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Slipping away

A five minute power play midway through Sunday's game proved to be auspicious for Lak Attack and his teammates. But for all the wrong reasons.
When the Living Legend went to the sidelines to tend to another matter for five minutes, it was a glorious opportunity for the veteran speedster and his young mates, Scrappy, Velma and Louise to fight their way back into a game they'd been trailing all day. Instead, they gave up a pair of goals, sealing their fate in a 20-12 loss.
"It was an indication of our play," said Lak Attack of his side's soured opportunity. "If two guys can beat us then we didn't have any business being in the game."
"I think it really crushed their motivation," said Doo, who scored one of the shorthanded goals as he and Kid managed to still run circles around flatfooted defenders despite being outmanned. "It made the other team realize they really didn't know what they were doing the entire game."
Not that anyone could make much sense of slapdash, haphazard plays in the slippery snowy conditions. A week of icy weather and a skiff of snow that continued to fall through the game rendered traction perilous. Roadsters slipped and slid and scrambled frantically every time the play changed direction.
"It's hugely frustrating," said Doo. "You can't get any speed going."
That meant players had to pay attention to where on the court they were positioned so they could make plays, and stop the other team from making them, said Lak Attack, something his side couldn't accomplish.
"We were always out of position," said the veteran centerman. "You want to be in the proper position between the goalie and the shooter and try to make sure the offense doesn't get a step on you. We needed to play better positionally."
Doo and his mates were only too eager to exploit those positional opportunities, as they bolted to a 7-1 lead and never looked back. Even hitting a startling number of goalposts and missing the open net on numerous occasions didn't deter them.
"The score was a bit closer than it deserved to be," said Lak Attack. "They missed a lot of open nets, hit posts."
That may have been due to the precarious footing, said Doo, as shooters struggled to keep their balance on the snow and ice when leaning into their shots.
"You have to look for the patches of ice and then you play really tentatively around them," said Doo. "It makes offense hard."
And defense even harder, as forwards were able to get to open court with only a few strides or slides with defenders struggling to change their direction.
"You can't move your feet," said Doo. "You can't work your legs, so you have to use your stick."