Knights77
Registered User
That’s a fair point, I think Sarnia won tonight with their C- game and that has to be encouraging for them. If Knights had any goaltending this was a win for London.
London Knights 2022-23 Season Thread (Part 6)
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If London had any defense they might have won. I fault Bowen on the 5th goal but thats it. Sarnia had carte blanche in the Knights end tonight.
You guys really are focusing and dumping on a kid. You get that dont you? There is no possible way this fixation is healthy.
PhlyerPhanatic31
Love is Love
If it's a knee...bite the bullet and play. I agree...I've done it..numerous times
If just a minscus tear, I agree. Steroid shot and get it cleaned out in off season. What if its an ACL?
Knights Watcher
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Purple Phart
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PhlyerPhanatic31
Love is Love
coming from a former goaltender like myself...I concur. Bowen wasn't the reason we lost either game in Sarnia, I think the off season should be focused on bringing in a true D coach..but hey that's just me
PhlyerPhanatic31
Love is Love
Another way to look at it is; one goalie has an unreal 0.943 SV% and the other has an unsurprising 0.846 SV% vs the best team in the west, maybe by a lot.
Harley49
Registered User
Very quiet ride home last night …..the boys weren’t very impressive ….. the only bright spot was when we actually were leading 3-2 ….. but other then that we were being man- handled by the Sting …..
Harley49
Registered User
Sorry hit the wrong button….. anyways it was game that ties up the series at 2 games each …win Friday at home ….Knights have to play a lot better as a Team….. better game by everyone is needed
Otto
Lynch Syndrome. Know your families cancer history
Of the 4 teams left only Sarnias backup had played more than Bowen in the regular season and he's a year older plus there's a very good chance Bowen would have beaten him too if Gaudreau wasn't away at World Juniors
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Fastpace
The Devil's Advocate in Person
Defense is a full team responsibility, if your opponent is not pressuring this mean they have time and space to make plays, this also mean your team is not matching the intensity on the ice. Your not going to win many games if your opponent are skating freely at will and unopposed, regardless who is tending your net the end result is likely not going to be in your favor. (ex. go back and check the first two games and then the last two) The whole team did not showed up for both Sarnia games (am not naming names) IMHO
KnightWatch
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Excellent point FP...
Everyone is so quick to jump on Bowen, but the bottom line is....this has not been the same team since BB went down.
The Knights got this far by playing tight defense, patient, well-disciplined hockey, with speed and a strong forecheck. In the two games in Sarnia, team defense was horrible, too many odd-man rushes because the defensemen all of a sudden think they're forwards again and the forwards aren't covering their a$$es. Also, they are giving Sarnia way too much time and space.....and are back to taking stupid and untimely penalties (McGurn, Cowboy, Mailloux, etc, you guys know better than that)!
Sure, Bowen is not Brett Brochu, but he was forced to come in rusty, fill the shoes of Goaltender of the Week (3 of the 4 weeks of OHL playoffs), deal with the pressure of doing so....AND bail out a team that has gotten away from doing the things that made them successful in the first 11 games of the playoffs (all as a 17 yo rookie)!
I'm sure it's been hard enough on him having to deal with the above pressure, but when your team hangs you out to dry in the first period of both games in Sarnia, on top of all that, it doesn't exactly instill a lot of confidence.
Bowen is still OHL rookie goaltender of the year, and probably better than most team's backup goalies, but he is still a rookie and expecting him to fill the shoes of a seasoned veteran like Brochu, against arguably the best offense in the league, is asking way too much!
The team needs to apologize to Bowen and ensure him that games 3 and 4 were their fault, not his, then go back to playing the way they did early on in the playoffs.
Remember games earlier in the season when BB struggled and you all complained that he needed to sit in favour of Bowen?! The bottom line is, that ANY tender will struggle when the team in front of him is playing like $hit!!
So, I'm not ready to throw in the towel yet!!!
Hopefully, getting back to London, and the coaches pointing out all the mistakes the team in front of Bowen made, will get them back to where they need to be to win this series. A good, all out team effort can make any goaltender look like a superstar!
Go Knights Go!!!
