Saginaw Spirit 2023-24 Season Thread (Part One)

[DWI Dale]

Naw. It’s just a couple posters really but they are taking it to a whole new level.

they do the same thing every year. they make grandiose statements and over-confident predictions, then if they don't come to fruition they get real nasty with fans of other teams and fellow hounds fans alike.

worse yet, they typically end up creating a scapegoat. sometimes it's the coach's fault, sometimes it's the goalies fault, but there's never any self-realization or acknowledgement they were viewing the team through red n white coloured glasses and were incorrect in their assessment.

the hounds fanbase is undeniably one of the best in the league, both for their hockey knowledge and their passion so don't let a few outliers taint your perspective. if you ever get the chance to head north and take in a game please do, and let us know you're coming. i will be the first to introduce myself and let you buy me a beer

 

[Kingpin794]

good w. Worst case we split in the Soo.

 

[nelli27]

How much ice does your 4th line see in the playoffs?

 

[DWI Dale]

good w. Worst case we split in the Soo.

credit to saginaw. they played the perfect road game and did a great job in front of lalonde.

 

[Kingpin794]

Zayne Parekh kicked my dog, stole my woman, and salted by fields for good measure.

 

[swoopster]

With regard to Parekh, he is an excellent player on our team, we ignore the things he does and we love him.
However, if he played on another team against us, we would hate him!

It has always been that way about agitators, Go ask Caps fans what they thought of Dale Hunter vs opinions of the fan base of other NHL teams.

 

[bcspragu]

With regard to Parekh, he is an excellent player on our team, we ignore the things he does and we love him.
However, if he played on another team against us, we would hate him!

It has always been that way about agitators, Go ask Caps fans what they thought of Dale Hunter vs opinions of the fan base of other NHL teams.

Exactly the love to have him hate to play against him type. Marchand is another one.

For some reason Parekh plays better when he’s using the other team/fanbases hate against him. It’s like he almost feeds off it like a heel wrestler in WWE. Flint fans hate him, and he’ll go to the Dort and eat up the hate and score 4 points. He’ll get knocked down a peg or two eventually and have to mature his game.

But a lot of it is over blown outside the rink. He’s been in Saginaw two years and I’ve yet to hear a negative comment about his personality in the community.

 

[HockeyPops]

I think it's kind of funny.

Some posters: Soo are getting so many more penalties called against them than Saginaw
Same posters: Saginaw are diving and drawing calls instead of getting called for it

Clearly the Soo are not doing a good job of playing the way the referees want.

 

[bcspragu]

I think it's kind of funny.

Some posters: Soo are getting so many more penalties called against them than Saginaw
Same posters: Saginaw are diving and drawing calls instead of getting called for it

Clearly the Soo are not doing a good job of playing the way the referees want.

Earlier in the season I mentioned to someone on here to beat Saginaw you have to counter their speed with physical play. But the line is real narrow because while they have been mediocre lately on the PP they can really fill the back of the net when running on all cylinders.

So opposing teams have to walk a REAL tightrope of playing hard but not getting called. And Saginaw draws a ton of calls because of their speed. Honestly I don’t think your coach is helping matters calling out the refs because it’s just gonna make it worse . Although I get how he’s trying to fire up your club

 

[Kingpin794]

Parekh comes in at 5 for NA skaters on the final NHL central scouting list. Would put him somewhere in the 7-12 range.

 

[donjohnson]

With regard to Parekh, he is an excellent player on our team, we ignore the things he does and we love him.
However, if he played on another team against us, we would hate him!

It has always been that way about agitators, Go ask Caps fans what they thought of Dale Hunter vs opinions of the fan base of other NHL teams.

I don't ignore it...I've been on record on the Spirit board of saying we should trade him next year...he has all the talent in the world but I dislike the way he plays and he'd bring a ton in return next year so my opinion is to move on.

That said, I also find it satisfying because of what you and others have said, when he's on your team, you deal with it and if he's not, he's public enemy #1.

The play last night he certainly got clipped and probably felt (in the moment) that the guy got him good. After he was down, he certainly realized that it wasn't that bad and milked it for the penalty. This happens in EVERY sport and if you trick the refs, you get a call, in this case it didn't but he certainly didn't dive/embellish...he got hit, thought he was hurt and wasn't.

No one seems to be talking about the Sima call...that one was Kris Draper-esque dangerous and we're lucky that Sima wasn't more severely hurt. His back was clearly to the Soo player and he plowed right through him...I felt (as did the announcers) that it could have easily been a 5 and I thought it should have been reviewed.

Good game by the Spirit...Lalonde played great and it's why he was brought in and it's the reason why most weekends Oke would play 2 and Lalonde would play 1...kept both goalies fresh, sharp and ready to go (versus someone like Carter George who was burnt out).

It will be interesting to see if Soo makes a change in net...Schenkel really just relies on being big and he is giving gigantic rebounds up and letting pucks slip by him. I still think he's probably a better goalie than Miller but they could be looking for a little spark. I doubt they make a change but Schenkel is probably on a short leash.

 

[Jay R]

Earlier in the season I mentioned to someone on here to beat Saginaw you have to counter their speed with physical play. But the line is real narrow because while they have been mediocre lately on the PP they can really fill the back of the net when running on all cylinders.

