Steelers vs Devils - League 26th Sept 21

moggy#9

Well-Known Member
steelers started the 19/20 seaon intending to play 2 import netminders every game.it only lasted a few games because they were losing to many games so went with import netminder with a british back up.if it did'nt work then when you could have a 20 man squad it certainly wont work with a 19 man squad where every outfield import is crucial.
I think that's quite unfair. When we relied on bowns I felt it cost us in the season we lost to Belfast. The factors that cost us today were the lack of McNally, Richardson apparently not finishing the game and DuPont's continued lack of scoring.
 

matbur

Well-Known Member
DuPont's early season form is becoming an issue, don't want to get on his back but I'm not seeing much from him.

Maybe he's playing with an injury, maybe he's finding it hard to settle here or maybe he's finding it difficult to balance his duel playing/coaching role.

My guess is that it's the latter - it's a more difficult task than people generally give credit for, and perhaps he wasn't quite expecting the standard here to be as competitive as it is, and his focus is a little off kilter with his time also being consumed by coaching and preparation (presuming he is studying a lot of game videos).

Agree with comments about 19-man roster - shortsighted and poorly thought out but hey, it's the EIHL.
 
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Mazzoak

Well-Known Member
What a great game, absolutely loved it.........yes not a result we wanted against Sheffield, as l’ve been constantly reminded by fans her you don’t win the league before Christmas, you certainly don’t loose it either, so some really need to remember their own advice ;)

The Devils wont be winning every game this season, probably won’t win anything, but like l said pre season it’ll be exciting, a rollercoaster of entertainment, so buckle up snowflakes........time to get back to the bar.

Happy Happy Days......
 

august04 2.0

Well-Known Member
DuPont's early season form is becoming an issue, don't want to get on his back but I'm not seeing much from him.

Maybe he's playing with an injury, maybe he's finding it hard to settle here or maybe he's finding it difficult to balance his dual playing/coaching role.

My guess is that it's the latter - it's a more difficult task than people generally give credit for, and perhaps he wasn't quite expecting the standard here to be as competitive as it is, and his focus is a little off kilter with his time also being consumed by coaching and preparation (presuming he is studying a lot of game videos).

Agree with comments about 19-man roster - shortsighted and poorly thought out but hey, it's the EIHL.
I simply don’t buy that his form is being effected by a coaching role. Skalde is our head coach, Franny on the bench with him too. He was signed as a first line centre first and foremost, someone who can try to attempt to fill the void left by Joey Martin (tough ask anyway). He has looked unfit and unprepared for life in the CHL/EIHL and it's taking too long for him to get up to speed.
 
im not saying release a netminder,we can still rotate them.all im saying is start a british back up so we can play one more import.with injuries we need that extra import as we have already seen with mcnally out and if richies injured we are in big trouble for next weekend.
 

august04 2.0

Well-Known Member
It will change especially if few more teams lose top players early in the season..
They’ll look like a bunch of idiots if they change the rule so quickly. What will happen is that teams will start signing spare players, then when all players are fit again, they will have 2 or 3 players sat on their arses instead of playing, yet still being paid. It’s a nonsense. Any why 19 anyway? At least make it 20, which allows 4 forward lines, 6D and 2 net minders. Nothing makes sense about it at all.
 

mjh

Well-Known Member
Second competitive game in and there are suggestions for cutting players! It's sport and there will be ups and downs. By the sound of it, poor game management cost us. Noticed last night quite a few two on one opportunities were given away as Mikkleson seemed to be pushing up along the boards most plays. He then looked exhausted when trying to get back. Let's not forget that coach is new to the league too so will need time to adjust. I'm confident we have a very good squad, just as Shuffield and Belfast have. We'll be challenging but it'll be tight with a more level playing field this year. Had to remind myself last night not to take hockey for granted after the last year or so.
 

Hedd Wyn John

Well-Known Member
Game management is key, & discipline there's never a good time to give away unnecessary penalties. We're not in pre-season anymore, every game matters. Any team who is down in p3 will absolutely be praying for the team leading to give away a silly penalty.
 

Hockeymad

Well-Known Member
Second competitive game in and there are suggestions for cutting players! It's sport and there will be ups and downs. By the sound of it, poor game management cost us. Noticed last night quite a few two on one opportunities were given away as Mikkleson seemed to be pushing up along the boards most plays. He then looked exhausted when trying to get back. Let's not forget that coach is new to the league too so will need time to adjust. I'm confident we have a very good squad, just as Shuffield and Belfast have. We'll be challenging but it'll be tight with a more level playing field this year. Had to remind myself last night not to take hockey for granted after the last year or so.
Nooo dupont has had 8 games or so he still hasn't scored. A replacement for joey Martin my arse.

The guy is slow and offers nothing.

Also it's going off on twitter.
Apprantely Ben O'connor mum tweeting stuff.

Some personal shit being posted about Ben his life and kids.

