Daigneault back at the North Charleston Coliseum
Posted 02:01 p.m., May 14, 2008
It’s going to be strange to see Maxime Daigneault in net for the Cincinnati Cyclones tonight.
Of course, that’s assuming that Max will be in net, but I think after his performance coming off the bench in Game 2, and his familiarity with the North Charleston Coliseum, it should make him a lock to start for Cincinnati in Game 3 of the American Conference finals.
I always found Max to be very nice kid when he was here with the Stingrays. I got to know him a little bit and did a couple of stories on him and he was always very polite and humble about things. It’ll be tough to see him have a bad game or not do well in the next few games if he’s in net.
Max was a second-round draft pick of the Washington Capitals in 2002 and won 27 games in a Stingrays uniform over two seasons. He had a great season last year in Hershey, compiling a 23-6-0 mark with a 2.64 goals against average and a .910 save percentage.
And it’s not like he left the Rays on bad terms. He was back and forth with Hershey during the 2005-06 season and essentially made the Hershey team last year and never was sent back to the Rays. I know he had a lot respect for former Rays coach Jason Fitzsimmons.
Now, Cincy D man J.T. McElroy is another matter. He was traded – twice – this season and probably has a little chip on his shoulder about the Rays. His play on the ice certainly would be an indication of his feelings. Current Rays coach Jared Bednar traded T.J. to Idaho for the rights to D-man Mike Gabinet. Gabinet was at times in the middle of the season the best all-around D-man for the Rays before he went up to Springfield in the AHL. I’m not sure why McElroy was moved to Cincinnati. I’m planning on doing a story on both Max and T.J. for the Friday print edition to find out.
Did you see Utah’s Micheal Haley scored twice against Las Vegas last night? Haley, who joined the Rays at the end of the last season, is having a solid rookie campaign with Utah and Bridgeport, in the AHL.
Bedsy had Haley signed in the offseason , but Haley got a two-way (AHL-ECHL contract) deal with Bridgeport and they wanted to keep all of their “ECHL” guys in Utah. Now Bedsy could have played hard-ball and insisted that Haley stay with the Rays, but that might have jeopardized Haley’s deal with Bridgeport. Bedsy took the high road and let Haley out of his contract. Despite losing a player of Haley’s ability, it was the right call.
Game 3 tonight against Cincy. Not going to break it down here. Plan and simple this is the series tonight. If the Rays win, they make a series out of it. If the Rays lose, start looking for tee times.
See you at the Rink,
APM
Comments
Posted by acharlestongirl on May 14 at 2:27 p.m.
LET'S GO RAYS!
Posted by hockeynut on May 14 at 10:56 p.m.
Finally, a decent referee (well almost) and a coach making hard decisions (he pulled the goalie in time). I just wish we could hit what we shoot at...when you almost double your opponents shots on goal you would think the game wouldn't be close (never anyone in the crease for the rebound). It looks like Parley will either play like we know he can or all is lost, Johnson is probably finished for this series. The 3 goals he let in just shouldn't have happened. Sweet justice it's now 2-1. If Parley can goal tend we go back to Cincy with a 3-2 advantage and folks we're overdue for a road win. Go Rays!
Posted by InformedSportsFanatic on May 14 at 11:02 p.m.
Wow! I am exhuasted after tonights game. The Rays' have been in so many overtime games, I am starting to think the concessions should just stay open. Now for the game...It was way too close as I think we played a lot better than Cinn tonight. However, is it just my imagination or has Grant McNeill lost the fire since returning. Both of the power play goals were scored with him not clearing the crease and Josh being screened. Grant never cleared anyone out the entire night and just seemed to not be interested in filling his role of being a physical presence. I seriously think if he was doing his job, neither of those goals gets in. On another occasion, I saw him have a perfect knockout check opportunity and he simply did a tap tap check. He does not have the respect of the Cyclones. Heck, they have more physical respect for Sasha than Grant at this point. Nate played a great game and I am so proud of the team for coming back. Looking forward to the weekend!
