Series One, Game 3: 4/4/07 Bugs 1, Thunder 4
We made the drive north to Wichita yesterday, arriving around 4:30. The drive was pleasant but long. It's rather chilly up here today, with an expectation of about an inch of snow later this afternoon. Not quite what the Easter Bunny expected, I'm sure. About thirty-five fans made the trip, including the Oris and Muscutts.
When we arrived at the Kansas Coliseum,several Thunder fans stopped and thanked us for coming, a difference from the past times I've come. Their crowd was not the size it's been in the past, but since it was a weekday game, I wasn't surprised. They didn't really get into cheering on their team until after we did our after-goal cheers. I guess we "inspired" them to do better than 35 people. We're sitting in the same perch as the previous years, next to the tunnel where the visiting team emerges and behind the net.
The first thirty-five minutes of last night's game was all Mudbugs. Good passes, fast skating, keeping the puck in their zone, 11 SOG in the first period. It looked pretty good. Wiebe's goal came off of a rebound, Jason Basile's tying goal had us pumped. Unfortunately, the Thunder got a deflection from dangerous Travis Clayton, who was parked in front of Ken Carroll, a few moments later and that seemed to take a lot out of our boys. Going into the third down by one goal didn't worry me too much, but when Wiebe scored on the breakaway early in the third, that was the difference in the game.
Wichita is still doing a great job of clogging up the lanes and keeping two players in front of goalie Horrell at all times when the Bugs are in their zone. Horrell made an awesome save on a shot from Chris Brassard that could have turned the momentum of the game.
I liked what I saw from the team the first half of the game. The second half, not so much, obviously. I'm still seeing the big difference between experienced players and rookies. Case in point: I watched the Thunder vet Joe Blaznek use his stick to easily lift a Bug rookie's stick off the ice and steal the puck, then zip into the Mudbugs zone for a scoring chance. That, my friends, is an example of a player who has seen many playoff games.
I do want to comment about something that disappointed me last night. Two of Wichita's front office personnel were standing in the tunnel area when one of our players came off the ice at the end of the game. They got mouthy with our player, laughing at him; and I found that to be very unprofessional. They weren't anyone I'd had contact with before. Joel Lumurno from the front office has been nothing but pleasant, and I found their behavior to be quite disappointing.
The Bugs had a long meeting after the game last night. They know they have to find a way to scramble the defensive tactics of the Thunder and get Horrell off of his game. It's doable. He's still making the same mistakes I saw the other night in The Swamp. This team has got to find those mistakes and make the most of them. I'm not real partial to mulligan stew....
When we arrived at the Kansas Coliseum,several Thunder fans stopped and thanked us for coming, a difference from the past times I've come. Their crowd was not the size it's been in the past, but since it was a weekday game, I wasn't surprised. They didn't really get into cheering on their team until after we did our after-goal cheers. I guess we "inspired" them to do better than 35 people. We're sitting in the same perch as the previous years, next to the tunnel where the visiting team emerges and behind the net.
The first thirty-five minutes of last night's game was all Mudbugs. Good passes, fast skating, keeping the puck in their zone, 11 SOG in the first period. It looked pretty good. Wiebe's goal came off of a rebound, Jason Basile's tying goal had us pumped. Unfortunately, the Thunder got a deflection from dangerous Travis Clayton, who was parked in front of Ken Carroll, a few moments later and that seemed to take a lot out of our boys. Going into the third down by one goal didn't worry me too much, but when Wiebe scored on the breakaway early in the third, that was the difference in the game.
Wichita is still doing a great job of clogging up the lanes and keeping two players in front of goalie Horrell at all times when the Bugs are in their zone. Horrell made an awesome save on a shot from Chris Brassard that could have turned the momentum of the game.
I liked what I saw from the team the first half of the game. The second half, not so much, obviously. I'm still seeing the big difference between experienced players and rookies. Case in point: I watched the Thunder vet Joe Blaznek use his stick to easily lift a Bug rookie's stick off the ice and steal the puck, then zip into the Mudbugs zone for a scoring chance. That, my friends, is an example of a player who has seen many playoff games.
I do want to comment about something that disappointed me last night. Two of Wichita's front office personnel were standing in the tunnel area when one of our players came off the ice at the end of the game. They got mouthy with our player, laughing at him; and I found that to be very unprofessional. They weren't anyone I'd had contact with before. Joel Lumurno from the front office has been nothing but pleasant, and I found their behavior to be quite disappointing.
The Bugs had a long meeting after the game last night. They know they have to find a way to scramble the defensive tactics of the Thunder and get Horrell off of his game. It's doable. He's still making the same mistakes I saw the other night in The Swamp. This team has got to find those mistakes and make the most of them. I'm not real partial to mulligan stew....
posted by HeidiB at 2:18 PM
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