They are scum up there in the North
 

august04 2.0

Well-Known Member
Second competitive game in and there are suggestions for cutting players! It's sport and there will be ups and downs. By the sound of it, poor game management cost us. Noticed last night quite a few two on one opportunities were given away as Mikkleson seemed to be pushing up along the boards most plays. He then looked exhausted when trying to get back. Let's not forget that coach is new to the league too so will need time to adjust. I'm confident we have a very good squad, just as Shuffield and Belfast have. We'll be challenging but it'll be tight with a more level playing field this year. Had to remind myself last night not to take hockey for granted after the last year or so.
Well 4 CHL games surely count as competitive too? Plus now 2 EIHL competition games and 4 pre-season games played with an edge. You’d think we’d be seeing something by now from said player. But we're not and he’s been demoted by the coach down the lines, to being a bit part player. I think it’s entirely right that questions are being asked. No team can carry passengers this year with a 19 player bench limit, especially when there are one or two injuries. I want DuPont to succeed, but I’m concerned at what I’ve seen so far.
 

moggy#9

Well-Known Member
im not saying release a netminder,we can still rotate them.all im saying is start a british back up so we can play one more import.with injuries we need that extra import as we have already seen with mcnally out and if richies injured we are in big trouble for next weekend.
Then what happens if the goalie takes a knock, or some PoS like Connolly takes a run at the starter?
 

jenks33

Well-Known Member
Second competitive game in and there are suggestions for cutting players! It's sport and there will be ups and downs. By the sound of it, poor game management cost us. Noticed last night quite a few two on one opportunities were given away as Mikkleson seemed to be pushing up along the boards most plays. He then looked exhausted when trying to get back. Let's not forget that coach is new to the league too so will need time to adjust. I'm confident we have a very good squad, just as Shuffield and Belfast have. We'll be challenging but it'll be tight with a more level playing field this year. Had to remind myself last night not to take hockey for granted after the last year or so.
Yeah certainly a few people overreacting. To be honest I thought we were a bit all over the place in the first 10 minutes and clearly the last 10 was a struggle. I thought we were the better team in the middle 40 though. We weren’t dominant or clearly the better team but I did think we were the better team. If it wasn’t for that O’Connor penalty we’d probably all be sat here talking about a professional winning performance.
I’ll repeat myself though. We are missing a top centreman for me and I hope the rumours of a new player arriving in October are true and it’s a centre.
 

august04 2.0

Well-Known Member
Yeah certainly a few people overreacting. To be honest I thought we were a bit all over the place in the first 10 minutes and clearly the last 10 was a struggle. I thought we were the better team in the middle 40 though. We weren’t dominant or clearly the better team but I did think we were the better team. If it wasn’t for that O’Connor penalty we’d probably all be sat here talking about a professional winning performance.
I’ll repeat myself though. We are missing a top centreman for me and I hope the rumours of a new player arriving in October are true and it’s a centre.
You say people are overreacting (about DuPont?) but then that we're missing a top centreman (agree with you on that by the way). He was signed as that top centreman, let’s not forget that.
 

jenks33

Well-Known Member
You say people are overreacting (about DuPont?) but then that we're missing a top centreman (agree with you on that by the way). He was signed as that top centreman, let’s not forget that.
Well that’s what we were told but I think it makes more sense that we’ve had a centre signed for a while and he’s due in October. I found it strange when it was confirmed that Dupont would be playing centre as he’s a left winger that can play centre.
 

august04 2.0

Well-Known Member
Why shouldn't people have an opinion on whether someone is playing well or not? If you don’t like it Finny, press the Ignore button. That comes with the territory of being a professional sportsman. Player performance is critiqued after every game in every sport, what’s so different about us? If I think a player has performed well, I’ll say it (and I’m happy with almost every single Devils player this season and the way we are playing). Likewise if someone is regularly underperforming, I’ll give my opinion on that too.
 

august04 2.0

Well-Known Member
Well that’s what we were told but I think it makes more sense that we’ve had a centre signed for a while and he’s due in October. I found it strange when it was confirmed that Dupont would be playing centre as he’s a left winger that can play centre.
Let’s see what happens in October then.
 

moggy#9

Well-Known Member
I thought after the whole “sack Layne Ulmer” incident people would give new signings at least half a season before criticising them but her we are 1 week into the EIHL season and......
Well we'll be keeping him no matter what, but half a season to have an opinion? Are you kidding me? We're over a month in and he's got how many points exactly? For supposedly our number one centre?
 

Hedd Wyn John

Well-Known Member
Yeah certainly a few people overreacting. To be honest I thought we were a bit all over the place in the first 10 minutes and clearly the last 10 was a struggle. I thought we were the better team in the middle 40 though. We weren’t dominant or clearly the better team but I did think we were the better team. If it wasn’t for that O’Connor penalty we’d probably all be sat here talking about a professional winning performance.
I’ll repeat myself though. We are missing a top centreman for me and I hope the rumours of a new player arriving in October are true and it’s a centre.
All legit points, games have their ebbs and flows & the point I'd make is we won't win games by playing 40 minutes of hockey. Skalde will know that & he'll be working on it I'm sure.
 
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