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bhf303
(The Next Level!)
198 Posts |
 Posted - 02/25/2011 : 09:12:56 AM
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RETURN TO QUEEN CITY
By Corbin A. Worley
February 24, 2011
Hell hath no fury like a coach scorned.
Greenvilles Head Coach, Dean Stork, spent four years behind the bench as an assitant coach in Cincinnati and helped guide the Cyclones to two Kelly Cup championships (2008 and 2010), three consecutive appearances in the American Conference Finals (2008-2010), and North Division championships in 2008 and 2009. Friday nights contest between the Greenville Road Warriors (33-20-2) and the Cincinnati Cyclones (23-21-9) at the U.S. Bank Arena will be a reunion of sorts, bittersweet at best, but one filled with a lot of emotion and history.
After proving his abilities behind the bench, Stork was primed and ready for a chance as a head coach. That chance never came with Cincinnati. Watching two head coach opportunities vanish as he waited to see what the Cyclones had in store for his future was the straw that broke the camels back. When the next opportunity came, Stork knew what he had to do.
I couldnt sit around and wait said Stork, who was named the first head coach of the Greenville Road Warriors on June 29, 2010. When I signed here in Greenville a couple of people were upset. I think they were more upset at the ownership than anything. They called me a quitter, a backstabber because I left. Its this fuel that fires Coach Stork each night as he prepares the Road Warriors to take the ice. When asked about the importance of tonights game Stork said, I just want to prove to them thatbeing a head coach now, Im capable, I can do it, I can win hockey games, and Im gonna bring a championship here to Greenville.
Although the determination to beat the team that left him out in the cold still runs deep, Stork retains fond memories of his time spent in the Cincinnati organization. I went in there as an assistant coach. I learned under Chuck Weber, a fantastic person and he taught me the ropes. Having the backing from the organization in Cincinnati too and seeing how they let us run the team and were giving us the resources to put together a good team and just showing me the way to do it properly.
Thanks to some moves before and during the season, Friday nights game will also be a reunion for a few players on both sides. Current Road Warriors players Mark Voakes, Jimmy Kilpatrick, and Chris Clackson all have ties to the Cyclones organization. Former Road Warrior Paul McIlveen will suit up for the Cyclones after being traded for Clackson earlier this month.
Kilpatrick was a member of the Cyclones Kelly Cup championship team last season, registering 55 points (15G, 40A) and adding 16 points (7G, 9A) in the playoffs. When asked about his emotions on returning to Cincinnati for the first time since being signed by the Road Warriors on 11/11/10, Kilpatrick said, It will definitely be a different feeling for sure. Its a great city, with a great booster club, and a great crowdits gonna be fun.
With the Road Warriors this season, Kilpatrick is currently tied for third on the team in scoring with Marc Olivier-Vallerand, with 40 points (11G, 29A). He still has some connections with players that he played with the previous seasons, but doesnt foresee any advantages in the fact that they shared ice time during practice and games last year. I might be able to tell what they like to do, but its tough to read and reactdepends on the situation, said Kilpatrick.
The Road Warriors are 9-2-0 this season against teams from the North Division this season, but Friday nights contest will be the first against Cincinnati. Coach Stork was able to summarize the keys to victory for the game in just three words. The same three words that he repeats every night when the Road Warriors first take center ice, Keep it simple.
Simple may define what it takes to win Friday night in Cincinnati, but it certainly doesnt define the emotions that surround the relationship between Coach Stork and his former team. This Friday night, revenge may truly be a dish best served cold.
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Somersaults, thats how I roll! |
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taoistlumberjak
(The Next Level!)
133 Posts |
Posted - 02/25/2011 : 09:36:54 AM
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Jesus, who would have called him a quitter or backstabber? He deserved a chance and took it.
Then again, I'm probably the only person to actively root for Chuck to sign somewhere else at a higher level. |
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cloneinator
(Been Here Awhile)
USA
597 Posts |
Posted - 02/25/2011 : 10:42:19 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by taoistlumberjak
Jesus, who would have called him a quitter or backstabber? He deserved a chance and took it.
Then again, I'm probably the only person to actively root for Chuck to sign somewhere else at a higher level.
I have a hard time believing anyone from the organization or even the fans did. He had to take the opportunity in Greenville when it came up, and I don't believe anyone faults him for that.
And your not the only one who rooted for Chuck to get his opportunity at the "A." I just wish it would have happened sooner and I firmly believe Dean would have been the coach. I've said it before on here and sure people disagree, but the writing was on the wall. Chuck should have been offered a contract and if he did not accept it within thirty days, time to go your separate ways. In many ways the season was pretty much doomed before it started because of it...IMO |
...And on the eighth day, GOD created the Cyclones! |
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justmom
(The Next Level!)
335 Posts |
Posted - 02/25/2011 : 10:54:04 AM
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"Watching two head coach opportunities vanish as he waited to see what the Cyclones had in store for his future was the straw that broke the camels back. When the next opportunity came, Stork knew what he had to do."
What was he supossed to do, take the head coaching job while Chuck was still here? They (managment) couldn't offer him the head coaching job when it was not vacant. He had to take the job that came along. Would have been nice to have him here but the timing was not right for that.
How can he be a coach scorned if this is the situation? Maybe there were other factors but with the timeline I saw he left before Chuck did. |
Edited by - justmom on 02/25/2011 10:55:12 AM |
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Apocalypse Sticks
(The Next Level!)
199 Posts |
Posted - 02/25/2011 : 2:05:17 PM
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Terrible writing. The comments attributed to Stork just come across as him making a choice before the position was vacant, as the timeline would suggest. It seems like the author wants to add some pro-wrestling drama to the tabloid-quality writing.
I've never heard anyone speak ill of Stork in Cincinnati.. just shocked when he left.
.... unless of course, Corbin A. Worley is Stork's pen name. Ha.
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"What daring! What outrageousness! What insolence! What arrogance!... I salute you. " |
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