7,100 fans, and they witnessed what?

After the game last night, I stuck around the arena to cool off 'cause I was so pissed about how this game went. And, I knew the tunnel would be a tense atmosphere. Let me be clear, I would have been just as pissed off if we would have won.

I didn't want to post anything out of pure anger, and I wanted a chance to read some of things our fans were saying. So, I waited until today to get this off my chest. I will probably get flamed for it, but trust me, I'm used to it.

Now that I have a chance to reflect on what happened, and what's being posted, here's my take on the game....if you care to read.

1. Most importantly, I hope Clayts is doing okay and recovers. And, I am sorry his family and our fans had to witness such a brutal attack.

2. It was a blatant cheap shot. No way around it. No excuses. I've heard it's clearly captured on the game video.

3. Here's my biggest problem with last night: THE ELECTRICITY WAS GONE! I'm sure you all will agree there was some serious electricity in the barn last night. We had the place rockin'. We had 7,100 people there, all who seemed to be having a great time. When the attack occured(yes, it was an attack), we all sat there and watched as one of our best and most beloved players lay out on the ice in a pool of blood. It delayed the game 30+ minutes. IT KILLED THE ATMOSPHERE. So, if we average 3,000 to 4,000 fans a game, and there were 7,100 fans there last night who witnessed this, how many of those additional 3,000 to 4,000 folks will want to come back, especially the ones that may only catch one or two games a year? Everyone was having fun until this crap happened. This is the type of shit that gives the sport of hockey, and unfortunately, our organization a bad rap with fans, sponsors, and in some cases, the media.

3. Some of you have placed the blame on the coach and Gm. What? R U kiddin' me? That's like blaming the gun and not the person using the gun in a killing! Fleck did the act, not the GM or the Coach. We could have skated with nothing but "toughness" last night, and Fleck would have still taken the cheap shot. You can have all the gun laws in the world, and that's not going to stop someone from using one. I whole-heartedly agree that we need someone who can put the fear of God in our opponents, but can also play some hockey. I am with you on that one. Furthermore, my respect for Presson and French increased dramatically, last night, for their actions. You did see Presson out on the ice calling Fleck out, didn't you? I'm not going to mention ANY details and I am not suggesting ANYTHING, but what I witnessed from our staff AFTER the game, I can assure you, you would have been proud. Unfortunately, I wish I could say the same about the Blazers. Let's just say there were plenty of smiles getting on the bus.

4. Stupid penalties. The one thing I do agree with Fyr on, is the stupid penalties we took after the incident. We should have just went out there and continued to pour it on. Kick their ass on the scoreboard. Then, when the game was in hand, we could have let all hell break loose. HOWEVER, if that would have happened last night, some of you would be bitchin' about how we didn't retaliate right away, wouldn't you?

5. Most Blazer fans I know are good people (except for Beamer! ), and this comment is not directed towards them. But, let's face it, EVERY time the Blazers get in a hole, they start goonin' it up(the last two years). I suspect that if someone (like Zippy or even BT) researched this, they will find the number of PIMs dramatically increase when the Blazers are loosing by more than two to three goals. (Hey Zippy, do you think you could research this?) We've seen it twice this year. It's a page out of Sauter's OLD playbook; a playbook that some believe the game of hockey has passed by. If this is the case, which I am confident it is, how can any Blazers fan disagree with it? It proves that Sauter is coaching his team to Goon it up when loosing. Again, this type of play gives the sport a bad name.

Most importantly, I hope Clayts recovers, and recovers fast. My biggest dissapointment is that this shit happened in front of so many new fans; fans who were enjoying themselves as they watched a great game. Not only am I pissed about what Fleck did to Clayton, but I am really pissed about how the game played out in front of all those people.

Okay, let the roasting begin.

no flaming from me... you said it the way I think it should have been said
well except for French... I dont have anything to go on other than the total lack of emotion shown on the bench through my binoculars.

IctSean wrote:

no flaming from me... you said it the way I think it should have been said well except for French... I dont have anything to go on other than the total lack of emotion shown on the bench through my binoculars.

I am surprised he was able to keep it together like that during the game. Honestly? I would have lost it. I know he was very upset afterwards.

agreed...

