The roster's completely changed since my last post, but notables:
Billy Irish-Baker has retired. Really sad to se Billy go, but it's for the best for him. Good luck to him in his future.
Conrad Martin has returned to the team. Glad to see another guy back from last year's crew.
Showing posts with label irish-baker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label irish-baker. Show all posts
Monday, November 10, 2008
Friday, September 12, 2008
Getting caught up
First things first, some signings:
Billy Irish-Baker, Sean Perkins, TJ McElroy, Barret Ehgoetz
All of them are great assets to the team and I'm glad to have them back. I think Irish-Baker and Perkins, with a full season under the belts, will bring great things to the table in their sophomore season. TJ McElroy finished fairly strong after coming over in the trade from Idaho. Ehgoetz, what can I say? The guy has done great things for the team in two seasons. He's a trooper.
And four training camp invitees:
Mikael Bedard, Nicolas Robillard, Paul Lynch, Brian Porter
Lynch and Porter were invitees from the free agent camp in August. Bedard, however, comes to us from the BCHL's Nainaimo Clippers where he put up 71 points in 59 games... 1.2 points per game. Robillard comes from the University of Moncton (CIS), where he played one season and put up 24 points in 28 games after splitting four seasons between the QMJHL and the QJAHL. He won the Memorial Cup with Cedrick Desjardins and the Quebec Remparts in 2005. Lynch spent 48 games in the SPHL last season, chalking up 130PIM. I'll reserve my opinions on this one, based on my feelings about the SPHL, but I'm not writing him off completely. Porter comes to us from the Greater Toronto Hockey League, 58 pts in 46 games with a ... get this ... +49.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have one line! :P
Onto other things of importance... NHL training camps. At least 10 members of the 2007-2008 Cyclones are going to be suiting up for NHL clubs in their training camps this month:
Montreal: Mathieu Aubin, Thomas Beauregard, David Desharnais, Cedrick Desjardins, Conrad Martin, Olivier Latendresse, Ryan Russell
Nashville: Ryan Maki, Mark Matheson
Pittsburgh: Jean-Michel Daoust
Billy Irish-Baker, Sean Perkins, TJ McElroy, Barret Ehgoetz
All of them are great assets to the team and I'm glad to have them back. I think Irish-Baker and Perkins, with a full season under the belts, will bring great things to the table in their sophomore season. TJ McElroy finished fairly strong after coming over in the trade from Idaho. Ehgoetz, what can I say? The guy has done great things for the team in two seasons. He's a trooper.
And four training camp invitees:
Mikael Bedard, Nicolas Robillard, Paul Lynch, Brian Porter
Lynch and Porter were invitees from the free agent camp in August. Bedard, however, comes to us from the BCHL's Nainaimo Clippers where he put up 71 points in 59 games... 1.2 points per game. Robillard comes from the University of Moncton (CIS), where he played one season and put up 24 points in 28 games after splitting four seasons between the QMJHL and the QJAHL. He won the Memorial Cup with Cedrick Desjardins and the Quebec Remparts in 2005. Lynch spent 48 games in the SPHL last season, chalking up 130PIM. I'll reserve my opinions on this one, based on my feelings about the SPHL, but I'm not writing him off completely. Porter comes to us from the Greater Toronto Hockey League, 58 pts in 46 games with a ... get this ... +49.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have one line! :P
Onto other things of importance... NHL training camps. At least 10 members of the 2007-2008 Cyclones are going to be suiting up for NHL clubs in their training camps this month:
Montreal: Mathieu Aubin, Thomas Beauregard, David Desharnais, Cedrick Desjardins, Conrad Martin, Olivier Latendresse, Ryan Russell
Nashville: Ryan Maki, Mark Matheson
Pittsburgh: Jean-Michel Daoust
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Qualifying offers
Qualifying offers were made today to eight players: Barret Ehgoetz (F), Jean-Michel Daoust (F), Billy Irish-Baker (F), Scott Reynolds (F), Matt Syroczynski (F), Matt Macdonald (D), TJ McElroy (D), and Sean Perkins (D)
I can't really say any of them surprise me, or disappoint me. I figured Macdonald and Ehgoetz to be shoo-ins regardless. I'd love to see all three of the defensemen back. Perkins' progress as the year went on was phenomenal, so I think with a year & a Kelly Cup under his belt, he'll be even stronger come training camp in October.
