Ah, Stockton . . .We had a feeling this was going to be the first round match up. But now - now, we finally get to sound off on the two teams and their meetings.
It's no secret that Utah's had trouble with the Thunder this season. The Grizzlies have only captured 4 wins from 11 games played against Stockton. If you equate that into a playoff series (albeit, a rather long one), things don't look good for Utah heading into the Quarterfinals.
However, we're hopeful, but mostly we hope that Utah can remember what made them such a force in the beginning of the season. We know it seems like a while ago, but we're sure fans can remember the rush of holding that number one spot in the Western Conference for weeks on end. Yet in the first series with Stockton on home ice, the Grizzlies lost their heads and began to lose their grip on that coveted top spot. So what happened?
Utah's game had been based around the ideal of professionalism. We heard this a lot during the first of the season - about how professional the boys were and how focused on winning the game. Does anyone else remember the December 29th game against the Condors in which the Grizzlies wouldn't square off with former teammates Gergan and Snetsinger? We do. During the era of professionalism (so to speak), it was hard to pull the Grizzlies into a head match.
But during the Stockton series, Utah stopped focusing on the professionalism of their game strategy and moved on to "team solidarity," which apparently consisted of beating the crap out of the opposition rather than playing hockey. We love a good fight as much as the next hockey fan, but not when it keeps the team from playing hockey. From playing their own game.
Stockton's strategy in this series - and throughout most of the season - reminded us of Reggie Dunlop's strategy in Slapshot: "We win because I make them crazy!" And to the Thunder's credit, they suceeded. Colley played Thomas's game by starting with a line of Kilburg, Schulz, Tuzzolino, Emmerson, and Deeth with the sole purpose of kicking the crap out of the Thunder's starting line. That's Stockton's game right there. Playing that kind of a game will make you crazy:
This totally made our rinkside seats worth it.
Play it smart, focus on hockey, play your own game. We can't imagine Colley is saying anything different. And while emotion will definitely play a part in this series, we're hoping Utah will be able to keep it professional and stay away from any circus sideshow antics.
Let's get 3, boys.
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