Another observation and someone please correct me if I just saw this wrong but was a Stingray goal missed in the 3rd period? It happened right in front of me and I was either seeing things or the puck clearly went in and bounced twice of the netting and bounced out with a goal being called. Perhaps it was my angle so can someone confirm or correct me on this?
Posted by Gr8tfulRayFan on May 14 at 11:41 p.m.
ISF - The goal non-goal you witnessed WAS a goal. It happened right in front of me too....it was in. Tough breaks. Just glad we won.
By the way the boys were celebrating after we won, it was obviously a HUGE relief to them. With this one in the win column, Friday's game should be intense and we should be playing it with alot more confidence.
Posted by raysfanincharlotte on May 14 at 11:43 p.m.
I thought it was a goal. But Im not certain. Go Rays
Posted by Hockeyfan2629 on May 15 at 12:24 a.m.
Way to go Rays!
Posted by Hockeyfan2629 on May 15 at 12:29 a.m.
I hope TJ is ok he went down hard tonight! Best of luck Rays
Way to fight back tonight rays! Lets get the job done Friday and Sat! We can do it just believe and work hard like you guys been doing all season and we will be just fine. Leave it all out there on the Ice!
Posted by acharlestongirl on May 15 at 2:25 a.m.
I thought it was a goal too!
This game was too close for my liking, but I will certainly take a WIN! :)
On to Friday night! Just one game at a time, we still have a solid shot at the series. Hockey is fun again!
thanks rays!
Posted by warpathaubbie on May 15 at 10:13 a.m.
I must have missed the goal everyone is talking about. Can you tell me when it happened?
Posted by InformedSportsFanatic on May 15 at 10:59 p.m.
the goal - no goal occured in the third period with about 4 min left to play. It was taken on a break from the far right side and appeared to get behind the goalie. It was very quick but the ref was behind the play trying to catch up and was not in position to see the net. It is over now but had the Rays not won, I think it would be an issue. Now we move on to Friday night!
Posted by RaysFan34 on May 16 at 12:56 p.m.
I would like to hear some thoughts from you guys on Todd Griffith and the fact he is sitting in the stands so much.
I really wonder why he is sitting given the effort and talent he brings to the ice every time he is on it. I also wonder why we even bothered to make a trade for him if this is the best we can do to utilize his talent and skills.
Maybe I am missing something, and hopefully someone here can explain it to me?
Posted by Hockeyfan2629 on May 16 at 1:15 p.m.
Todd Griffith isnt hurt and hasnt been! I have talked to him a few times and have asked him when he going to play? He has no Idea either why he hasnt been playing. He wasnt the league mvp and rookie last year from sitting up in the stands that for sure.
Maybe it because Todd reminds bednar of another player we had on the team earlier in the season! Matt Reid if you look at way Todd Plays it like how Matt Reid was and about the same size! So Maybe that has to do with something!
When Todd does play he doesnt play many shifts and his shifts are very short!
Lets Go Rays
We Believe!
Posted by RaysFan34 on May 16 at 2:47 p.m.
I don't disagree with anything you have said here, except maybe the Matt Reid thing. I agree, he looks like Matt on the ice, plays like Matt on the ice, skates like him, etc., but I would hate to think any coach would sit a player because he reminds them of another. (Though, that thought has been bandied around among some fans for a few weeks).
I don't know, I just think the kid is a lot more talented than we are making use of right now, and whatever the reason, I wish they would get it worked out so he is out there on the ice. All I know is when it is time for pre-game warm-ups I am looking to see who is in goal and if Grffith is dressed. Most times I am disappointed ... at least on the Griffith thing. And from talking to folks on the concourse, it seems I am not the only one who feels that disappointment.
Glad for the win on Wednesday, but if we want to pull this off, we are going to have to pull out all the stops from here on out!
Posted by stingrays01 on May 16 at 3 p.m.
Hockeyfan2629,
Not sure what Todd Griffith you are talking about because our Todd Griffith has never won a league mvp or rookie of the year. Not even close.
We really didn't give up much for Griffith. Neither Andricopoulos or Byfuglien would be able to crack our lineup in the playoffs.
