Con's Crease - S11 Week 2

THIS SEASON ON DRAGONBALL Z!


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Intro Things
   1. Preface (Rambling Thoughts)
2. Goalie Thoughts (for goalies new and old/those considering a change)
   1. Goalie Life in LG
   2. But Really Tho…
   3. A Goalie’s Role
   4. Pick Your Poison
3. S11 Goalies (Thru Week 2)
   1. Who To Know
   2. Keep Your Eye On
   3. Top 3 Tandems
   4. Bottom 3 Tandems

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


1.1 Preface


So. We’re back. Season 11 of the LGHL PSN.


I didn’t write/post/present much during the off-season/pre-season and I didn’t do anything in Week 1. Honestly, I knew I still wanted to do SOMETHING on the forums, I just wasn’t sure what. This will be my first take on sharing my thoughts for the season, and I figure, “I call my article ‘Con’s Crease’, why not focus on the often neglected ‘tendies of LG?”


I’m open to tweaking the format, covering other topics, and DEFINITELY continuing the discussion in the comments as an open forum for conversation and criticism. Maybe I’ll even include my favorite comments/tangents in the following article or something. Who knows. Guess we’ll find out.


I guarantee you I’m going to still ramble at the start of every article, reference DBZ and other such classic corny filler/voiceover narration remarks, or even vent about how my week/season went. So, feel free to skip around at your leisure. I’ll include outlined sections for ease of skimming in every post.


There’s a pretty healthy portion of this article devoted to the “theory” of playing goalie in NHL 19 and LG that I genuinely hope a lot of people read. My season’s going pretty shit so far despite what I feel is pretty damn solid play from myself (no offense to anyone on the Reign or management) so I’m starting to feel like, “Well, maybe I can at least help someone else play better? Or grow the ‘meta’ of NHL user goalies. Worth a shot.” Let me know what you think in the comments.


Anyway...


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


2.1 Goalie Life in LG


Sucks.


2.2 But Really Tho...


Those that know me know I like to stay busy while I play. I’m curious if other goalies do the same, and if so, if it’s the same things as me.


A typical LG game for me consists of my console hooked up to my TV running Chel, headset on only one ear so I can hear party chat but also everything else around me, cellphone on my knee or on my desk right next to me, laptop either blasting music or streaming Netflix on the main screen and the LG forum (usually the current game) pulled up on the 2nd screen. That’s actually my setup for writing these articles, too. Usually have Google Docs on my laptop screen, the LG forums (with like 4 different tabs) on the other screen, while sitting in net late at night.


Personally, I find the distractions helpful for staying focused without getting bored, especially if we’re grinding club. I find that it helps me stay level during games and not let shitty play by my team get to me too much, plus it keeps me fresh since a huge part of being a goalie is playing ALL THE TIME since there’s only 2 of you on roster for everyone else (and usually one of you is more in demand than the other). It’s my motto that a goalie can’t win you a game in LG but he can damn sure lose you one, so staying focused but loose when your team isn’t helping MATTERS.


What’s your routine? Am I just a crazy A.D.D. madman in pads? Is there a shortage of goalies worth inviting? Are there any goalies you think genuinely win you games (seeing as we can’t score, IMO at best we keep you in the game by stealing it, but the skaters still have to win it).


2.3 A Goalie’s Role


There’s 2 of you on roster, and every team practice needs one of you. Prepare to be very available, or to be lowkey disliked by the entire locker room. If you need to know if you’re “good” on an individual basis, you want to keep your sv% over 85.0 and your GAA under 2.00 (in my personal opinion anyway). Being close to those is certainly not bad by any means though, but those are usually what I’m shooting for, and they’re definitely the average of what happens over the season when maintaining them. You’re gonna have games with 80% saves or less, it happens, just bounce back with an 88-91%, mix in some shutouts, and you’ll be golden.


It’s always blown my mind that it’s generally frowned upon in LG for a Goalie to be a free-contract management, as they have SO MUCH to do with the success or failure of the team and can see so much more of what’s going on in-game than most. They’re the only player that can play literally up to TWO-THIRDS of your team’s entire games for the season, and there’s nowhere near enough good ones in the league.


