Rays trade McIlveen to Elmira
Posted 03:55 p.m., November 19, 2008
Still up in Clemson, but like you guys I saw the trade of Paul McIlveen to Elmira this morning.
I would love to say I had a tip about it, but I’ll be honest, I had no clue it was coming.
Unlike some of you, I was a little surprised by this move. Not the three-team trade thing, or the Rays moving a player.
I was a little surprised that Stingrays coach Jared Bednar shipped McIlveen off to another team. McIlveen was Bedsy’s first “recruit” and I felt like there was some loyalty there. As recently as the beginning of this month, Bedsy had told me that he felt like McIlveen was a “top-line” centerman in the future.
Well, not on this team.
In eight games, McIlveen had a goal and three assists.
He was a third line guy and rightly so. Not that he wasn’t a good player, it’s just that Travis Morin and Pierre-Luc O’Brien are better. For my money, Paul Kelly was a notch above him as well.
Onto some other news Nate Kiser is back after hurting his hand. Sounds like Tommy Maxwell will play this weekend as well.
Jeff Corey won’t play tonight, but is expected to be in the lineup Friday night against Mississippi.
Also, the reason that the Rays signed Carolina Ice Palace men’s league legend John Havrilack is because Michal Neuvirth has a calf strain. Neuvirth should be ready to go by the weekend. (Just a little side note because I like to give Havrilack a hard time, I do have three career goals against him in the Premier League).
OK, so hopefully I’ll get out of Tiger Nation in one piece.
See you at The Rink,
APM
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Comments
Posted by stingrays01 on November 19 at 4:51 p.m.
Andrew Miller has scored 3 goals on John Havrilack. Goepfert better not leave the game tonight or we are in series trouble.
So Andrew, have you started chewing tobacco yet?
The post and courier's Ken Burger and our own Darren Abbott will be filling in for Bobby Hartin on his radio show tomorrow (11/20/08) from 3:00-6:00PM on AM 910. So if anyone has any questions for Darren, tomorrow will be good time to call in and ask him.
LETS GO RAYS!!!
Lets make it a perfect 5-0 road trip.
Posted by stingrays01 on November 19 at 10:10 p.m.
5-0 on the road trip.
1st Place in the South Division.
Hockey is finally back this weekend.
Lets pack the North Charleston Coliseum Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Bring on Mississippi and Dayton.
WAY TO GO RAYS!
Posted by borohockey8 on November 19 at 11:18 p.m.
I will be there all 3 games. Hopefully, Maxwell can come back this weekend and we only dress 6 dman instead of 7. How about Pierre with his first professional fight tonight? Congrats! How did Pierre and Pinner fare in their fights tonight if anyone knows? I was at the Trans Siberian Orchestra concert at the Coliseum tonight and could not listen to the game.
Posted by RaysRsharp on November 20 at 6:04 a.m.
Pierre-Luc still hasn't been in a "fight". He's a great player, but fought like a little girl. Nasty Nate needs to hold classes. LOL
Pinner was a different story. Add Hillier to the list of guys who thought fighting Pinizzotto looked like a good idea at the time. Smack down.
Posted by canesfan1 on November 20 at 7:48 a.m.
Sorry to hear that your still up i Clemsux. I was at the Winthrop/USC game this past weekend and some guy was selling bumper stickers that said "PUSSYFOOT" with an arrow pointing towards the Clemson foot. Best two dollars I ever spent and I dont even like the Lamecocks.
I thought Obie did pretty well in dropping the gloves. He was facing a little bit bigger opponent. He eventually went to the ice and took a good shot but he got back up and for some reason Barnes backed off when it was obvious Obie still wanted to go. Pinner, boy, he has mean streak in him that I like to see. They showed that altercation on the big jumbo screen in the Uncle Bob. Pinner just turns into this totally different animal when he drops the gloves. He tagged Hillier good a couple of times. Kinda scary…With Kiser back in the lineup, Charlotte wasn’t to keen on pulling that dirty stuff like last time.
I was concerned about our level of play. It seems like we are becoming really confident when in all reality we are not playing to our full potential or giving 100% on each shift. We started off really strong last night and I truly believed it would be another 6-1 rout. The entire second period it just seemed like we were out there skating around. Charlotte is nowhere near our level talent wise but they almost came back and stole one from us.
On a lighter note, has anyone else noticed that we are undefeated at the Uncle Bob this year? I think I am going to carry a sign to the next game that says “Welcome to the North extension of the Charleston Coliseum, 3-0, This is OUR HOUSE”…but I will probably get jumped before the puck drops.
Posted by raysfanincharlotte on November 20 at 10:13 a.m.
canesfan, I would be with you for that sign but Im still in Charleston till July. GO FOR IT THOUGH!
Posted by RaysRsharp on November 21 at 7:33 a.m.
Rutherford (5'8" 180) is the one who knocked O'Brien on his butt. Barnes was tied up with Kiser.
I thought the guys played a solid road game. Except for a few shifts in the 2nd period, they played a smart game IMO. They took care of the puck, and made it easy for Goepfert.
