Random thoughts on a series

Random thoughts on the Turner Cup Finals, which the Komets trail 3-2 to the Port Huron Icehawks, heading into Game 6 at McMorran Arena on Saturday:

• All the pressure is on the Icehawks.
• The Komets were so dependent on their rookies in the regular seasons, it's come back to haunt them in the finals because Luciano Aquino, Mitch Woods and Mathieu Curadeau have been off their normal games.
• Port Huron's fiery goalie, Larry Sterling, may blow a gasket before this series is over.
• Fort Wayne's fiery goalie, Nick Boucher, may blow a gasket before this series is over.
• Konstantin Shafranov is the oldest player in the series and he's been the best.
• Hard to believe the Komets were the most penalized team in the IHL this season; they're not playing physically at all.
• Stan Drulia is an underrated coach.
• After drawing literally hundreds of fans to some games, it's nice to see people actually showing up to a series in Port Huron.
• Doesn't that make them fair-weather fans?
• Isn't having Sergei Durdin and Jake Pence on the ice at the same time, during a tied game, risky?
• The Komets should go after Port Huron's Jamie Lovell and Muskegon's Dan Riedel in the offseason.
• Why hasn't Craig Welker officiated a game in the finals?
• Brandon Warner should be getting more ice time for the Komets.
• The IHL should bring in goal judges from neutral teams in the playoffs; it wouldn't cost that much.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Comments

[Nasty Dangles]

Best post in a long time Justin!

I couldn't agree more about Pence and Durdin.

It's about time someone called out PH's fair weather fans.

Couldn't agree more about goal judges. I want so bad to believe that they are all impartial, but until they get them from a neutral team that thought will always be in the back of people's minds.

[Junior]

I agree w/ the goal judge. The guy lighted the lamp on the Woods miss.

[Jungle Monkey]

JungleMonkey's Random Thoughts...

-Isn't having Durdin on the ice at any time risky?

-Yes it does make them fair-weather fans.

-Did the addition of Hodgman mess with the chemistry of the Komets? (I know I'll catch flack for that one)

-Will Brent Henley ever be appreciated for his defensive skills?

-Is there any doubt who the more consistant and stable goaltender on the Komets roster is? (By stable, I mean playing ability... not mentally stable.)

All joking aside Boucher cares. Boucher doesn't like to lose. Boucher doesn't appreciate effort, he apprciates results. I for one like the guy!

[Jungle Monkey]

Oh... one more...

Does anyone doubt Colin Chaulk when he says he's going to be playing Monday night?

I don't. Take it to the bank... Chaulker's word is solid.

[Greg]

I don;t think all the pressure is on the Icehawks unless there's a game 7 and even then I'm not so sure. Who finished with a 32 point lead in the regular season???

Did Mondalak even ref a game in the playoffs?????

[Geronimo]

Interesting poll Justin. You made a mistake, though. You put Shaf on it. ARE YOU NUTS? Saw him cream his man at the begin of the game - didn't see that coming!

[Brandon]

Mondalek was relieved of his duties...

[Jungle Monkey]

Mondalek was relieved of his duties...

Posted by: Brandon
_______________________________

I hope he didn't get any on himself.

[Homco]

Holy. . . . . . . .WOW. Shaf was awesome last night.

Hope to see him back for atleast a couple more years. What a guy. He has been the man this series. Next year my jerseywill be sporting the #24

[John Wonderly]

In my opinion----

Hard to believe the Komets were the most penalized team in the IHL this season; they're not playing physically at all.

Someone-most likely the coach-caused this and it was a mistake.

[JW]

this isnt for sure yet but, i may have room for 2 in my car (altima) for the trip to PH...if interested email [email protected]

i welcome the rowdiest of rowdies

2 of us are about 80% sure we are making the trip so its not set in stone yet.

[Bruiser]

The physical play has to change for the Komets. It just isn't there. Bertram is back to the soft Bertram of the 03-04 season. If he doesn't play physical, he isn't needed. There are plenty of non-physical faster defenders out there. The UHL was loaded with them.

The Ks win this thing if it goes 7. PH must game six or they don't win this series. That's my take.

[FWKRTJ]

Welker was last nights back up official. At least I'd assume that because he was standing with Brad Jones in the zamboni tunnel during warmups.

