Hammerheads - Usual Suspects 4:4 (2:2, 1:1, 1:1, 0:0)
Scoring:
1st - 1. Miki, 5 (1:28, Chris, Ralph), 2. Ryan, 7 sh (7:10).
2nd - 3. Jeff B, 2 (9:00, Ryan).
3rd - 4. Ryan, 8 sh (6:03).
Shots: 31-18, Tod 5-1-1.
Well, this wasn't our best game, especially for defense. All goals we allowed were due to defense mistakes: giveaways, breakaways and such. On 18 shots we allowed 4 goals - terrible. In addition to having a bad game we made it even more difficult for ourselves by taking 7 minor penalties. It's like playing short-handed for 1 period. Among forwards we were missing 4 players and if not for Ryan's individual skills we could be in more troubles. He scored two unassisted short-handed goals. One of them he started by winning a face-off in our zone, taking a puck all the way down, and he finished it with a perfect shot in the top right corner.
This game capped first half of the season. After 7 games we have 5 wins, 1 tie, 1 loss, and with 11 points we are in the 1st place in our conference, 5 points ahead of Blues and 6 points ahead of Red Army who played only 6 games yet. Good job, everyone! Today our position looks secure for clinching a playoff spot but we should not relax in the second half of the season and allow other teams to catch us. It may take only 2 or 3 games to completely change the layout in the standings. So, be there for the next game and make it count.