Feb 07, 2015 | Todd McIver | 274 views
Day 2 in London
Riding a high after a dominating win the day before, Team Blue seemed amped up to take on the Spitfires from Erindale. As the game began, Blue came out of the gates flat.
A slow moving attack by Blue gave the Spitfires ample time to mount offence and it quickly lead to a goal only minutes into the game. Blue answered back quickly with the equalizer, as being down a goal early sparked some jump in the players! The period would end in a 1-1 tie. When the second period began, it was more of the same. Blue seemed to be skating uphill through quicksand! Slow feet and relatively no forecheck again allowed Erindale to dominate most of the play. If not for a miscue by an Erindale defender at our blue line which lead to an odd man rush and a goal, the period would have ended 1-1 but instead was a 2-1 lead for Team Blue.
Being outshot in the first 2 periods was a bitter pill to swallow especially since we should be the faster, more skilled team. Blue looked to maintain and build on their lead in the third frame. This did not happen however. The spitfires came out with fire and again took it to the out of sorts Blue team. They would score quickly in the third period to tie the game when the Blue defenders skated lazily into their own end and got beat to the puck. They would add another marker only minutes later when all 3 forwards were caught cheating up at the redline for a clearing attempt that didn't happen leaving a 5 on 2 in our zone. It looked like Blue was in trouble! With only a minute and a half left in the game, Erindale took a penalty! With our goalie pulled and a rare bright spot for Blue in this game, Some good passing and cycling the puck deep in the Erindale zone lead the goal that would tie the game. This is the way it would end and Team Blue knew they got away with a point in a game they didn't deserve to win. Looking ahead, they would have to play better against their league rivals from London!