February 25, 2007
We took some chances in this game which didn’t quite work out. The girls have come a long way since the beginning of the season and are skating well. Trading our second most prolific scorer (Will) for our best goalie (Jack) put us in a hole out of which we never quite climbed (please notice solid, grammar school edumacation). There was a bit of desperation hockey played – singular efforts instead of team play – which was unfortunate to see (even worse if you had to endure watching the tape to write this). The third strike was a general level of loose play and non-aggressive skating. Only one or two of our kids skated even close to their potential.
However this was a good lesson for those who choose to learn from it. Hockey is about passing, covering, playing both ends of the ice and trusting your teammates. Hopefully, the kids will take this lesson to heart and play the last few games as they have all season.
The Jr. Shark Girls scored one minute into the game with hardly any opposition from the Cougars. Vanny tied the score with 7 minutes left in the first period with a shot which deflected off the defender. Two minutes later Tristan scored the go-ahead goal but after that the Cougars stopped passing and were skating lethargically. The next goal came from the Girls with 5:45 minutes remaining in the second period to tie the score. Less than a minute later the Girls went end to end, outskating the boys and netting their third.
That lead was short-lived as John took the puck from our defensive end, skated down the left side, reared back and fired a nice wrist shot from the face-off dot. But a minute later the Girls went ahead again when they banged home a goal with three skaters near the crease against one Cougar defender.
The Cougars tied the game again in the third as Vanny stripped the puck at the mid-boards, skating towards the net and made a nice pass over to Jack for the score. Finally some teamwork! And soon Kurt skated the length of the ice, using his speed to outrace the defenders and fired in the goal to give the Cougars a one goal advantage.
This lead lasted for less than a minute. The Cougars were bunched up on one side of the ice and left their feet in trying to defend, leading to another easy goal. The Girls got the game winner with 3:36 left in the game on a nice centering pass that left most of the team watching.
Will did his best in goal but was often the first and last line of defense. Justin and Sebastian had a few nice runs but that left our defense exposed and the girls took advantage. Spencer, Paul, Josh, and Ryan tried to fill the gaps with good work in the neutral zone – without their efforts the game could have been a runaway.
Maybe the boys have gotten jaded over the course of the year. There just wasn’t a whole lot of effort in this game. It should have been a good, see-saw game with plenty to keep the boys skating hard. They seemed deflated rather than energized by the close game. This game ought to serve as a wake up to play their hardest rather than focusing on the score of the games. Let’s see what happens in Fresno next week.