OLIMPIJA 5 - 7 KAC
GRETZKY-ERA HOCKEY SCORES ABOUND IN THE ICE LEAGUE AS TWO GAMES GO 5-7
OLIMPIJA DESERVE THE VICTORY BUT LET THEMSELVES DOWN
Lineup changes
Kerbashian returns to his rightful place as the top line centre. Rejoice!
Simšič is back on the wing, this time on the second line - if history is anything to go by, this won't be for long!
Zajc and Pance are both out. Kumanović slots in on the 3rd line left wing. No 13th forward today - where is Vodlan?
Mehle goes down to the 4th line to reunite the 'kid line'.
Defensive pairings remain Mašič-Pavlin, Gregorc-Atwal, Ćosić-Ege. Crnović and Bohinc are the 7th and 8th D men.
Stars of the game
* Kale Kerbashian (PPG) - Fan MVP and back like he never left! Scored a PPG straight away and unlocked the offensive zone time and time again as he did before. Great passing and movement throughout. Welcome back, we missed you!
NEW Stats section
I had ambitions to track all sorts of things this game, such as Corsi for and against for each line and pairing, but I lost track of things (pardon the pun). I will aim to do more in the way of analytics in the away games, where I can pause the stream and replay. For live games, I will (at least) do the PDO calculation.
Here is the quote from Boston Hockey Stats' Substack article (https://blog.buhockeystats.com/p/diving-into-the-stats-sheet):
PDO
PDO, sometimes called SPSV% is an attempt to quantify “puck luck”. ... Teams will usually end up with PDOs around 100. A team with a PDO greater than 100 is probably not as good as they seem, and a team with a PDO less than 100 is probably better than they appear.
You calculate PDO by adding the shooting percentage and save percentage together.
Shooting percentage = 5/20 = 25%. NHL average is about 10%, so we did well there.
Save percentage = 30/37 = 81%. Well below Horak's usual standards, but it was a crazy game.
25% + 81% = 106
On Boston Hockey Stats' graph for the NCAA, we would fall into the 'fun' category of PDO. This is because this game saw us sport a high shooting percentage but a low save percentage, which resulted in lots of goals both ways.
Streamlined Game Flow
(before you say it's not that streamlined, a lot happened this game!!)
P1
1748 PEN KAC
Kumanović gets taken out by a hit to the head. The refs initially don't award a penalty, even though Lovro is down on the ground like he's been shot by Lee Harvey Oswald from a Texas Bookstore, but eventually they decide to award a major penalty for 5 mins. On review, they downgraded it to a minor 2 min penalty. A very confusing set of decisions, but at least we get something out of it. I hope he is ok. With no 13th forward, this immediately puts us on the back foot.
1705 SHORTHANDED GOAL KAC
KAC break 1 on 0 and Horak is beaten 5-hole (in between his pads). Not a good start.
0-1
1556 PEN KAC
Delay of game. An impressive one from a KAC defender, who absolutely launches the puck into the stratosphere for no apparent reason. 8s of 5 on 3 coming our way.
1542 POWERPLAY GOAL OLIMPIJA
With 1:46 left on the PP, Mašič sets up Kerbashian to work his magic in front of the net. What a way to announce your comeback!
1-1
1350 GOAL OLIMPIJA
Mahkovec collects Mašič's trickling shot and beats the goalie. Marcel is our leading points-getter and looks to be getting better and better as the season goes on. Is it too early to ask him not to leave for a big-spending Austrian team next year? They can have Predan, gladly, but please don't let them have him...
2-1
1152 PEN OLIMPIJA
Bičevskis high stick.
1025 PEN OLIMPIJA
Yet another Pavlin high stick. We're getting one every game these days!
Gregorc, Ege and Kerbashian are on for the 5 on 3.
KAC look very messy in the ensuing 5 on 4. I think they were trying to enter the zone with speed, but it was not pretty.
647 GOAL OLIMPIJA
Simšič! Tomaževič creates space in the net front area and Nik drives to the net and scores. Ege on the assist but Blaž did a lot of work here.
3-1
554 KAC hit the bar and it satisfyingly bounces up and back into Horak's awaiting glove. Close!
321 PEN KAC
2 minute minor for roughing after one of their players got sat down after shooting at Horak on a dead whistle.
151 PP looks out of ideas already, with the usual 'let's just cycle and pass it for an extremely-telegraphed pass to Sabolič for a slapshot'. He's good, but if the goalie can smell it coming a mile off, it'll be hard to score from.
145 Ege hits the post!
5s left GOAL KAC
KAC sneak in while we are switching off for the end of the period and a backhand beats Horak. Such a momentum killer. It was well-worked but we cannot let that happen.
3-2
P2
1300 Smash Attack
1037 GOAL KAC
KAC get a quick deflection in after a good cycle and possession. We couldn't get a line change in and appeared very tired.
