hockey123
11-11-2009, 08:17 AM
Insam in some kinda funk
Posted By BILL POTRECZ , STANDARD STAFF
Posted 3 hours ago
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When it rains it pours, and right now Marco Insam is caught in a torrential downpour.
The 20-year-old winger is in the midst of a prolonged scoring slump with just one goal and one assist in his last 15 games. Overall, he has three goals and seven points in 20 games and has the worst plus-minus rating on the team at minus 11.
That's not the kind of production the Niagara IceDogs were counting on from Insam, who potted 23 goals in his rookie campaign last season.
"We need our older guys, our OA (overage) players, to be impact guys," IceDogs coach Mike McCourt said Tuesday afternoon before putting the team through their paces at Jack Gatecliff Arena. "For Marco to have three goals at this time, that's not good enough. We need more.
"You have to have a thick skin to play this game and when you get challenged, you have to respond."
McCourt, who pointed out overage defenceman Reggie Traccitto also needs to play better, has had his share of chats with Insam in an effort to get the big winger back on track.
"There's been constant communication with him," McCourt said.
McCourt was encouraged with Insam's work ethic in practice recently and is hoping it pays off come game time.
"Last week was probably his best week of practice and I think if he continues to do that, if you put in the work and take the right steps, you'll get rewarded," McCourt said. "It doesn't happen overnight. If he continues to do the right things, and not take shortcuts, he'll get back on track."
Insam, a native of Selva Gardenia, Italy, is well aware his numbers aren't where they need to be.
"I just have to keep playing hard every single game and do the little things right," Insam said. "I've got to do anything to help the team win.
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"I've got to go hard every shift and every game and, hopefully, things will turn around."
When he's playing well, Insam has a knack for finding a seam and going to
the net hard looking for a rebound.
"Anytime I have
the puck I try and shoot and
hit the net," he said. "The main thing is to go to
the net and try and get a lucky bounce off a skate or stick. I'm trying to find those lucky bounces now."
Often, a player will emerge from a slump thanks to a fluke goal when a shot goes in off his rear end or helmet.
"I just need to get an ugly goal first and go from there," Insam said.
Insam began the season on a strong note, with two goals and five points in his first five games before hitting his dry spell.
"It (slump) is the first time it's happened to me," he said. "At first, it was really hard and I was down on myself. Now, I know I just have to keep working hard and keep going.
"You can't give up now. You just have to stay positive."
Insam's slump has been exasperated by the IceDogs' poor play of late. Niagara has dropped five of its last six games to fall to 6-11-2-1. The Dogs are tied for last place in the league in points with Ottawa.
"It's been a bit of a double-whammy," McCourt said of Insam's struggles coinciding with the team's lack of recent success. "If you look back at all the one-goal games, if Marco even had five goals over the course of those 13 games, maybe we end up with different results."
Things don't get any easier this week for the IceDogs, who play host to the Saginaw Spirit Thursday at 7:30 p. m The Spirit are off to a strong start with a 13-4-2 record and recently made a big deal with the Barrie Colts which landed them defenceman Ryan O'Connor and forward Michael Sgarbossa in exchange for defencemen T. J. Brodie and Nick Crawford. (see story page C5)
Niagara then travels to Belleville Saturday and Ottawa Sunday.
The IceDogs will likely be without Alex Friesen for all three of their games this week. Friesen, who has 12 goals and 24 points in 20 games, missed Saturday's game versus Barrie with a shoulder injury. Defenceman Jay Gilbert (upper body) could be ready to play Saturday.
Posted By BILL POTRECZ , STANDARD STAFF
Posted 3 hours ago
<TABLE><TBODY><TR><TD style="WIDTH: 521px"></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
When it rains it pours, and right now Marco Insam is caught in a torrential downpour.
The 20-year-old winger is in the midst of a prolonged scoring slump with just one goal and one assist in his last 15 games. Overall, he has three goals and seven points in 20 games and has the worst plus-minus rating on the team at minus 11.
That's not the kind of production the Niagara IceDogs were counting on from Insam, who potted 23 goals in his rookie campaign last season.
"We need our older guys, our OA (overage) players, to be impact guys," IceDogs coach Mike McCourt said Tuesday afternoon before putting the team through their paces at Jack Gatecliff Arena. "For Marco to have three goals at this time, that's not good enough. We need more.
"You have to have a thick skin to play this game and when you get challenged, you have to respond."
McCourt, who pointed out overage defenceman Reggie Traccitto also needs to play better, has had his share of chats with Insam in an effort to get the big winger back on track.
"There's been constant communication with him," McCourt said.
McCourt was encouraged with Insam's work ethic in practice recently and is hoping it pays off come game time.
"Last week was probably his best week of practice and I think if he continues to do that, if you put in the work and take the right steps, you'll get rewarded," McCourt said. "It doesn't happen overnight. If he continues to do the right things, and not take shortcuts, he'll get back on track."
Insam, a native of Selva Gardenia, Italy, is well aware his numbers aren't where they need to be.
"I just have to keep playing hard every single game and do the little things right," Insam said. "I've got to do anything to help the team win.
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"I've got to go hard every shift and every game and, hopefully, things will turn around."
When he's playing well, Insam has a knack for finding a seam and going to
the net hard looking for a rebound.
"Anytime I have
the puck I try and shoot and
hit the net," he said. "The main thing is to go to
the net and try and get a lucky bounce off a skate or stick. I'm trying to find those lucky bounces now."
Often, a player will emerge from a slump thanks to a fluke goal when a shot goes in off his rear end or helmet.
"I just need to get an ugly goal first and go from there," Insam said.
Insam began the season on a strong note, with two goals and five points in his first five games before hitting his dry spell.
"It (slump) is the first time it's happened to me," he said. "At first, it was really hard and I was down on myself. Now, I know I just have to keep working hard and keep going.
"You can't give up now. You just have to stay positive."
Insam's slump has been exasperated by the IceDogs' poor play of late. Niagara has dropped five of its last six games to fall to 6-11-2-1. The Dogs are tied for last place in the league in points with Ottawa.
"It's been a bit of a double-whammy," McCourt said of Insam's struggles coinciding with the team's lack of recent success. "If you look back at all the one-goal games, if Marco even had five goals over the course of those 13 games, maybe we end up with different results."
Things don't get any easier this week for the IceDogs, who play host to the Saginaw Spirit Thursday at 7:30 p. m The Spirit are off to a strong start with a 13-4-2 record and recently made a big deal with the Barrie Colts which landed them defenceman Ryan O'Connor and forward Michael Sgarbossa in exchange for defencemen T. J. Brodie and Nick Crawford. (see story page C5)
Niagara then travels to Belleville Saturday and Ottawa Sunday.
The IceDogs will likely be without Alex Friesen for all three of their games this week. Friesen, who has 12 goals and 24 points in 20 games, missed Saturday's game versus Barrie with a shoulder injury. Defenceman Jay Gilbert (upper body) could be ready to play Saturday.