Feb 16, 2015 | Todd McIver | 828 views
Time for Payback!!
On Sunday evening Team Blue looked to avenge their loss from the previous day. All expectations were that they would come out hungry and angry from their last game. This was the case when Blue took the ice! It was evident they were all fired up and ready to go!
The first period would be a back and forth battle but again, a smart forechecking scheme created many turnovers by the team from London. Blue held the majority of the play in the first frame and were rewarded with some good scoring chances in the Green end. Although the period would end with a 0-0 tie, Team Blue knew they had the advantage and were ready to get the second period going. A few adjustments by the bench between periods would hopefully get us on the board!
The puck dropped to begin the second frame and Blue continued with their strong pressure on the Green team from London. Everyone seemed to be skating fast and checking hard. This relentless attack lead to a few penalties by Green. With the man advantage, Blue went to work. Moving the puck and their feet created chance after chance for Blue. Finally, on a very good low puck cycle and toughness in front of the net, a Blue forward banged in a rebound! A 1-0 lead! The crowd went nuts!! This would be Team Blue's first lead in a playoff game in their inaugural year! In a stroke of bad luck only minutes later, Green would draw even as a puck centring attempt from the corner was redirected by a Blue defenders stick only inches fro the net and caught the Blue tender by surprise. 1-1. Not to be outdone, Blue battled even harder and again would draw a Green penalty when the team from London could not keep up with the speed from Blue. During the power play Blue moved the puck smartly while waiting for a mistake by Green. On some good heads up passing from the half wall to the point, and between the d-men, a point shot found its mark and Blue once again had the lead! The period would end with Blue up a goal!
It was evident to all those watching the game that Blue was the better team. Even more than the day before, Blue dominated the pace of play and puck possession time. Green however was not going away. They pushed back and created some scoring chances of their own. For a small period of time in the middle of the third, Blue began to get away from its game plan and started to chase. A couple shifts saw 2 or 3 forwards get caught deep in the Green end (sound familiar!?) and this created a few odd man rushes into the Blue end. On 1 of these shifts, Green would draw even when a Blue forward didn't recognize both his line mates were already deep in the Green zone and joined the deep attack causing a 4 on 2 going the other way. The play would culminate in Green drawing even when the puck would sneak in on the Blue tender's far side. 2-2. With only seconds left in the third period, Blue got into some penalty trouble of their own! As the buzzer sounded and overtime was looming, Blue would take 2 penalties and be behind the 8 ball when the extra frame began.
Working a very effective triangle, the Blue penalty killers were able to keep Green at bay until the first penalty expired. With play still in the Blue end, the next wave of penalty killers did an excellent job staying in the passing and shooting lanes and cleared the puck from the zone to kill the second penalty! With momentum now clearly in their pockets, Blue went to work. Taking the puck deep into the Green end driving to the front of the net, the Blue attackers had London scrambled! A shot on net, a rebound, a pass, another shot and rebound, and finally, half way through the extra period, Blue found the back of the net!! It was over and would go down in the books as a win for The Team Blue!!
With a relentless attack and good puck movement, Blue was able to defeat a very good London team. Remember fellas, when you stick to the game plan, move the puck quickly and don't try to make extra moves, it keeps the opponents on their heels. This is the type of game we need to play all the time to have continued success in the playoffs. Great job boys! The coaches and parents are all proud of you and your accomplishments this year!!