North Valley 6 Franchise Hockey 1
Captain Matt King notched his ninth goal of the season in the opening minute of play, but that lead would quickly evaporate. Playing in front of Josh Capelle, who signed another one-day contract prior to the game, the Franchise took better care of its own zone. By minimizing the impact of North Valley's offensive defensemen, the Franchise defense was able to be less dependent on the forwards expending energy. As a result, the Franchise outshot North Valley.
The game, while hardly a memorable one, might be memorable for all the wrong reasons. Forward Kris Anderson, who was held scoreless, amassed seventeen minutes worth of penalties, including a five minute major and a game misconduct in the dying seconds of regulation. With the game out of reach, Anderson blasted a North Valley player along the boards with a ferocious elbow. Anderson was remorseful about the play after the game after apologizing to the player.
The Franchise had no share of power play opportunities, though the man advantage lacked sock without Rowland. King drew a total of six penalties winning battles along the boards and planting himself in front of the net. Unfortunately, the team was unable to capitalize.
The Franchise will be at full strength next Saturday as the playoffs are set to begin. Preliminary reports state that Overfelt, the Franchise's biggest rival, will be the first round matchup.
Box Score:
1st Period:
King 9 (Merk, Ragoobeer)
Goaltending:
Capelle 0-3 (6 GA)
Captain's Thoughts:
This was not an ideal situation for the Franchise. Missing your top scorer and starting netminder and being down to six skaters is tough. Losing 6-1 hurts, but there was certainly no lack of heart and effort in our play. That will translate well in the postseason.
Real quickly, I thought the new defensive strategy our coaching staff implemented was very effective. Pressuring the points and denying the dump-back really made our forwards defensive weapons with nothing more than positioning. This allowed us to have more energy in the offensive zone. As a result, we drew penalties and created scoring chances with our hustle.
We wanted Overfelt. We got Overfelt.-
Your Captain
#37