Observations From Exhibition Game

The Eagles suffered a 5-2 setback at the hands of New Brunswick last night. I did not see the entire game but  what I saw was exactly what I expected. BC looked a bit out of sorts which is fine considering they haven't been able to hold an official practice yet. Here are a few quick notes I gathered.

1. Demko looked perfectly healthy when he was in. The first portion of the opening period was all Varsity Reds and they nearly had a goal to show for it (got reversed). I wouldn't read too much into the fact that he wasn't on the bench for the final two periods as he probably getting some care in the trainers room. I would not be surprised if the staff gave him a couple days off early this week to get ready for Friday.

2. I was very impressed with the freshmen, especially Miles Wood. It was an exhibition game versus bigger and older kids so it is no surprise that BC's biggest and oldest newcomer performed the best. The speed his able to generate through the neutral zone is borderline insane for a kid of that size. I think they should put him on the power play because it could really help them transition from break out to set up but what the heck do I know.

3. They need Birdsall to be better. I know the game doesn't matter at all but freshman goalie Chris Birdsall struggled a bit in his first go around. There is no way Demko can go the entire season without skipping a beat so hopefully Birdsall improves as the year goes on. Although I wasn't there to see it, apparently Birdsall was relatively solid in the third period which is a good sign.

4. The most important thing about these type of games is that no one gets hurt. We will see what happens this week in practice but as of now, they should have a full roster for Friday night.

5. Both the power play and penalty kill need some fine tuning. When you consider the fact that they haven't been able to work on either one of these much during practice then it is not a big deal. I think they will experiment with different units throughout the week and see what works and what doesn't.

6. The staff has a tough call to make with regards to the fourth line. I thought Silk was okay but Dudek was better than I expected him to be. That will be an interesting battle to watch as the week progresses.

That is all I got. Game week baby!

Go Eagles