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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2012 11:53:37 GMT -5
Meet The Newest NLHS Franchise, Your Barrie ColtsThe city has been abuzz with excitement these past few weeks with the news that the increasingly popular North American hockey league NLHS has expanded to the great city of Barrie. Barrie was one of a handful of lucky cities that were awarded an expansion franchise and Owner/General Manager Matt Bruyns couldn't be any happier with the progress that has been made in the team's short existence. When reached for comment about the state of the franchise Matt Bruyns responded with nothing, but postives. "This Colts team has been put into a position to not only be competitive in the upcoming season, but in the long run as well. The expansion draft was an overwhelming success bringing in a great mix of talent, dedication and experience. We were pleased, but not content with the roster and were able to supplement it with a few proven performers by way of the trade market. The entry draft also went as planned and we were able to pick up two rising stars in Baertschi and Jensen who will be players in this league down the road. The team might lack proven star power, but with a very deep forward corps, an above average blue line and a tandem of trustworthy netminders this team will be able to roll four lines and could surprise a few NLHS incumbents." The team held their official welcoming party and introductory press conference this past weekend at the Barrie Molson Centre allowing fans to meet the men donning the Colts logo this upcoming season and the coaching staff. Being from a market so close to Toronto it was no surprise that the head coach received as much attention as the players since Doug Gilmour is still a fan favourite of many of the attendees. This could be a big break for Dougie stepping awaying from the coaching duties in Kingston and taking over a team that seems primed for a successful future. He will be joined on the bench by some familiar faces in Darcy Tucker, Dmitri Yushkevitch and Felix Potvin. With a preseason that has exceeded every member of the organization's expectations wrapping up and the regular season right around the corner the city of Barrie has already embraced this team with season ticket packages selling out within the first hour. It is safe to say that attendance will not be an issue in this market that has been starving for high calibre hockey. Rumours have been circulating that tickets for opening night are already being resold at two times the face value. It goes without saying that a ticket to see the Colts at the BMC will be a hot item this season and the players hope to reward the fan's enthusiasm with their best effort and hopefully a few more W's than L's.
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Post by Ryan on Oct 15, 2012 15:44:02 GMT -5
love it!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2012 14:56:54 GMT -5
COLTS WINIt only took the expansion Colts two games to find the win column after an impressive showing against a tough team from Quebec. Barrie has started the year with back to back 3-1 games with the Colts coming out on the wrong end of a hard fought battle against the Wanderers in the home opener and then hitting the road handing the Nordiques their first loss of the young season. One thing that has stood out in the first two games has been Montoya's play both good and bad. The young netminder has been out to prove that he deserves to be the #1. Montoya is trying to let his play dictate who should be on the ice in order to avoid being relegated to a tandem role with up and comer Poulin. His play has been stellar allowing only one goal in 70+ minutes, but there has been some other indiscretions that have raised some eyebrows. In his first game he had 15 PIMs and was ejected after causing a scene when for the second time in the game a Wanderers player took a few extra swipes at the puck after Montoya had it covered. What followed was something rarely seen in hockey as Montoya seemingly "lost it" striking the Wanderers forward in the head with his blocker repeatedly. It took two referees to seperate Montoya from the turtling Wanderer and he then launched into a verbal tirade against the officials before launching his stick down towards the Wanderers end on his way off the ice. Despite some in the Barrie media calling for Montoya to ride the bench in game two he was back out there and rewarded Gilmour's decision by holding the offensively gifted Nordiques to one goal as the Colts triumphed paced by a two goal effort by Ales Hemsky carrying over his strong pre season performance into the regular season. The game wasn't without controversy though as Montoya once again vaulted himself into the forefront with a downright nasty slashing penalty near the end of the second period. He was lucky to escape with only a minor penalty since to this reporter and others a case could have been made for intent to injure, but luckily for Montoya the official deemed the two handed baseball swing to only be a minor penalty. Post game Gilmour was questioned on Montoya's play and responded with the following "Goaltenders are often known to be a strange breed and Al is no different. I am in no way making excuses or condoning the behaviour he has displayed, but it is evident that Al plays with a competitiveness and passion that is matched by few others. It's possible the stress of starting with a new team and city is proving to be difficult to handle as he wants to be known as an elite option in NLHS. We are planning to have a closed door meeting with Al and management to discuss reigning in his outbursts and playing under more control without sacrificing the passion he has displayed." It will be interesting to see if this meeting results in a calmer Montoya Wednesday at home against the Huskies.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 25, 2012 16:20:43 GMT -5
