VILLACH 6 - 5 OLIMPIJA
DESPITE FLOWING OFFENSE, DRAGONS GET BURNED LATE BY RIVALS IN EXCRUCIATING FASHION
SODJA STEALS THE SHOW FROM BONINO, WHOSE DEBUT PARADE GETS RAINED ON WITH ANOTHER LATE CARINTHIAN LOSS FOR OLIMPIJA
VILLACH'S EAGLES SLICE THROUGH US LIKE HOT TALONS THROUGH BUTTER
Lineup changes
Probably the biggest lineup change of the year - Nick Bonino comes in for the injured Bičevskis (best wishes for a speedy recovery, Maris) on the 3rd line. This serves a dual purpose - not putting too much on Bonino right away and conserving the nascent chemistry on the top line (and the others, I suppose!).
Another big one is welcoming Žiga Pance back as the 13th forward - presumably a move to ease him back into game action.
Stars of the game
* Jaka Sodja (SHG, 2A) - I have him down for having two assists, even if Flashscore doesn't. Would anyone have guessed that our former NHL player would have his thunder stolen by some electric play by no.23? I will take full credit for the 4th line erupting this game, despite my report saying I wanted more from them coming out about 10 minutes before the match started. His shorthanded goal had me shouting to the rooftops - well played, sir.
** Nick Bonino (PPG, A) - Even if assistant coaches were telling fans to 'not expect too much' from Bonino straight away, he looked pretty dominant. Savvy puck play both with and without it added a lot to our game, as did numerous faceoff wins. If this is how he looks when a bit rusty, I cannot wait to see what he looks like in full-flow. Welcome and thank you for joining us!
*** Rožle Bohinc (A) - A left-field choice, perhaps, but one I am fully behind. Bohinc had a lot more ice time tonight than usual and looked like the only composed and effective defender out there. If I was a scout, I would love the way he looks on the ice - he seems to have all the tools, but he also has the kind of size that doesn't really exist in our team aside from Pavlin. He seems like a prime candidate to get picked off by a higher league but I sincerely hope he stays and that him and Hebar form a seriously bright defensive future for us.
Now, would you like the good news or the bad news? :))
Positives easily lost amidst the maelstrom of negatives:
- Performances of Sodja, Bonino and Bohinc detailed above
- I really loved seeing Žiga Mehle getting powerplay time, along with Bonino, Kerbashian, Sabolič and Mašič. I feel like we have an Alexis Lafrenière situation with Bonino's old New York Rangers here. Mehle needs this kind of specialist ice time to develop his confidence and his game. Beričič and Sodja, the other 'kids', get voluptuous amounts on the penalty kill and look fantastic whenever they do so. It's time to let the final 'kid' consistently have a go on the powerplay. I really hope Coach Karhula continues this.
- Happy to see Lavoie score his first non-empty-net goal. Keep them coming, Monsieur!
Now for the post-mortem negatives:
1. What a waste of an excellent offensive performance. The team must have read a knock-off copy of Sun Tzu's The Art of War, because "attack, but do not defend" was a tenet of their play tonight. It has to have been plastered all over the locker room in Microsoft Word printout form and rhythmically chanted pre-game, judging by the way things went down.
Now, I admit that some games do spontaneously mutate into shootouts, imitating life's great game of evolution. This game reminded me of something much less admirable, however. To me, it mirrored those kind of hockey fights you see where the two players just lock onto each other and hammer punch till they both drop. This is essentially what happened tonight, except we were 3-5 up and then let them punch us in the face three more times with no response.
I have been reading a Warhammer 40K book about a Psyker, essentially a witch with psychic powers. In that book, a Psyker mind-wipes an entire regiment of soldiers to make them forget about the location of an extremely dangerous enemy, so that they won't try to fight it again. Our defending was such that it made me think Villach may have had a Psyker in the stands, who compelled us to forget entirely how to defend. I'm sorry if this comes off a bit dramatic, but an absurd game demands absurd explanatory theories!
2. Talking of fighting - if someone touches your goalie, fists should fly. For all I have criticised Arvin Atwal (and there's more coming for him and Wyatt Ege in this article), you can always rely on him to protect our goalies. Tonight, no. 26 of Villach was allowed to brutally slash Lukaš Horák in his nether regions and the most he received was a light push from Bine Mašič. Horak was convulsing on the floor in serious pain and Olimpija players seemed to be just kind of standing around like NPCs. I understand the desire to get the 5 on 3, which we did score from, but some things transcend those concerns. Now, maybe I missed something off-screen on the stream. But the question remains. Why are we so soft?
Someone is going to have to tell me if this is just European hockey, because this wouldn't slide in the North American hockey I watched prior to moving here. Please forgive the impending brutal reference, but if what happened to Horak happened in the AHL, the guy who did it would resemble one of the post-Hiroshima puddles on the ground that used to be a human being. I'm not suggesting we go that far, but do something! How is Horak supposed to feel when our complete lack of a response sends the message to other teams that they can essentially do what they like with our goalie? When he constantly puts his body on the line for the good of the team, but nobody will do the same for him? I certainly wouldn't feel good, or motivated!