[bruce]

im interested in 2 seats if there is a bus Saturday

LETS GO KOMETS

[JW]

DARN RIGHT IT MAKES THEM FAIR WEATHER FANS JUSTIN. i called them out on that a few days ago... its great for their club tho. tiger dan may be the only actual fan out there.

on the other side of the coin. we draw nice throughout the season and now that its playoffs we get 5,000?????? sup with that. i know the sponsor tickets get cut off or whatever but jeez if you dont get free tix you dont show up??? where has everyone been?????

[Conley]

Ok. Watch it! Here Conley goes jumping on his box of sudsy stuff. If you spend and extra 300 bucks per game you can have two officials and that would take away the need for goal judges from neutral ice somewhere. The lead official can easily be on top of the goal and have a first hand view . Instead you have lazy man Cereal or how ever you spell his name camping at center ice waiting for the Krispy Kreme light to come on. It is red I think? (btw I love those things fresh)! Goes to check it out and waves off another goal. I would pay the extra out of my pocket. Well maybe not but that one solution would take care of all these problems all teams have experienced in this years playoffs. Sorry so long. Go Komets!

[Wicked]

If they have two officials there at the game anyway, why don't they play both of them, at least during playoff games...or maybe just the finals. Wouldn't it make sence that we should not mess up any calls during the finals? The teams should decide who wins based on the rules of the game, right? If one of them gets hurt during the game, then we would run with only one. Our luck, we would get Hawthorn and Gallagher together....Go KOMETS!!!

[Mrs. Mightbite]

Mrs. Mightbite here ...

I like it
I love it,
I want some more of it!

Guys, you squeezed it out and we'll sure take that win, but would somebody please find Bertram's button and push it BEFORE the end of the 3rd?!?!

Love you guys! Now, bring it home and send them little whiners back to PH scratchn' their heads and wondering what the h-e-double toothpicks happened.

[sue ann]

anyone going sat have room in there car for 2 more?

[Ryne Gurney]

Warner needs to not be on a defensive line with Durdin. Guy gave him a good pass and Warner scored, Durdin seems to never, never, never pass the puck across.

[sue ann]

email me at [email protected] if you have room for 2 more for sat please

[Brando]

Durdin passes it across our own zone resulting in turnovers. Warner should see more ice, kinda dissappointing with all the careless mistakes Durdin makes in the same shift he is right back out there the next shift. When Port Huron scored the second goal, Warner was the only one moving his feet, Durdin stood there and watched.

[Kevin]

where's everyone sitting at in port huron?

[Ryne Gurney]

Anyone else see Bert get speared, thats why he took that roughing penalty, he had to do something about it.

[Hoss]

Who said anything about sitting in PH? We need to be on our feet yelling and screaming all game.

L-A-R-R-Y! L-A-R-R-Y! L-A-R-R-Y!

[Geronimo]

The pass to P.C. by Durdin was right on the money - need more of that!

[Rich]

I have a song suggestion for Larry. At Monday’s game if Margaret gets a penalty or is running his mouth at a Komet you could play the song by Brad Paisley THANK GOD I’M STILL A GUY.

Margaret highlights her hair cause she don’t have a pair oh thank god…………………. I’m still a guy.

Durdin needs to sit on the bench. Every shift he coughs up the puck and creates scoring chances for the other team. I don’t know what Al sees in him???

[Hoss]

I just saw a clip from Friday Night Lights (TV) that said something about "It's not the losses, it's how you bounce back from them and move on." Sounds like a game seven quote when we get there!

[sue ann]

i am still looking for ride to sat game email [email protected]

[dnl]

If no new teams are coming into the league next season, the league should put officiating as priority number one on the list. I also agree with the 2 ref system at least for the finals. If other teams don't draw as well and can't afford it then they can always sit out and let the Komets play! But all kidding aside, it would professionalize this league quite a bit.
Second thing the league should do (or even just the Komets) is look into providing buses for fans to away games. The league was built on close proximaty to cut back on gas, but also to provide away games for fans to easily attend in a day's drive. But with gas prices, not many people want to drive there and back and pay for the fuel. Get an easy way for fans to transport and you'll see alot more fans buying up tickets to other barns, which in turn helps attendance and indirectly brings in more revenue for food, shirts, chuck a puck etc... It will only grow as more people find out about the bus as well. Even if it's rocky at first, if the league sticks with it, it will grow in their benefit.