I think Griffith isn't playing for one reason, his defensive play. Bednar did dress him in game 1 of this series. The first 2 goals scored by Cincinnati was when Griffith spelled/replaced Pinizzotto on the O'Brien/Campbell line. Not sure if all the blame can be put on Griffith because I didn't see the goals scored, but seeing how he isn't in the lineup now makes me think that maybe Bedsy didn't like what he saw from Griffith that night.
McIlveen replaced Griffith in game 2 and promptly scored 2 goals, so I guess it's kind of hard to question the move. I wish there was some way we could get Matt Smith back into the lineup too, but then we are going to have to sit someone else. We just have so many good forwards, some of them are going to have to sit. But hey, it's better to have too many than not enough.
Posted by aubietiger on May 16 at 3:04 p.m.
I would also like to see Griff on the ice tonight or even tomorrow.
Posted by Slappa on May 16 at 3:40 p.m.
you don't get traded unless you have some off ice issues or you're a head case? No need for him on the ice when he's a liability and you have plenty of goal scorers on the roster. It's kind of like the Jason Sessa situation last time around in 01, would you rather have Buddy Wallace or Joel Irving on the ice in the last 5 minutes or a soft no d playing Sessa ?
Posted by warpathaubbie on May 16 at 3:59 p.m.
Thank you informed.
Posted by InformedSportsFanatic on May 16 at 4:11 p.m.
I too look to see if Griffith is in the line up each night and feel let down whe he is not. Since his first stint in the stands, his defense has been a lot better and I do not see him floating around the ice waiting for someone else to toss him the puck for a breakaway. This is what he was doing before and although it is a liability on the defensive side, it was fun to watch on the offensive side. I am really disappointed by some of the defenders onthe team right now. Sasha is just not making smart decisions and is skating poorly as well. G. McNeill is also disappointing me since he came back. I know you chill out the fighting in the playoffs but I always thought he was more than that and could play straight defense. Maybe I was wrong. At a sit down the other night, I heard the idea of floating a couple of the multi-purpose forwards in for Sasha and Grant. After some thought, I like the idea. McIlveen and Guerin do a heck of a defensive job when called upon. Can you imagine these guys on the defense and having Griffith and Smith in the lineup? Call me crazy if you want but I call it fun and I call it ROAD TRIP TO VEGAS baby!!!
Posted by sbrown5550 on May 16 at 9:42 p.m.
Clones fan here. Just finished game 4. The story seems to be the number of penalties called against SC in the game. THOSE OF YOU WHO WHERE THERE.....Were the calls bad? Was it iffy calls against the Rays? Did the Clones not do anything to deserve penalties? Note that the ref from game 3 is back for tomorrow nights game. Rays are still winning the shots on goal game - tonight it was 36-26. In the last two games, that is something like 79-48. Tonight, SC really should have had more than one goal with 36 shots. Last thing - what did that Pinzinotto guy do to deserve the 10 minute misconduct?
Posted by RaysFan34 on May 16 at 10:46 p.m.
Slappa, exactly what off ice issues do you think Andricopoulos or Byfuglien or T.J. McElroy had that caused them to get traded? None ... Were any of those 3 head cases? Nope. So no, it does not always have to be off ice issues or head cases to effect a trade. In this case, it was a numbers crunch with players coming back from IR, etc.
Now, correct me if I am wrong, but shouldn't we be expecting some sort of offense from our forwards? (I think your "plenty of goal scorers on the ice" were MIA tonight Slappa). Andrew Gordon was the only one who could score tonight and we had our share of chances. So I am really not content to let a kid who has averaged a point a game since he got here sit in the stands and walk the concourse, but that's just me.
I am going to leave the goaltending situation alone except to say, what's good for the goose, is good for the gander, and we need to do whatever it takes to jumpstart the team and win hockey games. I think both goaltenders are quite capable of winning hockey games, and I think we should let them both prove that.
Posted by RaysFan34 on May 16 at 11:07 p.m.
Stingrays01, I am sure Hockeyfan2629 is just a little bit confused. Let's clarify it for everyone: In 2006-2007 Todd Griffith was named as a member of both the National Conference All-Star team and the ECHL All-Rookie team. In 2007-2008 (that's THIS year folks) he was again named to the National Conference All-Star team, so he is a 2-time All-Star and walking the concourse ... hmmm.
