Pre Season Game 4 vs. Jets
Player of the game.
It was the Sasha Show in Vacaville today. Our newly minted team captain could not be contained today scoring six of the 8 goals. His leadership off the ice is strong and effective providing his teammates guidance during warm up, how to line up out of the locker room and speaking up post game with key insights.
This, however, did not earn him player of the game honors as that went to Genevieve for the stuff not celebrated nearly enough in sports - the subtle plays that are hardly seen, but I can tell you they make a big difference. So, sure the leading scorer in this game could easily be our first star; however, that would have been too obvious, and annoying, to give the CatHat to the leading scorer in the league. Sorry Sasha.
The CatHat went to Genevieve as she stepped up today and showed the team how critical it is to stay defensively structured and disciplined from start to finish. Her timing on critical plays was crucial and her wisdom to move the puck to the right player at the right time made a big difference in this game. The players on the scoreboard don’t get those opportunities in the absence of her skill today. Player of the game was selected by coach Spencer.
Second star, as selected by coach Trevor, went to the other three defenseman. Patrick, Teo and Logan who also kept their composure and played smart from the start.
Third star, as selected by team captain Sasha, was William. As you all probably noticed William sat for most of the game due to a lower body injury. He felt he could go after sitting several shifts and Sasha recognized the bravery to do so and gave him our third star for the game.
Honorable mention goes to Damian for his very strong outing today after suffering a significant concussion and skull fracture this past Summer. He played strong and fearless which says something about his overall love of the game and character.
A core strength today was our special teams especially our power play. Thou no goals were scored during our five opportunities, our structure, which was practiced only this last Thursday, was solid. We maintained the majority of the possession time and likely demoralized our opponent a bit as it was highly sophisticated, smooth and lights out entertaining to witness. I personally have been coaching age 14U off and on over the last 16 years of travel hockey and I’ve yet to see a team at this age level and division level grasp the system this quickly and execute as well as our team did today.
Our penalty kill was well structured as well. We have not had a chance to fully practice it, but our team has picked up quickly on our special team strategy and when doing this so early in the season I know we have a strong foundation to improve and perform at a much higher level.
Our second period was a struggle and everyone knows a two goal lead in hockey is never safe. Yet our ability to keep composed and with no panic on the bench helped us get the lead back and then some at the end. The empty net goal by Martin sealed the deal and a nice, strong effort by Eli was icing on the ice cake.
Speaking of higher level. I know the NorCal competition committee will be evaluating all teams starting this week and we will learn if we are moving to the A division or staying at BB. It is out of our hands now, but we did what I wanted. Played our games the way we are suppose to and the outcomes are happening the way they are due to that as well as to our overall work ethic.
A note on special teams. Yes, some players are getting a bit more ice time. As some of our other players further develop, this will get balanced out. Our goal is to spread ice time around as evenly as possible except for crucial situations such as needing the points for playoff position, for tournament standing and when we need to hone our overall skills due to an upcoming series of games.
Notice that our team is well represented on the score sheet. A reminder that we are looking for balance on our roster and getting everyone involved in the games and practices.
