Feb 11, 2018 | GeoffRead | 591 views
KnightHawks Play Well but Lose 5-1 to Bandits
The KnightHawks opened their playoffs with a very good team effort. They were passing with aplomb, forechecking with pluck, and backchecking with perseverance. Unfortunately, what they weren't doing was scoring and this proved their undoing, as they fell 5-1 to the Bandits #23.
Coach Liam Walsh had reminded his players of the fact that they are at their best when they play a team game, passing the puck and working hard as five-man units. And the KnightHawks heeded Walsh's advice from the first shift of the game when centre Jack Peterkin and wingers Owen Askew and Troy Price worked the puck around deep in the Bandits' zone generating several good chances to score. And the KnightHawks kept it up, consistently passing the puck with precision and moving it effectively up the ice. Centre James Nielsen had an especially good game in terms of passing, headmanning the puck to his wingers and helping the KnightHawks move through the neutral zone with authority.
Likewise, several KnightHawks stood out for their outstanding work on the forecheck. Price and Askew had a strong game together, and the second wing pair of Zoe Read and Sam Schafer did as well, cycling the puck in the corners and working hard to get it out in front of the net. Read also flashed some good stickhandling skills from in tight and got several shots on net. Likewise, centre Kaelan Walsh had a strong effort, using his size and speed to advantage fighting for the puck.
On the back end the KnightHawks were good as well for most of the game. Paul Steele had a hard-working morning battling for the puck and backing up when the Bandits rushed up the ice to force them wide. His partner Aiden Hayes, the player of the game, had his usual efficient effort and, in particular, broke up several odd-man rushes effectively before reversing the play with tape to tape passes to the forwards. The second pair of Gregory Nicolis and Brandon Miles worked hard to contain the Bandits' forwards, and Miles, in particular, had a good day moving the puck out of the KnightHawks' end.
That said, there were a few defensive breakdowns and unlike the KnightHawks, the Bandits were able to capitalize on their chances as their two top offensive threats, #3 and #7, were able to pick the top corners on goaltender Kaden Keating who couldn't be faulted on the goals.
The KnightHawks' only goal came off a nice individual effort by Price, who picked up the puck from Steele in his own end in the second period, took the puck up ice, split the defense, and then slipped it in the short side on the Bandits' goaltender. But the Bandit netminder wouldn't be beaten again, as he had an outstanding game and stoned the KnightHawks the rest of the way. Askew had several chances on the backhand as he did the right thing popping the puck up high but the goalie maintained his stance keeping his shoulders up and square to the shooter and was therefore able to make the save. Read, Nielsen, Schafer, Peterkin, and Price all also had chances in front but shot the puck low where the goalie's excellent butterfly didn't give them much daylight.
In sum, the KnightHawks deserved a better fate in this one. But hockey, like life, is like that sometimes. To their credit, as the game slipped out of reach the KnightHawks kept battling hard, showing the sort of resilience that will serve them well on the ice and off it.
Go KnightHawks go!