, throw towards the goal. Heck Cohen's prayer was answered by Henkel's ass on Sunday. It sounded like there was no urgency whatsoever on Lowells part last night which was very disappointing, they should have been out for blood (I don't meaning fighting here) knowing the importance of the game and Manchester cames in having lost a bunch in a row. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils1985 Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I don't mind that they didn't drop the gloves. Fighting can be too much of a distraction. But this is a team that has no sniper. The L-Devils absolutely have to manufacture every goal they score. That means they have to take lots of shots and crash the net for rebounds. They can't wait for pretty, they can't worry about their coiffures and manicures, they can't expect that first shot to go in, and they can't count on getting a fat rebound every shot. Heh, that sounds like Trenton last year. This year we have more offensive talent; but last year there was little chance of connecting on the pretty passes they tried to make anyway. Down by 1 goal after 2 periods, they only mustered 4 shots in the final frame. And this was against a team that is ahead of them in the standings. Maybe they haven't given up on the season yet, but they certainly gave up on last night's game. Yeah, that's not good. I still think there's something to be said for quality over quantity, but 4 shots just isn't going to get it done regardless of the circumstances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titans04 Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 one from HF - this poor guy pretty much sums it up well. I went to tonight's game versus the Manchester Monarchs, honestly it was the most boring hockey game I went to in years. I'm happy only 700 people showed up, because if that was the only game I went to this season I would never go back. They matched there season low shot total they had last week versus the Wolf Pack, but at least versus the Wolf Pack they had real scoring chances. No real physical play, the Devils were going through the motions. Even the Leblond played with little effort out there. Frazee played well as usual, just had no support. I just would like to know why Rosario Ruggeri gets that much ice time. He's a terrible defenseman and takes dumb penalties. Side note: Thank God I told the ticket office I was a student and my girlfriend and I got in for free. I would have been pissed off if I dropped $30 for that horrible game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils1985 Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Nice to see Rosie's kept his level of play consistent up there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titans04 Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Great point! I was going go there but that horse has been beaten for what 4 seasons now? How he got a 2 year deal still amazes me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils1985 Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 All year I lived in fear they'd send him down.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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