I hope that it means better things will come for Irish-Baker... after the Wheeling game where he got the concussion, his ice time and play were never the same. If we could back get the intense, wanna-make-the-cut version of Billy (circa October) that we all fell in love with, we'd be in really good shape. But I hope for the best for BIBs.
All are great players, I can't say enough great things about Scott Reynolds... undervalued, underappreciated, but one of the hardest working guys on the ice. To some degree, Ehgoetz is much the same, but puts up a few more points. Syroczynski's a great player who put up great numbers quietly - by playing the small game, not the big, flashy way. But I question his focus at times. Sure, sticking up for your much smaller teammates is great, but there's a time and a place for everything. Sometimes it's just not necessary to be a gigantic tool and hit people.
McElroy, I don't have much to say about. His penalties can be an issue, but he's a solid defenseman when he's not in the box. Macdonald has come so far in his two seasons, and I wouldn't be entirely surprised if he spends a little more time in the AHL than in Cincinnati.
Daoust, on the other hand, was a different player when he came back from WBS. Provided, yes, the team was different when he came back than when he left. But he made a lot more boneheaded moves, but because the city of Cincinnati worships the ground he walks on for reasons unknown the way they do Cedrick, he could do no wrong by the fans. And I don't roll that way. I don't care how many goals you score, how many points you tack on, how many callups or trophies you get, you need to not act like a toolbox.
But that's enough about that. Where is Chad Starling's name on the list? Hm. Need to investigate. Unless they're not worried about him being gobbled up.
Side note: the ECHL rule for qualifying offers says that of the 8, no more than 4 can be vets. So I went looking into who we had in respect to veteran status (260 regular season games). From the final roster, it looks like Chad Starling may be the only player from last season who actually fits that bill... still. Ah, the joys of almost an entire roster full of 21 and 22 year olds.
I can't really say any of them surprise me, or disappoint me. I figured Macdonald and Ehgoetz to be shoo-ins regardless. I'd love to see all three of the defensemen back. Perkins' progress as the year went on was phenomenal, so I think with a year & a Kelly Cup under his belt, he'll be even stronger come training camp in October.
I hope that it means better things will come for Irish-Baker... after the Wheeling game where he got the concussion, his ice time and play were never the same. If we could back get the intense, wanna-make-the-cut version of Billy (circa October) that we all fell in love with, we'd be in really good shape. But I hope for the best for BIBs.
All are great players, I can't say enough great things about Scott Reynolds... undervalued, underappreciated, but one of the hardest working guys on the ice. To some degree, Ehgoetz is much the same, but puts up a few more points. Syroczynski's a great player who put up great numbers quietly - by playing the small game, not the big, flashy way. But I question his focus at times. Sure, sticking up for your much smaller teammates is great, but there's a time and a place for everything. Sometimes it's just not necessary to be a gigantic tool and hit people.
McElroy, I don't have much to say about. His penalties can be an issue, but he's a solid defenseman when he's not in the box. Macdonald has come so far in his two seasons, and I wouldn't be entirely surprised if he spends a little more time in the AHL than in Cincinnati.
Daoust, on the other hand, was a different player when he came back from WBS. Provided, yes, the team was different when he came back than when he left. But he made a lot more boneheaded moves, but because the city of Cincinnati worships the ground he walks on for reasons unknown the way they do Cedrick, he could do no wrong by the fans. And I don't roll that way. I don't care how many goals you score, how many points you tack on, how many callups or trophies you get, you need to not act like a toolbox.
But that's enough about that. Where is Chad Starling's name on the list? Hm. Need to investigate. Unless they're not worried about him being gobbled up.
