North Valley 9 Franchise Hockey 1
Pioneer 5 Franchise Hockey 1
Playing minus Stanzler and defenseman Chris Cornelius for its first doubleheader of the season, Franchise Hockey dropped consecutive games to North Valley (9-1) and Pioneer (5-1).
With one-day contract signee Josh Capelle in net, the team struggled mightily in their first game with North Valley. Having giving up a goal on the first shift after defensive miscommunication, the Franchise slowly crumbled. Kris Anderson tallied the team's only goal of the game on a highlight reel steal, juke and breakaway finish.
Capelle, playing goalie for the first time, had trouble seeing the puck, and the Franchise was done early in the third period. The decision to play defensemen Sheraj Ragoobeer and Matt King for nearly the entire game would prove to be costly.
Matchd up against Pioneer, the only undefeated team in Divison 4B, the Franchise came out skating hard. Receiving a boost from Cam Rowland's insertion into the lineup, the Franchise stayed close. Myles Rowland netted a power play goal on a long stretch pass for the team's only goal.
Capelle played admirably against Pioneer, keeping the team in the game. Unfortunately, long shifts with no set lines proved to be tiring for the Franchise to survive. With fatigue being a factor against a fresh Pioneer club, the absence of Stanzler was too great to overcome.
Box Scores:
Game 6:
2nd Period:
Anderson 11 (M. Rowland, King)
Goaltending:
Capelle 0-1 (9 GA)
Game 7:
1st Period:
M. Rowland 14 (King, C. Rowland)
Goaltending:
Capelle 0-2 (5 GA)
Captain's Thoughts:
The first game, to me, isn't really worth discussing. We played like crap, we missed Mikey, and we ultimately lost.
The Pioneer game, however, was something else. Not to say that 5-1 was in any way a success, but we definitely saw concrete evidence that we can play with our division's elite team. We could skate with them, we generated offense, and we clogged the neutral zone. Our team defense was solid, we communicated well, and we showed them that, with Mikey back, we're going to be legitimate competition for them.
Not having our starting goaltender really made this doubleheader an anomaly. Josh did a commendable job filling in, especially in the second game, but we need Mikey.
Next week, we should have everybody.
See you at practice-.
Your Captain
#37