Jan 13, 2013 | rswigger | 744 views
Couple of Weekend Losses See 'Dogs Winless in 2013
Two similar losses this weekend--one to Chatsworth, and the other to Saugeen Shores 1--looked the same. On Sunday the coaches were thinking this was deja-vu all over again.
On Saturday the Ice Dogs traveled to Desboro to take on the TCDMHA. On Sunday, it was off to Port Elgin to face the Storm. Both games were remarkably common. The first was against the team directly ahead of us in the standings, the second against the team directly behind us. On Saturday we came out fired up, but failing to follow through on chances, Chatsworth scored early and often. On Sunday, we looked flat....and Saugeen Shores scored early and often. On Saturday, Chatsworth scored 4 in the first before we woke up; Saugeen Shores scored 4 goals too--three of them before we woke up.
Against Chatsworth, the Ice Dogs looked good from the second period on...just failing to get many shots on net. Dylan scored the only goal of the game, assisted by Baden. The player of the game went to Brett who looked sharp on D, getting pucks out safely, and stifling a few late chances from Chatsworth.
Against Saugeen Shores, the Ice Dogs looked...well, better, from the second period on. The 'Dogs looked a little less enthusiastic in their attack, and were caught out of position a bit more, but maybe this could be blamed on the larger ice surface. Dylan scored both goals for us Sunday, the first on a beautiful rush by Gavin, who made the moves, faked the shot, and then dropped the perfect pass onto Dylan's stick, ready and set at the side of the net. Later, Dylan would score the 'weekend hat trick', assisted by Baden and Kendrew. Still, the 4-2 loss was a little disappointing given our slow start, and the pair of losses dropped us to 6th in the league. No player of the game was named Sunday.
In both games coach Todd emphasized the need for wingers to stay on their points in our end, for all players to get pucks out on the boards hard and fast, and for the forwards to force the offensive play with aggressive attacks--the key ingredients missing on Sunday for sure.
Next up for the boys is the Harriston tournament next weekend, followed by the last three regular season games. Hang in their Ice Dogs...let's finish strong.