Saturday, October 3, 2009

Defensive miscues provide no lack of goals

  • Kyle St. Denis scored three times as the Rockets beat the Chilliwack Bruins 6-4 Friday night. It was St-D's first career hat trick. St. Denis has had three-two goal games but never a three goal effort. The 19 year-old was due after failing to score in the Rockets first four games.
  • Linemate Shane McColgan had a career high three points. McColgan had a goal and two assist playing on a line with Brett Bulmer and St. Denis. McColgan simply gets better every time I see him.
  • Defensive miscues were the name of the game, with both teams struggling in that department. It made for entertaining hockey, but this game won't go down as a defensive gem.
  • Rave reviews from Rockets Head Coach Ryan Huska when speaking of rookie defenseman Colton Jobke. Huska says the 17 year-old has been the teams "best defenseman". With Tyson Barrie out with an injury, Jobke is eating up huge minutes and is rising to the challenge. What has me concerned is if Jobke is the best defenseman, what does that say about some of the veterans?
  • These two teams didn't come out passive with no less than four fighting majors in this game. The most spirited tilt of the evening was when Curt Gogol and Randy McNaught came flying out of the penalty box's after serving two minute minors and began trading punches at center ice. Was that fight pre-meditated? Ya!
  • It was great to see Bruins GM/Head Coach Marc Habscheid before the game. We go way back so the reunion of sorts with an extended talk before game time was nice. Habscheid hasn't lost his sense of humour though, telling me during our coaches interview that he missed me like a 'root canal' during his time with Hockey Canada and the Boston Bruins. Or was he joking? :)
  • Zach Habscheid, the son of Bruins Head Coach/GM Marc Habscheid earned his first career WHL goal with a seeing-eye slap shot in the 3rd period. Zach must have been doing cart wheels inside considering he watched many a game at Prospera Place and now found himself on the ice facing the very team he watched as a kid. What made the goal even more special was the fact that his mom Erin was also in attendance.
  • I spoke to Zach before the game and found it interesting that he is being billeted out by the team. It's probably a wise decision that he be treated like any other player rather than heading home with the coach after every practice or game. I'll feature a transcript with both Zach and Marc Habscheid on their father/son-player/coach relationship on Monday.

3 comments:

J.S. said...

Jobke the best d???? It's ok to boost the kid but he is far from the teams best guy back there. Bowman may be struggling early on here but Gogol has been solid, as has Borekjo at times.....

Regan Bartel said...

In the coaches eye he is!

J.S. said...

Which eye was he using? Lol..