Devils vs Frölunda - 15 Oct 19 - CHL

[ASHIPP]

It was always going to be David vs Goliath against a team with 9 former NHLers! The Devils hung in there well for 40 minutes but the relentless speed and skill of SHL level hockey was too much for them, At 3-2 we were in sniffing distance of leveling the game with some momentum. That 4th Frolunda goal killed it.

A joy to watch Frolunda - every movement looked simple and effective. Attacking and defending as a 5 man unit, great man marking and easily breaking up the Devils' rushes. Hjalmasson with two identical great backdoor goals, the outstanding Fagemo and Gormley always near the nets looking dangerous. Their pk was simple - BAM! clear the Puck from the zone. Their pp looked mobile and instinctive. They were well drilled in everything. Unfortunately by comparison Devils at time looked pedestrian, chaotic and overcomplicated. By p3 not only were they tired but forced errors were causing frustration amongst some of our players.

The champions were ruthless - 5 goals in 6 minutes. Our Guys will have learned a lot from these games(hope they watch the video replays) - they can take comfort in having improved on last season with more wins, and at least scored some goals against the reigning champions.

Take heart..... Devils had something special to aim for. At least they are not the Belfast Giants, losing 4-0 in a meaningless dead rubber game in Sweden.

Can't wait to get back to domestic hockey. The Devils will at least only have one focus now.

 

[august04]

Take heart..... at least they are not the Belfast Giants, losing 4-0 in a dead rubber game in Finland.

Giants played Lulea tonight, who are from Sweden and in the SHL like Frolunda, and also topped their CHL group. A four goal loss there doesn’t seem that bad to me.

 

[jenks33]

No disrespect but for us to beat Frolunda we need more than a fit squad, we stuck with them for 40 mins and that’s a true credit to our lads, but class usually shows thru, and they were pure class. Time to get back now to our level, bring on the Panthers.

That’s why I said “Even then i’m not sure we’d beat them”

 

[kingmo19.1]

Sadly, the only way to compete with a team like Frolunda is to assemble a squad like Frolunda! ..... and I doubt our budget can stretch to £4m per season!

Enjoy it for what it is.

 

[Devils86]

Proud of the guys both at home and in the Library.

Thought we played far better this week than last but nevertheless when they opened up a lead they never looked back. Clinical and ruthless. Tiredness killed us last week (along with their level of play) but this week we did far better. PP goal in the first set us back.

Important thing now is to move on and take this level of performance into the domestic campaign. Let’s watch the tapes over and over for how the little things they did added up to an incredible performance - puck control with their skates, the mental side of things - being in the right place and knowing who was going to be where. It all adds up. They cut out the mistakes that every EIHL side makes and were relentless.

Something about this Devils side doesn’t feel like it’s clicked yet - we had clicked early last year. Let’s hope we can get into the groove soon.

Well done guys. Onwards

 

[BostonBart22]

If we are so far behind why don't lord give murdy a go between the pipes and give bowns a rest hope him conceding 9 goals doesn't shatter his confidence going into next league games

second that, think after the 7th goal murdy was trying to get eye contact with lordo a few times , but didnt happen, lets be fair ben prob wanted 3 or 4 goals back, it wouldve been great experience for murdy as well, but hey ho who would sharpen skates if murdy did play...

 

[august04]

second that, think after the 7th goal murdy was trying to get eye contact with lordo a few times , but didnt happen, lets be fair ben prob wanted 3 or 4 goals back, it wouldve been great experience for murdy as well, but hey ho who would sharpen skates if murdy did play...

Agreed, it would have taken Bowns out of the firing line too. I really don’t see the point of having a back up that’s obviously not trusted to do the job, if you’re not going to use him in such obvious circumstances. Murdy is a decent nettie, I find it hard to understand.

 

[Earnie]

What a valiant effort. The first period was epic. I'm proud of the team, proud of Lordo and we must do it again next year!!

 

[hip check]

We are and can be very physical. I imagine it's harder to lay a good hit on a fast moving target like these slippery Euro Champs !!

I wouldn't say we're physical, when we play EIHL teams they come and intimidate us,the squad was put together with the CHL in mind but the problem there is the opposition are better than us at skill/speed type hockey.

 

[terry hunt]

Fantastic effort by our team who have made us all proud by their attitude and performance.They all gave 100% last night.
CHL teams previously brought their teams to play Cardiff and rested the best players.
Frolunda treated the Devils with utmost respect playing all their stars and being ruthless for 60mins.
The best example i thought was Fagemo 19yrs old already signed by the LA Kings.He played flat out for the whole game and was a really class act to watch.We saw why this team are 3 time CHL champions.I hope we see more like them next year.
Anyone can find things to criticise but to what end.
Now they focus on qualifying for next years CHL.

