Post by torontogm on Apr 25, 2010 16:46:24 GMT -5
Hartford, CT - Top seed upsets seem to have been the theme in the East this year. On the same night when the eighth-seed Atlanta Thrashers took down the conference champion Buffalo Sabres in the NsHL playoffs the Hartford Wolf Pack were busy disposing of the regular season champion Toronto Marlies.
"We hit the playoffs on an 8-0-2 roll and I think some of the guys figured we'd just keep on rolling, but Hartford is a good team and they kept their eyes on the prize," said coach Jim Schoenfeld. "We had a great regular season, but it goes to show that in the playoffs you need to kick it into high gear and our guys didn't figure that out until we lost our first two at home. You can't spot any team a series lead like that. My hat's off to Craig Ramsey for having his guys ready every night."
The biggest surprise for the Marlies was the ordinary play of goaltender Alex Salak. While he certainly couldn't be faulted for the team's loss, he did not turn in a stellar performance like most of the regular season. There are whispers that he was still feeling lingering effects from a couple of late season injuries, but he denies that there was anything wrong. "I felt good, but our whole team suffered from overconfidence."
Captain Brendan Bell echoed Salak's sentiments. "We didn't adapt quickly enough. Once we took games three and four we went back to playing with a sense of entitlement. I sure hope we learn something from this, and I sincerely hope that most of us come back for another kick at this thing."
While it is obviously early to be reporting on next season's lineup GM Jade Graber did say, "I'm proud of our regular season, but our organization is disappointed by the results here. We'll be evaluating all areas of the team during the offseason, but we hope to bring many of these players back next year. A couple may push for jobs with the Leafs, and sometimes veterans move, but overall we should still be able to ice a strong club again next year. Let's hope the boys learned from this. I think this was as much about Hartford catching us flat footed, then keeping the pressure on as it was about a collapse."
Coach Schoenfeld said that he hoped to see many of the players back next year, and expressed confidence that he would be returning. When Graber was asked about Schoenfeld's comments, he was quick to confirrm this. "We are thrilled with the work Jim did this season and there is no question that he will be back next year. We'll sit down soon to talk about who he wants back, but for the most part we've been on the same page all year, so that should be a fairly quick meeting."
So ends another season for the Toronto organization. High hopes at the start of the season were realized in the regular season for the Marlies, but the playoffs brought the all-too-familiar disappointment that Toronto fans have come to expect. As they say in Toronto, "There's always next year."
- Ivanna Peyuk for the Hogtown Hockey News
"We hit the playoffs on an 8-0-2 roll and I think some of the guys figured we'd just keep on rolling, but Hartford is a good team and they kept their eyes on the prize," said coach Jim Schoenfeld. "We had a great regular season, but it goes to show that in the playoffs you need to kick it into high gear and our guys didn't figure that out until we lost our first two at home. You can't spot any team a series lead like that. My hat's off to Craig Ramsey for having his guys ready every night."
The biggest surprise for the Marlies was the ordinary play of goaltender Alex Salak. While he certainly couldn't be faulted for the team's loss, he did not turn in a stellar performance like most of the regular season. There are whispers that he was still feeling lingering effects from a couple of late season injuries, but he denies that there was anything wrong. "I felt good, but our whole team suffered from overconfidence."
Captain Brendan Bell echoed Salak's sentiments. "We didn't adapt quickly enough. Once we took games three and four we went back to playing with a sense of entitlement. I sure hope we learn something from this, and I sincerely hope that most of us come back for another kick at this thing."
While it is obviously early to be reporting on next season's lineup GM Jade Graber did say, "I'm proud of our regular season, but our organization is disappointed by the results here. We'll be evaluating all areas of the team during the offseason, but we hope to bring many of these players back next year. A couple may push for jobs with the Leafs, and sometimes veterans move, but overall we should still be able to ice a strong club again next year. Let's hope the boys learned from this. I think this was as much about Hartford catching us flat footed, then keeping the pressure on as it was about a collapse."
Coach Schoenfeld said that he hoped to see many of the players back next year, and expressed confidence that he would be returning. When Graber was asked about Schoenfeld's comments, he was quick to confirrm this. "We are thrilled with the work Jim did this season and there is no question that he will be back next year. We'll sit down soon to talk about who he wants back, but for the most part we've been on the same page all year, so that should be a fairly quick meeting."
So ends another season for the Toronto organization. High hopes at the start of the season were realized in the regular season for the Marlies, but the playoffs brought the all-too-familiar disappointment that Toronto fans have come to expect. As they say in Toronto, "There's always next year."
- Ivanna Peyuk for the Hogtown Hockey News