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Shorthanded goals salt away victory

There may not have been enough salt to de-ice the slicked court to Colonel's liking on Sunday, but his team lacked the pepper to overcome the game's first shorthanded goal en route to a decisive 20-10 loss.

With the cold weather and slippery conditions keeping most of the roadsters inside warm and dry, the teams played a modified game in which the sides alternated shorthanded shifts with the Living Legend as the swing man. That meant the team best able to withstand the power play shifts would like prevail.

Through the first period, the teams played according to script, each capitalizing on their man advantage shifts. But a defensive miscue and some lazy backchecking caught up with the Colonel and his mates, Yak and Living Legend as Franz Beckenbauer scored the first shorthanded goal of the game, giving his side the advantage into their power play shift.

"You're going goal for goal, goal for goal, but when you give one up like that you feel like you've got to get two back," said Yak. "It's a bit of a letdown."

"You feel like you're down a serve and you want to get that back as quickly as possible," said the Colonel.

Trying to swing the momentum back their way, the Colonel's side stalled, throwing the frozen orange ball around the perimeter, trying to catch their undermanned opponents out of position or tire them out from the chase. The strategy backfired, as their younger foes maintained their defensive discipline.

"It never felt like we had a man advantage," said the Colonel. "It felt like we played even strength and dow a man most of the time."

Fleet-footed Franz Beckenbauer and Holt Renfrew also played an effective transition game, taking the game to their slower, more cautious opponents.

"When you're playing short in that kind of game, you can surprise the other team by committing hard to the ball," said Yak. "They did a way better job of that."

The icy conditions presented a challenge to the players and especially the goaltenders, who also had to control the hard, bouncing orange plastic ball.
"You just want to be soft on the ball so there isn't a rebound," said Chico. "You try to absorb it as it comes in and as a goalie that's a serious adjustment to make."
The players also had to adjust, ternderfooting it across the slicked surface.
"You've just got to watch your step and you've got to make sure you don't commit when you shouldn't," said Yak. "You've got to be a little more careful, play a space game, cover the zone a bit better."
"You run a little slower," said the Colonel. "Even the people who already run slow will run a little slower. You're just apprehensive all over the place."

Posted by jaysuburb at November 20, 2011 08:38 PM