 

[chris592]

Giants played Lulea tonight, who are from Sweden and in the SHL like Frolunda, and also topped their CHL group. A four goal loss there doesn’t seem that bad to me.

Totally! Lulea are former SHL champions and former CHL champions also. A 4-0 loss isn't to bad we gave them a good game, had a couple of decent chances pity we didn't score.

But yes these shl teams are far above the standard of the EIHL.

 

[jimmy snels]

to me i worried for our D men in this fixture and i was right to be unfortunately. We just arent as strong back there as in previous years. im kinda hoping we rectify this sooner rather than later.


i thought our stand out player was again dixon, he really is a devil.

i was glad to see our injured fwds returning. hopefully benti just a minor knock from dundee game. he did skate off gingerly.

 

[hip check]

Agree about Dixon and our D, we have been a bit exposed in games this season and a big stay at home D man would imo make a difference to the goals against figures, Dixon always gives it 100% and he's my fav player. Can't see us rectifying the D situation anytime soon.
Glad no one's pointing the finger after 2 heavy defeats as the standard of the opposition must be taken into consideration..they really are an awesome team.

 

[Wannabe2]

In the league we are 4th best for goals against, with 3.16 average against.
In the league we are 3rd best for goals scored with 3.83 average for.

 

[Hedd Wyn John]

I wouldn't say we're physical, when we play EIHL teams they come and intimidate us,the squad was put together with the CHL in mind but the problem there is the opposition are better than us at skill/speed type hockey.

Let's not forget aside from Frolunda the devils did really well in the CHL this year. We played the European champions. Its like a top Premier league football team going to play division 1. Huge budget differences just don't go away. The speed, the passing, the skating IQ, the size & physicality. Frolunda had all that in abundance but that comes at a hefty price tag that Eihl teams will never have. Frolunda would pass the shot at ease and rarely missed all in the blink of an eye. Skating speed,it was clear that Frolunda players were like lightning on the ice, easily catching over overtaking our skaters. For size & physicality again Frolunda were very strong. On a lower budget you often have a choice, speed & skill or size. Well frolunda have the budget for all 3. The devils held their own for 2 periods, fatigue inevitably kicked in after that & frolunda eventually showed their class. We should be very proud of our team

 

[osh]

In the league we are 4th best for goals against, with 3.16 average against.
In the league we are 3rd best for goals scored with 3.83 average for.

so with those stats, are you satisfied with our D ? I’m not. ( and I am making allowances for playing against Frölunda )
Having said that, based on previous years, we are stuck with the D for the rest of the season unless we have an injury, here’s hoping they improve on previous displays in EIHL.

 

[Temme]

so with those stats, are you satisfied with our D ? I’m not. ( and I am making allowances for playing against Frölunda )
Having said that, based on previous years, we are stuck with the D for the rest of the season unless we have an injury, here’s hoping they improve on previous displays in EIHL.

Bowns currently sits:

10th in Save % (88.3%)
8th in Goals Against average

That's probably not helping the situation on D, but it's still early days yet for a team to even get going properly, we are only 6 games in to the domestic season after all.

 

[osh]

Yes agreed it’s early days in the EIHL, however, last nights game was the Devils 22nd game including friendlies and more than enough time for me to form an opinion as to team quality and potential etc. I reiterate that whilst I am unhappy with our D and it’s playing style, I see Lord remaining faithful to his decisions as always - and he has done pretty well in the past - and I expect the only time we bring in a new D man or two would be as injury replacement.

 

[BostonBart22]

Yes agreed it’s early days in the EIHL, however, last nights game was the Devils 22nd game including friendlies and more than enough time for me to form an opinion as to team quality and potential etc. I reiterate that whilst I am unhappy with our D and it’s playing style, I see Lord remaining faithful to his decisions as always - and he has done pretty well in the past - and I expect the only time we bring in a new D man or two would be as injury replacement.

Hopefully mosey will be back soon and his speed will help on D

 

[osh]

I like Mosey, but he is not the answer to what I see as our D misfiring unfortunately, and with such a serious injury, it seems likely he won’t be back this year ( I could be wrong of course) if so, who does he come in for ? We already have speed in Fournier and Reddick to a certain extent, but it’s not just speed, there’s more to it than that. Our D have been caught out of position so many times in EIHL games it’s worrying. We do not have anyone who gives off any authority as a stay at home, hard to get by D man. It’s embarrassing how many times this season we have allowed forwards to get right in front of Bowns instead of being removed from that position forcefully ( without fouling ) and how many times we have been caught out of position, even on our own power plays.I was never expecting ( but hoping for ) an exact replacement for someone as good as Strachan, but we are way off his standard of play at this time which is hugely important.