Day 25: ROV@VAM review

Pulling into Calgary for the first time since losing game seven of the Kings Cup finals last season, the Rovers were on a roll. However, the truest barometer of their fortunes to Rover fans seems to be their performances against their archrivals, the Vampyres. That said, last night's 1-0 win appears to have settled a lot of questions that people may have had of the team. "Right now, we've really got it together", Stringer said after the contest. "This may have been our best 60 minute effort this season".

What the Rovers got was an A game from all aspects of the club. Dominating the hometown Vampyres in shots, faceoffs, hits, corner battles, possession time, and passing, the Rovers looked like they had the puck all night, and if not for Vesa Toskala could have turned the affair into a slaughter. Toskala stopped 37 of 38 shots, with his only blemish coming from the stick of Nils Ekman in the second period. Martin Gerber registered his first shutout of the season, turning aside all 23 shots he faced.

Now unbeaten in 10 games, the Rovers return home to face their other historical rival, Mark Benvenga's 500s. Though struggling out of the gate, everyone knows that the 500s can drop five or six goals on any team in the Champions conference, so the Rovers can't afford any sort of letdown on home ice if they hope to keep their momentum up the standings.

Day 23 review: MOU@ROV

The decree has come down from above. It's business casual for the rest of the season in Roverland; the boss is sick of ties.

The Rovers hosted the top-ranked Mounties in the back end of their home-and-home and once again battled to a draw, this a 1-1 affair that was dominated in almost all aspects by the home squad. The Mounties played a trapping style all night, always dropping back and rarely rushing the puck. It was a style which saw the Rovers have a significant edge in shots, possession, hits, and corner battles... almost all areas besides the final score. Miikka Kiprusoff turned aside 30 of 31 shots, with only Alex Korolyuk's tying power-play goal in the third beating him. Martin Gerber faced only 14 shots, with Joe Nieuwendyk's second period marker his only blemish. "I like how we played tonight", Stringer said of the effort. "When a goalie steals a game from you, you can't really complain. We did everything right except score the go-ahead goal".

Now unbeaten in nine games (though a curious mix of four wins and five ties), the Rovers travel to Calgary to face the Vampyres. Despite sitting at an uncharaceristically low .500 mark for the year, the Vampyres are always tough and overlooking them would be a dangerous thing to do.

Weekend wrap: Rovers Tie Twice

Two weekend road games against the top two teams in the Champs conference provided an opportunity to see if the Rovers had truly turned the corner from their early-season slump. The results: inconclusive. A 5-5 tie in Waterloo against the Roadkill followed up with a 2-2 draw in Kitchener didn't answer a whole lot of questions, but at the same time didn't spawn a new host of them either.

In Waterloo, Keith Tkachuk fired four goals, but that wasn't enough to get his team a victory. Five different players tallied, including a pair from the top line, as the Rovers knotted the game mid-way through the third on a Murray shorthander and skated away with a single point. The Rovers outshot the Roadkill, were great in the faceoff circle, and were strong in the corners, but couldn't stop Tkachuk. Marty Gerber allowed 5 goals on 28 shots, while David Aebischer stood strong against 45 shots, 19 of which came in the third period and OT.

Against Kitchener, the Rovers were fortunate to escape with the draw. Outshot 33-26, the Mounties were strong in all aspects of the game. The top line continued to emerge from their slump, with Demitra, Frolov, and Murray assisting on goals from Pronger and Nathan Horton. Pronger's goal late in the third looked like it might stand up, only to see Chris Drury equalize seventy-four seconds later with just over a minute remaining.

Overall the team has to be pleased with both ties. The Roadkill and the Mounties are atop the standings because they are both quality clubs, and taking a point from each in their own building is an accomplishment. With their unbeaten streak extended to eight games, the Rovers now return home to host the Mounties, followed by a road game against the Vampyres and a home game with the 500s. This stretch against the traditional RHL powerhouses will be a strong test for a team still tinkering to find the right balance.

RHL Hall of Fame in the works?

As reported in other RHL blogs, the San Diego Aviators are considering sponsoring the creation of an RHL Hall of Fame. This writer thinks that it's an idea whose time may have come, with a number of the games greatest stars to retire within the next two seasons (not to mention some RHL legends who have already retired from the league). Best of luck to Aviators GM Richard Farley in conveying his vision to any owners whom he might wish to solicit (or even better who might want to volunteer for the process).

Day 17: CAP@ROV review

In a game considered by many of the Baffin coaches to be a litmus test for their fortunes this season, the Rovers came up aces with a 4-3 home-ice win over the Capones. Special teams were the order of the day as the Rovers struck for three power-play goals in ten opportunities, and also scored a short-handed goal during the first of their seven successful penalty kills. "No question; our specialty teams carried the day today", Stringer said of his PP and PK units. "We changed up the look of our PP and it paid off huge tonight".

