BACK TO WORK ON FRIDAY
After Point Blank Night out, it’s off to Iceworks
1:20 am - Thanks so much to all of you who made it out to Gabrielle’s for Point Blank Night. I was blown away by the great spirit of all of you who packed the joint and I really hope everyone had a good time. (I think the photo above by B.D. Gallof was taken in the second period).
It was so nice meeting you. After a night of leisure, we’ll be back at it today. The Islanders will be at Iceworks in the afternoon for meetings and who knows what else, and we’ll be there with all the latest.
For those of you able to attend, I welcome your feedback. And for those of you who want to have a PB Night in Suffolk or anywhere else, if you have a place that will host it right, just drop me an email.
Thanks again to all the readers, to Mr. Richard DiPietro Sr. for stopping by our event and to Jack Capuano and Matt Bertani of the Sound Tigers for being so gracious with all of us. Thanks also go out to Roseanne and the staff at Gabrielle’s, to Bryan from Chocoversity for the Islanders treats and to my friend Kelly for managing the raffle…CB
39 Responses to “BACK TO WORK ON FRIDAY
After Point Blank Night out, it’s off to Iceworks”
Please Wait
Hey Chris, Great time. Thanks a lot. Other then the islanders performance, it was a fun night.
You’ve got a great following, CB. I commend you. If you have the time in the future, please provide the fans with an update on Richie Pilon ( who dominated, neutralized Lindros in the late 90’s). He was my neighbor in Huntington Bay.
Thanks,
The Commodore.
It’s time to worry about Oksopo in my opinion. He is flat out unimpressive to me. There are some young players with bad stats that you look out and say “wait to he puts it together”. I don’t see that with this player. Then you have the kid Mueller, taken a pick AFTER Kyle who has 62 points in 91 NHL games. He is a power forward excelling at a young age.
great night out…it was such a pleasure to meet ricks dad ,hes such a nice guy
Not every young player is the same. Some 30+ goal scorers have taken 5+ years in the NHL to show anything at this level, others look great in their first or second year. Okposo is still trying to pull off college moves in the NHL. He probably should not even be in the NHL yet, let alone on the top line of a struggling team, getting the attention of top defenders. I figured Okposo for about 11 or 12 goals this year. Maybe he puts in close to 20 the year after. But he has shown flashes of what he’s capable of. The first Isles-Rangers game, for example, he was clearly the best forward on the ice.
Very cool. Thanks.
man they sucked in the third. flat in the first, horrible third. horrible. surprisingly bad.
Through two periods they got me nervous for a while, I thought Tavares might be slipping away. lol
That was a lot of fun. Thanks again. Looking forward to the next one.
That’s funny… I pulled out the ol’ Pilon jersey from my closet yesterday and wore it to the SI Mall. The Ranger fans loved it.
By the way what was DP’s Dad doing there? Is he as arrogant as his son?
Did the team come down to Gabrielles to have a few drinks during the 2nd Intermission? It sure looked like they were drunk…
someone want to remind Thomas Pock which team he plays for!
Man this team just loves giving away points!Its almost as if they are afraid to win A freakin game!SO FRUSTRATING WATCHIN THIS CRAP ,ITS EARLY IN THE YEAR AND IM ALREADY THINKING OF NEXT YEAR…PATHETIC !!AND WHATS THE DEAL W/ OKPOSO,CAN WE SEE A LITTLE MORE FROM OUR AWESOME PROSPECT PLEASE??JUSTA LIL
thanks for a fun night
Nice job Chris. Looking forward to the next one. I recommend we end it after the 2nd period though.
Great show Chris. Minus the loss it was a great night. I met some nice folks and it was a pleasure to meet you. Looking forward to the next one.
Hey Joey,
Don’t worry about Okposo he’ll produce. Interesting you brought up Mueller as he is a great example. He really struggled early on (more then Okposo) and then one game he just lite it up and has never looked back. I think we’ll see the same from Okposo. You mentioned Mueller has played 91 NHL games and Kyle’s only had about 18. It takes time. I have to watch on the Center Ice package and some games I am forced to watch other teams announcers, they all always notice some smart play he did.
He’s adjusting, If Okposo doesn’t produce and pick up his game by mid season, then we might start worrying, until then relax… chill out… Tavares… Hedman… I’m just saying
THANK YOU CHRIS! What a fantastic night, and please thank the owner of the bar for me and my father as well. She was extremely nice when we were chatting, and very generous for letting us take the place over.
Thanks for the hospitality, Chris. Was a nice evenening. Met some new people and caught up with some old friends. Gabrielle’s is great. Will be heading back their with the husband for dinner some time.
What are the isles, 4 and 8? They could very easily be 6 and 6 if not for the meltdowns.
Leadership needs to step up.
CB… Good to hear your event was so successful, even if the team wasn’t. Apologies in advance for posting this twice, but wasn’t sure where to vent about last night’s latest train wreck.
Another 3rd period collapse last night, and sadly predictable. When could you see it coming? Just as soon as Thompson left the game (injured, presumably). Why? Because even without such injuries this team cannot continue to play with only 3 full lines, which is essentially what they’re doing by having Fritz on the bench. Last night’s total: 41 seconds of ice time, on one lousy 1st period shift. To all of you Fritz lovers out there, someone want to tell me just how he’s helping things by shortening the bench before the game’s even started? No kidding the team looks like they lose their legs in the 3rd period. Is it really a coincidence that all of these horrific 3rd period collapses have occurred since Fritz started dressing? It ain’t the system, folks. They didn’t lose their legs in those 1st two wins of the season. Throw out the Rangers game, ’cause Mac stole that one for them. Roll four lines and the system works. Get well soon, Bergy.