Side note: the ECHL rule for qualifying offers says that of the 8, no more than 4 can be vets. So I went looking into who we had in respect to veteran status (260 regular season games). From the final roster, it looks like Chad Starling may be the only player from last season who actually fits that bill... still. Ah, the joys of almost an entire roster full of 21 and 22 year olds.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Transactions
CONTRACTED PLAYERS RELEASED (eligible for waivers/waiver claims)
Cincinnati: Greg Gallagher, D
OTHER TRANSACTIONS:
Cincinnati: Add Jimmy Bonneau, F assigned by Hamilton (AHL)
Delete Billy Irish-Baker, F placed on the 7-day IR
Delete Sean Perkins, D transferred to the 30-day IR
Cincinnati: Greg Gallagher, D
OTHER TRANSACTIONS:
Cincinnati: Add Jimmy Bonneau, F assigned by Hamilton (AHL)
Delete Billy Irish-Baker, F placed on the 7-day IR
Delete Sean Perkins, D transferred to the 30-day IR
Friday, November 09, 2007
Catching up
Not that I'm sure anybody noticed my slacking, but I've been sick so the poor little blog took a little hiatus... but I'm back, now (and still sick).
Let's see. Game one in Elmira was ugly and deserves no further mention. The second one was much better, obviously, being 5-1... Dov stopped 30 shots in the win. The next night they spoiled Reading's home opener with a 3-0 win including two goals by Scotty Reynolds. Cedrick stopped all 30 shots in the win. In Dayton on Sunday after a long bus ride home, they dropped 3-2 to the Bombers after giving up a goal to Beaudoin with 0:52 to go.
Finally back home after the 4 (+1 to be played later) game road trip, they stopped Wheeling on Wet Wednesday with a couple of goals by Billy Irish-Baker and the second consecutive shutout by Desjardins. Is anyone else as impressed by this kid? 3 points in 5 games, +4... plays like he's 6'3" and can actually skate...
Last night's game was fun and a little out of control. Avery Wilson got things started 3:04 into the first frame. Yes, that Avery Wilson... and then did it again at the 18:00 mark. He ended up a +3 on the night and managed to not get a single penalty the whole game. Ladies and gentlemen, Avery Wilson is a born-again power forward. Haha. Anyway, three players (Wilson, Aubin, and Beauregard) had two goals apiece... Daoust and Reynolds added the other two, and Dov made 18 stops in the 8-1 win. The 'Clones had 42 shots of their own.
Also, Bryan Schmidt is back from his brief stint with Milwaukee and Fuller has been loaned to Milwaukee.
The team sits at 6-3-0, good for first in the North Division.
Boring stats stuff that excites very few people other than me:
Thomas Beauregard's 10 points are good for 5th in rookie scoring. Desharnais' 9 are good for 12th.
Gerard Miller has 5 points in 6 games since joining the team, 8th among league defensemen.
Desjardins leads the ECHL goalies in shutouts with 2 (and in just 4 chances). Has the Cedrick Desjardins of 2006-07 come back?
Gallagher, Perkins, and Syroczynski are the only skaters to have not yet amassed at least one point.
The Cyclones...
...have the fourth best record in the league.
...have given up the fewest goals in the division (19), and scored the most (35).
...have the 6th best power play in the league at 21.7%, 2nd best road power play at 25.0%
...have the 5th best home PK with 92.0%, 5th best road PK at 88.2%, putting them fourth overall at 89.9%
Don't forget Throwback Night on Saturday! $6 tickets, $1 pop/beer/hot dogs, $0.25 popcorn... and another chance to show Augusta how Northern Division hockey is played. :)
Also don't forget to check out my pictures here... updated constantly. :)
Let's see. Game one in Elmira was ugly and deserves no further mention. The second one was much better, obviously, being 5-1... Dov stopped 30 shots in the win. The next night they spoiled Reading's home opener with a 3-0 win including two goals by Scotty Reynolds. Cedrick stopped all 30 shots in the win. In Dayton on Sunday after a long bus ride home, they dropped 3-2 to the Bombers after giving up a goal to Beaudoin with 0:52 to go.
Finally back home after the 4 (+1 to be played later) game road trip, they stopped Wheeling on Wet Wednesday with a couple of goals by Billy Irish-Baker and the second consecutive shutout by Desjardins. Is anyone else as impressed by this kid? 3 points in 5 games, +4... plays like he's 6'3" and can actually skate...