Don’t believe me? Just spend an hour watching the shoutboxes. Guaranteed, at least every 10 minutes there’s someone else looking for a goalie, and in every party you’re in if a position player has to sub into net it’s always prefaced wtih “get ready to lose if i have to do anything”.


But, that’s all the time I want to spend on management talk, because it’s AIDs, and needs some serious reforms put into place, but I’ll just keep captaining that cause on my own time.


So, if you’re thinking about playing Goalie, or maybe you’re questioning continuing playing Goalie, just remember, it was only your fault if your defense was in position/at even strength. Just hold short-side, and practice manual butterfly and hug-post mechanics. And preferably beat your head against the wall a bunch to damage your memory and forget when you messed up.


2.4 Pick Your Poison


So, I’m curious what builds everyone is using at this point. We’re pretty late into NHL 19’s life-cycle, and so gameplay/what works/doesn’t work is pretty set. Goalie builds are significantly less varied than skaters, but then again, so is the gameplay and controls… every year… no matter what flashy new headline EA runs about who they “mo-cap’d” this year... If they didn’t do so in a live-puck scenario, it doesn’t matter, it’s just fancy animations cut-and-pasted together with no blending, so you have to wait for one canned animation to end before you can do another… it sucks. And it’s been that way for years. Maybe some day EA will care about it’s user-goalie fanbase… End rant.


I’m a big believer in the traits not being worth it on goalies. Pick your playstyle, set your specialty (most of which are completely pointless in EASHL if they’d ever even trigger and exist strictly to remind you of what kind of goalie you’d like to be if this were real hockey) and adjust your physical build. Done.


I rock a 6’4 Hybrid with Brickwall for 3’s and a 6’4 Butterfly with Cross-Crease for 6’s. I like 6’4 because I find it covers the low stuff a LOT more consistently than being 6’5 if you’re decent with your manual butterfly without giving much more on the high shots. I wish the five-hole and athletic stats mattered more, and that there were more dynamic build-types and gameplay differences to the different builds… but here we are.


I also find the stance really just breaks down into 1 of 3 categories regardless of cosmetic changes, each with the same rotation benefit/drawback:

1. Low/Wide Stances - Good against cross-crease/wrap arounds and side-to-side oriented moves on penalty shots/breakaways. Horrendous 5-hole coverage, poor coverage for top shelf/corners.
2. Tall/Narrow Stances - Good against high shots, uses posts well. Awful against penalty shots/breakaways, inconsistent against anything low/around the feet.
3. Medium Stances - Average against all situations, much more reliant on user-controls to excel against any specific situation

I tend to err on the side of Medium Stances myself, just rely on my positioning and use of manual butterfly/spider/Right-Stick slides to make up the difference.


What do you think? Maybe you disagree? I’d love to hear it. Comment.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


3.1 Who To Know


These selections are pretty biased, just getting that out of the way now. It’s based on stats, but also on gut. Some goalies, regardless of the numbers, are guys you know you don’t want to go up against, and there are some guys that you also know just get carried hardcore with stud rosters in front of them (not that they’re innately bad goalies because of it, it’s just a lot harder to decide between the chicken or the egg).


In no particular order:


@Fleury-_l29l (Stockton Heat) - formerly @WestSideHockey, guy’s been around a long time and has put up pretty decent numbers throughout his career (including an insane S10 with Calgary in the NHL going 23-2-2 with an 87.4 sv% and 1.19 GAA in the regular season).


@moosapotamus33 (San Diego Gulls) - he’s played (and won) a ton of games in the league and is now back after a 2 season ban from S9, looking to remind anyone who’s forgotten who he is.


@gatesse (Bakersfield Condors) - coming off a crazy dominant run with the Baby Pens in S10 and picking up right where he left off with the Condors this season.


@DaBirdMan27 (Rochester Americans) - the reigning Calder Cup champions starting goalie returns for another season, but it is off to a rough start. Gotta imagine it has to do with retooling so much of the roster. They’ll figure it out, as will he.


@ll_Hillyer77_ll (San Antonio Rampage) - you should know who he is, but know that I think he’s entirely overrated. Get one early and you’re golden. Fully expecting to get some heat for my comments here.