Icelane wrote:

IctSean wrote: no flaming from me... you said it the way I think it should have been said well except for French... I dont have anything to go on other than the total lack of emotion shown on the bench through my binoculars. I am surprised he was able to keep it together like that during the game. Honestly? I would have lost it. I know he was very upset afterwards.

You Pussy!!!!!!


Good Post by the way.

Are you going to OK City Saturday?

IctSean wrote:

no flaming from me... you said it the way I think it should have been said well except for French... I dont have anything to go on other than the total lack of emotion shown on the bench through my binoculars.

I sit behind the Thunder bench and there were fans yelling at French to do something and he turned around and shot a "look that could kill" to them and said something, I couldn't make out what he said cause I was to bawling

Also Sauter or someone on the OKC bench said something to Tyler L. and Ryan M. that really ticked them off they were hitting the glass with their sticks and the coach had to pull them away.

I bet Laxy is glad he isn't here anymore, cause we all know he be missing some games for sure.

NETMINDER wrote:

Icelane wrote: IctSean wrote: no flaming from me... you said it the way I think it should have been said well except for French... I dont have anything to go on other than the total lack of emotion shown on the bench through my binoculars. I am surprised he was able to keep it together like that during the game. Honestly? I would have lost it. I know he was very upset afterwards. You Pussy!!!!!! Good Post by the way. Are you going to OK City Saturday?

As of right now, No, I am not going to OKC.

Icelane wrote:

NETMINDER wrote: Icelane wrote: IctSean wrote: no flaming from me... you said it the way I think it should have been said well except for French... I dont have anything to go on other than the total lack of emotion shown on the bench through my binoculars. I am surprised he was able to keep it together like that during the game. Honestly? I would have lost it. I know he was very upset afterwards. You Pussy!!!!!! Good Post by the way. Are you going to OK City Saturday? As of right now, No, I am not going to OKC.

Cool, but I hope you can make it, if not I understand.

Puckette wrote:

IctSean wrote: no flaming from me... you said it the way I think it should have been said well except for French... I dont have anything to go on other than the total lack of emotion shown on the bench through my binoculars. I sit behind the Thunder bench and there were fans yelling at French to do something and he turned around and shot a "look that could kill" to them and said something, I couldn't make out what he said cause I was to bawling Also Sauter or someone on the OKC bench said something to Tyler L. and Ryan M. that really ticked them off they were hitting the glass with their sticks and the coach had to pull them away. I bet Laxy is glad he isn't here anymore, cause we all know he be missing some games for sure.

He said " That’s Enough" and it was directed to the person screaming for him to "Do Something"! IMHO I think French did well keeping it together. His coaching and personality is markedly different than Laxy but I think he was dealing with the situation on par with the way he's coached so far. I don't think him coming unglued would have helped the situation in any way, in fact it would have added fuel to the fire! He however did make some bad decisions that didn't pay off during the game and especially the OT and SO! Laxy’s experience with the CHL, the Blazers and Coaching would have payed off and given us a Win that I am sure of. But he would have also been in the stands after getting ejected for exploding on an official or the Walrus! Good Post by Icelane on the game!

Excellent Post Icelane!!!

I agree with you 100%.

Re: 7,100 fans, and they witnessed what?

Icelane wrote:

