Hockey Blog: Game 3
X-posted to www.thepurplecobras.com
September 23rd was the night the Purple Cobras met up with Lookout Mountain for the first time. Dan Chick was out due to illness with Rama Crouch-Wong filling in for him. Scott Gallagher joined the team for his first game replacing Ryan Fedel for the season. Lookout Mountain was a C3 team that dropped down to our division and from the get go, it was pretty obvious. They were loaded with good skaters and the game pace was very quick. Lookout Mountain scored very early in the first period on a weird angled shot to take an early lead. The Cobras tied it up quickly with a goal by Andy Newell who went coast to coast clowning a couple of the opposing players on the way. The second period started almost exactly like the first. The opposing team scored a goal on a flukish bounce from a blocked shot within the first minute. The Cobras responded though with furious pressure in the offensive zone that eventually led to a goal by me that was setup perfectly by Nate Bondar. A one timer in full stride across the crease. Not long thereafter, Lookout Mountain was called for a penalty and on the ensuing power play, Randy Edwards scored his second goal of the season on a feed from Matt Kuchar and myself. So entering the third period, we led 3-2 but just like the other 2 periods, a goal was surrendered in the first minute on a flukish bounce to tie the game. It seemed that the furious pace of the game was taking its toll on some of the players and many of us were gassed. A rather stupid call (in my opinion) led to a penalty shot for the opposition, but Mike Anderson made him look silly with a poke check as the player skated in. As the final minutes wore down, I started thinking about who would take the shots for the shootout when Mark Christner got flagged for a penalty. Lookout Mountain called a time out before their power play but it apparently did them no good as within 10 seconds of the power play, Andy stole the puck and had a break away that scored the go ahead goal. They pulled their goalie for the final minute, but couldn't gain control of the puck in our zone so time just wore down. The final score was 4-3. Andy Newell had a penalty as did Mark Christner. They were the only penalties called on The Purple Cobras.
The Cobras record now stands at 3-0, can't ask for more. Many of the mental errors from the previous game were wiped away, with some outstanding play in front of the net. I saw a bunch of blocked shots (from both sides actually) and a generally decent job of clearing. Mike played very well when not facing shots that richocheted all over the place and the defense was really outstanding for the most part. The breaks they got were almost always from cherry picking. The only downer was we did bunch up a bit too much at times and according to Peter Hemley, we only had 13 shots. Now, we had about 15 shots sail wide of the net, so its all relative. Nevertheless, we do need to just throw some more shots on net. I know went from 10 shots on net from the last game to 2, but its just how it goes. The ice was pretty bad too, and led to alot of misplays of the puck, but it affected both teams equally. As we go forward, the lines will solidify a little more and hopefully we can get that click that we seemed to get so well last season. Matt Kuchar moved to defense this game and had an outstanding game blocking several shots, breaking up plays and getting involved offensively. Andy took his place on the third line and made the most of it. This is the first game we've had to come from behind to win so its good to know we can play well with and without the lead.
The three stars:
First Star: Andy Newell - 2 goals, the game winner and short handed
Second Star: Richard Coleman - 1 goal and 1 assist a few blocked shots
Third Star: Randy Edwards - Powerplay goal and some generally awesome defense
Andy's goals were his firsts of the season and Matt Kuchar got his first assist. Nate and Richard kept their 3 game point streak alive, with Nate now sharing the team point lead with Dan Chick with 7 points.
On a personal note, I have 6 points in 3 games. Thats pretty damn good, and the best start I've ever had.
September 23rd was the night the Purple Cobras met up with Lookout Mountain for the first time. Dan Chick was out due to illness with Rama Crouch-Wong filling in for him. Scott Gallagher joined the team for his first game replacing Ryan Fedel for the season. Lookout Mountain was a C3 team that dropped down to our division and from the get go, it was pretty obvious. They were loaded with good skaters and the game pace was very quick. Lookout Mountain scored very early in the first period on a weird angled shot to take an early lead. The Cobras tied it up quickly with a goal by Andy Newell who went coast to coast clowning a couple of the opposing players on the way. The second period started almost exactly like the first. The opposing team scored a goal on a flukish bounce from a blocked shot within the first minute. The Cobras responded though with furious pressure in the offensive zone that eventually led to a goal by me that was setup perfectly by Nate Bondar. A one timer in full stride across the crease. Not long thereafter, Lookout Mountain was called for a penalty and on the ensuing power play, Randy Edwards scored his second goal of the season on a feed from Matt Kuchar and myself. So entering the third period, we led 3-2 but just like the other 2 periods, a goal was surrendered in the first minute on a flukish bounce to tie the game. It seemed that the furious pace of the game was taking its toll on some of the players and many of us were gassed. A rather stupid call (in my opinion) led to a penalty shot for the opposition, but Mike Anderson made him look silly with a poke check as the player skated in. As the final minutes wore down, I started thinking about who would take the shots for the shootout when Mark Christner got flagged for a penalty. Lookout Mountain called a time out before their power play but it apparently did them no good as within 10 seconds of the power play, Andy stole the puck and had a break away that scored the go ahead goal. They pulled their goalie for the final minute, but couldn't gain control of the puck in our zone so time just wore down. The final score was 4-3. Andy Newell had a penalty as did Mark Christner. They were the only penalties called on The Purple Cobras.
The Cobras record now stands at 3-0, can't ask for more. Many of the mental errors from the previous game were wiped away, with some outstanding play in front of the net. I saw a bunch of blocked shots (from both sides actually) and a generally decent job of clearing. Mike played very well when not facing shots that richocheted all over the place and the defense was really outstanding for the most part. The breaks they got were almost always from cherry picking. The only downer was we did bunch up a bit too much at times and according to Peter Hemley, we only had 13 shots. Now, we had about 15 shots sail wide of the net, so its all relative. Nevertheless, we do need to just throw some more shots on net. I know went from 10 shots on net from the last game to 2, but its just how it goes. The ice was pretty bad too, and led to alot of misplays of the puck, but it affected both teams equally. As we go forward, the lines will solidify a little more and hopefully we can get that click that we seemed to get so well last season. Matt Kuchar moved to defense this game and had an outstanding game blocking several shots, breaking up plays and getting involved offensively. Andy took his place on the third line and made the most of it. This is the first game we've had to come from behind to win so its good to know we can play well with and without the lead.
The three stars:
First Star: Andy Newell - 2 goals, the game winner and short handed
Second Star: Richard Coleman - 1 goal and 1 assist a few blocked shots
Third Star: Randy Edwards - Powerplay goal and some generally awesome defense
Andy's goals were his firsts of the season and Matt Kuchar got his first assist. Nate and Richard kept their 3 game point streak alive, with Nate now sharing the team point lead with Dan Chick with 7 points.
On a personal note, I have 6 points in 3 games. Thats pretty damn good, and the best start I've ever had.