On Penalties...

Does anyone think that Hornby will try to limit his penalty time this year?

For the past few years he's obviously been the enforcer and neccesarily so. However, this year he's more important to the offense than ever before, with the loss of Bâby. et al. Seems like we need him to be on the ice more and in the penalty box less.

Thoughts?

Will Hornby limit his penalties if left to his own devices? Wouldn't count on it. If Schafer tells Hornby to limit his penalties, then Hornby better do just that or Schafer will see to it. Example: the @Vermont game two years ago. Hornby took a couple of penalties in the first and could probably have been called for several more. He spent at least the first 10 minutes of the second period riding the pine.

But I guess that's my question: is Hornby, a veteran leader of this team, now mature enough to be left to his own devices? Will he step up and make good decisions on his own, without Coach having to ride him every step of the way?

Actually, Hornby was incredibly disciplined when it counted. At some point after mid-season, a lot of us were expecting him to shatter the 100 PIM barrier and finish around 130. He finished with 96, according to the eLynah DB. In the playoffs (the entire ECACs and entire NCAAs) he had as many GWGs as he did minor penalties! He only took 2 minors in 7 playoff games. Even down the regular season stretch, the only real "problem" he had was the Game DQ he got vs. UVM. After that, he had 6 PIM and 2G/5A in 13 games.

Edit: thinking about this more, not only are his offensive skills coming through (his backhand shot is a favorite of a group of friends of mine and vs. U18 he showed off a couple nifty wristers), but another advantage to the "reputation" Hornby no doubt has is his ability to draw opponents into penalties. If I remember correctly, he baited a couple opponents into taking dumb penalties in the playoffs, and he drew one already for the U18 team.



Post Edited (10-28-03 13:35)

Was anybody else sad that Hornby wasn't made captain this year? If you ask me...he's the heart and soul of the team.

Then again, I guess I can't really see Hornby calmly conversing with the zebras....