The Weekly Faceoff is a regular column talking about all things Tongues, in and around the AIHL.
The last few weeks have seen some pretty major announcements come out of the Tongues, not to mention this last weekend was the first Intersquad / Tryout game.
Amado
Those who have been following the Tongues for a few years wont easily forget the incredible force that Matt Amado was for the Tongues back in 2007. Well, Amado is back, and though he’s not really played competitive hockey in over a year, rumour has it he’s still pretty bloody good on the ice, as we saw last night at the intersquad game. Amado still holds the record for the most points through the first 20 games of the season, and while that is not a valid AIHL record, it’s still pretty impressive all the same.
Swedish Twins
No, the Sedin twins have not decided to trade in Canucks jerseys for Tongues jerseys. And no, we don’t have a pair of perky chested blonde cheerleaders either. What we do have is playmaker Tobias Falk and defenseman Bob Sannemo, both from, you guessed it, Sweden. Bob played in 2008 with the (now defunct) Adelaide Avalanche. Bob and Tobias are good friends and should add good depth to the Tongues Roster. Tobias adds a playmaking skill to the top line and we could see him spend a lot of the season setting up Amado on the top line.
Try Outs
So last night was the first of the Tongues on Tongues (hey, keep your mind out of the gutter) intersquad games. It was an interesting match, especially considering we had Matt Amado and Mike McRae playing on defense the while game so the locals could take the forward spots. Standout players during the game were Jack Conner who looks like he’s keen to bounce back after last years “not so good” season, and also Jon Bale and Nick Jones. Nick Jones seems to popup out of nowhere and pull out some amazing plays. If he can nail down the teamwork aspect of the game, he could be a killer local player. The teams played 4 periods of hockey for a total 60 minute game, with the Blue Team winning 8-4.
There are intersquad games next weekend so keep an eye on the Blue Tongues website for details – http://bluetongues.com.au . Updates are posted on the Blue Tongues Facebook and Twitter pages also.
I had an interesting conversation last week with a friend about our Blue Tongues, the AIHL Finals and what it would take to not only make the playoffs, but have a truly good shot at winning it all.
There is no blue pill that will transport this team out of the Matrix. Yoda isn’t going to infuse the boys with the force and as much as we may like the idea, we wont be playing in a fancy rink with 1000 seats, good ice and glass.
What we will have is a team with potential and a very loyal fan base.
So what needs to change? What is it that this Blue Tongues team needs to do to go to the next level? Here are 5 changes which I believe will greatly benefit our team going into the 2011 AIHL season.
Improve Defense
They say offense wins games but defense wins championships. This could not be more true for our Blue Tongues. We know they can score goals year in year out, but the one thing that has been a weakness each season is the defense. Don Burke has been the heart of the team for years, but age has caught up with him and it’s time he stepped down, allowing a younger, more agile skater to take the spot. Last season saw huge strides in the game of Cam Trew who was by far the best local player in many games. Ross Howell and Ben Spillane were solid as always, although it appears that Spillane did not get as much ice time as he deserved. Bringing in import defenseman is a must for our team, although I believe 2 imports should be used for defense, one puck-moving defenseman to help boost the offense on the blue line and one who can shut down the other teams top scorers.
Rest Imports / Play Locals
It doesn’t take a genius to see that our teams coach likes to favour the imports over the locals. Understandably so, as the imports are indeed the better players. Saying that, last season we saw Mike McRae and Dallas Costanzo played to the point of near collapse while locals sat on the bench. Players lose effectiveness when they’re tired and imports are no exception. If our guys are tired, sit them for a shift or 2 and let the local lines play some. It is a risk, as the other team will try and match their lines and put out their offensive guns against our weaker lines, but that’s hockey. A benefit is that our locals get more experience and therefore hopefully improve more. We have some great players who get very little ice time, such as Ben Spillane. It appears to many that “Spills” is used more as the team enforcer than an effective player, which has bewildered fans for the last few seasons; especially those who have been following the Blue Tongues since before they moved south to the Coast.
Choose A Goalie & Have Faith In Them
Those who know me will know that the goalie situation with the Blue Tongues is a point of contention with me, as my previous posts have mentioned. I believe the team needs to have faith in their local netminders and show that by letting them play. 2 years in a row now we’ve sat in the stands and seen Luke Fiveash get shafted from the net; the AIHL finals in 2009 and midway through the season just gone. Using an import spot on the goalie position may appear to be a good idea on the surface, but doing so leaves wholes in the rest of the lineup, especially the defense. We already have 2 good goalies in Fiveash and Anderson, so maybe it is time we play them, have faith in them and start to build the team around them in net.