Posted by meducare33 on May 17 at 12:16 a.m.
Not going to say much about the game tonight BUT... that has got to be one of the worst attempts at officiating I have seen in quite some time. Made me think of my 9 y/o daughter's class where the antagonist never seems to get caught but the retaliation warrants discipline. Just seemed too "planned out" to me.
Anyways... can someone please change the locks on Sasha's room so he'll stay locked up somewhere and allow us to put SOMEone on the ice who will at least TRY?!?!?
I am still keeping my hopes up for a win Saturday night and goin back to Cincy to break the jinx of the road losses.
LETS GO RAYS!
Posted by Slappa on May 17 at 12:36 a.m.
rays Fan36- maybe your nestled too close to the players i don't know ? but wasn't Byfulgian and McElroy traded twice this year ? and Acripolous was just plain awful ! Why would Bako trade him if he's such a great all star ? He should get a chance tomorrow but I'll bet you we don't see him next year b/c Bednar is too smart to bring back a problematic player.
Posted by InformedSportsFanatic on May 17 at 1:39 a.m.
I can respect Bedsy and the commitment he has had to the Rays for so long. However, I seriously doubt Griffith has had enough time to have issues with this team. I am sad to say our coach has/is allowing his personal feelings get in the way of what is better for the team. The Reid thing to me was personal not professional based. Todd Griffith not playing is personal and it is harmful to the team. Griffith says he is done for the year but I will hold out hope anyway.
Tonights game was more than frustrating. It was obvious within the first 5 min that we were going to play 6 on 5 all night. I wonder if the league office had a rep here tonight as this level of officiating is embarrassing to the league. I will credit the Cyclones goalie for some great play but Parley was not that bad either and I would have liked to see the match up without the one sided officiating. The end of day stats will show 8-6 power plays but the 8 should have been 4 and the 6 should have been 10. It got so bad at one point that I thought someone could get hurt. The calls on McLean, Gordon, and the 10 minute on Pinnozato were insane not to mention the no calls on the goon from the Cyclones who knocked any and everyone whenever he wanted. Sad! My anger is also generated at our coach who failed to address the officials at any time. Nate was the only one who ever attempted to get any influence or answers. Heck, the Cyclones coach barked at the officials and they were getting the calls. I know it "is not in his personality" but as the head coach, you must stand up for your team so your team will stand up for themselves! Without the strong leadership tonight, our guys were obviously down. I blew my gasket during the post game show when Bedsy repeatedly told Josh Heller that we were not disciplined, we make foolish mistakes, and that everything was basically our fault and that Cincy was just too good. Hopefully the guys will have a players only meeting tomorrow and will decide to do it their way. Also, what was all that crap going on in the stands tonight? Looked like some battles over on the 206-210 sections.
Posted by season_ticket_holder on May 17 at 9:09 a.m.
First from a game 4 perspective - three things killed us and the goaltending was not one of them - the boys looked tired on the ice last night - with few exceptions there was no offensive jump to any of them. Secondly, we had none of the bounces go our way last night - it's the old adage "you've got to be lucky to be good and good to be lucky", we were neither last night. Lastly, the defensive was non-existent during the first period - Davis has told me personally that his style of goaltending lends itself to do more blocking of the puck than catching of it - hence he traditionally gives up a ton of rebounds - the defensive corps that have played in front of him all year should know this - but they were nowhere to be found during all three goals which all came on second and third chances from right in front of the crease.
Next, my two cents on the discussion about "head cases" - I seem to recall that we picked up Byfulgian during a stretch where we were short on D-men and needed some extra help. All year long we've either had too many D-men or not enough. In that perspective I think Byfulgian and TJ were simply victims of a numbers game. Crop on the other hand was an offensive D-man which doesn't truly fit into the system that Bedsy plays here. I remember talking to Crop the very first night he was a healthy scratch - all he kept talking about was how he was a 50 point D-man and he couldn't understand why for the first time in his career he was a healthy scratch - I think the more he sat, the more disgruntled he became and he became a liability to the club. I could see dealing him in that regard.