Colts trade captainWith another tough one goal loss this time at the hands of the Huskies the Colts have shaken things up in the dressing room and on the ice by trading the first captain in the franchise's history. The trade sees the Colts and Scouts swap seldom used wingers Benoit Pouliot and Benn Ferreiro as well as the veteran Sullivan heading to Kansas for prospect Matt Puempel. In the media scrum following the loss GM Matt Bruyns was questioned on the decision and responded in defence of the move. "Steve was nothing, but pure class since coming to the organization and he will be missed. After picking up some offensive talent through trade in the summer Steve found himself relegated to 4th line duties and in the twilight of his career we felt it was in everyones best interest to move on and allow Steve an opportunity to showcase the talents he possesses elsewhere. The Scouts are a young team and his leadership and offence should be a valuable asset to their franchise. We were very pleased with the pieces coming back our way. Ferriero is a defensive minded forward, which the team was looking to add and will complement Darren Helm on the first PK unit. Puempel was added with the future in mind as the trade allowed the franchise to get younger and Puempel projects as a sniper who has scored well in the minors and the hope is his scoring skills will translate to NLHS in the near future" Through a press release it was also learned today that Kevin Bieksa has been named the new captain and Blake Wheeler will now wear an A.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2012 16:54:19 GMT -5
Colts Beat ChampsAfter a slow start out of the gates, the Colts seem to be gaining momentum as they have now picked up points in four straight games. The team now sits one win away from .500 with a 3-4-2 record. The latest Colts' win was also their most impressive as they did away with the Legion 5-2. With only 2 of the Colts first 9 games against fellow expansion teams their record has met expectations. The schedule doesnt get any easier as the game against the Legion was the first of 11 straight games against established teams before meeting the expansion Texans in the 20th game of the season. If at the 20 game mark the team is still near .500 the playoffs should be a realistic possibility. One of the main reasons for the Colts early season success has been the exceptional play of Al Montoya. Heading into the season it was thought that ice time would be split fairly evenly with Poulin, but Montoya has played his way into the primary starter role. We caught up with head coach Doug Gilmour for his thoughts on the goalie situation. "It's no secret that we were a little unhappy with Al's behaviour in the first two games and after the closed door meeting following game 2, he has been a true professional. He hasn't let his temper get the best of him and has responded with 0 PIM and has been a rock for us and given our team confidence that he will make a save when needed. If we continue to get this calibre of goaltending on a nightly basis then we should be able to finish the year with more wins than losses" The last two games have shown Montoya at his best stopping 82 of 85 shots for two wins and vaulting himself into 1st in the league with a .929 sv% and only trailing Miller with a neat and tidy 2.62 GAA. If the offence picks its game up his W-L record should start to reflect the great early season numbers he has posted so far.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 8, 2012 10:07:28 GMT -5
Colts Continue to RollWith the latest win on Wednesday Barrie's team has fought back to .500 after a horrendous 1-4 start and have now picked up points in their last 5 games. The Colts have been playing some spirited hockey as of late and have picked up a few wins through solid team defence, good goaltending and timely scoring. Although they have been outshot in 5 straight including by 12 in their latest effort they are still picking up points. In a bit of an anomoly the Colts also have averaged a nice round number of exactly 3 goals for and against per game and are the only team to currently have the same amount of goals for and against at 30. While the goals against number sits at a very respectable 7th overall there is some work to do to generate more offence and improve on the 5th worst total in the NLHS. Barrie concludes the home and home series with the pistols on Friday returning back to the Barrie Molson Center looking to go above .500 for the first time in the young season.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2012 12:03:26 GMT -5
Colts Making MovesBarrie continues to be one of the more active players in the trade market completing their 4th trade in the franchise's history and 2nd since the beginning of the season. Colts GM Matt Bruyns has been trying to parlay the teams defensive depth into offence since the conclusion of the expansion draft and with this move the hope around the team is he accomplished this goal. Heading to Barrie are goaltender Corey Crawford and winger Viktor Stalberg and leaving are defenceman Mike Weaver and goaltender Kevin Poulin. After the team presser to introduce the new Colts we caught up with the GM for his thoughts on the deal. "We are parting ways with two quality players, but we felt the return couldn't be passed up and should help our team be more competitive in the present. We wish Poulin the best in Kansas and believe he has the potential to be a competent #1 and improve in the future, but adding a goalie like Crawford gives us an immediate upgrade and a safer option in case Poulin didn't pan out as projected. This gives the team 3 options for the net in the future with Steve Mason down on the farm and it will be an interesting battle for the crease in future years. We are also thrilled to add a player with the offence that Viktor possesses. It has been no secret that the team hasn't been lighting it up offensively and Stalberg becomes the teams 3rd most dangerous scorer behind Pacioretty and Hemsky. Weaver has been a soldier for us on the back end, but with 9 defenceman under contract worthy of NLHS ice time Weaver was deemed expendable."
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Post by KC Scouts on Apr 30, 2013 10:11:48 GMT -5
Happy Birthday, Matt!
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