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hrc666
(Loves To Post!)
1363 Posts |
 Posted - 12/01/2009 : 01:29:35 AM
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The 2009-10 season is rolling along. It's past the quarter pole already.
Biggest Surprises:
Matt Pierce-He's been a goal scoring machine. 12 goals and 21 points in 19 games. Think Weber would have rather had him on last season's playoff roster rather than Little Felix ?? 
Scott Reynolds-We knew he was an exceptional penalty killer and defensive forward. But a goal scorer?? 8 lamplighters in only 16 games. Reynolds scored 10 and 13 goals in his previous two full seasons with the Cyclones.
Attendance-When the heavily-tilted toward weekday schedule came out, it looked as though the Cyclones would be fortunate to keep even with last season's 3104 average crowd. Through 7 games (and only 3 weekend dates) the Cyclones are averaging 5064-5th in the ECHL. If the Cyclones draw zero fans for their next 8 home dates, their attendance of 35,547 will still be ahead of last season's first FIFTEEN home dates. Amazing.
Biggest Disappointments:
Dwayne Zinger-This 33 year old career AHLer just hasn't met expectations to this point. Could father time have said that the calendar didn't include any more effective ice time for DZ?
Injuries-Henrich, Kilpatrick, and Voakes would make the Cyclones an absolutely feared offensive team. Once they return, watch out!! For recalls to the AHL.
The record-19 games (10-8-1). The Cyclones are out shooting and out chancing their opponents by significant margins. The penalty kill was perfect through the first 8 games. Yet the Cyclones are basically a .500 team. From my eyes, the team looks pretty solid and the breaks should even out and I would expect the W/L record to better reflect the on ice performance in the remaining games on the schedule than it has to this point.
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"The only way David Desharnais will see an NHL game is if he buys a ticket".
--donnie hockey
"David Desharnais will be invisible during 5 on 5 hockey. IN THE AHL"
--donnie hockey
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Edited by - hrc666 on 12/01/2009 01:43:06 AM |
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jsun51
(The Next Level!)
143 Posts |
Posted - 12/01/2009 : 06:58:13 AM
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| What injuries do Henrich, Kilpatrick, and Voakes have? Is there any timetable on their return? |
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BP2011
(Been Here Awhile)
USA
531 Posts |
Posted - 12/01/2009 : 08:53:29 AM
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| Voakes will be out a few more weeks, Kilpatrick said about another 2 weeks, and I have no idea what is up with Henrich he got in town played 1 game and hasnt played since with no updates |
08, 10 Kelly Cup Champions
08, 10, 14 American Conference Champions
08, 09, 13 North Division Champions
08 Brabham Cup Champions |
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elvis77
(Loves To Post!)
1435 Posts |
Posted - 12/01/2009 : 11:17:22 AM
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-i don't find pierce's play as much of a surprise. he has come as advertised. what i do find surprising is that he's kept it going in the absence of voakes, killer, and muller which caused him to get marked a more closely. I'm pleased to see scotty playing well, although after looking at his numbers from europe it should be surprising. i figured him for about 50-60 points this year and he's right on pace. if there's a forward that has surprised me it's dustin sproat. he came into the season with an extra gear speed wise and has a good nose for the net. he and pierce are working quite well together.
-attendance. with so few home games early in the season, combined with a banner raising, throwback night and education in hockey day has skewed the attendance to say the least. i'm sure the 'clones will see an increase again but if the average is over 4000, then i'll be surprised.
-Zinger has been a let down; even more so after hearing chuck mention at the coach's show that he has 8 healthy defensemen.
-injuries. first of all, please do not discuss specific player injuries in a public forum like this, if our players and staff read this (which they do) you can be assured that our opponents do as well. we do not want them to read that player A has a bad shoulder but is playing through it; you can be sure they'll be looking run that shoulder through the boards the first chance they get. chuck and hammer believe in gamesmanship and don't release any info unless they have to and then it's at the last possible minute. with that being said, voakes has begun skating on his own and should be ready sometime this month. killer is still on schedule for january. henrich has been bag skating and is itching to get back on the ice.
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"PBR can do that to you....1,2,3,12 beers and you're f**ked"
-oscar
"and i don't give a damn 'bout my bad reputation" - joan jett
"beer is proof that god loves us and wants us to be happy." - benjamin franklin
"is that a pulled pork sandwich i smell?"
"some things are just better without pants...."
www.cycwords.wordpress.com |
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BP2011
(Been Here Awhile)
USA
531 Posts |
Posted - 12/01/2009 : 11:54:56 AM
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Attendance has been off the charts and probably like someone said in an earlier topic unless weather in the winter plays a factor the less then 1000 crowds are hopefully history.
I am glad that Josza has come around in the last few weeks since is reassignment, Zinger has been a letdown but he brings alot in an off the ice capacity which alot of ECHL teams dont have, a player like Zinger would either be in the NHL, AHL in Europe or retired his knowledge and veteran presence is second to none which the younger players look up to as in any sport |
08, 10 Kelly Cup Champions
08, 10, 14 American Conference Champions
08, 09, 13 North Division Champions
08 Brabham Cup Champions |
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hrc666
(Loves To Post!)
1363 Posts |
Posted - 12/01/2009 : 1:52:05 PM
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Sproat is an extremely heady player who seems to me to have ramped up his physical play. He seems to be involved in a scrum around the net almost every time there is a contentious possession. I'm surprised he hasn't gotten an AHL call up yet. He certainly has earned one. He's performed to my expectations of him, or perhaps in a bit of excess.