Last night's game was fun and a little out of control. Avery Wilson got things started 3:04 into the first frame. Yes, that Avery Wilson... and then did it again at the 18:00 mark. He ended up a +3 on the night and managed to not get a single penalty the whole game. Ladies and gentlemen, Avery Wilson is a born-again power forward. Haha. Anyway, three players (Wilson, Aubin, and Beauregard) had two goals apiece... Daoust and Reynolds added the other two, and Dov made 18 stops in the 8-1 win. The 'Clones had 42 shots of their own.
Also, Bryan Schmidt is back from his brief stint with Milwaukee and Fuller has been loaned to Milwaukee.
The team sits at 6-3-0, good for first in the North Division.
Boring stats stuff that excites very few people other than me:
Thomas Beauregard's 10 points are good for 5th in rookie scoring. Desharnais' 9 are good for 12th.
Gerard Miller has 5 points in 6 games since joining the team, 8th among league defensemen.
Desjardins leads the ECHL goalies in shutouts with 2 (and in just 4 chances). Has the Cedrick Desjardins of 2006-07 come back?
Gallagher, Perkins, and Syroczynski are the only skaters to have not yet amassed at least one point.
The Cyclones...
...have the fourth best record in the league.
...have given up the fewest goals in the division (19), and scored the most (35).
...have the 6th best power play in the league at 21.7%, 2nd best road power play at 25.0%
...have the 5th best home PK with 92.0%, 5th best road PK at 88.2%, putting them fourth overall at 89.9%
Don't forget Throwback Night on Saturday! $6 tickets, $1 pop/beer/hot dogs, $0.25 popcorn... and another chance to show Augusta how Northern Division hockey is played. :)
Also don't forget to check out my pictures here... updated constantly. :)
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
On the eve of the opener
Ahhh, the season officially opens in less than 24 hours... unfortunately in Johnstown, not Cincinnati. But if you're interested in J-Town/Wheeling and all the accompanying fanfare, it's going to be free on the B2 Network.
Matt Rogers was released today. Steven Doherty was the only other cut following preseason. Also, Sean Perkins was placed on the 3-Day IR to start off the year. Opening Day rosters are due tomorrow afternoon, I'll be sure to post it when I get my hands on it.
For the two (I'm sure) disappointed folks who voted for John Smith in the goalie running, sorry you won't see him here, but Weber says he's trying out in the Mid-Atlantic league.
Anyone else impressed with Billy "The Killer" Irish-Baker? Two games, two fights. Not that he dominated in either, but he really stepped up in both and I give him mad props for doing so. Love to see that kind of play from a team, especially this early on. Last year's team was a lot similar - guys like Urquhart, Gleed, etc... who don't regularly fight - stepping up when somebody went down.
The Hockey News apparently has the Clones slated to finish 4th in the division and 16th overall. Hahahahaha. Because they're totally credible. Remember last year? Last year they chose them to finish 24th of 25.
3:30-4:30 on Thursday - be sure to check out Coach Weber on 700AM.
Pictures: If you're looking for a photos from the two preseason games, I've posted a bunch right here. Nothing super impressive, but feel free to check them out if you've got the time.
Matt Rogers was released today. Steven Doherty was the only other cut following preseason. Also, Sean Perkins was placed on the 3-Day IR to start off the year. Opening Day rosters are due tomorrow afternoon, I'll be sure to post it when I get my hands on it.
For the two (I'm sure) disappointed folks who voted for John Smith in the goalie running, sorry you won't see him here, but Weber says he's trying out in the Mid-Atlantic league.
Anyone else impressed with Billy "The Killer" Irish-Baker? Two games, two fights. Not that he dominated in either, but he really stepped up in both and I give him mad props for doing so. Love to see that kind of play from a team, especially this early on. Last year's team was a lot similar - guys like Urquhart, Gleed, etc... who don't regularly fight - stepping up when somebody went down.
The Hockey News apparently has the Clones slated to finish 4th in the division and 16th overall. Hahahahaha. Because they're totally credible. Remember last year? Last year they chose them to finish 24th of 25.
3:30-4:30 on Thursday - be sure to check out Coach Weber on 700AM.