So opposing teams have to walk a REAL tightrope of playing hard but not getting called. And Saginaw draws a ton of calls because of their speed. Honestly I don’t think your coach is helping matters calling out the refs because it’s just gonna make it worse . Although I get how he’s trying to fire up your club

Saginaw draws a ton of calls cause they can sell calls and they have Conrad Hache's son on their team

 

[bcspragu]

Saginaw draws a ton of calls cause they can sell calls and they have Conrad Hache's son on their team

There’s zero unbiased proof that Saginaw gets more calls in their favor because of Hache. If so Saginaw wouldn’t be the 5th most penalized team in the league. We’d be towards the bottom of the list. I’m sorry that doesn’t fit your narrative. Just because Dean cries to the media about it after ever loss doesn’t make it true

 

[bcspragu]

Saginaw 22-23 (No Hache) 686 pims lowest in OHL

Saginaw 23-24 (With Hache) 864 pims 5th highest in OHL

Hache himself 23-24 with Saginaw 89 pims 2nd on Team

Hache himself 22-23 68pims
21-22 65 pims

Hache and Saginaw as a whole have gotten more calls against them than last year. Conrad really needs to work harder I guess

 

[swoopster]

Saginaw draws a ton of calls cause they can sell calls and they have Conrad Hache's son on their team

Jay did you know that Conrad met with the Spirit this preseason to go over how to dive, draw and commit sneaky events without ever drawing a penalty. Walked away with a pocketful of Garber bucks...

There is a place for you, but not on this board. Go sell your conspiracy theories on Facebook where they will gobble it up.

 

[swoopster]

after gobble it was all garbled...

 

[Jay R]

after gobble it was all garbled...

Your coach is the worst in the league for excuses when they loose

 

[Slap Shot Rick]

I don't know who cries louder about Saginaw's penalties, Flint or the Soo.

 

[Jay R]

I don't know who cries louder about Saginaw's penalties, Flint or the Soo.

Oh I'm not crying just stating the fact the Saginaw dives more than any team looking for calls and act like the hit is the worst ever then the player never misses a shift. Take it as it is but it's what most others see in them

 

[donjohnson]

Oh I'm not crying just stating the fact the Saginaw dives more than any team looking for calls and act like the hit is the worst ever then the player never misses a shift. Take it as it is but it's what most others see in them

Did Dionocio dive when the Soo player shoved him into the boards? That was one of the dirtiest plays I've seen and it wasn't even a penalty because Hache's dad told them not to call it.

Did Sima dive when he got hit from behind Kris Draper style?

Did Oke dive when he was knocked out of the game and may not be back for the entire series?

Parekh is a punk on the ice but every team has those (Clouthier, Giroux, etc.) and every fanbase has a clown and you get the prize for that

 

[DWI Dale]

I think the Allard hit on Dionicio was very dirty (and totally should have been penalized) AND Dionicio sold it. He was carried off like his season was over but was back on the ice within seconds. I don't think it's unfair to suggest he embellished the severity of his "injury" considering he likely didn't even miss a shift.

I originally thought Oke sold his hit but the fact he's missed time indicates I was clearly wrong and I wish him the best on a speedy recovery.

Things don't have to be as black and white as some fans want to make them. There's room for nuance in our assessment of every play.

The bottom line for me is that officiating has not determined the results and shouldn't be used as an excuse by hounds fans (poor ice shouldn't be used either Mr Lazary - ). Saginaw has been the better team through 3 games. Let's see what happens tonight!

 

[Kingpin794]

I think the Allard hit on Dionicio was very dirty (and totally should have been penalized) AND Dionicio sold it. He was carried off like his season was over but was back on the ice within seconds. I don't think it's unfair to suggest he embellished the severity of his "injury" considering he likely didn't even miss a shift.

I originally thought Oke sold his hit but the fact he's missed time indicates I was clearly wrong and I wish him the best on a speedy recovery.

Things don't have to be as black and white as some fans want to make them. There's room for nuance in our assessment of every play.

The bottom line for me is that officiating has not determined the results and shouldn't be used as an excuse by hounds fans (poor ice shouldn't be used either Mr Lazary - ). Saginaw has been the better team through 3 games. Let's see what happens tonight!

I don't like when people say that players sell hits. If it hurts, it hurts. They don't have to miss time to react like it was painful. If they come back out for the next shift, it doesn't mean that they weren't in a good amount of discomfort a minute ago.

As for Lazary and the ice, he can have legitimate complaints about ice conditions. But he is not going into next practice and blaming the ice when they look at tape. What he chooses to talk about right after a game vs what he actually goes over with players are two different things.

 

[DWI Dale]

I don't like when people say that players sell hits. If it hurts, it hurts. They don't have to miss time to react like it was painful. If they come back out for the next shift, it doesn't mean that they weren't in a good amount of discomfort a minute ago.

and that's fine, you can give your teams players the benefit of the doubt. i'm not going to.

 

[Kingpin794]

and that's fine, you can give your teams players the benefit of the doubt. i'm not going to.

It's not limited to Saginaw players though. I'd give the same benefit to Soo players, London players, Blackhawks, Leafs, whoever. I'd hope you are as consistent in your skepticism with ALL players as well.

 

[DWI Dale]

It's not limited to Saginaw players though. I'd give the same benefit to Soo players, London players, Blackhawks, Leafs, whoever. I'd hope you are as consistent in your skepticism with ALL players as well.

Anybody who flops on the ice, gets carried off, then is back 30 seconds later deserves skepticism.