RR vs Dogs Friday night

Good game by the Dogs tonight.

I'm from Southern Minnesota and was here to watch Art Bidwill play for the Dogs.

Hats off to the RRs for putting on a very entertaining hockey game. Nice rink and great staff and rowdy crowd.

One thing though...you need to have some training for the Zamboni drivers and mechanics. Two long delays because of breakdowns and broken boards from the driver hitting the end boards, with the Zamboni, between the second and the third. Also interesting to see three different Zamboni drivers.

Overall, Topeka does a GREAT JOB running a junior hockey game. Keep up the great work!

Re: RR vs Dogs Friday night

TheRealExpressor wrote:

Good game by the Dogs tonight. I'm from Southern Minnesota and was here to watch Art Bidwill play for the Dogs. Hats off to the RRs for putting on a very entertaining hockey game. Nice rink and great staff and rowdy crowd. One thing though...you need to have some training for the Zamboni drivers and mechanics. Two long delays because of breakdowns and broken boards from the driver hitting the end boards, with the Zamboni, between the second and the third. Also interesting to see three different Zamboni drivers. Overall, Topeka does a GREAT JOB running a junior hockey game. Keep up the great work!

Glad you had a good time

The first delay was not something that could really be avoided. The chain that drives the auger on the Zamboni broke. It took 30 minutes to fix the chain. I'm not sure that is all that unreasonable of a delay. Most places have more than one Zamboni, but given the amount of time that the ice is actually in Landon Arena throughout the year, I'm not sure the County would be too hip on buying a second one.

The second delay was kind of a screwy deal. The hard yellow plastic piece that line the bottom of the boards caught the Zamboni and pulled it out. That is what slammed the Zamboni into the boards so hard. Not sure if the driver was too close to the edge, if he hit the boards too hard along the end and caught that plastic piece, or if that piece was just sticking out a little and caused the problem. Either way, it was a royal pain in the ass. Topeka went 29 home games this year (including preseason) and did not have one single issue with the Zamboni. We had two tonight.

As for the game itself, I think to some degree you can pretty much take my recap from Game 1, reverse it, and have a recap from Game 2.

The first period again was really tight, with neither team able to get much of anything going. Both teams had a few chances, but could not capitalize.

The second period belonged to the Ice Dogs. I don't think the shots on goal really tell the picture here, the Ice Dogs were much better in that period. The first goal was a nice shot from the point. Merriam almost always makes that save, but this was one of those times that makes you use the word "almost". Not a soft goal by any means, it was a very nice shot, but still one that will result in a save about 95% of the time. The second goal was a little flukey, in that Merriam made the save and it bounced off of an Ice Dog player and back in the net. However, those things happen when you work hard, put the puck on net, and get bodies in front of the net. So although I say a little flukey in the way it went in, Fairbanks gets credit for the hard work it took to be in position to get that flukey goal. Later, a Topeka player broke his stick and that sent the Fairbanks player off on a breakaway. It was a very nice move and a great goal.

I think Topeka came back and won the 3rd period, but not by a huge margin. And if you are down 3-0 against Reichard, you better come out and win the 3rd by a huge margin if you want a shot. Nice goal by Topeka early in the period kept things interesting, but between Fairbanks' good defensive effort and Reichard being Reichard, that was it for Topeka.

I think the big difference in this game came down to finishing chances. Fairbanks did a very good job of taking advantage of the good chances they had, and Topeka just could not finish on a few occassions. Overall, Fairbanks simply outplayed Topeka tonight, and the 3-1 score was a pretty good indicator of how the game went.

To: TRE,

Did you get a chance to inspect our crappers to insure we had enough shit paper? With critic's like you, no wonder The Express left.

I think kev's right about the difference being finishing chances. I would add that two other differences were 1) FB almost never allowed the RR to generate speed and flow in open ice, and 2) FB did a better job of keeping the puck in the offensive zone. Back to finishing, when you get chances against Reichard, you better convert because you might not get any other chances. The RR had a few excellent chances in the 1st--especially an excellent cross ice pass to Gens alone on the doorstep with an open net--but could not score.

The 1st period was really even. Both teams had a couple of offensive flurries, but the goalies were on their games. Otherwise, open ice was difficult to find and moving the puck was not easy.

