HOUND FAN VERY UNIMPRESSED

The following letter was sent to SooToday.com by Greyhound fan Marlene Gibson, who was in Kitchener for Saturday night's playoff game.

I was at the game last night in Kitchener. I have not seen the Soo team play 'live' this past year. I was invited to attend the game by a friend who knew someone's son who was on the team.

I'm aware of the tough patch the team has been through. The recent events were regrettable...the price has been paid...but, it shouldn't be lost on anyone that the reason the coach and owner were running around town at midnight talking to players (and it was a silly thing to do) were doing so because the team had been beaten badly that night. Getting beat by a superior team is one thing...getting beat by a team your team should be competing with is another matter. When a coach or owner sees a lack of effort when your team is in a playoff hunt, I think you can easily develop some sympathy for a build up of anger.

Last night, the Soo 'team' was without their team captain. The questions I had in my mind, not having seen this team play before, was, "Who will show up to play?" Who will step up to the plate and provide leadership". The type of scenario facing the Soo Team was a test of character for the players. I am sure this was on the lips of the new coach as he addressed his team in the hours leading up to the game. But, talk is cheap at this time of the year, it's really action that counts.

I watched #11 (Jeff Doyle) take his first shift of the night. He looked overweight and out of breath on a short shift. As the night progressed, I watched him closely. He proved not only to be out of shape but he's a selfish player who did not make key passes when other players were in a position to score. He occasionally tried to give some semblance of effort but it is hard for me to imagine this is a top-flight player who has given his team much of an effort during the course of an entire year.

I then focused on #17 (Peter ?). What a floater! He was not engaged in the game at any time. He gave a better effort in the 3rd period but the score was 4-0. Is this what the coaches were putting up with all year long? My take was that he should have been benched after his first shift.

Mike Amodeo showed up to play. His linemates did as well. Too bad they couldn't have taken every shift.

The defense gave a reasonable effort but it's tough to do your job right when the wingers are not prepared to fight the puck out of their zone. And, why does the Soo always try to come out of their own end on the left wing side? There is another side to the rink.

Having said all this, Kitchener was no prize. Their goalie made some remarkable saves at key points in the game. The Soo goalie played well but the great saves he made when the score was 3-0 could have been used in period 1. Bottom line...Kitchener can be beat and my view is that if they win this series they won't go deep in the playoffs. At least not from what I saw last night. I don't write emails like this but I was so disappointed in seeing the Soo Team fail to show up that I just had to send along this note on the off chance one of their players reads it.

The Soo team has no leadership from their so-called top players. They have missed the opportunity to lead. What's required is total team effort on each shift of the game. #17 and #11 should stay home. They don't know the first thing about team play or what it takes to be a winner.

I don't condone what the team owner and coach were doing on a Friday night several weeks ago but I sure can understand why they were angry when I reflect on the effort put forward last night.