Where to begin? Sloppy breakouts... sloppy clearing attempts (which led directly to the tying goal) missed assignments, absolutely zero patience with the puck or attempts to advance the puck to at least the red line (how many times were the Cats called for icing?). Their third line was far and away their best last night... much like it was against Bathurst on Tuesday night. The only problem is, when your third line is your best line, you're usually in trouble. The biggest difference between this game and Tuesday night's was that Moncton showed up for about 10-15 minutes longer against the Titan, while the Sea Dogs, unlike their rival from Northern NB, didn't quit when they saw the opportunity to strike. They were full marks for the two points, continuing their streak of games this year against Moncton in which they should lose on paper, but win based solely on compete level.
There admittedly wasn't much to say regarding players on an individual level, however it should be pointed out that Ross Johnston played a great game. It was he who actually got the Cats going during the short stretch they gave a complete effort (last few minutes of the first and first minute of the second) by challenging Olivier Leblanc after the rookie defenseman threw a check on Ivan Barbashev from behind. Understandably, Leblanc declined this invite, which was a great move for both him and the Wildcats as it allowed Johnston to stay on the ice, eventually receive and carry the puck over the Dogs' blueline and angrily blast a low slapper past Sebastien Auger to give the Cats a 1-0 lead. Also lost in the non-events of last night is the fact that Alex Dubeau was solid all night long. None of the four Dogs goals were his fault and he was hung particularly out to dry on the first and last ones. On the Sea Dogs' side, their best players were certainly their best players and the scoresheet reflects that. Sebastien Auger was sharp virtually all game and was very deserving of a star selection.
Long story short, the Dogs came from three goals down, tied it the dying seconds while shorthanded (five on five with the goalie pulled), killed off the remainder of that penalty and won in OT. If that doesn't shout out "train wreck" for the Wildcats, I don't know what does.
One last point - I've heard plenty of people use the excuse "we're missing our top player" these last couple games (incidentally, so was Saint John last night) and although that's true, I'd like to know how losing a second line winger can somehow bring out a subpar performance from the top line. If Dimitri Jaskin has that type of ability and influence on this team, I nominate him for CHL Player of the Year right now.
Tonight the Mooseheads roll into town. This is a Mooseheads team that is missing it's entire first line (World Juniors) , it's #1 dman (injury) and it's starting goalie (family situation). Earlier this week, my concern was that Moncton would overlook this game in lieu of all the missing star power from the Halifax lineup and thereby fall into a trap of sorts. However, since the Cats are instead looking for a way out of that same trap right now, I've actually been given a bit more confidence that they will invariably come out stronger against a still tough Mooseheads lineup that has won both of their games so far this week. Bring a teddy bear and - if you're a Wildcat - bring your compete level.
That was a pretty pathetic effort from the Cats against a 1 line team.
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