Lastly, I need to compliment the game day crew - for the past two games they have improved the quality and volume level of the music, with the exception of initially calling a Cyclone goal a penalty in game 4 Ted has been tolerable and the crowd has generally been into the game and strongly behind the team. Although I am very dissapointed in RF34. After her rant in a previous post about how the coliseum resembles a morgue I observed her actions during the past two games and it appeared that she herself was in mourning, just sitting there and ocassionally ringing her trusty cow bell. When you call out the game day crew and (in my opinion) fellow season ticket holders then do you part to get behind the team when we're yelling and screaming "Let's Go Rays" and other chats.
Don't be such a hypocrite.
Posted by meducare33 on May 17 at 9:41 a.m.
The stuff going on was in Sect 106. Some "younger" guy went a little nuts trying to get to a "T Bones Flying Puck" and ended up spilling his beer on an "older" couple sitting glass-side. Tempers escalated to the point where police came down and quelled the situation. Then some guy from two or three sections over decides that he will entertain everyone by running over towards the "incident location" and proceeds to pour beer onto himself! Things once again escalated between the original parties and once again the police made their presence known. THEN the police found the entertainer in section 112 (guessing on the exact locale) and yanked him out, wet shirt and all. The guy who had the puck then stood up to receive an applause from the surrounding crowd. Kind of a foolish situation and can see both sides of it, but there was no one else going for the puck. I too might have been a little pissed if the beer was spilled on myself or family member. One other observation was that it appeared the spillER was not a "regular" to hockey, whereas the spillEE(s) were regulars to those blue seats and the game itself. Amazing what "free parking" will attract eh?
End of my rant.
LETS GO RAYS!!
Posted by Slappa on May 17 at 10:13 a.m.
true hockey fans don't spill beer ! Who gets biggest head case of all time for the rays ? RaysFan36 i'm sure you must know of at least one ???
Posted by RaysFan34 on May 17 at 1:24 p.m.
Season Ticket Holder ... then you weren't watching too closely. Yes, last night I wasn't up and down and all over, and you will please excuse me, but I had something pretty serious on my mind (something a lot more serious than hockey I can assure you).
I have noticed that the music is louder, though little has changed as to the music being played. If you want to call me out, please, by all means do ... it really is of no concern to me what you think. I did not call out fellow season ticket holders, but if you took it that way, then perhaps the shoe fits?
Slappa, you don't really think the only reasons a player gets traded is because of off-ice issues or they're head cases do you? If so, then I say to you, what about their on-ice issues? Players get traded for a variety of reasons.
Just an FYI, Andricopoulos was never supposed to be here long term anyway. He knew that coming in and because circumstances allowed for it, he remained here a lot longer than originally intended.
Sometimes, it really is just a numbers game, you trade away someone to get what you need, or in the case of say Brian Esner, you trade a player because he asks for it.
Oh, and my favorite head case reads and sometimes posts on this blog, much to the chagrin of Andrew ... LOL
Posted by RaysFan34 on May 17 at 1:50 p.m.
STH, I just re-read your post to this blog and all I can say to you is you are either clueless, or you're not and you just want to start an argument ... either way, I'm not playing. (Don't have time, gotta go pack a suitcase and a bus)
Posted by RaysRsharp on May 17 at 1:52 p.m.
"true hockey fans don't spill beer"
"True Hockey Fans" don't need beer........ and they're
too intelligent to pay 3 times what it's worth. LOL
Posted by Hockeyfan2629 on May 17 at 3:11 p.m.
LETS GO RAYS! TAKE IT ONE SHIFT AT A TIME! SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT THE PUCK ON THE POWER PLAY! WE CAN COME BACK WE HAVE DONE IT EVERY SERIES IN THE PLAYOFFS! SO WHAT WE DONT HAVE HOME ICE ADVANTAGE! JUST BELIEVE AND PLAY WITH ALL YOUR HEART YOU HAVE! JUST LEAVE EVERYTHING ON THE ICE THAT YOU GOT!
WE BELIEVE
RAYS BELIEVE IN YOURSELF BECAUSE WE DO!
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