@Maximuss001 (Iowa Wild) - expect the roster to hold him back, but he’s gonna make ya work for those wins as best he can.


3.2 Keep Your Eye On


Combo of newer guys in the AHL and guys that you shouldn’t forget about even if they’re not exactly dominant. Again, biased. Also, I don’t play XBox, and am too lazy to check if any of these guys are XBox players crossing over.


Again, in no particular order:


@jacksdawgs (Hershey Bears) - coming up after an extensive CHL career, and off to a good start so far for the white hot Hershey Bears (not a phrase we’ve gotten to say a lot for the life of NHL 19).


@Iachoku (Syracuse Crunch) - been around on-and-off for a while, nothing overly notable before now apart from a decent record with terrible stats in S8 for Bridgeport. On an absolute tear to start the season though.


@CrawlingBacon (Laval Rocket) - finally coming up after several very good seasons in the CHL, and taking the transition in stride so far with very impressive numbers.


@Mikehockey8771 (Chicago Wolves) - guy has weathered a few bad teams in the past to put up decent numbers and win a lot of games.


@FatDinosaurz (Providence Bruins) - has played at every level of LG to varying degrees of success, but definitely off to a hot start this season. Don’t sleep on him.


@ghost_726 (Laval Rocket) - bouncing back from a ROUGH S10 showing, has a history of being either very good or very bad, probably has a lot to do with the teams.


@Malliaman__ (Texas Stars) - look for him to do everything he can to show what he’s got this season, always thought his skill as a goalie was overlooked for his lack of skill at building a roster (and then having to play behind them).


@Soupy622 (Ontario Reign) - looking to re-establish what he can do after 2 very different seasons in the NHL. Has a history of winning games in the AHL. Watch out. (Assuming our team figures out how to press ‘up’ on the right stick).


@Billowyy (Grand Rapids Griffins) - crazy numbers in the CHL last season, and keeping them going in his first season in the AHL so far.


3.3 Top 3 Tandems


Trying to balance whether they’re even facing any action with not penalizing them for playing with a good or bad team.

1. Laval Rocket - @CrawlingBacon and @ghost_726
2. Ontario Reign - @MDConMan and @Soupy622
3. Hershey Bears - @jacksdawgs and @Weathergeakal

Yes, I selected myself and our other goalie as the #2 pair in the entire league. No, I’m not just being a self-indulgent ass, I genuinely believe it, whether you agree or not. We’re playing out of our minds just to keep our team in it while they figure out how to score. I stand by it. Just ask anyone who’s played us so far.


3.4 Bottom 3 Tandems


This really isn’t meant as an indictment of these goalies abilities as players, but as a tandem they just aren’t keeping the puck out of the net and their defense needs to do more to help.

1. Binghamton Devils - @Fred-Proulx- and @ijdubs1754
2. Cleveland Monsters - @jayyyyb23 and @KQ31
3. Toronto Marlies - @JustCallMeKeppy and @koberipple

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Let me know what you think, anything you wanna see/hear about in future posts, and I honestly want to have conversations in the comments about the questions I asked. Hit it up, and thanks so much for reading.

 

A top team wouldn’t be a top team without top goaltending. Our goalies certainly doing their part, and some!

 

where is AllinFitness on these lists?

 

Appreciate lavals goalie love, they've been killing it, need more post conman media and rants >>>>>

 

Thanks for the nice compliment for me

 

Mallia’s good unless you shoot from center ice or farther. In that case it usually goes in.

 

snubbed

 

San Jose snubbed

 

i knew that loss this week was going to ruin my chances of any media coverage

EDIT: there is Dragon in the title so i guess i will count that as media coverage

 

Love you too Sherm ♥️

 

Funny you three all commented, you were all on my list as maybe’s, so play hard and you’ll be on there next week!! You’re all already on my radar!!

 

its okay. we've all been shot at

 

I spit out my coffee. well played.

 

I need ti start paying attention, I don't recognize most of those goalies.

 

Ouch lol

 

Absolutely lmfao

 

I feel like EA has said that goalie stance does not affect the chance of making a save?

 

Just like there’s no momentum, and the hockey bags were definitely never loot boxes?? Hahaha

 

Can’t confirm mallia is shit no matter what

 

Love you too you jerk ♥️