Late Post – Game Review vs Clan & Thoughts vs Steelers

League Record So Far; 13 – 1 – 6, 27pts, 2nd Place

It has been busy, these were mainly written in the car park whilst waiting to clear before hitting a late night food shop, after all, its Christmas time!

First up, my 10 key observations of the home game vs Clan;

1. It didn’t take too long for gloves to drop, with Pietroniro and Stephenson throwing down at centre ice, Pietroniro answering the bell diligently, in a quality dual. Both landed some carpal, in a ferocious bout, which the good guy held his own against a larger combatant.

Moments later, Barrow responded to some rough stuff from Harrison, that ended as quick as it started, Harrison may feel he could take the W with that one. Then just after the first 5 minutes passed, Cox got into a tussle, which drew the ire from the officials and in the background, Brandt and Lynch tangled up.

Lynch was no match for the well known Riley Brandt, who in fairness, hasn’t had much to do this season, his game doing the talking instead of his fists. Crowd, appreciating the physicality immensely.

2. There was a little hockey here and there in the opening frame, with the Devils taking on the momentum gained from the good stuff, going up 2 zip until the last of the fracas gave a PP opportunity to the Clan, of which they capitalised on.

3. A third goal for the good guys was correctly waved off, that would have left the gates wide open on a lacklustre defence that didn’t seem to have an answer for the pace of the forwards or the strength to maintain puck possession against them all game.

4. There was a penalty shot amongst the yard sales and carpal rallies, earned and sent by newcomer Bode Wilde, after a sublime drop pass in the NZ by Batch and a carry all the way to the net. He undressed the goalie to put up a memorable marker minutes into his debut. What an introduction to EIHL hockey he had.

5. Devils PP found some much needed form, in a game marred by trips to the box for both teams. Well earned goals helped to cement the reward for their efforts in the game, Waller and Sanford continue their respective points streaks.

6. The forecheck over powered their visitors who seemed to look for afters whenever the puck went near them, with 48 SOG for the good guys to 45 overall for the Clan. There was 55 PIMS all together, 44 saves for the visiting goalie, who kept the scoreline honest, as it could have been a massacre.

7. That came in the form of thievery, grand larceny and outright skull duggery from the goalie, who stopped many high danger chances in the low to mid slot (18), cross overs and tips. 2 goals were scored from this area, including Alderson being effective in that area as the puck trickled through the Clan defense.

8. The other end was a litmus test for Tyler Wall, who wanted some goals back from his last outing vs Dundee. He made some excellent saves when needed, that fed his team confidence to dominate their opponents.

9. The 4th line caused mayhem on the night, with some great back checking, effective forechecking, creating the turnovers to keep the visitors under pressure and maintaining pace and intensity each shift to drive breakaways and offense. This would have been a much needed factor for the following game.

10. Knowing they were travelling to Sheffield for a road game and top table clash, they knew they needed to match that intensity as the last time saw Devils skate home 3-2 winners, so how did that pan out?

Thoughts on Sheffield Loss

Devils were unable to generate the offense they usually can and paid the price for it. The PK for the Steelers smothered any outlets or transitions that help generate shot attempts.

The lack of chances were evident as they were only able to deliver 2 high danger shots, with the majority from the blue line, in stark contrast to free skating and creative looks compared to their last game.

Greenfield left no doubt who the better goal tender has been, even though Bowns has been leading all season and didn’t ice in the Festive Fixtures so far, Greenfield has demonstrated his quality, which will need to be looked at in 5 games time.

Despite more enterprise from the Steelers, their own high danger chances were limited, which meant they had to be more clinical with their generation. This paid off with a 4 zip shutout.

The 4th line was more active in the game which was good to see, however Sanfords TOI was nearly 6 minutes less than the previous night, as did Crandall and Alderson, so it is safe to say this forward group would be moved around again for the next game on the Festive Schedule.

Of which, I expect Bowns to take the net again, as they will look to bounce back and keep the pressure on the worthy and deserved leaders at this stage of the campaign.