"It looked like we may have blown it but ..."
- Thread starter Gaz G
- Start date
We could pick out several lost games throughout the season and say that was the defining game that cost the league. Think the Devils' baffling and rapid slump in performance Feb//early March is more complex than that - several factors coming together at once.
Still lots to celebrate And many teams and their fans would swap places in a heartbeat to enjoy what our Club and Team have achieved this season.
Still lots to celebrate And many teams and their fans would swap places in a heartbeat to enjoy what our Club and Team have achieved this season.
Shame about the results tonight, but an even greater shame it was taken out of our own hands, but from a hugely positive point of view,I really do believe that our precious club has the most amazing future in front of it. So we now move on, let's take the play-offs and continue our upward trend, the future looks good the future looks red.
Big shame that it was out of our hands.
Hate to say it but the Steelers just have it in them to be winners throughout the organisation. They aren't a more talented roster than us, but they have the mental toughness that we don't right now. Over the past 6 weeks we appeared a team of great team guys who were scared to lose. Sheffield appeared a team of bigger egos, and maybe not the best blokes in the locker room, but a team who would win at all costs. Nice guys seem to not be as successful in sport and that's how we appear.
Hate to say it but the Steelers just have it in them to be winners throughout the organisation. They aren't a more talented roster than us, but they have the mental toughness that we don't right now. Over the past 6 weeks we appeared a team of great team guys who were scared to lose. Sheffield appeared a team of bigger egos, and maybe not the best blokes in the locker room, but a team who would win at all costs. Nice guys seem to not be as successful in sport and that's how we appear.
I do wonder how long this "look where we were" attitude will last if im honest. How long is that a valid excuse? I really think tactically we blew it and that trip to breast looks like a terrible decision to be honest, at the business end of the season. We mixed lines up after a loss and stopped doing what i thought we did well (harrying, harrassing, standing up for your mates). That for me is two years in a row we have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and im not sure how this year fans are ok with it, im absolutely gutted! :cry:
all we can do is move on, we lost the momentum when we lost tyson a capt that wasnt replaced imo, also we need a character , jannsen, keefe, fitz, when devils play against these teams they are the players to see if they are on the teamsheet, look at our squad and no one batters an eyelid about our character because thats what we were missing....if i were the owners i would be waving my cheque book at jannsen last night. 
First things first - congratulations to Steelers for winning the main trophy this season. They have proven to be the best team no matter what has been said about them in order to take the EIHL league title. Having said that, we were favourites for a long time and It's not sour grapes that I say we lost it rather than they won it ! I fully understand that we will not win every games, but it's the group of consecutive games we lost at crucial stages that cost us dearly. One more game won and we would have won the title, so I am very disappointed no matter what others say about where we were and how little we achieved a couple of seasons ago. Now onto the play offs, let's hope we have the mettle - we have the ability - to get to Nottingham.
No doubt we will have to bring in new players next season - with an increased budget and another import allowed - it will be interesting to see what type of players are recruited. I'm hoping to keep our current Brits plus perhaps 2 Brit forwards who will play regular shifts, not like Piggott and Jones have been used this season. We certainly need to bring in someone who can step in and look after his team mates and not be frightened by the likes of Fitzgerald and Jansenn ( who did good jobs for their respective teams ) I'm guessing ( and hoping ) that maybe 4 or 5 of our present line up won't be gracing the IAW in Devils colours next season.
No doubt we will have to bring in new players next season - with an increased budget and another import allowed - it will be interesting to see what type of players are recruited. I'm hoping to keep our current Brits plus perhaps 2 Brit forwards who will play regular shifts, not like Piggott and Jones have been used this season. We certainly need to bring in someone who can step in and look after his team mates and not be frightened by the likes of Fitzgerald and Jansenn ( who did good jobs for their respective teams ) I'm guessing ( and hoping ) that maybe 4 or 5 of our present line up won't be gracing the IAW in Devils colours next season.
BostonBart22 said:
all we can do is move on, we lost the momentum when we lost tyson a capt that wasnt replaced imo, also we need a character , jannsen, keefe, fitz, when devils play against these teams they are the players to see if they are on the teamsheet, look at our squad and no one batters an eyelid about our character because thats what we were missing....if i were the owners i would be waving my cheque book at jannsen last night.
Lord should carry the responsibility for this loss of form and momentum. He's done lots right but has clearly changed tactics, lines and ethos . He's had 4 additional imports (fournier culligan russell smith) so talking budgets as if we had a smaller one than others IMHO is nonsense. Its even more disappointing it seems to be the 2nd time in 2 years its happened.