3-3
938 PEN OLL
Atwal gets his customary 2 mins roughing penalty. You have to think he has a certain reputation amongst the refs around the league now, as I don't think he really deserved it. Got applause for it from the crowd.
638 Kerbashian with a great pass against the grain for Mahkovec, who hits the post.
514 Ćosić impressively handles a puck behind the net, shaking off two forecheckers. A teammate immediately turns the puck over once he passes it to them, which sums up Olimpija hockey sometimes.
321 GOAL KAC
KAC hit the post and then bundle the rebound in. Seemed like they were on a PP for a bit there, but it's just suffocating 5on5 possession. Looking like the KAC from last year.
3-4
2 get our first shot on goal for a long while.
3-4
P3
1841 GOAL OLIMPIJA
Sabolič with a sensational dish to Gregorc across the ice, who waits, waits and strikes! Tomaževič with the secondary assist.
4-4
1810 PEN OLL
A proper fight?! Sort of! Mehle starts a ruckus behind the opposition net and Beričič and Sodja step in to help him out. For the first time I have ever seen, a player throws down their gloves and gets punching - it's Beričič! The KAC player wusses out of the fight, though, and Miha shouts at him in disgust all the way to the bench. As a Liverpudlian might say, 'boss that, lad'. Anyway, Mehle gets 2 mins for roughing and Beričič and Mr KAC Scaredy-Cat get 5 each for fighting.
1108 GOAL OLIMPIJA
Crnović shoots from the point and Sabolić deflects it in! We go ahead!
5-4
Horak is using a shiny new stick - is that where the new contract money is going? Well spent, I say!
915 GOAL KAC
Scores are level again. We go for a dangerous line change, leaving the ravenous KAC attackers with time and space. They punish us.
5-5
755 Kerbashian goes around the world but his backhand is over the top of the net.
446 GOAL KAC, PEN OLL
Pretty soft one from the blue line that goes straight in, as far as I can tell. To make things even worse, Sabolič decides to hack away at the guy who just scored, which - obviously - draws a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. Game over, I would imagine.
5-6
411 POWERPLAY GOAL KAC
Of course they score. Got to have the game sense to stop yourself from throwing the game away even if you are a bit pressed by the opposition players. You'd think a 36-year old KHL veteran would realise that.
5-7
209 We go empty net, but nothing happens either way.
ENDS 5-7
Final stats
Sabolič 1G 2A
Mahkovec G
Simšič G
Kerbashian PPG
Mašič 2A
Crnović A
Powerplay = 1/3, 33%
Penalty Kill = 4/5, 80%
Special teams were very good tonight, and we would have gone 100% on the PK if not for Sabolič's unsportsmanlike conduct at the end.
Final thoughts
We really should have won that.
I heard a lot of discourse about the refs tonight. I think I've made my stance reasonably clear - I was told on my first game in Hala Tivoli that the Austrian refs seem to consistently favour Austrian teams over us. Despite the risks of confirmation bias, I do feel that has been the case over the last two seasons. However, let me zig when you expect me to zag. Here are three key things that were within our control that cost us the win:
- letting in a shorthanded goal in the first period. Just can't do that at home and expect to win.
- letting in a goal with 5 seconds left in the 2nd period, where we simply switched off and let it happen. This is something we keep doing and it is infuriating. There's a reason that coaches all over the hockey world repeat 'play the full 60 minutes' ad nauseam.
- giving up 3 goals after leading 5-4 with 10 mins left in the 3rd period.
- Sabolič drawing an entirely avoidable and unnecessary unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for roughing a KAC player right after they scored the go-ahead goal (5-6) with a few minutes left.
Regarding the last one, what do you expect to happen there? It doesn't matter that KAC have been getting away with a few crosschecks - you cannot put the team in that position. Clearly Pastor Martin Golob's visit to the squad didn't work well enough, as the best revenge there is in that moment is the Christian 'turn the other cheek' and go down and score the equaliser. It is certainly not to give them a penalty that they score from and it's game over. As a 36 year old veteran, he should know better. If it's Mehle or one of the other young guys, it's more understandable. But it wasn't.
I did give Beričič the 2nd star for fighting, so I'm hardly a pacifist. Yet there is a time and place for it. Have some situational awareness! In that moment, we have to be squeaky clean and not give the refs a chance to call us for anything.
I'm being harsh here, but it was so frustrating to see Sabla throw away all the brilliant offensive stuff he did this game on something like that. There was no use arguing with the refs after the game, either - we'd already lost. Do better next time, as self-righteous people like to say.
I won't write too much more, but something to monitor is that our stronger offense this season is leading to a weaker defence. We are creating more chances but giving more up the other way. It'll be the coaching staff's main goal for the rest of the season to keep the former and relinquish the latter.
Finally, I want to say that, despite being a huge The Prodigy fan, I think the choice of song for entry to the arena, 'Smack My Bitch Up', was probably not an appropriate one if you want to get more female fans in. Perhaps not one to play for Ladies' Night on Friday!
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