Wednesday, January 01, 2003
"We will find out tonight if Barnes can defend against the very best." Indeed.
To be honest, I didn't even hear the Ice Bats-Bucks game, but based solely on the SOGs, I'm guessing that Brent Hughes made a politely dismissive remark about the scorekeepers, Lance Leslie had no comment on that subject, Terry Ruskowski opted for "their goalie stood on his head" and Barnes said something like, "most of the chances came from the perimeter."
And is there a term for Kelly Smart's performance -- three goals and a slashing major/game misconduct? A Bill Guerin Hat Trick? That must have made the last five minutes interesting, especially since he's Austin's top gun on the kill.
Finally, how 'bout Hughes' development (with help from Ken McRae) of blueliners Darryl McArthur and Pat Brownlee? It's not just that they're solid in the Austin zone -- with Greg Willers and Daniel Tetrault gone, those 30 points are huge.