The Keys to Victory are to Eliminate Mistakes

I understand that team Alliance has an opportunity to take home a Championship trophy with a win next week. Well, well… what a surprise that is! A bunch of misfits that love to talk the talk… are actually one win away from delivering the physical goods. Just 30 minutes of hockey stand in the way of achieving the grand prize.

 

I must say that when word came to me that Ron was lacing up the old Nike high-tops, I thought the least I could do was analyze the latest game film and offer you some words of wisdom from the once highly esteemed professor. Of course I’m still highly esteemed, but most of my time is spent running hockey school “practice” and so that’s why team Alliance NEVER hears from me. Yes that’s right, bobcat and I go way back, but our paths have gone in different directions… but I digress.

 

Being in the know, I KNOW you all love coaching… as can be heard loud and clear from the secret microphones that were planted on your bench. So I’m going to tell what any good, old time coach would say… the key to victory will be to eliminate your mistakes. Forget that you guys scored 7 goals last week, you gave up 4 goals! That should not of happened.

 

First off, of the 4 goals that were given up, none of them were of the kind that couldn’t be stopped. Of course there are goals that teams are highly unlikely to stop, for instance, back in my hay day when I was a kid, a lot of the time I was unstoppable, nothing but a high light reel for all to behold… but I digress.

 

1. The first goal was the result of poor communication between Griff and Ron, you guys switched responsibilities but failed to execute and cover your assignments. The dude got the ball in the high slot, totally uncovered, thus had a great scoring chance, which be buried. You guys have to be aware of your man and cover him. If the play forces a position player to cover a different position, there has to be communication. This goal should not of happened.

 

2. The second goal, was also poor positioning. The dude on the point let a shot go, it went wide and perfectly banked behind the net to their guy open on the side of your net. This should have been defended better. The defense needs to react quickly to get their stick on the opposing teams stick to prevent that easy goal. This goal should not have happened.

 

3. The third goal was when the dude ran down hard and was able to get around the defense and cut infront of the goal. He then flicked the ball through the goalies legs for the score. First off, the D should of turned and ran with the guy when he knew his move was to go wide and then around him. Instead he kept backpedaling and was beaten. Now the goalie bared some fault for letting in a somewhat weak goal. First, he could of used his paddle to poke the ball away as the player was cutting in front, but also could of closed the pads sooner to prevent the goal. This 3rd goal should not of happened.

 

4. The 4th goal was a bang bang play. The dude won a 1 on 1 battle behind your net and started to make like he was going around the net. Instead he saw his guy breaking in for a quick one timer, they executed this nicely, however, Brett was there and should of followed the guy and lifted his stick as the pass came. Your goalie left the post a bit too soon and so the side of the net was left open. This goal should not have happened.

 

So as you can see, if you guys can focus on eliminating these bad plays, you would have had a much easier time handling this team. Sure there will be times that goals will happen from an outstanding shot, or a fantastically sick setup play, but eliminating the defensive breakdowns (for both forwards and D men) will make winning the final game a lot easier.

 

There is one other key that will lead you to a victory next week. It was heard loud and clear from the out spoken fireball of energy Jared. It was to win a battle… just win a battle for the ball. If you guys let them get to open balls, shot either in the corners or deflected off a stick, you’re in trouble. They’ll eventually bury those scoring chances because they can pass and shoot pretty well.

 

You see by lifting a stick… by blocking a shot… by intercepting a pass… by blocking a passing lane… your winning a battle. If you guys win more battles then them… you will win the final game.

 

So go out there and execute defensively, win more 1:1 battles than you lose and the rest will be easy. Yes, the offensive chances will come… and will come in bunches.