Well, the opener certainly didn't go as planned, but I don't think it's the total disaster people are making it out to be. The sky isn't falling. It's just one game, and we have 71 more to go. Plenty of time to sort things out and win a lot of games.

Thoughts:

* Karpowich obviously didn't play well in his first career game, but he didn't get much help either. After he got the hook, the team played much better in front of Madore. Rob didn't face many shots, but he did make a couple nice saves and looked pretty comfortable. As for Karp, he had no chance on the 2nd (uncovered cutter in the low slot) and 3rd (breakaway) goals, and the 4th was a tough shot from the point through a lot of traffic just as a power-play expired. He didn't play as poorly as some seem to think. In time, he should be fine.

* IceMen player of the game, for my money, was Brett Sonne. He was a man possessed out there. He played like a guy who's pissed about having been sent down to AA. He was all over the ice, he made a great pass to set up the 1st goal, and he took advantage of an opportunity and buried the 2nd goal.

* Cody Beach destroyed Dan Nycholat in the game's first fight. (Video here.) Didn't really see Beach do much else though. If he wants to play a regular shift and move up, he's got to contribute offensively too. And he has the talent to do so, based on his junior numbers.

* The Robinson/Beaulieu/Gendur line was a major disappointment. Todd looked particularly slow.

* Defensive pairings: Matt Gens and Plante, Aaron Gens and Perrin, Tetrault and Blomqvist.

* Attendance was 8886, up a bit from 8827 for last year's opener. Hoped we would hit 9000, but still a very good number for the middle of October when it's almost 80 degrees outside. Out of 20 ECHL games over the weekend, we had the 3rd largest crowd. Not too shabby.

Last Edited By: Shocker 10/15/12 10:24 AM. Edited 1 times.