The attendance gains are far beyond what can be explained by "skewing" or the like. This team is on fire. Throwback nite had 10,920. Add AT LEAST another 1000 who didn't wait on the behemoth lines. Previous "Throwback" crowds had been in the 6500 range. Education in Hockey Day (cool field trip day. lol) flirted with the 9,000 level. Previous similar events were in the 4500 range.
Sub 1000 crowds are a thing of the past. These beer-driven weekday crowds could "pop", if you will. A little more promotion and I could see these games in the 3500 range. The management of this team has simply done a spectacular job pushing their product. Their performance should not be diminished by any analysis which suggests that the dramatic attendance gains (up almost 70% over last season at similar dates) are the result of statistical anomalies.
Note: The Cyclones need to average 3123 in their remaining home dates to have a 3500 average for the season. An average draw of 3743 to remaining games would give them a seasonal average of 4000. Last year the Clones averaged 3104. |
"The only way David Desharnais will see an NHL game is if he buys a ticket".
--donnie hockey
"David Desharnais will be invisible during 5 on 5 hockey. IN THE AHL"
--donnie hockey
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Edited by - hrc666 on 12/01/2009 1:57:46 PM |
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hrc666
(Loves To Post!)
1363 Posts |
Posted - 12/01/2009 : 2:20:12 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by BP2011
.......Zinger has been a letdown but he brings alot in an off the ice capacity which alot of ECHL teams dont have, a player like Zinger would either be in the NHL, AHL in Europe or retired his knowledge and veteran presence is second to none which the younger players look up to as in any sport
Agreed. But, he's getting burned so badly sometimes, it's just gotta make you wonder. He seems so slllooooww turning once the puck carrier reaches him. The beer leagues may be calling Zinger's name. |
"The only way David Desharnais will see an NHL game is if he buys a ticket".
--donnie hockey
"David Desharnais will be invisible during 5 on 5 hockey. IN THE AHL"
--donnie hockey
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BP2011
(Been Here Awhile)
USA
531 Posts |
Posted - 12/01/2009 : 2:24:09 PM
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| After seeing Zinger on Friday he did seem slow, hopefully he can become at least more involved by the end of the month because January and on its the heart and meaningful time of the year, maybe a coaching job would suit him extremely well next year |
08, 10 Kelly Cup Champions
08, 10, 14 American Conference Champions
08, 09, 13 North Division Champions
08 Brabham Cup Champions |
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elvis77
(Loves To Post!)
1435 Posts |
Posted - 12/01/2009 : 4:08:46 PM
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hrc i agree totally that the attendance has improved. what i'm saying is there have only been 7 home games:
fri 10/24 - 5085 - opening night, about what i expected
thurs 11/5 - 1660 - about the usual weeknight night crowd
fri 11/6 - 10920 - throwback night. typically a decent draw. the front office did a good job with the promotion and i really do think the silver jerseys helped
tue 11/17 - 8944 - education in hockey day - it was great to see the growth that EIHD has seen over the years.
weds 11/18 - 2185 - 500 more than what the previous weeknight crowd. that's solid sustainable growth.
weds 11/25 - 3156 - not really a weeknight game. local college kids out of class and or home for the holiday. more families and kids because of the holiday
fri 11/27 - 3496 - weak for a friday night, but i'm guessing holiday travel had some people out of town.
what i'm getting at is if we throw the two huge promotions out we don't have near the growth that everyone is raving about. those huge numbers skewed what our actual growth will be. the 2000+ weds crowd on 11/18 was a pleasant surprise which i hope becomes the norm over the typical 1500+. the two large draw promotions gave us a huge starting number, hence the skew, which will slowly fall as the season progresses. i could get geeky and explain how our mean attendance (5064) is significantly different than the median (3496), the standard deviation (3543) downright enormous, and i could even include a fancy little bell curve chart, but my excel skills are rusty and with only 7 home games the sample size is lacking, not to mention i'm not even sure how to post it here on the message board. i will go as far as to say by the end of the year the mean and medians will be fairly close and the standard deviation will be much smaller and the attendance will fall under a neat little bell curve with between a 3500 to 4000 average.
there a few more promo's that could bring in large crowds; wildman wobbler, the bobble heads (depending what they are), this weekends redsfest game could be huge (especially if they get the ticket staff down to redsfest to promote it), scout night (although it should have happened way before febuary to try to get some kids hooked). however, i don't see any more promo's with the exception of scout night that can bring in 8000+. also, gone are the large draw promo's of NASCAR night and faith night and while i can't say i miss them, they did fill the seats.
i think an average of 3500+ is very respectable and shows sustainable growth. a 4000+ average would be great but i'll be surprised it it happens and even more surprised if it could be duplicated the following year. as someone with a sales back ground that's what i would like to see, sustainable growth. for example, last season's weeknights were usually around 1500, if this season can average another 500 to make it 2000, that would be great.then if we take the 3 to 1 ratio and apply it to the weekend crowd and last years 3000 becomes 4000 and the 4000 becomes 5100+ then the season would be a huge success and allow for growth next season.
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"PBR can do that to you....1,2,3,12 beers and you're f**ked"
-oscar
"and i don't give a damn 'bout my bad reputation" - joan jett
"beer is proof that god loves us and wants us to be happy." - benjamin franklin
"is that a pulled pork sandwich i smell?"
"some things are just better without pants...."
www.cycwords.wordpress.com |
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