I don't necessarily think it's tough guys who were missing, although someone like Janssen would be very welcome. To me it came down to the mentality of the players. We have a team of nice guys, scared to lose, don't want to let anyone their team mates and fans etc whereas Sheffield had players with big egos like Mosienko, Roy, Fitzagerald, even Hewitt. All those players are win at all cost natural winners. They'll have a strop when they lose and will do absolutely everything to win.
I can't name many on our roster with the attitude, despite being at the very least on par with their hockey ability. For Sheffield to pull it back after being 6 points behind, and for us to lose it from that position tells an awful lot about the character and mental toughness of both teams. We were found lacking completely and this choke is probably the biggest collapse since the start of the EIHL.
I can't name many on our roster with the attitude, despite being at the very least on par with their hockey ability. For Sheffield to pull it back after being 6 points behind, and for us to lose it from that position tells an awful lot about the character and mental toughness of both teams. We were found lacking completely and this choke is probably the biggest collapse since the start of the EIHL.
Don't think the rapid slump in the team's performance can be explained by one reason. Think it's a complex mix of several circumstances happening at once....including the improved performance of rival teams who had been blighted with injuries.
It's all history now and we can pool our energy into willing the team on in the playoffs.
The club and coaches will have learned a tremendous ammount this year.
*** And let's get this into perspective. Right now there is another chat thread on this forum sadly about the death of a player familiar in this league. Let's spare a thought for that. ***
It's all history now and we can pool our energy into willing the team on in the playoffs.
The club and coaches will have learned a tremendous ammount this year.
*** And let's get this into perspective. Right now there is another chat thread on this forum sadly about the death of a player familiar in this league. Let's spare a thought for that. ***
It's a shame we lost, and I'm sure everyone involved with the Devils is gutted right about now.
But Steve and the guys have made it clear that they're not in this for the short term glory, and the progress made this season has been magnificent. With a few tweaks in the off-season, and the opportunity to get lines in place that work perfectly, I expect they will be confident of silverware next season.
Sheffield were simply better in the clutch than we were (for whatever reason), and they have re-signed some valuable players for next year already. If we can retain the core of this team, and perhaps find a Janssen style player (or whatever TK and Lord think is missing), we will be a force to be reckoned with next year.
When compared to the situation in previous years, where the club has won nothing, and then expected to have to start all over again in the off-season, I think there's a lot to be positive about. I bet most, if not all, of the players would want to return next season. Not only does that say a lot about the club, but it gives TK and Lord a great position to start from.
Onwards to the playoffs! Look out Dundee!
But Steve and the guys have made it clear that they're not in this for the short term glory, and the progress made this season has been magnificent. With a few tweaks in the off-season, and the opportunity to get lines in place that work perfectly, I expect they will be confident of silverware next season.
Sheffield were simply better in the clutch than we were (for whatever reason), and they have re-signed some valuable players for next year already. If we can retain the core of this team, and perhaps find a Janssen style player (or whatever TK and Lord think is missing), we will be a force to be reckoned with next year.
When compared to the situation in previous years, where the club has won nothing, and then expected to have to start all over again in the off-season, I think there's a lot to be positive about. I bet most, if not all, of the players would want to return next season. Not only does that say a lot about the club, but it gives TK and Lord a great position to start from.
Onwards to the playoffs! Look out Dundee!
To suggest we choked or bottled it though suggests we had easy games left. Nothing could have been further from the truth.
I don't think anybody tipped us at the start of the season to win, and personally I felt the mid-season move to IAW would cost us as we had to build a team based on the fact we'd be moving between the two. With Sheffield and Braehead's run-in I never really felt we had a chance of winning the league - until we beat Sheffield away. For 24 hours my optimism was sky-high but Sheffield came to the BBT knowing they had nothing to lose and put in one of their best performances of the season.
People seem to forget that we then went and won in Belfast two days later. That doesn't sound to me like a team that had choked. Apparently we started well in Fife two days after that but ran out of steam. Similar thing happened at home to Coventry on the Saturday. 5 games in 8 days in 4 countries. Crazy scheduling. Hopefully we'll look to ensure that doesn't happen again next season.
I don't think anybody tipped us at the start of the season to win, and personally I felt the mid-season move to IAW would cost us as we had to build a team based on the fact we'd be moving between the two. With Sheffield and Braehead's run-in I never really felt we had a chance of winning the league - until we beat Sheffield away. For 24 hours my optimism was sky-high but Sheffield came to the BBT knowing they had nothing to lose and put in one of their best performances of the season.
People seem to forget that we then went and won in Belfast two days later. That doesn't sound to me like a team that had choked. Apparently we started well in Fife two days after that but ran out of steam. Similar thing happened at home to Coventry on the Saturday. 5 games in 8 days in 4 countries. Crazy scheduling. Hopefully we'll look to ensure that doesn't happen again next season.
