Thursday March 9

Snipers fail to take advantage of depleted Van Doos Hc

(5)Van Doos Hc vs Snipers(2)

So the Snipers learned a harsh lesson on Thursday night.  In an anticipated match up that could have served as a playoff game, the Snipers dropped the ball as their playoff aspirations are coming to a close. They were unable to take advantage of an undermanned Van Doos Hc team. Smart teams know how to manage their man power. The Van Doos Hc made playing without the ball a key tactic as part of their formula. As long as the game remained close, it just becomes a question of when to jump on your chances. O.Valiquette was able to snap a 1-1 second period tie because of a Snipers penalty. Now that they led heading into the final period, they knew that the Snipers had to go for it. The problem was that the Van Doos Hc will hurt you on the counter attack. O.Valiquette once again made the Snipers defense pay scoring early in the third period. Unable to get anything going, the Snipers fell in a deeper hole when G.DiZazzo widened the margin by three. It was just one of those nights that a desperate team couldn’t  catch any breaks. While their not officially eliminated-from participating in the playoffs ,the odds are stacked against them with only three games remaining.

Horsemen pull out gritty win on the back of M.Vinciguerra

(3)Horsemen vs Fatal Demons(2)

If you’re the Horsemen, you want nothing more than to try and play ahead. In hockey, your likely to control playing better without the ball than with it. They got that good start when T.Sourias picked a beautiful top corner. Although the Fatal Demons did respond with a power play goal by M.Chenier, that didn’t phase the Horsemen-from responding on two consecutive tallies. V.Pandza provided the lead after a nice feed-from T.Karasek, and M.Kardum used a blistering shot-from far for a two goal margin. However, that was as far as it got for the Horsemen, who were stuck playing on their heels the rest of the way. The Fatal Demons started to take over putting a lot of pressure while hanging on to the ball for long stretches.  The Horsemen made it a point to keep the Fatal Demons to the outside as much as possible. And while that idea seems obvious, its easier said than done. Many things need to go right starting with your goaltender. Luckily enough for the Horsemen , M.Vinciguerra was able to stay firm and deliver an outstanding performance between the pipes. Another essential moment was having to kill off two four minute penalties. And finally some luck where the Fatal Demons missed out on some golden opportunities with M.Destounis missing a wide open net.

Brew Crew cant seem to protect leads anymore

( 8 )Armadillos vs Brew Crew(6)

Not an ideal way to finish off your night if you are the Brew Crew. If the Brew Crew of the past built a 3-0 lead, the game was pretty much over and one with. Not this season however. Again they found themselves in a promising position getting back to back goals by D.Verta and the other marker-from C.Palermo for what looked like a commanding 3-0 lead. Then, the drama happened, and the Brew Crew started to lose grip of the situation. Yes, you can argue that the Armadillos have the team that can overcome such a hurdle. But even at that, it should never spiral out of control the way it did on Thursday night. Eight of the next eleven goals came-from only one team throughout two periods. Talk about a complete take over. G.Bouchrad struck twice in the second period, and P.Lapointe matched him netting the games last tally. Perhaps the orchestrator behind the madness is the play of S.Athanasopoulos. If teams have yet to realise what he brings to the Armadillos, then they’ll find themselves to be in deep trouble. Many plays stem- from him as he will either create chances for himself or make the players around him better. Tonight, the surgical centre man helped set up four teammates while taking away chances by being responsible defensively.

The SalumiVino player of the night goes to M.Vinciguerra of the Horsemen. No doubt, the Horsemen walked away with three clean points thanks to their goaltender. After facing a wave of pressure, Vinciguerra was a moving wall denying a ton of shot attempts his way.