The second period was all Fairbanks. This was where the Ice Dogs totally took advantage of their opportunities. The first goal maybe could have stopped by Merriam, but Arch's call was that he was screened, and indeed on B2 it looked like he hardly moved. The second goal was the breakaway. Santana just made a great individual effort to collect the puck in the FB zone, sprint to the other end, and then make a nifty--and extremely quick--move to the backhand to score. It was an outstanding goal. The third goal was pretty much a fluke, but like Arch said, "They don't ask 'How?', they just ask 'How many?'"

The RR did take the 3rd, but it was too little, too late. The RR goal came from one of the few open ice rushes they had. Shafer made a great shot from just inside the left point. He was moving forward with speed, then snapped off a shot against the grain that just went by Reichard's outstretched leg. That goal came early, and if the RR could have scored again soon after that, things might have been different. However, Reichard and the Ice Dogs D made sure that would not happen.

In some ways, I thought the game looked like the WF-FB games last weekend. Topeka could not finish, and the breaks and bounces did not go their way (the broken stick that led to Santana's breakaway and the Ice Dogs' third goal are great examples), and Fairbanks was able to make good on their opportunities.

Next weekend's games should be really good.

Re: RR vs Dogs Friday night

kevgraub wrote:

Topeka went 29 home games this year (including preseason) and did not have one single issue with the Zamboni. We had two tonight.

Not a big deal but the Zam broke down for an extended delay during one of the Bandits games there this year...good luck to both teams when they resume next week.

SCAMMED wrote:

To: TRE, Did you get a chance to inspect our crappers to insure we had enough shit paper? With critic's like you, no wonder The Express left.

As a matter of fact you didn't. I had to use a program...oh wait...none of those either.

Well, I hope you washed your hands........

Old Hippy wrote:

Well, I hope you washed your hands........

You've met JT, right? lol

Re: RR vs Dogs Friday night

TargetDad wrote:

kevgraub wrote: Topeka went 29 home games this year (including preseason) and did not have one single issue with the Zamboni. We had two tonight. Not a big deal but the Zam broke down for an extended delay during one of the Bandits games there this year...good luck to both teams when they resume next week.

I stand corrected.

I don't remember that happening, but completely believe you that it did.

It was just a weird night at the Expocentre. There were several things that went wrong that will happen from time to time, but not usually that many things in one night. (Not talking about the game itself, there were several there too.) Hopefully the gremlins got it out of their system last night.

SCAMMED wrote:

To: TRE, Did you get a chance to inspect our crappers to insure we had enough shit paper? With critic's like you, no wonder The Express left.

Didn't TRE include the line...Overall, Topeka does a GREAT JOB running a junior hockey game. Keep up the great work! in his review?

He along with other Express fans got to see a Zamboni breakdown in a game when they played in Faribault in the spring of 2006. They had to get it pulled off the ice by a truck, and then drove a Zamboni from Shattuck-St. Mary's to take over for the rest of the evening. It lead to way too much time to have in between periods beer.

the real Jackbag wrote:

SCAMMED wrote: To: TRE, Did you get a chance to inspect our crappers to insure we had enough shit paper? With critic's like you, no wonder The Express left. Didn't TRE include the line...Overall, Topeka does a GREAT JOB running a junior hockey game. Keep up the great work! in his review? He along with other Express fans got to see a Zamboni breakdown in a game when they played in Faribault in the spring of 2006. They had to get it pulled off the ice by a truck, and then drove a Zamboni from Shattuck-St. Mary's to take over for the rest of the evening. It lead to way too much time to have in between periods beer.

GOOD FOR HIM!

Re: RR vs Dogs Friday night

TargetDad wrote:

kevgraub wrote: Topeka went 29 home games this year (including preseason) and did not have one single issue with the Zamboni. We had two tonight. Not a big deal but the Zam broke down for an extended delay during one of the Bandits games there this year...good luck to both teams when they resume next week.

Correct. The "breakdown" was actually a case of the machine running out of fuel. Once refueled, it required a jumpstart. At least it wasn't a mechanical error, this one was pure human.

Re: RR vs Dogs Friday night

Arch Ecker - TOPEKA wrote:

TargetDad wrote: kevgraub wrote: Topeka went 29 home games this year (including preseason) and did not have one single issue with the Zamboni. We had two tonight. Not a big deal but the Zam broke down for an extended delay during one of the Bandits games there this year...good luck to both teams when they resume next week. Correct. The "breakdown" was actually a case of the machine running out of fuel. Once refueled, it required a jumpstart. At least it wasn't a mechanical error, this one was pure human.

One of the spark plug wires was faulty as well.