Black Ice vs Sunny Delight
Last night's game came down to two things. Black Ice's goalie was not as good as Paul, and Black Ice did not have an answer for Jason Brito. Jason last night played the entire game. He did not take one shift off, and his only breather was during intermission for one minute. Jason for the first time this season took complete control over the entire game. He decided when the offense needed help he would rush the puck, but also realized when to stay on defense. He pretty much dictated every shift of every play for both teams. That balance was what Jason has been lacking but it seems that he really has found a way to be more valuable to the team than ever before.
Sunny Delight played shorthanded again with Fil, Brian, and Jenn missing in action. Sunny Delight welcomes the return of all those players next week, and may have a full team for the first time in what seems like forever. In the 3-0 victory last night, and the past couple of games, there have been five players who have held up the team. Nick, Joe, Mike, Paul, and Dave have played every game this season and have done a great job keeping the flame alive while other team members deal with injuries. Nick last night played his usual solid game and even contributing an assist on Jason's gorgeous deflection goal. Joe again for the second week in a row played great two way hockey and battled along the boards with more aggression than anybody thought possible. Dave scored a goal as well and continued to be an important key to the Sunny Delight offense. Mike Riggi continued to be the only member of Sunny Delight with a goal in every game this season. Mike has really picked up the offensive slack this year and is the most reliable finisher on the team.
Paul really got Sunny Delight out of quite a few jams last night. With only one sub compared to Black Ice's 6 subs, fatigue was the main reason why Paul faced as many shots as he did. It didn't matter though, Paul saved every single shot recording Sunny Delights first shut out of the season. Also very good work by Sunny Delights penality kill towards the end of the game. It saw Joe Riggi hustle like never before and the reunion of Jason and Mike on defense. They killed off the penality perfectly, including huge blocked shots by Joe and Jason, and the shutout was not ruined.
Overall the game was really Sunny Delights most gratifying win. Everybody played hard and everybody played to win. As previously stated Sunny Delight is scheduled to have a full team next week.
That's my two cent$ bitches
Mike
Sunny Delight vs Decepticons
Normally Roller Hockey is a fast tempo type of game where speed dominates and flashy goals consume the score sheet. But Monday night the Sunny Delight and Decepticons game was far from that. The game had more of a blue collar feeling to it, with every goal being scored in the trenches in front of the net for both teams. With Jason Brito out with a knee injury Sunny Delight didn't have a puck rusher or quarterback to anchor the game. Every shift was a battle and this game was by far Sunny Delights hardest fought victory.
Sunny Delight was shorthanded not only with Jason but with Jenn, also missing in action, forcing Paul to put the pads on his legs and the game on his back. With a final score of 5-4 it is hard to believe that the game was a goaltending duel but it really was. Paul played outstanding on Monday and was the crutch that the Sunny Delight defense leaned on all night. It is always great to see Paul play goalie and he came up big for Sunny Delight.
Mondays game also saw the offensive explosion of Mike Riggi. Registering three goals and assisting on both Brian and Joes goals Mike was involved with every Sunny Delight point. With Jason out, Mike took on a leadership role on the team both vocally and physically. Mike continues his goal streak to 5 games. Dave also had a great game, creating plenty of room with his stick handling and offensive rushes. Dave has four goals this season, but that number could easily be 8 or 9. Phil needs some work on his time with the puck but played solid last night as well. Nick still makes me nervous, but played well. Joe Riggi played good two way hockey and picked up his fifth goal of the season.
Brian Costello has made a complete 180 from the player he used to be, to the player everybody sees skating now. Brian used to be a high scoring offensive juggernaut who always had a shoot first mentality. Brian now leads the team in assists and is most responsible defensmen on the team. Brian and Mike have developed awesome chemistry and there has not been a game this season where either player hasn't scored a goal assisted by each other. If Brian wanted to he could probably lead the team in goals, but he understands his role on the team and is more valuable now than ever before.
Great game for Sunny Delight. With the dedication everybody displayed tonight it would have been scary to see the game if Jason had played. With his skill and Paul in net, Sunny Delight would have played the best game of the season. Overall a hard fought victory is exactly what the team needed after the moral killing loss to Costco.
That's my 2 cent$ bitches.
Mike
Costco vs Sunny Delight
The very foundation on which Sunny Delight has been built on is a simple yet very effective strategy. The two best skaters on the team play defense, creating a wall that has dominated every team this season, until last night. In this league nobody passes the puck, meaning 90% of all other team's rushes are going to be one on one. Nobody in the D league can get by Jason or Brian by themselves. The end result is Sunny Delight limiting every team with goal scoring oppurtunies and no team scoring more than 3 goals. Until last night of course. Last night the wall crumbled.
Sunny Delight early in the game was up 4-1 against Costco. There is no reason in the world for a defensmen to be pinching when that is the score. Goaltending was not as strong as usual, so mistakes needed to be few and far between. Last night there were plenty of mistakes, and unlike the other games this team capatilized on those mistakes. The refs didn't help the situation either disallowing two goals and letting the other team slash Sunny D worse then Kunta Kinte in roots.
The biggest problem Sunny Delight has is the lack of a break out play. Nobody knows what to do or where to go. The offense doesn't know whether to come back for the puck, or skate up with the rushing defensmen. The defensmen doesn't know whether to rush the puck up or wait for the offense to come back. Countless times last night there were 3 men rushing the play with only one man back on defense. There should always be two men back especially when there is a lead to protect, and especially when goaltending is a problem.
The line of Phil, Jason, Nick and Paul have to find a way to score goals without Jason rushing the puck up every play. It is a great thing that Jason is involved with every goal, but not when he is expected to carry the line on defense as well. The line is responsible for the most offensive production, but is also responsible for the most defensive collapses during the game. Nobody can get by Jason when he is on defense. There is only one catch to that theory, he has to be on defense. Paul and Phil have to find a way to generate offense without the help of Jason. If not, the wall that once carried the Sunny Delight to a 3-0 record will be a few bricks short.
Thats my 2 cent$ bitches
Mike
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