Owen Sound Attack game 3 thoughts..

[tryhard87]

Alright I took down about 6 names from each team and thought I would scout a bunch of the players on Owen Sound and London. Well I only ended up gaining information on a couple players but I will still share my few thoughts..

First of all: Joey Hishon got Slu-footed by Colin Martin who received a 5 minute match penalty on the play. Joey Hishon fell straight back and smoked the back of his head on the ice. He laid there for a couple minutes not really moving at all. I don't think he was knocked out I just think he laid there cause he was seeing stars. He needed help getting up and left the game. I must say he didn't look good going off and I am thinking he has a decent concussion. He didn't return but there was only 5 minutes left in the game.

Update: Hishon appeared to hit his head on the ice in the incident but said after the game that it was the "whiplash" caused by the fall to the ice that left him down for several minutes and forced him to leave the game. He's expected to be OK for Game 4.

London captain Sanza also left the game in the 2nd period and didn't return. He was shaken up on a hit from a hit in the 1st period, tried to play in the 2nd but ended up leaving the game for good.

Now onto my few thoughts:

Jesse Blacker looked unreal out there. As a Leafs fan I was amazed by what I saw from him. I didn't realize he was such an offensive defenseman. Now one of the reasons he looked so good was because there was a ton (and I mean A TON of penalties). Lots of 4 on 4 action as well as a few 4 on 3 chances. In the 4 on 4 chances Blacker would jump in as a forward most of the time in the offensive zone. He was also the guy that took the puck from end to end and gained the zone on the powerplay (which he did quite well I might add). Blacker has incredible hands for a D-man and is a speedy guy. He had a goal and two assists in the win.

-The first goal on the PP Blacker had a nice feed to Stanisz who wired one off the post and in low blocker side.
-His 2nd assist was on a 4 on 3 powerplay where he skated end to end and had a slick dangle which had the crowd left in Aw, had a decent scoring chance and then Hishon jumped on the rebound and buried it upstairs.
-His 3rd point, the GWG, was 4 on 4 this time where he took the puck end to end to get it into the zone and eventually picked the puck up in the corner down low and did a spin-o-rama beating the goalie with his backhand five-hole.

Blacker only made 1 mistake that I could see and it was on the powerplay he fanned on a pass to Joey Hishon and the Knights player went the other way on a breakaway. Luckily the speedy Hishon caught up and broke up the play. Other than that Blacker was sensational. A mistake like that is going to happen any player from time to time especially when they are young. This was my first time seeing the Attack play so I don't know if it's a one time thing or if it happens a lot with him.

Joey Hishon was another player I noticed. He was one of the fastest skaters on the ice and was crafty with the puck. He controlled the puck well and used his quick small frame to protect the puck. Only thing is while he could control the puck well in the offensive zone he didn't create a ton of scoring chances. He picked up a rebound/loose puck up in the slot and roofed it with a quick wrister on a 4 on 3 in the second but that was his only point of the night. He got knocked off his feet a few times but I think it was more because the Knights were gunning for him and trying to take him out. Like I said above he was Slew footed late in the 3rd and it looks like he has a concussion. I want to see more of Hishon because it looks like he has the skill to be a decent offensive player but tonight I felt he could have been better.

A lot of emotion in this game. Hishon was taunting the Knights bench on the Knights first goal. Jesse Blacker was pointing at the jumbotron at the end of the game when it was 5-3 when he was about 10 feet from the Knights bench and they were chirping him. An awesome game to watch. Hopefully my first of many attack playoff games this year.

[Dean Youngblood]

Fantastic writeup tryhard!. Rep for you for sharing your thoughts. I was glad to read about Blacker's play after I was closely following his stat line last night. Blacker is a fifth-year OHL veteran so he simply understands the game at that level. I look forward to seeing how he does for the Marlies next season. He definitely brings both an offensive and defensive element to his game

Great recap. I encourage others to do the same if they take in any live OHL games.

REP

[Dean Youngblood]

PS - Any thoughts on Namestnikov (2011 eligible), Seth Griffith (2011 eligible), and Jared Knight (Bruins) of London?

[tryhard87]

PS - Any thoughts on Namestnikov (2011 eligible), Seth Griffith (2011 eligible), and Jared Knight (Bruins) of London?

I didn't say anything about them because I didn't really notice them much. Owen Sound dominated the play all night except for the first period when Owen Sound was in the box all period. Unfortunately for me I was at the blueline at the other end and didn't see the powerplays real great as you had to look through the penalty boxes glass to see the left corner side of the ice.

I'm an attack fan and was absorbing in the game more than watching the Knights players. So although I didn't notice anything it was probably more from me cheering for the Attack which lead to me noticing the Attack players more.

Jared Knight looked fast. He created a few offensive rushes with his speed and taking the puck wide.

On the London PP they liked to cross-over the D. The D without the puck goes infront and the D with the puck crossing behind. This created a lot of space for them and lead to a goal (maybe 2) and a few opportunities. The Owen Sound PK had their forwards stay down low and just let them play with the puck at the point. I thought the Attack could have played that better and made an adjustment during the game but never did.

Seth Griffith was on the point on the PP and looked good in that spot. He didn't turn the puck over at all and moved the puck well. He scored the first goal from the point when he took a few strides in and sniped upstairs over the Attack goalie blocker side. He also had the primary assist on the second goal which was another shot from the point I think (once again on the PP).

Namestnikov I didn't notice at all. I don't know if it is because he was actually invisible last night or if I just didn't pay enough attention to him.

Like I said earlier though, London got dominated even strength. They had 20 shots all game but 14 came in the first when Owen Sound took 8 penalties (not counting the 2 coincidental penalties the Attack had). London did have 5 penalties as well but it seemed the Knights were on the PP all period. The 2nd and 3rd combined London had 6 shots. All 3 of their goals came on the PP.

[tryhard87]

Here's the fight between Tinordi and Shaw and Shaw hammered Jared Knight with a little late hit into the boards:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pk-m12GLzw