Glen Murray and Pavol Demitra each scored a PP goal coming on the second-shift while Alex Korolyuk tallied another with the man-advantage. Nils Ekman opened the scoring with Chris Pronger in the box early in the first. Ilya Kovalchuk scored twice and Sergei Fedorov added a goal and two assists for the Capones who twice tied the game only to yield the winner late in the third.

Chris Mason stopped 23 of 26 shots for the victory, his first in the RHL. The Rovers now have two days off before travelling to Waterloo to face the Roadkill. Starter Martin Gerber is expected to be ready to go for that game.

Day 16: ROV@SEL review

Rolling into Lethbridge, the Rovers were feeling good about the direction of their offense. They left Lethbridge with no reason to question it. Avenging a 1-0 season-opening loss, the Rovers outgunned the Selects 7-4 behind a Kris Draper hat-trick. The second-line did the damage in this game, with Korolyuk - Draper - Ekman combining for five goals and ten points. Nathan Horton scored in his third straight game (his team-leading fifth) and Chris Pronger scored his first of the season to go with two assists. The win was slightly muted by a second-period injury to starter Martin Gerber, who had allowed only one goal on 13 shots in the first. Backup Chris Mason relieved him, yielding three goals on 17 shots through the final 39 minutes. The injury is not believed to be serious. "Marty felt a lot better after the game, but he did need to come out", Stringer said of the injury. "We have a game tomorrow night so Mase will likely start that one, and then Marty should be ready for our roadtrip on the weekend".

Day 14: ROA@ROV review

After a slow start, the Rovers appear to be hitting stride. Rookie Nathan Horton, having scored his first RHL goal against the Spectres last game, followed up that effort with a natural hat-trick, leading the Rovers to a convincing 5-1 win against the Roadkill. "It's a great feeling to help the team win", Horton said of his exploits. "I'm a young guy and I have to prove that I can contribute, so hopefully I can keep it up". "He was great", Stringer said after the game. "He played like a five-year vet out there tonight. He went to the net and finished his chances when they presented themselves. We need that out of our other lines".

Pavol Demitra's power-play goal tied the game at 1-1 only 24 seconds after Jason Blake opened the scoring with a short-handed goal on the same penalty. Then Horton tallied three straight before Alex Korolyuk's third capped the scoring in the third. Roman Turek, David Aebischer's backup, faced 40 shots and stopped 35 of them while Martin Gerber turned aside 20 of 21 Roadkill shots, lowering his G.A.A to 1.78, the second-best mark in the conference to the Mounties' Miikka Kiprusoff.

The Rovers now have a night off before travelling to Lethbridge to face the second-place Selects. The Selects already have a 1-0 win over the Rovers this seaon in Baffin's home-opener, the Rovers will be looking for a measure of revenge, as well as the extension of their current four-game unbeaten streak.

Day 12: ROV@SPE review

Another day, another slightly frustrating result for the Rovers. This time, a 4-4 tie with a Spectres team that had previously scored three goals in its first five games. While the offense tallied four times for the third straight game, Martin Gerber was tagged for four on only 21 shots. The Rovers launched 46 shots at Tomas Vokoun, but could only manage the tie. "Sure, you want to see a better result, but we have to be pleased with the offensive effort on the road", Stringer said at his post-game. Rookie Nathan Horton scored his first RHL goal and added an assist, while David Legwand, Sean Hill, and Alex Korolyuk also lit the lamp. The Spectres also struck for two power-play markers on four opportunities, something that is sure to irritate the Rovers coaches. The team now flies home on their off-day as they gear up for a three games in four nights stretch, kicked off by hosting the Waterloo Roadkill.

Day 11: Coaches Corner

It's a pretty easy day for the coach today, as nothing is going to change for tonight's lineup. The scratches are changing (Nylander/Wiemer in, Isbister out), but that's about it. We thought about using Nylander tonight, but felt he needed a little while to adjust to his new surroundings. Plus, as a group we were very pleased with how the lines worked against the Wicked Ale. There were goals scored by the first line, the second line, and the PP, as well as a shorthanded bonus into the empty net.

One particular aspect of the last game that I was very pleased with was the PK, and I'm willing to give at least some of the credit to the insertion of Adam Hall into the lineup and onto the second PK unit. We killed off all six penalties, which had been an Achilles heel of ours through five games. Another tweak to the penalty kill was the use of Sean Hill. Paired with Regehr, Hill took some of the pressure off Chris Pronger, who had been playing pretty much the entire powerplay and entire penalty kill. While Pronger is certainly a workhorse, we were afraid that we were using him too heavily. The end result was 21 minutes for Pronger against the Ale (low, but we had few PPs) and a more balanced spread to the D minutes.

Martin Gerber will start again against the Spectres, playing his third great game of the season against the Ale. While we feel that Mason has the potential to perhaps be just as good or better than Gerber, we'll ride the hot hand until a change is needed. With no 4 games in 5 nights stretches upcoming, Gerber will be given a chance to settle in as the #1 and run with the ball as long as he can.

