Devils Vs Blue Fox - Conti Cup Final - 14th Jan 24 - FO 19:00
- Thread starter James
- Start date
I think that blaming the refereeing is a cop out just like blaming n bad luck on Friday was. We know how European refs will call things, but still make the same mistakes. To be honest there were at least a couple of occasions where it the game had been called by the letter of the rules devils players might have been called for late hits, but weren't.
Ultimately the devils put themselves in positions where they gave the ref something to call.
Ultimately the devils put themselves in positions where they gave the ref something to call.
Hard lines for the Devils this evening - could have gone either way and a hugely entertaining evening (and weekend). Atmosphere was fantastic! You could see that the players gave it their absolute all for the badge this weekend and you cannot ask for any more than that - they can hold their heads up high.
Entire weekend was entertaining, but I don't get why people are moaning about the officals, they let the game progress way more naturally than the eihl ones do, I've witnessed more fluid hockey this weekend then I have in the last few seasons of eihl hockey which stops and starts more than a dodgy car.
Nomad earned it, Herning earned it, the Devils in my eyes struggled to compete with the style of hockey being played but they tried their best.
Nomad earned it, Herning earned it, the Devils in my eyes struggled to compete with the style of hockey being played but they tried their best.
Do you really think this...? I thought we only turned up in the second period and very briefly in the last 5 minutes if the 3rd. Strange how people see a game completely different. The boys just didn't look up for it in my opinion and were sloppy with passes, didn't chase down the Puck and aside from Brandt they had no physicality. I do think they played a lot better than they have in some of the league games so far this season and I hope that with some rested legs they can watch some highlights and reflect on not just the way how well they played in general for most of the tournament but also how it got the crowd more involved when the spectators could see that extra effort and commitment. Bowns pulled off some stellar saves and was unlucky on a few of the goals and our power play may not have been the best but our PK worked (mostly) until the final game. All in all a good effort by the lads and highly entertaining tournament. Thought we represented ourselves pretty good both on the ice and off.
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I think the game overall showed the ups and downs of our season.
For some reason we started really poorly. Herning came out flying (not surprising after Saturdays result) but we really struggled in the opening exchanges and had to rely on Bowns to not fall behind early. After killing off a PP we finally woke up and scored a well worked goal to take the lead.
Then, just as we have so many times this year, we give up a stupid goal within seconds on the next shift. It looked like poor-checking from the forwards allowing Herning to have several shots that Bowns initially saved before the 3rd or 4th finally got through. We continued to struggle and gave away another soft penalty and this time Blue Fox mad it count to lead 2-1.
Falling behind seemed to wake the players up and we started playing the physical, intense hockey that had worked so well the day before. Ully getting the goal to deservedly get us back to 2-2.
Second period started better but then another defensive lapse in concentration gifted them a chance which they took. From that point on though we pretty much dominated the period, quickly scored an equaliser and created lots of chances but couldn't finish any more of them off.
Third period started well and it looked like just a matter of time before we took the lead. The game was getting chippier and some seemingly blatant penalties were ignored as it appeared the referees were going to let it go.
At which point the officials seemed to lose the plot. Martin was called for a phantom Xcheck giving Red Fox a PP. On which several blatant x-checks and trips were ignored. Crawford in particular took the blunt of their stick work and when he was x-checked to the ice as the PP expired the referee raised his arm....only to call Crawford as well!
Icetime showed a replay that gave no clue as to what Crawford had done.
Seconds later Alderson gives one of their players a little tap and gets called for Slashing - which Red Fox score on.
The final minutes then descend into a bit of a farce as both teams have no idea what will be called and what won't. Several blatant slashes and cross-checks from both teams go unpunished until Herning finally got called for Boarding (looked more check to the head to me).
Devils create a couple of good chances but also waste some great positions, allowing Herning to just about scrape over the line.
A very entertaining game that the Devils probably should have won but the issues that have bugged us all season reared their heads again and cost us.
Part of me is glad though that the game wasn't for the title. If it had been, and we had lost because of that 3rd period officiating performance I'd have been fuming.
Here's hoping we can continue with this style and intensity of hockey when we return to EIHL games because I think the rest of the league will struggle to match us for it.
For some reason we started really poorly. Herning came out flying (not surprising after Saturdays result) but we really struggled in the opening exchanges and had to rely on Bowns to not fall behind early. After killing off a PP we finally woke up and scored a well worked goal to take the lead.
Then, just as we have so many times this year, we give up a stupid goal within seconds on the next shift. It looked like poor-checking from the forwards allowing Herning to have several shots that Bowns initially saved before the 3rd or 4th finally got through. We continued to struggle and gave away another soft penalty and this time Blue Fox mad it count to lead 2-1.
Falling behind seemed to wake the players up and we started playing the physical, intense hockey that had worked so well the day before. Ully getting the goal to deservedly get us back to 2-2.
Second period started better but then another defensive lapse in concentration gifted them a chance which they took. From that point on though we pretty much dominated the period, quickly scored an equaliser and created lots of chances but couldn't finish any more of them off.
Third period started well and it looked like just a matter of time before we took the lead. The game was getting chippier and some seemingly blatant penalties were ignored as it appeared the referees were going to let it go.
At which point the officials seemed to lose the plot. Martin was called for a phantom Xcheck giving Red Fox a PP. On which several blatant x-checks and trips were ignored. Crawford in particular took the blunt of their stick work and when he was x-checked to the ice as the PP expired the referee raised his arm....only to call Crawford as well!
Icetime showed a replay that gave no clue as to what Crawford had done.
Seconds later Alderson gives one of their players a little tap and gets called for Slashing - which Red Fox score on.
The final minutes then descend into a bit of a farce as both teams have no idea what will be called and what won't. Several blatant slashes and cross-checks from both teams go unpunished until Herning finally got called for Boarding (looked more check to the head to me).
Devils create a couple of good chances but also waste some great positions, allowing Herning to just about scrape over the line.
A very entertaining game that the Devils probably should have won but the issues that have bugged us all season reared their heads again and cost us.
Part of me is glad though that the game wasn't for the title. If it had been, and we had lost because of that 3rd period officiating performance I'd have been fuming.
Here's hoping we can continue with this style and intensity of hockey when we return to EIHL games because I think the rest of the league will struggle to match us for it.
This was the first of the weekend games I had gone to, the other two I watched on the webcast, where the picture quality is really good , so the atmosphere is was obviously missing. I really did enjoy it, it was a step up in entertainment from the league, and much more physical,although that wouldn’t be hard, Alderson showed a different side of his game,he never hits in the league. If our team played every game like that I think we would all go home a lot happier. As people say we all see games differently but I did enjoy last night.
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