Dec 29, 2012 | Joe Heinisch | 277 views
Team Allstate Qualifies For Semi's Despite Loss
Saturday December 29, 2012
Game Reporter: Jay Nijhuis
The Boys in Black found themselves in a unique position Saturday afternoon at the Pillers Arena in RIM Park. By winning the first two games of the Christmas Tournament they were aware that win or lose today, they were still going to the semi finals on Sunday. That might have played a part in the outcome of the game as Team Allstate struggled against Team Schlueter Chevrolet from the opening face-off.
Coach Joe and Coach Ray addressed the players before the game to remind them of a few important things like:
1. making sure we clear the puck out of our "house" into the corners
2. chipping the puck off of the boards near the blue line to make sure we clear the zone
3. taking time and space away from the other team with constant pressure at both ends of the rink
4. having patience with the puck and thinking about the right play to make
Also before the game, the coaching staff decided Nolan S. was once again in net and the starting job today was well earned as he has played great in the first two games of the Christmas Tournament.
From the drop of the puck, the Boys in Black seemed a little off today. Lots of turnovers in our own end, too many players left wide open in front of our net, passes that weren't crisp and many players just didn't seem to have that extra gear that they seemed to find in the first two games. Perhaps 3 games in 3 days was catching up to the team.
Similar to our Game #2 opponents, this team also had one player in particular that Team Allstate Insurance needed to shut down, unfortunately there were two occasions when they didn't and that was enough times for him to score both of the Team Schlueter Chevrolet Goals. The final score of the last round robin game was 2-0 loss.
Honourable mention to a few players:
Goaltender Nolan S. made some incredible saves and made the score of the game more respectable than it probably should have been.
Ty C. hustled back on a fantastic individual effort on a back check and ended up crashing into the boards suffering a minor knee injury. He did finish the game
Our Captain Joe V. had a few great chances to score but just couldn't find the back of the net and Assistant Captain Wesley S. gave his all at both ends of the ice.
As Coach Joe said at the end of the game "Boys we can't fault you for the effort today, you skated your butts off. Maybe today was just a good example of how we needed to think better with the puck".
The next game for Team Allstate Insurance is tomorrow at 12 noon at the RIM Park Optimist Arena against the team that finished first in Group B. If we win.... we play Sunday night..... lose and the Christmas Tournament is over for the Boys in Black.