A new low point in Augusta Lynx hockey hit James Brown Arena over the weekend when the team dropped three home games by a combined score of 16-2.
Saturday night's 12-0 loss to the Florida Everblades highlighted the forgettable weekend, and it might have marked the end for a few Lynx skaters.
Lynx head coach John Marks , who cut four players two weeks ago, said he may be forced to make another round of cuts if things don't improve.
"It's almost like they're forcing me to," he said. "I'm not a coach who likes to make a lot of changes, because I believe in continuity. To make a better team you've got to have that team continuity, and you lose that when you makes cuts, but they're forcing me to."
"They seem to have an inability to grasp what they're being told," he added.
Lynx defenseman Kevin Quick , a prospect in the Tampa Bay Lightning system, said Marks has every right to be angry.
"If he's mad, he should be," Quick said. "We're putting him in a tough position. We've got to turn this around."
The Lynx tried to recover from their double-digit loss by outshooting the Dayton Bombers 17-4 and took a 1-0 lead after one period Sunday. Quick scored the goal with assists credited to Tim Branham and Chris Lawrence .
"The first period was one of our best periods all year," Lynx forward Matt Auffrey said. "We were playing good, and it felt like we saw that light at the end of the tunnel, but it fell apart after that."
The Lynx gave up two goals in the second period and lost 2-1.
STREAKING : The three losses over the weekend extended the Lynx's losing streak to six games. The skid is the team's longest since March 11 when the 2007-08 team lost its seventh consecutive game in a 5-3 loss to the Gwinnett Gladiators.
INJURY UPDATES : Brent Henley took the ice for the first time Sunday. The 6-foot-7, 250-pound defenseman was not at 100 percent but managed to skate regular shifts.
Another injured Lynx, Jason Bloomingburg , is skating with the team but remained inactive over the weekend.
HOW BAD IS IT? : The Lynx are tied with the Trenton Devils for last in the ECHL with 33 goals in 15 games played. Only Trenton, with seven points, and Reading (11) trail Augusta (12) in the league standings.
The Lynx are at the bottom of the ECHL South Division standings, two points behind fifth-place Mississippi and nine behind first-place Florida and South Carolina.
NO REST FOR THE WEARY : The Lynx face two division opponents this week. They'll travel to Gwinnett for a Thanksgiving night game against the third-place Gladiators before returning home to square off against the fourth-place Charlotte Checkers on Saturday.
"Our division is so tough," Marks said. "If you're in last place or first place, you're not going to get a break."
ATTENDANCE: An announced crowd of 3,005 watched the Lynx lose Saturday night. Only 1,618 came out for the Sunday afternoon contest. James Brown Arena is averaging 2,741 fans per game in six home games, slightly off from last year's average of 2,835. The Stockton Thunder lead the ECHL in attendance with an average of 8,216 fans per game, and the Johnstown Chiefs are last with 1,894 per game.
Reach Billy Byler at (706) 823-3216 or billy.byler@augustachronicle.com.
Comments
Marks needs to keep his comments in the locker room. This fan is getting sick of hearing his public whining. It's no wonder the Ice Pilots lost all their support, and ultimately their team, if this same kind of crap was in the Pensacola media last year. Thanks for your continuing coverage, Billy. If he is going to say it, we'd like to know about it. "The beatings will continue until morale improves!"
skid and marks, sounds perfect to me. Because John Marks has left SkidMarks on the boxer shorts that are the Augusta Lynx. They were a dirty pair of underwear before he got there, he is just making them worse!!
PTHS & Chimpo your remarks are idiotic. What we have right now in thr Lynx line up are players who are unwilling to perform up to their potential and have no pride in themselves. They are paid Professional athletes, albeit not NHL salary wise, they are lucky to be in a position to get paid for playing a sport. If they do not wish to be "cut" then they need to preform up to their potential for the whole 60 minutes of the game.. not just 10 or 12 minutes a game. The defense right now is terrible and killing the Goalies with no protection. The Offense is to lazy (or scared) to charge the net and score some goals. This is not Coach Marks fault He is trying to do the best that can be done with what llittle he has to work with. The Players need to stop and take a look at themelves and take pride in who they are and play up to theri potential.
If the team is not playing up to its potential it is the coaches JOB to fix it and get the most out of the players. The players have every incentive to preform, as they are trying to make it to the NHL. I have been to every game, and our current situation is not from a lack of effort by the players. Sometimes you just need the right coach to get players to play up to their potential, and marks obviously can't do it. I agree with chimpo, he is just making things worse. Give him DAS BOOT
ehc - I agree the players probably need some stern talking to. I think the place for that is the locker room or the bench (but we can hear it there). That's the point, stop the public blaming - it's not productive.
This team does not have potential! They suck. This is quite possibly the worst Lynx team assembled, and there have been some pretty bad ones. Not only are they not playing hard they can't even follow the coach's system. Marks has every right to call them out as a team to try and motivate their sorry asses. It is done at every level of professional sports and those that can't take it should go back home and play in the beer league. Marks was thrown in late in the game. The GM bears reponsibility for not locking up players and bringing in some hired guns. This team as it now stands will win some games if they learn how to play the game. They will never be a threat to the above average teams because they lack talent. That is the GM's fault.
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