After the game last night, I stuck around the arena to cool off 'cause I was so pissed about how this game went. And, I knew the tunnel would be a tense atmosphere. Let me be clear, I would have been just as pissed off if we would have won. I didn't want to post anything out of pure anger, and I wanted a chance to read some of things our fans were saying. So, I waited until today to get this off my chest. I will probably get flamed for it, but trust me, I'm used to it. Now that I have a chance to reflect on what happened, and what's being posted, here's my take on the game....if you care to read. 1. Most importantly, I hope Clayts is doing okay and recovers. And, I am sorry his family and our fans had to witness such a brutal attack. 2. It was a blatant cheap shot. No way around it. No excuses. I've heard it's clearly captured on the game video. 3. Here's my biggest problem with last night: THE ELECTRICITY WAS GONE! I'm sure you all will agree there was some serious electricity in the barn last night. We had the place rockin'. We had 7,100 people there, all who seemed to be having a great time. When the attack occured(yes, it was an attack), we all sat there and watched as one of our best and most beloved players lay out on the ice in a pool of blood. It delayed the game 30+ minutes. IT KILLED THE ATMOSPHERE. So, if we average 3,000 to 4,000 fans a game, and there were 7,100 fans there last night who witnessed this, how many of those additional 3,000 to 4,000 folks will want to come back, especially the ones that may only catch one or two games a year? Everyone was having fun until this crap happened. This is the type of shit that gives the sport of hockey, and unfortunately, our organization a bad rap with fans, sponsors, and in some cases, the media. 3. Some of you have placed the blame on the coach and Gm. What? R U kiddin' me? That's like blaming the gun and not the person using the gun in a killing! Fleck did the act, not the GM or the Coach. We could have skated with nothing but "toughness" last night, and Fleck would have still taken the cheap shot. You can have all the gun laws in the world, and that's not going to stop someone from using one. I whole-heartedly agree that we need someone who can put the fear of God in our opponents, but can also play some hockey. I am with you on that one. Furthermore, my respect for Presson and French increased dramatically, last night, for their actions. You did see Presson out on the ice calling Fleck out, didn't you? I'm not going to mention ANY details and I am not suggesting ANYTHING, but what I witnessed from our staff AFTER the game, I can assure you, you would have been proud. Unfortunately, I wish I could say the same about the Blazers. Let's just say there were plenty of smiles getting on the bus. 4. Stupid penalties. The one thing I do agree with Fyr on, is the stupid penalties we took after the incident. We should have just went out there and continued to pour it on. Kick their ass on the scoreboard. Then, when the game was in hand, we could have let all hell break loose. HOWEVER, if that would have happened last night, some of you would be bitchin' about how we didn't retaliate right away, wouldn't you? 5. Most Blazer fans I know are good people (except for Beamer! ), and this comment is not directed towards them. But, let's face it, EVERY time the Blazers get in a hole, they start goonin' it up(the last two years). I suspect that if someone (like Zippy or even BT) researched this, they will find the number of PIMs dramatically increase when the Blazers are loosing by more than two to three goals. (Hey Zippy, do you think you could research this?) We've seen it twice this year. It's a page out of Sauter's OLD playbook; a playbook that some believe the game of hockey has passed by. If this is the case, which I am confident it is, how can any Blazers fan disagree with it? It proves that Sauter is coaching his team to Goon it up when loosing. Again, this type of play gives the sport a bad name. Most importantly, I hope Clayts recovers, and recovers fast. My biggest dissapointment is that this shit happened in front of so many new fans; fans who were enjoying themselves as they watched a great game. Not only am I pissed about what Fleck did to Clayton, but I am really pissed about how the game played out in front of all those people. Okay, let the roasting begin.

Nice detailed post. Hope your boy comes out fine.

I didn't hear French say anything to the fans although it very well could have happened.

The main issue I have with the Thunder and French is they chose to lose the game. By that, they got sucked into OKC's gameplan which was to take Clayton out and cause the rest of the team to lose it. That is exactly what happened. McLean's penalties were terrible, there was no excuse to do that. That set the events in motion that ended with OKC tying and winning a game they had no chance to win.

Of course, French indicated in the paper he didn't care that they lost. I bet he will care a lot when we are a point short of a playoff spot or home ice.

All that being said, it was a cheap shot. Doug Sauter has no class and he should be forced to sit out some games himself. Tyler Fleck should have been kicked out of this league several years ago.

I wish Clayton the best and hope he fully recovers.

Re: 7,100 fans, and they witnessed what?

Icelane wrote:

5. Most Blazer fans I know are good people (except for Beamer! ), and this comment is not directed towards them. But, let's face it, EVERY time the Blazers get in a hole, they start goonin' it up(the last two years). I suspect that if someone (like Zippy or even BT) researched this, they will find the number of PIMs dramatically increase when the Blazers are loosing by more than two to three goals. (Hey Zippy, do you think you could research this?) We've seen it twice this year. It's a page out of Sauter's OLD playbook; a playbook that some believe the game of hockey has passed by. If this is the case, which I am confident it is, how can any Blazers fan disagree with it? It proves that Sauter is coaching his team to Goon it up when loosing. Again, this type of play gives the sport a bad name.