[Conley]

I just came in the jungle for a concert and yelled Let's Go Komets! And I saw Brandon. I love this house.
P.S. They still have the ice covered and boards up.

[Daisy]

I still have room for one more in my car.

My husband and I got tickets in section 5. They told me on the phone that they are putting all Komet fans in sections 5, 7 and 21 to answer the question above.

My email is [email protected] if you need a ride tomorrow

[Andy]

Random thought of my own. Watching the Battle of Pennsylvania right now. They definitely have a white out going. I was curious do they hand out thousands white shirts or do the fans just obey and make sure they wear white that night?

I would love to have an orange out next season. Maybe for the season opener?(since it will be a sell out like always.) I do not trust 10,000 people to just wear an orange shirt if asked to.

Maybe hand out 10,000 shirts? or would that be too costly? If that would not work, maybe sell an orange shirts for dirt cheap that night.

[FiveMinuteMajor]

I don't worry near as much when Pence has the puck as when Durdin does. I don't like to come on here and call out players but that was one of the ugliest turnovers I've seen in a while by #8 behind the net. I can't blame Boucher for getting somewhat angry after that goal was scored...
How great was that goal by Warner? The timing couldn't have been better either after the previously mentioned ugly turnover. And it was nice to see PC getting on the scoreboard, he's been AWOL most of the series.
It doesn't look like I'll be able to go to Port Huron Saturday, but I'll be there in spirit! :)

[Homco]

Conley,

Anyword on getting some viewing going on in Warsaw. I would comeover from the fort to watch and get some food or drinks in me with some other fans!

[TigerDan]

Uhm, say all you want about fans, but the truth is your ratio of fans to population comes no where near what we have. Yes, there are more fans at playoff games, but their SHOULD be. If you're giving out free tickets and getting inflated numbers of people that will NOT return for a measly $10 for the CHAMPIONSHIP series, how can you claim to be doing something right??

In addition, many of us were brought up on the Red Wings. You can rip on me all you want, but the Wings are my team. I remember the Red Wings skating on the ice at McMorran in training camp when I was a kid. I remember getting Steve Yzerman's autograph his rookie year on the same piece of paper as Tim Friday, Eddie Mio and Danny Gare. So, I'm a Red Wings fan first. That does NOT limit my fanhood of the Icehawks, and many others in this town have the same background. Truth be told, I love this format because the Turner Cup playoffs will be over before the Stanley Cup finals start, and I'll be able to catch it all. I also attend far more 'Hawks games than Wings games, due to price and location.

I understand that most of the people on this board are Komet fans: that's why you're here. I also understand that there are more Komet fans than there are Port Huron fans --- as well there should be (population and proximity to other teams and leagues). But, let's be honest, how many fans would the Komets have if attendance were limited to oh, say St. Joeseph Township?? Not nearly as many, right? OK, now put an OHL team with the expected #1 pick in the NHL draft 5 minutes away. OK, now add NHL, NBA, MLB and NFL teams within an hour. How many are left to attend Komets games now?? My guess. You'd draw less than 500. You'd never have a team in the first place.

Oh, one more thing. Take another 8000 people out of St. Joeseph Township, because that's how many more people live there than the entire Port Huron area.

Port Huron is one of the smallest if not THE smallest market in the country to have a professional sports team. And we support it damn well. So make all the cracks you want, but the simple TRUTH is: PORT HURON is hockey country. No offense, but you'll never be able to catch us.

[TigerDan]

Better yet, put the team in Warsaw, keep the surrounding communities and farmland but get rid of Fort Wayne and all of it's suburbs. Could you support a team?? I know there are about 3 of you on here....looks pretty paltry compared to 'Hawks fanboards.

[FWKRTJ]

Warsaw's going to be the highlight a feature length movie coming out called "American Teen" :-)...just a little tidbit.

Anyway, we'll be in row 2 of section 5 with the flag...LET'S GO KOMETS!!!

[Conley]

First of all don't be talking about my hometown Dan. Laces out Dan. Homco, pizza king has no hi speed so we are out of luck there. Rich is going to have it on a 42" flat screen so I'm sure you are welcome there. Just let him know. Kellie Pickler just rocked the coliseum! Rascal Flatts next. The only thing port huron has going is Rodney Carrington on the 22nd. He is a riot. I sang with him in Merriville. Go see him! Go Komets!

[TigerDan]

Your hometown??? Sorry about your luck!!

