Weekend Review; Ups and Downs

League Record So Far; 15 – 4 – 2, 32 points, 1st Place

It was a weekend of mixed results, feelings and relief, as Devils pulled clear on the road at Dundee after letting an easily controlled game slip at home in a shootout.

Here are some key observations from the weekend;

Low Numbers, Again

It has been a long season already for many clubs with injuries piling up and it’s never just one here or there. It is like goals against Manchester Storm, they all go in at once.

The weekend went short benched for a plethora of reasons, from injuries to personal circumstances, that is the life and environment of professional sport.

This did mean however a greater demand on focus, which went missing at times, prompting questions and damning reflections from their own coach.

To add to the injuries, Shinkaruk iced for a couple of minutes in Dundee before heading off again, leaving just 3 full forward lines on the night.

Luckily, the grit and determination to get the game done shone through. Earning their 15th W of the campaign. This was lead by an underrated leader on the ice, but one that has been at the top for some time. Hopefully O’Brien is doing okay and the Goat is on cloud 9.

MacDonald delights, again

That leader was Josh MacDonald, who at times became known only as MacDangle and for good reason. He was scintillating in both games, to the point of breaking opponents ankles, most definitely their spirits and notching up more points for his current streak.

He has the longest of any Devils player this season, with 13 in 9 consecutive games. He drove the play, was a nuisance in the NZ, helped out defensively and was there to set up or put the goals away.

When the team were down some serious fire power, he delivered and brought his line mates along with him. A total team guy. Bag skate well and truly avoided on Monday morning for that one.

His contributions have kept him at the top 5 in the league for a while but recently he rocketed into top slot and doesn’t look like slowing down. Long may it continue. /

Make that number 15

Devils’ win on the road on Sunday was the leagues first to 15 this season and at just the right time as well. Other teams are starting to falter whilst more rise in form, with their next opponents Steelers on their second back to back losses in as many weeks.

Although not to the same pace as last seasons champions, the team have made it 15 wins faster than the 2022 grand slam winners, Giants (within 23GP, also they managed theirs on the weekend approaching). However, due to some cancellations and fixture movements, Steelers bagged theirs by 23/12/23. It was done in 18 games.

On Sunday is the final cup game, of course it is and at home vs Panthers. Will there be a continuation to rebuild momentum and consistency again?

Defensive cracks appearing, a fair reflection?

Frequent reviews have mentioned some off-nights for turnovers and giveaways, duly met by turn around performances with points added on. However, the effort cannot be knocked entirely, given that the team is yet to go a week with a full slate of players to select.

This of course eats into what can be seen by stats, as ‘numbers don’t lie’ but not always would they be explained. Here is where I come in.

Yes, the shot attempts (163) and SOG (104 – 15.52% of the season total over the last 3 games) were staggering of late.

However, the trend is noticeable due to the level of injuries sustained at a fairly educated guess. The less bodies, the more work there is to do, the more fatigue will increase, then mistakes and ultimately communication and structure starts to plummet.

It was very evident that lack of bodies correlated to increased defensive pressure. Doesn’t take a genius to understand it, but at least there is a snazzy graph to demonstrate it.

It is then down to the goalie to see what happens at that point.

Saves by goalie went from 25 and 28 (26.5 respectively) to 43 in their last match up, a 61.6% increase in a game where 3 lines of forwards were rolled out due to squad absences.

Of course, the defensive unit has largely been unaffected in terms of numbers since Batch’s injury. Across this past week, the same 6 have been on the ice.

With the same combinations. Creating, the same outcomes. Arguably it is hard to make major shake ups when you are at the game roster limit (barring further deductions) however, changing some dynamics should be a consideration.

It is also worth noting that the Devils defensive unit is one of the most experienced but also the most, life experienced, to be kind (averaged at 32.3 years, league average is 28.3).

Milestones met and missed

Recently, Joey Martin scored his 200th goal for the club in all EIHL competitions, however, after a 4 game goal streak (leading to the achievement) he hasn’t registered a point in the last 2GP.

Gleason Fournier requires 5 more games to reach 300 in the EIHL

Ryan Barrow is 6 points from 100 in the EIHL, he is currently on a 4 game pointless skid as well as picking up an injury

Ben Davies recently went over 200 assists in the EIHL

Cole Sanford is 9 points from 250 in the EIHL

Ben Bowns is 5 wins away from 250 career wins as an EIHL goalie