What a Complete 180

Did Clem Jodoin insert Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards, and Sidney Crosby into the line up? Because I am sure I watched a different Rimouski Oceanic club on Sunday. I was expecting there would still be some rust in the second contest. They didn't look like they played just one game in the last three and half weeks.

Patrice Cormier for some reason had a target on his back for some reason. Did Ryan Ellis have problems with him when they were teammates at the World Junior Championships? It was Windsor's mission to get under his skin. He came to play.

If you look at Hockey's Future ranking for the Pittsburgh Penguins, they are ranked second to last in term's of their prospect depth chart. I think they should be ranked middle of the pack with a guy like Keven Veilleux. He's ranked 16th! This guy is going to be a beast and he showed his talent today. He dominated in the short time he saw. Imagine if he was healthy for 68 games?

If I was Vielleux I would look over my shoulder when Pittsburgh plays Philadelphia in a few years. I don't want to be going across the middle with my head down when Marc-Andre Bourdon is on the ice. He was the QMJHL Defenseman of the Year for a reason last season. He has an all around game.

I think Rimouski's best player so far has been Maxim Gougeon. He kept the ship some what a float in Friday's game and he had make some key stops against Windsor. I thought the breakaway chance by Taylor Hall was big.

Why didn't Hall be more assertive though on the shot. Loosepucks quoted Hall after the Drummondville game:

"...some guys didn't show up" - Windsor's Taylor Hall on Saturday's loss to
Drummondville.

If you are going to say something like that. You better back up your own play. Just trying to slide the puck past Gougeon isn't going to cut it. I know hindsight is twenty-twenty but go down there and take a hard snap shot. Show your teammates you want it.

I have never seen a slower goalie in my life then Andrew Engelage. On Jordan Caron's goal, he committed before Caron shot the puck. It's like in the Mighty Ducks movies when Fulton Reed fired his slap shots. The goalies just got out of the way. Engrlage basically did that on Caron's goal.

Overall I thought the Spitfires thought they could walk right through this tournament because they were ranked 1 or 2 all season long. How can you ask for a replay as the game is going on? Wait until a stoppage to make hand signals to the referee to take a look. They can't just go and stop play to look at a call. Ellis was so concern about his non-goal then re-setting the powerplay back up. You can't give up the fifth goal like that either. I know it wasn't time to panic but come out with more fire in the third with a fresh powerplay.

It seems to me, Windsor has all the offensive guys in the world but not too many shutdown guys who can chip in offensively. I am talking like a guy like Patrice Cormier who can bring the physical game if you ask him too, the offensive game, or a defensive game.

They need to take a hard long look in the mirror because chances are slim they get by Kelowna on Tuesday if they continue the bad habits.

That's My Take

(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)