I really don't get the argument about the enforcers being so pivotal to a teams success. Sure it's important so set the tone early on but that's it as far as I'm concerned. How many Enforcers did the Steelers have their line up last season? Can't think of any and yet they still won the title.
I think the Devils hit their best form just after Xmas, I think the home loss to Sheffield was a huge psychological blow and the run in was very tough and the guys run out of legs.
From what I've seen this year though is improvement on last season, the level of play around the league has gone up quite a few notches and will increase going into next season. The extra import will mean most if not all teams rolling 4 lines. Even more competitive hockey with an eye on being more competitive in the CHL.
We have to keep positive even though I truly believe we were the best team this year and deserved to win the league. The players and the management will learn and move on from this and am sure they will come back even hungrier next season
Here's hoping we can finish with a flourish in the playoffs
LETS GO DEVILS!
I think the Devils hit their best form just after Xmas, I think the home loss to Sheffield was a huge psychological blow and the run in was very tough and the guys run out of legs.
From what I've seen this year though is improvement on last season, the level of play around the league has gone up quite a few notches and will increase going into next season. The extra import will mean most if not all teams rolling 4 lines. Even more competitive hockey with an eye on being more competitive in the CHL.
We have to keep positive even though I truly believe we were the best team this year and deserved to win the league. The players and the management will learn and move on from this and am sure they will come back even hungrier next season
Here's hoping we can finish with a flourish in the playoffs
LETS GO DEVILS!
I don't think it is necessarily the level of toughness Janssen brings that fans like its the attitude, extremely hard hitting and energy. The fact he is tough just means he can back up up and isn't scared to finish his checks. He is exactly what our forward lines have missed. Steelers this year had 2 tough guys and a number of physical players who finish hits. I'm not really bothered about the fighting, it's the checking that we seem to lack.
We were probably the least physical team out of the top 4 teams, which is very bizarre considering he size we have.
We were probably the least physical team out of the top 4 teams, which is very bizarre considering he size we have.
No-one is saying that enforcers are pivotal. I think it's more a general lack of physicality and high energy forecheck that people are referring to. It was a strength of ours last season and we have missed it this year.
And sadly the league table never lies - Steelers deserved the title after the way they clawed their way back and ultimately overtook us.
And sadly the league table never lies - Steelers deserved the title after the way they clawed their way back and ultimately overtook us.
I personally think Devils have got through this year on pure player talent alone. This is in no way a slur on Lordo by the way. He signed a great roster that had the makings of an offensive powerhouse and looked to have all the tools. But since game 1 of the season the line chemistry which is such a tricky thing to predict has been missing horrifically along all three lines. Lordo tried all different combos, tactics to get that spark but it always fizzled out. He made the coaching moves I thought needed making and still it didn't work so I can't belittle his coaching effort one bit. I think he was the victim of cold hard bad luck to an extent.
You look at the roster and it was set up to out gun people but the defence and Bownsy especially papered over the chemistry cracks from start to finish. I feel for the guys. I don't think any of them didn't try but there has been something strange all year with trying to draw the best out of the players by pairing with complementary line mates.
I have been convinced we would never win the league in the BBT so I can give the club some slack. But I'm also convinced the excuses end now for the Devils. Financially and facilities wise they now have parity and can compete on a level playing field having finally made it into IAW.
The play offs are the play offs so who knows but for next season I think Devils finally have to put their marker down. Sign a squad to play fast, fast hockey that will dominate teams with relentless 60 min hockey. Play possession hockey and puck carrying hockey now we've got big ice but when not in possession of the puck I want to see a no nonsense approach to getting it back. No passive zonal D. Aggressive man to man coverage and winning and dominating the physical confrontation for the puck.
You look at the roster and it was set up to out gun people but the defence and Bownsy especially papered over the chemistry cracks from start to finish. I feel for the guys. I don't think any of them didn't try but there has been something strange all year with trying to draw the best out of the players by pairing with complementary line mates.
I have been convinced we would never win the league in the BBT so I can give the club some slack. But I'm also convinced the excuses end now for the Devils. Financially and facilities wise they now have parity and can compete on a level playing field having finally made it into IAW.
The play offs are the play offs so who knows but for next season I think Devils finally have to put their marker down. Sign a squad to play fast, fast hockey that will dominate teams with relentless 60 min hockey. Play possession hockey and puck carrying hockey now we've got big ice but when not in possession of the puck I want to see a no nonsense approach to getting it back. No passive zonal D. Aggressive man to man coverage and winning and dominating the physical confrontation for the puck.