I have noticed that they don't have to be down to goon, I think they target key players. Strategy? I heard that just 28 seconds into the game in OKC on Christmas day Beausoleil tried to carve Klage Kaebel's eye out w/his stick and got a 4 minute major for high sticking. Took the ice officials a bit to scrape all the blood off the ice. Klage is not the best player on our team but he is by far the busiest guy on the ice. Again, strategy???

Best wishes for a speedy recovery to Travis.

Im not blaming the ref here but i think he tried to take control of the game by calling more penalites to get some of the guys off the ice that he felt could be a problem . the problem with that is he called a bunch of them on our better players and gave okc several advantages back to back that got them back into the game .

the ingredients were all there for a brawl . yes we took a bunch of stupid penalties and thats our fault for falling into thier play book

Kaeble

The deal with Kaeble was in a face off. Beausolei did not try to "CARVE HIS EYE OUT" as you are trying to make sound so dramatic. It was an unfortunate happening, nothing intentional. Were you at the game or did you just hear it called on the radio? Kaeble is not extremely tall and is great about getting extremely low to the ice for face offs. This usually works good for him and he is a great player. Beau's stick did hit him in the face, but he was only trying to go for the puck, not "Carve His Eye Out" as was stated. Let's not try to make any team sound like they are blood thirsty. Beau or Fleck could be on your team and you would be cheering them on just as the folks in OKC do. The situation with Clayton is unfortunate, now let's not try to turn this into a free for all against one club. Come on people. I wish Clayton a speedy recovery. I enjoy watching him play, as well as players on all of the different teams. There really is no need to bash a good player just because he isn't on "your team".

Re: Kaeble

2foru wrote:

The deal with Kaeble was in a face off. Beausolei did not try to "CARVE HIS EYE OUT" as you are trying to make sound so dramatic. It was an unfortunate happening, nothing intentional. Were you at the game or did you just hear it called on the radio? Kaeble is not extremely tall and is great about getting extremely low to the ice for face offs. This usually works good for him and he is a great player. Beau's stick did hit him in the face, but he was only trying to go for the puck, not "Carve His Eye Out" as was stated. Let's not try to make any team sound like they are blood thirsty. Beau or Fleck could be on your team and you would be cheering them on just as the folks in OKC do. The situation with Clayton is unfortunate, now let's not try to turn this into a free for all against one club. Come on people. I wish Clayton a speedy recovery. I enjoy watching him play, as well as players on all of the different teams. There really is no need to bash a good player just because he isn't on "your team".

First of all let's get one thing straight.....Fleck is not a good player!!!

Great post ICE and I agree with almost everything you said. Imagine that!!!!

I am very proud of all the players for stepping up last night and taking care of the situation at hand. I only wish they would have had the insight to wait a little longer so we could have contorlled the out come of the game. Then cleared the damned benches and kicked all their asses. But it did not work that way.

As for blameing French and Presson, If a baseball team is not winning do they fire the team or the caoch?? When Clayton was speared who took up for him on that deal?? That is why I am saying that if we had that big guy and the toughness that would instill fear in those other teams a lot of this shit would not happen. Yes Fleck is chickenshit enough that he probably would have did this anyway but he would have been sore from the ass whipping he got earlier for spearing Clayotn to start with.


Good Post Ice

FLECK

What does it take to be an all star in this league? Why are you basing your observations on when you say that Fleck is not a good player? What games have you been watching??? That would be like someone saying that Clayton wasn't a good player. This just goes to show how close minded you are and how you can only see what you want to see. Like I posted before, if Fleck were on your team you would be cheering him on every game. Let's not be so close minded!!! Clayton is a good player and what happened to him was unfortunate. I wish him a speedy recovery, but come on! How can you possibly say that Fleck isn't a Good Player?! What a joke!!!

s.p wrote:

Im not blaming the ref here but i think he tried to take control of the game by calling more penalites to get some of the guys off the ice that he felt could be a problem . the problem with that is he called a bunch of them on our better players and gave okc several advantages back to back that got them back into the game . the ingredients were all there for a brawl . yes we took a bunch of stupid penalties and thats our fault for falling into thier play book

I was wondering about this myself. It was pretty obvious that, with the lead the Thunder had, they were ready to brawl. But they are far less likely if they are short-handed the whole time.