Ok, we were on the powerplay with our finesse players, but come on now, boys! Nobody is even throwing a hit afterwards! I have never played hockey, but if someone did that to my goalie in football, as a defender I would be gagging for the next opportunity to marmelise them in a tackle! I feel like I have to stop myself from launching into a Duane from Buffalo rant about the Sabres (although I certainly would not be talking about the owner; Mr Lefebvre has been fantastic to us). Please check Duane's rant out or Google it if you haven't already, it's true sports fan passion https://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/1937880.
Safe to say, this was enormously infuriating and doesn't reflect well on the team at all. Without Žiga Pavlin around, who is there to be the one that stands up to protect teammates? The kid line of Beričič, Mehle and Sodja certainly looks after each other when they are out on the ice. Stick taps to them.
I hope you can feel the fury simmering off me, because that is truly how I felt when I saw what happened. The least we can do for our star goalie, who for two consecutive seasons has single-handedly kept us in games, is to show we will not tolerate any physicality towards him. Relying on the refs is not enough.
Stats
Doing a pokey stats section post-eviscerating diatribe seems a bit silly, but I'll do it anyway.
Shots-saves at even strength:
P1 - 11-11 (VSV GG, OLL GG)
P2 - 6-14 (VSV G, OLL SHG)
P3 - 6-8 (VSV GGG, OLL PPG)
Period 2 was statistically our undoing, as usual, but it was really Period 3 where it all fell down. I will run down the goals in Game Flow, but it's worth asking why Period 2 seems to always be a downer for us. Is it that other coaches are better at making adjustments than we are?
Special teams:
PK: 3/3 for 100%
PP: 1/2 for 50%
Another excellent night for special teams - unfortunately it was the 5 on 5 play that killed us!
Points:
Sodja SHG 2A
Bonino PPG A
Mehle 1G 1A
Ćosić G
Lavoie G A
Bohinc A
Kerbashian A
Beričič A
Game flow
P1
1505 A point shot for us (I missed who was involved) gets deflected and trickles into the post and wide.
1317 First Bonino impact - a deft interception in the neutral zone that turns into an attack. An auspicious start - and it would get better!
1026 GOAL VILLACH
2nd line and 1st pair - a sharp sideways pass gets deflected in at the net front. Who let that forward in there uncontested? On the replay, it's Atwal who is late picking him up. In fairness, it's good movement from Villach to find space but it doesn't look good for the nearest defender (Atwal) or centre (Simšič).
1-0
921 GOAL OLIMPIJA
Within 1 minute, we respond! Ćosić scores from Mehle and Sodja. Sodja enters the zone, dropping it back for Mehle. Mehle had rippled the side netting, Sodja picks it up again, goes around the net and ricochets it off a defender and Mehle - falling nicely for Ćosić to blast home! The 4th line boys are back in town!
1-1
840 GOAL VILLACH
Another response within a minute, but not the good kind - the same thing happens as before but now it's Ege who fails to engage the net front attacker. Another deflection from a side angle! VSV are going for the 'if it ain't broke' approach!
6 - we watch VSV players skate right into our zone yet again. Hit someone! Has anybody watched what happens when NHL players try to hold onto the puck for ages in the offensive zone? Someone like Radko Gudas obliterates them! Talking of him, Trouba and Gudas will be quite the battering for opposing forwards after the trade from NYR to ANA!
431 Great counterattack - Atwal bounces it off the boards to Kapel, who hits a streaking Mahkovec. No.8 tries to fly across goal and backhand the puck, but he can't elevate and it's a good pad save.
354 Zajc's shot is saved at the back post.
3 GOAL OLIMPIJA
Beričič drives the net and the rebound goes to Mehle who scores! Sodja on the secondary assist.
2-2
139 Very back and forth stuff, with nice offensive moves by both teams.
119 We let their best player, John Hughes, walk right into the zone.... thankfully his shot gets blocked. You are allowed to hit the opposition, fellas!
P2
1925 PEN OLL - Mašič for interference.
1856 SHORTHANDED GOAL - SOOOOOODJAAAAAAA!!!
23 makes it 2-3! Sodja pickpockets an attacker in the neutral zone and screams away for a 1 on 0 break - he beats the goalie high above his glove. What an individual effort!!!
Barely 2 minutes in to the 2nd period and Sodja is on SHG and 2A! Finally it's us getting a SHG and not having one scored on us!
2-3 by 23
Pance is back but looks rusty.
15 Some roiling seas in the neutral zone - it's the Age of Pirates, with cannons blasting and pucks being taken this way and that.
1459 PEN OLL - Kapel trips someone.
I like how clear the ref announcements are on the stream - well done to VSV.
Bonino is on the penalty kill, replacing Bičevskis there too.
1251 GOAL VSV
Just after the penalty expires, we switch off and let VSV in - two of their forwards arrive uncontested into the slot and back post. No coverage means Horak has little chance. Poor play from us, even if there were some tired legs out there. We wasted the PK's hard work.