Pictures: If you're looking for a photos from the two preseason games, I've posted a bunch right here. Nothing super impressive, but feel free to check them out if you've got the time.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Musings from the Road
Hello from windy and cold Youngstown, OH. Our boys opened up preseason play tonight with a 4-1 win over the Steelhounds. The game opened slowly and after the end of 1 was tied at zero. Dov Grumet-Morris was in net and faced only 3 shots in the first period, but ended up with 14 on the night and only 1 (glove side high, of course) went in. He did look impressive, though. The team also did a simulated shootout after the game and Dover looked great. The Clones had something like 30 shots on former Wheeling netminder Andy Franck, and three of their four goals came in a 3 minute span. Two were by Matt MacDonald, two by newcomer Travis Fuller. Three of their goals were powerplay goals. In the second period, their power play looked incredible. Things clicked, passes were made. Very impressive. Hopefully that translates over into the regular season.
A few new players that made impressions: obviously Fuller with two goals; rookie Sean Perkins with two assists; former Storm forward Andrew Martin stepped up with some intense, high-speed play; Billy Irish-Baker was throwing his weight around well. One player I was not impressed with was defenseman Bryan Schmidt, he didn't skate well and looked like he was on a completely different page than the rest of the team. Sloppy.
Overall, they looked good. When I make it back to Cincinnati I'll be sure to link some pictures over if anyone's interested. Not sure if I'm making it to the Kettering game, if not - let me know how they look. :)
A few new players that made impressions: obviously Fuller with two goals; rookie Sean Perkins with two assists; former Storm forward Andrew Martin stepped up with some intense, high-speed play; Billy Irish-Baker was throwing his weight around well. One player I was not impressed with was defenseman Bryan Schmidt, he didn't skate well and looked like he was on a completely different page than the rest of the team. Sloppy.
Overall, they looked good. When I make it back to Cincinnati I'll be sure to link some pictures over if anyone's interested. Not sure if I'm making it to the Kettering game, if not - let me know how they look. :)
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Catching Up
The season is quickly (well, sort of) coming upon us. As I start this post we're at 74 days, 15 hours and some absurd amount of minutes/seconds.
So, getting up to speed, we're at six players now:
So, getting up to speed, we're at six players now:
- Returning captain Chad "My Plus/Minus is Better Than Yours" Starling: very glad to have him back. Big fan of this guy.
- Returning sometimes-wears-an-A centerman Barret Ehgoetz: another solid faceoff winner that I'm glad to see back, will bring leadership to the table, especially with joining Starls for his third year under Coach Weber.
- Returning forward Scott "the Penalty Killah" Reynolds: extremely happy to see Scotty back. Definitely hoping to see some more playing time, and not just on the PK. Definitely looking to see an increase in his ice presence, as well as his scoring.
- Returning defenseman Greg Gallagher: another good move; I was impressed with Gally's progress over the season. He started off slow, but once he got a considerable amount of playing time he really stepped it up. I look forward to seeing what he can do on a more consistent basis.
- Last returner, Billy Irish-Baker: aside from starting on St. Patrick's Day and packing a ton of energy, I don't remember much about him since he wasn't around for long. Look forward to seeing what he can do full-time.
- Total newb: defenseman Gerard Miller. According to hockeydb.com, he had 57 points in 73 games for Flint (UHL). Including 44 assists. I'm impressed. Not only did he have more than twice as many assists as he did goals -- he's a defenseman. Definitely can't wait to see this guy play.
- The team secured a radio deal, on 96.5 FM. Definitely good news for the team, since there hasn't been a radio broadcast in years. It may only be 30 games, but who's to say they won't pick up more if things go well?
- Renewed the affiliation with Montreal & Hamilton - hopefully this opens the door to see a few of the guys they passed along to us last year, if not some incredible new talent.
- Also picked up an affiliation with Nashville & Milwaukee. I think this is great news for the team. A double affiliation might turn out to be difficult if both organizations get strapped at the same time, but hopefully it sets us up for a great load of talent being passed through the ranks to us. Plus, the Predators have signed Grumet-Morris. I will censor my comments on that, though.
And if you just can't wait for October 19th, Concrete Clones will be at the Loveland Meijer this Saturday (8/11), Milford the next (8/18), and finish with Western Hills (8/25).
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