It stinks I missed last night, and it would be awesome if a PB Night was held in Suffolk!
Anyway, I had a great time watching the game until the third period. They have to stand up to these third period breakdowns. You could see the more liberal pinching of the d-men at the end of the game which led to quite a few odd man rushes. (Campoli and Gervais -2 +/- for the night)
On the bright side, Frans Neilsen is quickly becoming a favorite of mine, a goal, assist, and 3 shots on goal. As long as I see something like Frans coming from the young guys (and even Tamby fighting the other night), it helps me stomach the inconsistent times.
I second the motion to see find out what Pilon has been up to, I was just talking about him the other night when Tamby and Dawes fought and didn’t throw their helmets off (they both have visors). One of the first things Pilon would do in a scuffle in toss the old helmet off before engaging!
Hey, Marc:
Your right it isn’t the system it is the training staff. I am starting to believe with Gordon hired so late in the summer the training staff didn’t get the boys in proper condition to play his style. One guy (Fritz) isn’t costing the Isles from rolling 4 lines, other guys can take turns subing in and would appreciate the ice time.
No team has taken liberties with the Islanders or beat up any Islander since Fritz got here. Our team is playing more confident and is winning or at least way more competitive. Fritz is bring a tremendous amount to the team even if nto skating much, he is getting inside other teams heads.
First Ranger game even their soft guys were taking liberties with out guys not the last one. Renny wouldn’t allow his tough guy on the ice with Fritz because he didn’t want the Isles to get the phsycological advantage of Fritz destroying Orr again. That is enough of a statement right there. Fritz is a keeper!
I just wish someone would teach Fritz how to skate…even just a little.
CB sorry i missed it! seems like it was a great time and i will try to catch the next one.
Last night was a tuff one and Atlanta ranks at the bottom of the NHL yet they looked like a top team in the 3rd against the Isles……….is this system draining the boys by the 3rd?? or just poor positioning?
In defense of FRITZIE - I will take this on !
I think having a heavyweight on the bench is worth it. Can’t use a D-Man as the enforcer - that is disrupting to the team - but a 4th liner - not so much.
We have played pretty good with Fritz IN the lineup - and clearly - other teams are not taking nearly as much liberties with our players. Clearly - Colton Orr had to tone down his game or he would have had to answer to Fritz. Did not see the Flyer game - but Mr. Cote was quiet that night. When the Isles get some room to maneuver - and have confidence that the goons and the Darcy Tuckers/Averys of the NHL are not going to slice them up without retribution - Fritz can be effective - even with 41 seconds of icetime.
Of course - If you get an enforcer who can play the game too, Mitch will have his lineup position threatened.
But for now - he seems to be a halfway decent fit - and your point of view is valid.
Now - how I wish we had a Bob Probert in this role ( guy who can SCORE and FIGHT) - but its not in the cards.
I think a lot of it is mental wrt the 3rd period. The natural tendancy is to sit on a lead when you have it late, almost like trapping, but the current system dictates they stay aggressive. So they end up somewhere between systems, which just leaves everyone out of position. Just a theory, anyway.
Just to clarify, I don’t know if it was fatigue, because late in the third, it looked like they snapped out of it and turned aggressive and executed the system effectively again. Maybe it was just a second wind though.
UIF- Good point… they look lost and confused out there in the 3rd.
Botts,
any chance you can clear up some of the rumors of Bailey possibly being in the lineup soon. In addition, can you tell us if Marty and the IVth are skating yet?
>>Did not see the Flyer game - but Mr. Cote was quiet that night. <<<
How do you know he was quiet if you didn’t see the game?
UUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHH Lets see - if one saw the boxscore from that game
Riley Cote - PIM = 0
that is how one would know he was “quiet”…..and I would suggest it was because Fritz was in the lineup….
What do I win for predicting the final score?
I don’t Fritz is that bad of a skater. It doesn’t look pretty but I’ve seen him get back in the play with no problem. It’s his hockey skills that are the problem. I agree with keeping him, but he shouldn’t even bother bringing his stick on the ice.
Keeping Fritz is a must, we have Philly and Pittsburgh coming up aka two tough teams. Godard and Cote, we already can see that his presence on this team has helped deter others from taking runs at our guys, gives the kids some room which is exactly what they need. How many times do you see Riley Cote not destroying guys? It’s rare, must’ve had something to tell him not too. I can’t wait till we play Buffalo again, I hope the guy jumps into the bench and beats up Lindy Ruff. haha
P.S. Im up at college now, wish I could’ve made it down last night.
Thanks again Chris. My Dad and I had a great time. It was great to have a chance to meet so many great people. Can’t wait for the next one.
the isles have the skill they showed it in the 1st 2 periods and in the Ranger game…..blame the coach for not keeping them motovated to play! Isnt that part of his job?
CB, thanks for taking the trouble and initiative to have the PB night at Gabrielle’s. Well done. A very fun night had by all, outside of the game outcome. It was a treat to hang out with hardcore Isles fans like BD Gallof, his wife Hilary, Dee and Matt.