Posted by hattrik on November 21 at 12:28 p.m.
Andrew: I hope you don't mind but I'd like to plug Joe Shetrom's blog "Barbs & Blurbs" which also is listed on the Ray's web page. Joe comes up with some great links and info which all Rays fans should check out. There's a hillarious video about a coach's temper tantrum and another link to Johann Kroll's web page.We are very lucky to have access to two great blogs on the Ray's web page.
Posted by borohockey8 on November 21 at 2:31 p.m.
I cant wait for this weekends games and I sure hope Maxwell is back in the lineup tonight as well. Let's Go Rays!!!!
Posted by stingrays01 on November 21 at 4:04 p.m.
I expect the forward lines to look like this...
Michael Dubuc, Travis Morin, Maxime Lacroix
Trent Campbell, Pierre-Luc O'Brien, Steve Pinizzotto
Paul Kelly, Keith Johnson, Jeff Corey
Matt Scherer or Tommy Maxwell as 10th Forward
Should be three strong lines.
LETS GO RAYS!
Posted by letdropEM on November 21 at 4:53 p.m.
tommy will be in the lineup tonight. Matt Scherer and Scott Romfo should be healthy scratches. Bobby should start in net tonight for rays. With Nuvey backing him. Im just exicted to see viktor dovgan play on home ice.
Posted by borohockey8 on November 21 at 5:49 p.m.
Just checked echl.com and the transactions for the day has Corey activated and Maxwell still on IR.
Posted by tmaxxfan on November 21 at 6:42 p.m.
I don't think Maxwell is eligible to come off the DL until tommorrow 11/22.
Posted by borohockey8 on November 21 at 10:44 p.m.
Well, after watching tonight's game, Scherer should be a scratch and Maxwell needs to come off of IR. The Dman were not very good tonight, but I expect no changes from that vantage point. The only change might be Maxwell for Scherer tomorrow. Out of the 65 minutes, the Stingrays played between 20 and 25 minutes. They did not show up the first 2 periods, but showed up for the 3rd and OT. Very disappointing SO loss, but I will take a point out of it.
Posted by stingraysfan109 on November 22 at 12:12 a.m.
I was at the game also borohockey8 and I gotta tell you 20 minutes of hockey is generous. I was thinking more along the lines of ten minutes, not counting OT. They were just so casual about passing, taking care of the puck, and not finishing hits. With the talent this team has they should beat a team like Mississippi 4 out of 5.
Posted by RaysRsharp on November 22 at 6:03 a.m.
Only difference between last night's game. and most of our wins against Charlotte, was the team on the other end of the ice. Mississippi isn't extremely talented, but they work hard and make you pay for sloppy/lazy play. Charlotte usually didn't.
Maybe Big John should put some Viagra in the water bottles. The boys were just a couple inches short, all night long.
Posted by RaysFan34 on November 22 at 10:56 a.m.
Amen RRS. This is EXACTLY the same team we saw in Charlotte and if we continue to play like this again tonight, Dayton is going to hand us our rear ends. As the opponents get tougher, we are going to HAVE to work harder (something we should be doing anyway) if we expect to compete.
I really hate it that we have gotten off to such a good start, seemingly without much effort. The luck of the schedule has had us facing Charlotte too many times, and right now, they are not a good team (though, I expect that to change some). Complacency can quickly set in and if this team would have had to struggle a little more for those 9 wins, we would probably be seeing less of that "sloppy/lazy" play.
Now, don't get me wrong folks, I am glad we have been winning, I just wish we would have had to work harder to get those points. If we had, we would not see games with 20 minutes of a team giving it their all, they would do it for a full 60.
Posted by hattrik on November 22 at 2:19 p.m.
I agree,RaysFan34. Maybe Pinizzotto's call up will be a wake up for the guys! This is perfect timing for Jeff Corey to step in and make his presence known. Thought he looked pretty good last night.
Posted by borohockey8 on November 22 at 2:59 p.m.
I thought Corey had a pretty good game last night. He has alot of speed. I expect Maxwell back in the lineup tonight with Pinner called up.
Posted by stingraysfan109 on November 22 at 3:39 p.m.
Corey does have good speed and instincts to match, it seems. Once he spends some time with us I think he'll bring a lot to the team. A couple of times I saw Cail giving him instructions so he's still feeling things out
Posted by RaysRsharp on November 22 at 10:31 p.m.
I felt bad for the boys tonight.
Most of them played hard, but had little to show for it.
Much work to do.
Posted by theballsiam on November 22 at 11:33 p.m.
They did play hard, but Dayton played harder, plus got more of their shots on net and had maybe a little more luck. It was a tough loss for them and it will be even tougher to come back and play an early game after playing 3 games in 3 days (or 4 games in 5 days).
Corey's speed and effort really impressed me, but it doesn't seem he is technically skilled as some of our better players. He seems to be much more of a guy who crashes the net and bangs in rebounds (which is how he got his 2 goals tonight, I believe). Not very much of a playmaker in the traditional sense, as he won't dangle around guys or make pretty passes, but his speed alone will set up some plays.