Fastpace
The Devil's Advocate in Person
What a sad post to write about a young man left to dry all by himself the last 2 games
As if Brochu can stop all 5 men on the ice all by himself while Bowen can only stop 2 or 3 of them. The post is not mentioning of other Knights players on the the same ice surface letting free wheeling opponents circling their net unopposed in game 3 and 4 comparing to game 1 and 2. Do you honestly believe Brochu would have done much better in the very same condition in game 3 and 4. Goalies are not the only players on a team of 20 men to take blame.
and this is IMHO
TheOrangePylon
Registered User
Could Bowen have played better in Sarnia, for sure. Does Bowen have some stuff he needs to improve, 100%. Is Bowen the sole reason they lost those games, absolutely not. If Brochu plays, do the win? I think they at least have a better shot and maybe pull one of them out, again that's not a knock on Bowen, just a salute to how good Brochu was playing all playoffs. I think with him out we are really seeing, he was playing out of his mind and covering up a lot of team mistakes.
The team effort just wasn't there in Sarnia, the commitment to D wasn't the same as it has been all playoffs. They are playing like a team, who is scared to make mistakes. They aren't hitting and playing physical like they had been.
The Series is down to a best of 3, clamp down, play good defensive hockey. Play physical and take away their skilled players time and space. If they don't, it doesn't matter who is in net.
The team effort just wasn't there in Sarnia, the commitment to D wasn't the same as it has been all playoffs. They are playing like a team, who is scared to make mistakes. They aren't hitting and playing physical like they had been.
The Series is down to a best of 3, clamp down, play good defensive hockey. Play physical and take away their skilled players time and space. If they don't, it doesn't matter who is in net.
After the start to the year the team had we've far exceeded what I expected this year in terms of competitiveness and entertainment value. IMO we're playing with house money now.
Sarnia is a good team.
Sarnia is a good team.
And thats why why you're hobbling around with 20 lbs of metal in your knees and ankles
Once again, hes a kid. Nobody owes you anything. This constnt badgering is becoming toxic. Opinions are just that, an opinion. State it once. Time to leave it on the doorstep.
TheOrangePylon
Registered User
TheOrangePylon
Registered User
For sure, they have had some great Junior goalies and that is awesome for London. But the main reason for this league, is to develop players for the next level, which they have lacked in the goalie department for years.
But yes, I agree with your other points.
Fastpace
The Devil's Advocate in Person
Being responsible to stop pucks and taking full responsibility for the team loss are two different things
dino200022
Registered User
In all honestly, London's defense has never really been great defensively. They play a man to man style defense and are always tentative to leave their man to help someone else at the correct time. While playing a man to man defense 1 small mistake opens up huge holes and passing lanes. You will notice most team will employ the high cross pass once they have the zone established because they have tape on our Dzone coverage and are exploiting our weaknesses. Off they rush our D very rarely stand up at the blue line and rather just skate backwards to the top of the circles and let the offensive team establish the O zone without being touched or challenged. Watch Dillingham and DelMastro step up at the line and make entering their zone either a dump in, or at least a challenge.
Now on the flip side of that, Brochu was able to hide a lot of London's defenisve warts with his puck skills and his ability to read plays ahead of time making his reaction time quicker than that of most goalies. Bowen is not there yet, and no one should expect him. Comparing the two goalies is just asinine and not fair at this point, with one finishing an extremely good Junior career and the other just getting his feet wet.
On a side note....Can someone tell the boys to stop taking Dumb penalties after the whistle. Can't be giving this Sting team un warranted PP opportunities they are pretty good in case the Knights staff has not noticed.
If Brochu is hurt, as much as I would love for him to comeback and play at 75%, I think that is a very selfish take. We must remember as much as the OHL is a "business" it is also a developmental league, I would hate to see Brochu ruin his future because we are selfish.
Now on the flip side of that, Brochu was able to hide a lot of London's defenisve warts with his puck skills and his ability to read plays ahead of time making his reaction time quicker than that of most goalies. Bowen is not there yet, and no one should expect him. Comparing the two goalies is just asinine and not fair at this point, with one finishing an extremely good Junior career and the other just getting his feet wet.
On a side note....Can someone tell the boys to stop taking Dumb penalties after the whistle. Can't be giving this Sting team un warranted PP opportunities they are pretty good in case the Knights staff has not noticed.
If Brochu is hurt, as much as I would love for him to comeback and play at 75%, I think that is a very selfish take. We must remember as much as the OHL is a "business" it is also a developmental league, I would hate to see Brochu ruin his future because we are selfish.
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