JCWP Green 6, SLAP Charmander 5 (SV)

We knew our first win would come soon, so congratulations to the boys for a much deserved victory. It was an exciting game that saw so much action in the dwindling minutes of the fourth quarter that I was tempted to run out to my car, open my doctor's bag, grab my sphygmomanometer (which measures blood pressure) and ensure that my arteries were not at risk of bursting.

Throughout most of the game we employed a great press defense that caused Charmander lots of trouble. However at times some of our players got a little lazy, dropped their hips and remained stagnant rather than working to stay in the passing lanes. This made Charmander's job on offense a lot easier. Truth be told, I don't remember how all of SLAP's goals were scored, but one came quickly on a powerplay, the cause of which we don't quite understand as our ejected player made no physical contact with the person he was guarding. Another came off of a drive from the wing which resulted in a nice lob that our goalie had little chance of saving. Their final goal, was a rare goal of chance, and no one can be faulted for it. I don't remember SLAP having as much success on counters as our previous opponents, so props to our boys for better ball control.

Offensively we were more organized than in the past but our hole sets still need to communicate more, and perimeter players need to be quicker to release for the ball. In general things looked sloppy, especially for the first 3 quarters, as players were quick to try and pass under pressure rather than push dribbling to open water, and our two meter players got off some good shots but they were rushed and wild. Taking a split second longer to ensure control likely would have meant several more goals. Our ball control has improved but we've still got a long way to go.

We played well defensively during the first quarter, only allowing one on a fluke powerplay. During the second quarter our boys stepped it up, and Richie Mayer and Brad Gardner quickly added goals. During the third we faltered a little and just looked lazy on both ends of the pool, at which time SLAP got a few goals back to take a 3-2 lead into the final quarter. Both teams hit the net in the fourth quarter, and with less than one minute left it was tied 4-4. With around 45 seconds left, SLAP's goalie threw it to their hole, at which time our goalie and three field players crashed in to steal the ball. It was great help defense, but unfortunately the ball bounced off of the SLAP player's head and right to another offensive player who quickly hit the open net. We can't fault anyone for what we thought would be the game winning goal because under the circumstances everyone did the right thing. Fortunately Evan Stelmachowicz got the ball and drew and ejection at hole, and after a SLAP player interfered with his free throw we had a 6 on 4 situation. Unlike the rest of the game, the boys didn't rush the opportunity. The ball was passed across the goal twice before Evan got it back and buried it near side low to tie it up. We played a solid press for the remaining 15 seconds to send the game into "DeSmet Overtime."

We were fired up and our press was strong. Good defense generated two 2-on-1 situations, the former failed, while the latter saw Charlie Archer score the golden goal. Our players of the game were our goalies for some outstanding saves, improved passing, and most importantly, defensive leadership via communication. So congratulations to Matt Anderson, Andy Fischer, and Brad Gardner, as well as all of our field players on our victory.
-Coach Merritt