A review of the team after 12 games…
Forwards
Aho line:
The Cooley-Aho-Guenther group has been in place for all but one game so far, with 18
combined even strength points. They are also dominating possession. It’s a top line definitely
living up to it’s name so far. Grade: A +
Cozens line:
The 2nd line has been in a bit more flux, with only Cozens still in place. P-L Dubois went down
with injury early and has been eased back on the 4th line since returning, and Jake DeBrusk
has been on the Staal line the past few games. Arvidsson and Johansson are currently flanking
Cozens, and despite the lack of stability his line has controlled play, even though the offensive
production isn’t quite there yet. Grade: B
Staal line:
The Captain’s line has also seen a fair bit of change, with opening night wingers Arvidsson
moved up to the 2nd line and Andrew Copp moved down. It’s still been an effective shutdown
unit despite the upheaval. Eetu Luostarainen has really come alive since joining DeBrusk and
Staal. Grade: B +
Fourth Line:
This has been a rotating cast, with 8 forwards seeing time on it so far. Rookie Ryan Greene
didn’t play as poorly as his minus 5 might indicate, but management is more comfortable with
him getting minutes in the minors. Tommy Novak has made one appearance so far. Colin
Blackwell was brought in to provide more physicality and to assist the PK but wasn’t really a
factor in either regard. Marco Kasper seems to have locked down RW with vets Copp and PLD
currently joining him. Grade: C
Defense:
There’s no point in breaking down the blue line by pairings as they gave been in flux all season.
Only 3 Dmen have a positive plus/minus (Theodore, Anderson Matinpalo) and 2 early season
starters in John Marino and Ryan Shea have been benched. The expected 7th and 8th Dmen,
Maata and Matinpalo, have seized regular spots in the lineup of late. Jackson LaCombe has 13
assists through 12 games, including 8 at ES, and seems to have found some chemistry with
Maata. Jalen Chatfield and Mikey Anderson have been solid lately as the shutdown pairing, and
Theodore and Matinpalo have done well as the 3rd unit. You would have to think that Marino
and Shea will break back into the lineup as some point but for now Georgetown is happy with
the current lineup. Grade: C +
Goalies:
Dostal and Grubauer both got off to lousy starts, but Dostal has won his last 3 starts and seems
to have re-affirmed himself as the #1. Grade: C
Special Teams:
Both units have been fine so far, 8th in PP and 7th in PK. The PK had a rough 2 game stretch at
one point but seems to have stabilized. The PP has been fairly consistent, with Aho and
Johannson leading with 3 goals and LaCombe and DeBrusk both with 5 assists. Grade: B
Summation:
A rough start, where the team could not hold any opponent under 5 goals, has calmed down a
bit and the club has clawed their way to .500 with a 5-5-2 record and a negative 1 goal
differential. The season is only 1/7th of the way through but the hope is for more consistency
and less peaks and valleys. A top 4 finish in the Canosa conference, which was the minimum
expectation entering the season, still seems to be a realistic possibility.
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