Nylander joins Rovers

The Rovers added to their roster today, signing forward Michael Nylander to a four-year contract. Nylander has played in 678 RHL games with the Banff Grizzlies, Kansas City Blaze, Albany StrapHangers, Brooklyn Geddy Lees, Yellowknife Dangerous Penetrators, and most recently the Guelph Reapers, scoring 142 goals and 175 assists for 317 points over his career. "Michael has always been an adept playmaker, and that is something we felt we needed right now. We'll try to work him into the lineup on the power-play and see how it goes from there".

Nylander may be in the lineup tonight against the Spectres if the coaching staff feels he is in game-shape right away.

Rovers make two deals; Isbister out, Wiemer in

A busy day at team headquarters finishes with the Rovers completing two separate but related transactions. First the Rovers dealt winger Brad Isbister, sent to the bench last game in favour of Adam Hall, and a third round pick in RHL17 to the Aviators in exchange for Dave Andreychuk, Jason Wiemer, and $324k. Before Andreychuk could even get to the airport, his destination had changed again as he was shipped to the Purge for a 3rd round pick in RHL17 and $250k.

The net result for the Rovers was losing Isbister and gaining Wiemer plus nearly $600,000. "This was all about financial flexibility", Stringer said to reporters after the press conference. "We needed cash and we also liked the one-year deal of Wiemer. We gave Brad a chance in the preseason and early on in the regular season, but the coaching staff and I decided that he wasn't going to get the ice-time here that he needed to justify his contract. We wish him well in San Diego". When pressed further on his comment about Wiemer's contract and if that implied that he wasn't going to be around long, Stringer was blunt. "Today, Jason Wiemer is a Rover. What happens in the future is unknown at this point".

Another typically cryptic answer was offered when he was asked if he was finished tinkering with the roster. "We have nothing else to announce today".

Confirmed: Andreychuk to New York

Two sources within the Rovers organization have confirmed an earlier report that Dave Andreychuk, acquired hours earlier from San Diego, has been dealt to the Purge for a draft pick and cash. Details forthcoming...

Alas poor Dave, we hardly knew ye?

Is Dave Andreychuk leaving the Isle as quickly as he came? This reporter hears yes. Stay tuned...

Trade winds swirling...

Breaking news: Brad Isbister to San Diego for Andreychuk and Wiemer. Details to follow...

Day 10: WIC@ROV review

Well, it's better late than never. The Rovers finally won their first game of their RHL15 campaign, a 4-1 decision over the Wicked Ale. Scoring for Baffin Island were Kris Draper, Glen Murray, Alex Korolyuk, and Cale Hulse into an empty net. Eric Belanger sniped the opening marker for the Ale midway through the second period, but Martin Gerber shut the door after that, especially on a 5-3 PP shortly after the opening goal. "If we go down 2-0 at that point, maybe we don't get back up", Stringer said after the game. The offense, sleepwalking to that point only generating 13 shots through two periods, woke up in the third with four straight markers on 18 third period shots. The Rovers outshot the Ale 32-21 overall, though were dead even in faceoffs, hits, and similar in the corners and passing the puck. "We just got the legs going in the third and got a few by Thibault", said Murray, who scored the eventual winner. The Rovers now have a day off before travelling to Guelph to face the Spectres.

Notes: - Adam Hall played in his first game of the season, replacing Brad Isbister in the lineup. He went scoreless in nine minutes, but did contribute to a PK unit that killed all six Ale PP chances.

Day 9: Coaches Corner

If we as a coaching staff believe that this team (as currently constituted) has the offensive potential to be one of the best in the conference, we need to foster the chemistry by keeping some trios together. And after the 4-4 tie with the Sockeyes, that's what we plan to do.

Frolov - Demitra - Murray
Korolyuk - Draper - Ekman
Halpern - Jokinen - Horton
Malone - Legwand - Hall

The lines will be remain the same with the exception of the fourth, where Adam Hall replaces Brad Isbister. With the sparse minutes that the fourth line was getting at even strength, Isbister wasn't in a position to show his strength, which supposedly is shooting (and hopefully scoring). What is true through four games is that our PK is struggling, so Hall gives us another guy that can win faceoffs and a better defensive presence. He'll be expected to kill penalties alongside Jeff Halpern on the second unit tonight. We also considered giving Malhotra his first action of the season, but needed a RW for the slot as we want to try and keep Horton on a line that can score.

As expected, Gerber will get the start tonight and will have to build on the positives from his first two games to beat the surprising Ale, who took out the 500s in their last game. Looks like we're not the only ones to have been bitten by St. Pete's this young season.

Day 8: Walking on eggshells...

There is a tension in the air around Baffin practice this morning as speculation is rampant that the club is on the verge of completing a player transaction. Names like Hall, Malhotra, and Isbister have been grinding through the rumour mill for the better part of a week, but this reporter is also hearing bigger names; top 6 guys and perhaps even top 4 Dmen. What is for sure is that everyone on the team understands that they have to get their job done on the ice or there could be a big shakeup, and that focus is what they will take into their next game against St. Pete's.