Neuvirth looked off tonight. He let in that soft game winning goal after having got his glove on the puck. He was also out of position more than usual.
Just a really unlucky, tough game tonight for most of the guys outside of Corey.
Posted by theballsiam on November 22 at 11:38 p.m.
Wow, I just checked the scores around the league.
Florida absolutely MURDERED Augusta tonight 12-0... And there were multiple fights and misconducts. You can't appreciate how crazy it was til you see the box score.
http://echl.leaguestat.com/stats/game-summary.php?game_id=6251
Posted by stingraysfan109 on November 23 at 12:10 a.m.
To theballsiam. Don't know where you were sitting tonight, but the "soft goal" you're talking about had a fair amount of heat to it. But I do agree about Neuvirth being a little off. He still played well enough, however, to keep us close. Better effort tonight than what I saw last night, but still not there yet.
Posted by theballsiam on November 23 at 3:21 a.m.
Naw, it was a soft goal. Neuvirth would probably tell you the same thing. It was a wrister/snap shot that Neuvirth got his glove on enough to slow it down significantly, which usually means it shouldn't be a goal.
Posted by RaysRsharp on November 23 at 7:12 a.m.
It hasn't happened very often, but last night we got outplayed in every facet of the game. Forecheck, backcheck, faceoffs, goaltending, powerplay, penalty kill, work along the boards, work in front of the goal, work behind the goal, trap, discipline, coaching, concessions, parking, break out, break in, warm ups, and cool down.
We got worked by a better team.
Posted by borohockey8 on November 23 at 10:31 a.m.
Did that third goal by Dayton get tipped off of Kiser's stick because from my vantage point, it looked like it changed direction very slightly which caused Neuvirth to not handle it cleanly. I dont remember seeing any back to back home games from last season played as bad as the past two. I guess it can only get better I hope.
Posted by hattrik on November 23 at 10:40 a.m.
Jared didn't show up for Josh Heller's post-game radio show last night. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall during his comments to the players. I'm sure that he is very upset with the way they have been playing the past few games. Let's see how they react tonight against the Sea Wolves.
Posted by borohockey8 on November 23 at 11:41 a.m.
I noticed that too hattrik as well. I wondered what he told all the guys in the lockerroom. Hopefully, a better game today from the guys.
Posted by stingrays01 on November 23 at 12:47 p.m.
Paul Mcllveen had a career high 3 point game (1G, 2A) in his Elmira debut last night. What's up with that?
Corey scored the only two goals for the Stingrays last night. I guess they both are out to prove something.
Really need a win today. Time to send the Sea Puppies a message before heading down to Mississippi for 3 more games.
Lynx vs. Everblades video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHlLOC1dX4c
Posted by theballsiam on November 23 at 6:55 p.m.
Didn't get to go the game today, but looks like Bednar must have ripped them a new one last night and all the guys must have responded. Up 6-0 going into the 3rd, 5 goals in the second period.
Another thing I forgot to talk about last night was the crappy ice. Either that new zamboni really, really sucks, or the new guy driving it isn't worth a crap, or maybe a combo of both. The ice was terrible and you could tell both teams were annoyed when they came out for the 2nd period. I saw both teams talk to the linesmen and ref, plus the ref came over to both coaches to talk about something. You could tell they were asking about why the ice conditions were so bad.
Posted by stingrays01 on November 23 at 8:19 p.m.
I wanted the Stingrays to send a message to the Sea Puppies today.
MESSAGE SENT...LOL
WAY TO GO RAYS!
Posted by RaysFan34 on November 23 at 8:29 p.m.
The ice resurfacer (nope, it isn't a "Zamboni" -- thanks Josh) isn't new, it is on loan from Florence while ours is being repaired. The man running it is Bill Reid, yes, Matt's dad. It appears he has joined our ice crew after the loss of our dancing guy during the playoffs last season. I am more concerned about where our regular Zamboni driver has been (they seemed to figure out the machine tonight). Dick has been with us forever ... I hope all is well with him!
Posted by smv8618 on November 23 at 8:30 p.m.
if you didn't go to tonights game, you definately missed out. 10-0.... what a game.
Posted by theballsiam on November 23 at 10:02 p.m.
Yeah, the "new" "zamboni" did look really old and crappy, so I'm sure it was pretty hard to cut/flood the ice adequately. I did hear that it was from Florence on the radio the other night.. hopefully our zamboni will be fixed by our next homestand. And yes, I do wish I was at the game today, but I had prior commitments. Hopefully the Stingrays give out some more shellackings in the future.
Posted by borohockey8 on November 24 at 10:46 a.m.
What happened to the dancing zamboni guy from last year? Did I miss something? As I think about it right now, I have not seen him this year at all. What did happen to him? What a game tonight from the boys. Romfo was put back into the lineup and he had a solid game considering he hasnt played in a little while. Great game from all the guys. You can tell Mississippi is a soft team when you lose by that much and do not want to hit or fight anyone.
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