[scoops]

As much as I hate to get involved in the rediculous debate on population vs attendance....I'll play along. I used Port Huron's population as 35,000 and Fort Wayne's as 205,000 (both rough guesses). If you take their season average they are both right around 4%. What is the point of arguing about this subject over and over? Both teams have a passionate fan base, with one larger than the other for obvious reasons. Again...nothing worth arguing about.

I think PH gets a laugh mostly because they die, rename, die, rename, might die and so on. Not a big deal.

Fort Wayne Komets being the main attractions in town is nothing to be ashamed of. I am speculating I suppose but I would guess if the other 5 teams in the league did some of the promotional things we do, they might be better off over the course of the season. Granted, more things are at our disposal. We are probably too big (population and arena) compared to everyone else in the league now but that may change in the years to come.

Who cares if you are drawing now and its fair weathered fans/Fort Wayne fans. I would rather see that now than all those empty seats we have had in our own barn. But it is what it is.

The only thing I disagree with is that Port Huron is hockey country. Maybe the area is hockey country, but I have a hard time believing Port Huron itself is. Unless you try to convince me.

[TigerDan]

Conley, is that all you've got?? Rascal Flatts and Kellie Pickler. You can certainly keep Kellie Pickler, we definately don't want her here. I'm not much of a Rascal Flatts fan, but they're playing here - along with about 20 other bands that are bigger than them.

I don't suppose you've ever heard of Bayfest, have you?

I've seen Aerosmith, Barenaked Ladies, Blink 182, Foo Fighters and Nickelback, just to name a few....all within five miles of my house.

Here's the link for this year:

http://www.sarniabayfest.com/

[Wendy]

Just wanted to let everyone know that I now have my pictures back from the May 2nd Komets game vs. Port Huron. And yes, my new camera IS working! :) After some trial and error, I did get a few nice shots, I think. So check them out. There are 18 in all. I especially like the last one of Colin Chaulk.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23197874@N03/sets/72157604970253950/

[TigerDan]

So, now you're underestimating Fort Wayne's population by 50,000 and overestimating Port Huron's population by 3000. Also, this doesn't take metro areas into account. According to Wikipedia, metro Fort Wayne has a population of 570,000.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Wayne,_Indiana

The Port Huron area - when you include Marysville, Fort Gratiot, Port Huron Township and other outlying areas - is stretching to reach 65,000.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Huron,_Michigan

This puts Fort Wayne's attendance at roughly 1.3% and Port Huron's at 2.1%.

Of course, NONE of this takes into account the OHL, NHL, NBA, MLB and NFL teams at our disposal. I guess it would be hard for you to understand, because you don't live here. It's no knock on Fort Wayne, but it's the simple truth -- there's not much else to do close by. On the other hand, as I previously pointed out -- I'm a die hard Wings and Tigers fan. Now, if it's a random weekend in Saturday and both the Wings and Icehawks are playing in town and someone offers me tickets to the Wings game, which game would I go see?? Same story if the Tigers make the playoffs -- ALCS or World Series tickets... or Icehawks preseason game. I attend far more 'Hawks games than anything else, but I guess the point is I also have many more things available at my convenience.

[55kometfan]

Tiger Dan you are a tool!! You are trying so hard to justify and prove your situation vs. Fort Wayne's. Just shut it and be a hockey fan. If you hadn't noticed you are on a freaking FORT WAYNE KOMETS BLOG. Do you really think we care about your arguements about Port Huron being God's Country or Hockey Country as you called it? WE DONT CARE!!!!

[TigerDan]

Of course you don't care, 55. All you care about is your PBR and this years corn crop.

PS, I know I'm on a Komet board, I just love getting under your skin - Bouchebag.

[SuperFly]

Ok, PH vs. FW, blah blah blah whatever. I do remember what I wanted to ask though, thanks to the good post by scoops... what are the "scoop guys" you talk about during the home games? (And if said that wrong, please don't chew me up and spit me out, I'm just curious). :)

[Mark]

Do we have to resort to name calling..I mean come on people grow up...

GO KOMETS

[55kometfan]

Yah I guess you are a lot like "athletes foot"!! FYI I'm a local business owner so there goes your stupid theory of my PBR and corn crop. Like I said earlier.... TOOL!!!!

Your last name doesn't happen to be Sterling does it?

[kyle hunt]

TigerTool.......funny!