3-3
1224 VSV nearly get another with a net-front scramble.
11 Our defence is in full 'knife through hot butter' mode. GB points out to me that Bonino has won all of his faceoffs so far.
739 GOAL OLIMPIJA
Bonino's first point in green and white! Bohinc and Bonino combine to assist on Lavoie's first non-empty-net goal for the club. Bohinc initially sent in an interesting rebound puck off the back board from the point. The puck comes back to Rožle, who then sends it into the Gretzky-zone behind the net for Bonino. Bonino does his best Great One impression and backhands it sumptuously for Lavoie to tap home. Very classy stuff. Can you tell this guy played 45 games in the NHL last year?
3-4
5 I like the look of Bonino matched up on John Hughes, who suddenly doesn't look so good. This could be his role on the team - a matchup nightmare that smothers the opposition's best creative player. 63 snuffing out the leading lights of the ICE League would be a lovely sight to see.
Lots of high danger chances being traded.
Bohinc and Atwal are playing together, as well as Mašič and Ege. Not sure what's going on.
1 A flurry of VSV chances occur. Get. It. Out. The. Zone.
3-4
P3
1820 Lavoie through on goal on a 2on1, but VSV's goalie makes a crisp blocker save.
Pance makes a painful block - oh-oh, hope he's ok!
PEN VSV - hooking.
PP - Bonino, Kerbashian, Mašič, Sabolič and Mehle. I love that Mehle is getting some PP time!
VSV's penalty killers acquire the puck and chase down Horak's net. He makes the save, but isn't sure where the puck is. He stands up, only to release the puck and have to make another save. Whilst splayed out, no.26 of Villach brutally slashes Horak in his nether regions, leading to contorted rolling around in pain. Nobody really does anything about this. The refs then review for a major penalty, but decide on a minor for slashing.
PEN VSV - slashing - see above.
Now it's a 5 on 3 for 1:37.
With 23s left in the 5 on 3...
1552 POWERPLAY GOAL OLIMPIJA - BONINOOOO
Kerbashian and Lavoie serve up a back-door PPG for the new man! After setting up one, he now gets a back door rebound himself!
3-5
Now we need to do what we haven't before and calm down to close out the game. It's not so easy in a shootout, though...
1352 GOAL VILLACH
VSV open us up and beat a sore Horak. Our defensive coverage swarms onto the initial zone entrants, which means we neglect the second wave incoming.
I just wrote 'chaos' in this section of the game.
922 Kale hits the post! Sabla steals the puck in the neutral zone and springs Kerbashian through on goal.
8 Atwal is doing his best Darnell Nurse / Cody Ceci in the playoffs for Edmonton last year - it's real turnstile hockey, getting breezed past.
634 Great effort by Kerbashian to burst across the ice to nullify a turnover rush that looked very inviting, as we had made a line change.
256 GOAL VILLACH
VSV get their THIRD side pass/back post deflection goal of the evening. Glad to see we have made adjustments to stop this from continuing to work! Now we are tied and disappointed that we are not likely to end up with the full three points, but we'll take it in overtime. Surely?
5-5
130 Horak makes a high danger save.
118 GOAL VILLACH
For goodness' sake (the polite version of what I exclaimed to myself) - Horak gets screened by multiple Olimpija players and lets in a soft goal.
6-5
49s left PEN OLL - too many men. I just wrote "shambles" in my notes. Coach Karhula doesn't look happy and I am certainly not either.
ENDS 6-5
Final thoughts
We are destined for another play-in scramble, just like last year, if we can't find some consistency. How come we can play a tight game against a much better Fehervar team, but leak goals like there's no tomorrow against Villach? They've been ascending in the table, but come on now. At the height of our powers, this team definitely deserves to finish in an automatic playoff spot. Whether we do or not is completely up in the air at the moment.
I hope the players will reflect on this game and decide that they do not want to be known for buttery soft defence. I am conscious that I should avoid overreacting to this one game after some good performances, but we cannot be losing in this fashion yet again - shipping three unanswered goals to close the game. This is the second time that we have let this happen to a Carinthia rival - both Villach and KAC. Villach, like KAC, have now passed us in the standings. Yuck!
On to Bolzano on Sunday. If we defend like we did here, expect double figures goals. I wish I was joking. If I were Coach Karhula, I would strongly consider scratching Atwal and Ege and bringing in Hebar and Bohinc. That would mean a full set of left-shot defenders, but a message needs to be sent here that these well-paid North American defenders, who looked sensational in the preseason, are not doing what is expected of them. They didn't manage the bare minimum tonight: engage the guy in front of the net and lift his stick a bit so they can't keep deflecting in goals. Here's how this new-look D would line up:
Mašič-Bohinc
Gregorc-Hebar
Ćosić-Crnović
This would give the young guys some big development opportunity and the scratched veterans a chance to work out what's been going wrong.
Right, that's enough from me now - this took all day to marinate. Enjoy your weekend!
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