At last minute I decided to go to the game. The attendance on the whl gamesheet says 4006. But I'm guessing there were only 1800-2000 people there. The arena was dead EMPTY.
The fans that did skip they game all they missed was another frustrating effort with a bundle of miscues and poor timing when a scoring chance developed.
Kootenay won 65-70% of the puck battles, and played a much much smarter game.
A lot of Kootenay's players have the hitting instincts of a player like Kale Kessey, and it contributed to the Tigers getting of their game. Kootenay didn't have an amazing game they just played a much smarter hockey game.
The Tigers are playing exactly the way they did last season after the Christmas break. Capable Beating the mediocre teams but have a real tough time with the good hockey teams.
They need to get back to the basics, or Kootenay will defeat them next friday just as they did tonight.
------
With that loss I cant see the Tigers getting Home Ice in the first round. 7 points back with 8 games remaining, Kootenay only needs to win at a .500 pace to clinch home ice.
-----------------------------
Couple thoughts
One thing I thought that would help things is to move their neutral zone trap up 10-15 feet. Create more of a panic in the opponents D-zone, and force their defensman to make difficult decisions near the middle of the circles, to cut off the angles.
More D to D passes if there are no passing options present, with proper support.
2 comments:
I'm seeing a disturbing trend of doing fine the first half, and then no improvement from then on. We are not really even rotating 4 lines any longer so our young guys are getting very little ice time. There seems to be a lack of emotion from our older players (with Wacey being the main exception). Is it time for some changes behind the bench?
I dont think a coaching change is the answer. I remember in years past when the Tigers went on a slump Willie would pull out a set play or two that seemed to uplift things.
Post a Comment