The Hounds are up 2 games to nil and a lot of it has to do with discipline…especially in game 2 where the Hounds outplayed Guelph to a 4-1 win.
The talk of the town is on the scoreboard but there is an interesting forum going on right now in regards to discipline and dirty plays.
If you are a Hounds fan you will know that Jack Beck had a career season with 85 points and a +9, was blindsided with a head check by Guelph forward Max Namestnikov in Game 1. Max was given a weak 4 game suspension and could return in game 6 if it goes that far. How fair is that? Earlier this year Bryce McConnell-Barker was leveled with a head check by an infractor from the London Knights (no suprise there) and he was given a strong sentence of 10 games.
Kyle Raftis and I have had many talks over his tenure here in the Soo and I respect Him immensley but on this issue I disagree on one thing. I asked him in an interview earlier this year if he thought that the league should make suspensions as long as the injured party is out a policy. Kyle said he thinks the league handles these issues very professionally.
Well, I am going on a hunch; I know the league frowns on coaches, GM’s etc saying things unpopular to their hegemony and fines can be issued for speaking your mind; I think Kyle is mindful of this.
Anyway, it turned out that Londons’ player got a 10 game suspension but was playing before BMB returned. He missed a total of 13 games due to the concussion and its’ protocol.
How does this tie in? Well, let’s say the Hounds go on to Series 2 and due to concussion protocol Jack misses that series …is that fair? No it isn’t and the league neads to address this. There are easy ways to confirm a player is correctly out of the lineup….Most doctors will not risk losing their medical license over a junior hockey player; they will testify when a player is physically fit to return or not physically fit to return. End of that story.
Now tonight we may see some justice in another way; Guelph has been without their top goalie in goaltender Brayden Gillespie, and defencemen Brayden Hislop as well as Rowan Topp. To make matters worse for them and better for us, Jake Karabela and Braeden Bowman did not play the third and their ability to play tonight may not happen. I saw Jake hobble through the tunnel near the end of the second period so I believe his injury could be an ankle.
Anyway if these five regulars remain out tonight you may see fireworks if the Hounds grab an early lead.
There has been a lot of chirping between the players and the Hounds have been coached responsibly in making sure the players don’t retaliate. Guelph seems to have Spencer Evans in its’ sights as well as Jacob Frasca has surely got a target on his back. He’s buried under the skin of some Storm troopers and so far Frasca is not dropping the mitts as his opponents want him to.
If the Hounds go up two or three goals, I think Jacob may want to engage because if not; anything can happen during a heated game and a hard slash to the wrist, or ankle, or cheap check into the boards can cause an injury the Hounds don’t need going into the second round. Yes I am getting ahead of myself but with the way the Hounds are playing with rookies Christopher Brown and Spencer Evans….plus the leadership of guys like Bryce, Jacob, and Gavin and….we can’t forget ol Charlie Schenkle in between the pipes, I don’t think the Guelph Storm are going to come back and win 4 of the next possible 5 games. Just my opinion.
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Go Hounds Go !! Ernest Skinner