Coaching Change
There are probably over a hundred reasons why a coaching change could be needed on a hockey team. With the case of the Blue Tongues I believe it’s simply that a change is as good as a holiday. This team has a lot more potential than the stats and standings show. The coach deserves major kudos for how he has greatly improved his coaching over the last 3 seasons, however decisions on and off the ice have many fans wondering if maybe a new coach / leadership is needed in order for the team to move to the next level.
New Rink
This really is a given and applies to most teams in the league, but in many ways more so for the Blue Tongues. If you’ve not come up to the Gold Coast and seen our rink, you are in for a shock. The rink is simply unacceptable for a national league team. The ice surface is terrible, there are no shower facilities and overall, it is a health / safety risk. The problem is, building a new rink is costly and the team seems to struggle to bring in sponsors as it is, so getting the level of sponsorship needed to fund a new rink may simply be a pipe-dream at this time. Move the team back to Brisbane (Acacia Ridge)? That would definitely be a HUGE improvement to the facility issue however it would mean the team would be based back in Brisbane again, something I fear the current ownership would neither want nor allow.
Like Frodo and the Fellowship walking through Moria, we now face the long dark of the AIHL off-season. Let us hope the team does not have a cave troll.
In ice hockey there is a wonderful play which is “crashing the net”. For those who don’t know what crashing the net is, its when 3-4 of the skaters rush towards the offensive goal in the hope that if the shot on goal misses, one of the others can get the rebound. It can also be known as “picking up the trash”.
Now while this may sound like an awesome play to make, like any set play it has its risks. If the skaters don’t get the rebound, more than likely those 3-4 skaters will be trapped behind the net and the opposition will have the advantage with only one defenseman left to defend the neutral and defensive zone.
So, the question is, to crash the net or not to crash the net? Does the possible outcome outweigh the risk? This depends on which lines of the team do this and how much faith you have in your D core and, of course, your goaltender.
Perhaps it would be easier to send in one player to crash the net than the whole team. While in the offensive zone and passing the puck between the players, having 3 players on the blue line makes no sense at all, especially when the team on the offense is on the powerplay. It makes more sense to have a trashman (a power forward) set up in front of the goaltender and guarding the crease in this situation, not only to hopefully get a juicy rebound (“pick up the trash”), but also in the hopes of redirecting a shot on goal from the point.
Can a team crash the net in a 5 on 5 situation? Yes. Is it a wise move? That would certainly depend on the skaters. Ideally, the crashing players would need to be bigger than the opposition but also fast skaters to get back into position in the event of a turnover. The risk level is high, especially if there is a question mark over the stay at home player or the goaltender.
Can a team crash the net on a powerplay? Yes. Of course this would make much more sense as there is less risk and the offensive team can crash with 3 or 4 players with an advantage, giving more flexibility. If they crash with 3, then 2 defensemen would stay back, however this is probably more likely in a 5-on-3 powerplay rather than a 5-on-4 situation.
Should a team crash the net? Well, this is obviously not a question that can be answered with a blanket yes or no. Every situation is different in the game but one thing is for sure, crashing the net should always be an option.
The Blue Tongues stand on the edge of the most historical even in the 6 years of the franchises involvement in the Australian Ice Hockey League.
This weekend, August 1 & 2 the Gold Coast Blue Tongues take on the Canberra Knights at Bundall on the Gold Coast. Getting 6 points from a back-to-back victory will be a huge boost for the Blue Tongues, but not so huge as the implication it will have heading forward.
You see, if the Tongues can pull of a double this weekend, they mathematically eliminate the Sydney Ice Dogs from playoff contention, and in the process secure their first ever AIHL playoff berth.
This years 11-6-3 record has been a major improvement for the Blue Tongues, who finished 2008 with a dismall 8-17-3 record getting just 27 points and finishing 7th in last years 8-team league.
A major part of the teams success this season has been the outstanding play of import forward, Brad Smulders. Smulders, a native of Canada leads the team and league in goals (30), assists (35) and points (65).
This year has seen some major improvements both on and off the ice. Disciplined play, successful special teams and an increase in crowd numbers have all been a huge bonus to the teams success.
2009 also happens to be the debut season of Ross Howell as team captain. Rosco as he’s affectionately known is one of Australia’s top defenseman and has played this season as both defense and forward, where his outstanding 2-way play has been paramount to the teams winning record.
With just 4 games remaining in the AIHL season, all of them at home, the Blue Tongues have plenty of reasons to feel confident.
