Series Two, Game Two: 4/15/07: Bugs 1, Riverkings 4
Same song, second verse. A whole lot more confounding and a little bit worse.
To me, the tone to this game was set at the first puck drop. Memphis player Sheldon Wenzel and Bugs player Konrad Brand were jawing and tangling sticks before the puck drop. Wenzel looked to his coach to see if he could “go”, McClelland shook his head “No”, the puck was dropped, Brand trips Wenzel, and seven seconds in the Bugs are on a penalty kill.
From there, we watched Memphis once again stymie the Bugs on scoring opportunities and capitalize on uncharacteristic defensive mistakes. The Bugs played a little better in this game, but not by much. Jason Williamson scored on a deflection sent to the net by Jason Basile. Shots on goal improved. Scoring chances were there, but the team routinely known for its tough, hard-to-crack defense is suddenly nowhere to be found. Instead it’s the Riverkings, using a two-one-two defense, who are standing tough in their zone. They are forcing the Mudbugs to play "their" game, and it's working very well. The Riverkings have something to prove, being the “mulligan” team who lost and still are playing. And in this weekend’s games, they showed they were the better team.
Back to square one again, from the coaches on down. Adjustments need to be made, and complacency needs to be a four-letter word for this Mudbug team. They were awarded the CHL’s “Hardest Working Team” award once again this season by their peers. We fans haven’t seen much of that team since the playoffs began. Not sure why or where they've gone, but they’ve got four days to find them before the puck drops again in Memphis. Time to pick yourselves up by your bootstraps, guys, and get back into the series.
To me, the tone to this game was set at the first puck drop. Memphis player Sheldon Wenzel and Bugs player Konrad Brand were jawing and tangling sticks before the puck drop. Wenzel looked to his coach to see if he could “go”, McClelland shook his head “No”, the puck was dropped, Brand trips Wenzel, and seven seconds in the Bugs are on a penalty kill.
From there, we watched Memphis once again stymie the Bugs on scoring opportunities and capitalize on uncharacteristic defensive mistakes. The Bugs played a little better in this game, but not by much. Jason Williamson scored on a deflection sent to the net by Jason Basile. Shots on goal improved. Scoring chances were there, but the team routinely known for its tough, hard-to-crack defense is suddenly nowhere to be found. Instead it’s the Riverkings, using a two-one-two defense, who are standing tough in their zone. They are forcing the Mudbugs to play "their" game, and it's working very well. The Riverkings have something to prove, being the “mulligan” team who lost and still are playing. And in this weekend’s games, they showed they were the better team.
Back to square one again, from the coaches on down. Adjustments need to be made, and complacency needs to be a four-letter word for this Mudbug team. They were awarded the CHL’s “Hardest Working Team” award once again this season by their peers. We fans haven’t seen much of that team since the playoffs began. Not sure why or where they've gone, but they’ve got four days to find them before the puck drops again in Memphis. Time to pick yourselves up by your bootstraps, guys, and get back into the series.
posted by HeidiB at 10:01 PM
1 Comments:
Pathetic is what it was. They looked like they have forgotten how to play hockey. I haven't been that bored at a hockey game in a long time. I just hope they get it together in Memphis, or there won't be a game 5 at the CTC.
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