From: kayleigh@access.digex.com (Steve Gallichio)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.hockey
Subject: Whalers lost weekend (23-24Jan93)
Date: 25 Jan 1993 13:59:00 -0500
Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: access.digex.com



For starters:
Gary L Dare writes:
> The Penguins are looking for a left-handed offensive defenceman,

Take Zarley. PLEASE!!!


Ok, now the bad stuff. The Mighty Whale dropped a pair this weekend, getting
thrashed 6-2 at home to Chicago before 13,206 at home on Saturday, and
followed that up with yet another spectacular come-from-ahead loss to
Philadelphia 5-4 in overtime on Sunday night. Zarley assisted on the first
two Chicago goals to start Hartford on the wrong track on Saturday, and then
pitched in with another assist on Ric Natress' game winning overtime goal on
Sunday, sending a beautiful pass up the boards to Natress at the point;
Natress then fluttered one that went trhough and off two legs and into the
net. The goal capped a Flyer comeback from down 4-2 in the third period and
saved a brilliant performance by Tommy Soderstrom, who spent the night bailing
out a terrible Philadelphia defense.

Notes (Chicago game):

-Chicago dominated Hartford on Saturday. The Blackhawk defense did a
 tremendous job of standing up the blue line and keeping Hartford forwards
 to the outside, a concept which Paul Holmgren and the Whalers defense has
 yet to grasp as a key to playing good hockey.

-Chicago outshot Hartford 15-0 before the Whalers got their first shot off
 15 minutes into game. Big cheer from the drunken fans. (Oh wait, that
 would be me...)

-Hartford bounced back fairly well, playing a good second and early third
 period, but then deflated when Sean Burke fell off the post on a Jocelyn
 Lemieux wraparound, staking Chicago to a 4-1 lead with 10 minutes to play.
 After that, it was all over but the gratuitous fighting.

-Once again, the Whalers showed up an hour late for the opening faceoff.

-20 year old Geoff Sanderson now has 23 goals and 22 assists. Got to be
 liking that, Whale fans...

-Rookie Michael Nylander is out indefinitely after having his jaw broken by
 a clean Brad Lauer check.

-Jim Agnew is probably lost for the season with yet another knee injury, this
 time to the left medial collateral ligament.

Notes (Philadelphia game):

-Hartford just can not hold a lead. Three times this season, they have blown
 three goal leads, and now I've lost track of all the two goal leads they have
 tossed away.

-When will this team learn to clear the puck? Both the tying and winning
 goals were a direct result of pucks on Whaler sticks in the defensive zone
 which didn't make it out of the zone until the linseman skated it out to
 the center circle. Actually, the tying goal was scored on a power-play which
 was the result of said inability, but the effect is the same.

-The Whalers actually started attacking early in the third, extending a 3-2
 lead to 4-2. But then, as usual, they played on their heals the remainder of
 the game, and choked it away.

-Pat Verbeek let a breakaway pass roll off his stick after he took his eyes
 off the pass. Verbeek has missed more empty nets and fanned on more passes
 this season than any player since Ray Neufeld.

-Time to step out of my glass house for a moment and pelt a few:
 I haven't seen the Flyers too often this season, but the Philadelphia defense
 was terrible. All four Hartford goals were scored by players dancing around
 defenseman in the slot or behind the net. Hartford was able to penetrate the
 blue line rather easily. As a student of bad defense (I get to watch enough
 of it), I recognize one when I see it. (I'm sure the philadelphia pollyanna
 will dispute this, claiming them to be just misunderstood).

One final point: I'm not an advocate of quick-fix coaching changes, and with
the number of kids on this team a patient man like Paul Holmgren is a great
asset, but Jeez, this team is making the same stupid mistakes today as they
did at the start of the season. They don't seem prepared for games from the
outset, they don't play for 60 minutes, and they don't play smart defensively
or without the puck. Who's fault is this? IMHO, this is exactly the areas
where a coach should make a difference. And I haven't seen a difference.

-Steve Gallichio (a real live Hartford Whalers season ticket holder) (ooh-aah)
-steveg@cadkey.com

Newsgroups: rec.sport.hockey