OLIMPIJA 3 - 6 KAC
RED JACKET RUSHES SLAY THE DRAGONS
KAC GET TWO REVERSE SMASH BURGER GOALS
FIRST BIG LOSS UNDER TAVŽELJ
Lineup changes
+ Ćosić
+ Tomaževič
-- Mašič
Stars of the game
* Lukaš Horák - we let in 6 and he was still comfortably our best player. It could easily have been 9 or 10.
** Rok Kapel (A) - he's really been reinvigorated by AT. He's gone from frequently flopping around the ice earlier this season to showing off some serious skill and scoring regular points. Here, he did all the hard work for Mahkovec, who tapped in a goal.
*** Jan Ćosić (A) - it was great to see 14 back, providing his usual snarl as well as an assist on our first goal with a visionary pass that put a lot of trust in Kapel - which was, thankfully, amply rewarded with a goal!
Stats
Focusing on KAC's goals, 5/6 were in the low slot. Now, as we've established, this is the most dangerous place to shoot from - but clearly we need to work on preventing entries to this zone and chances. As it turns out, multiple of these were on advantageous breakaways for KAC. The team urgently needs to reflect on why that kept happening. Was it KAC just playing a high line defensively, with a view to rapid transitions? Were we turning it over too often and a bit sluggish after some time off? Were they cheating for offense and we weren't able to punish them for that?
1st goal - either a clever set play or a very lucky rebound (judging by the shooter's reaction, it was the latter!).
2nd goal - turnover for a 2 on 1. Bohinc lays out but they find the back door pass. KAC are faster and more decisive.
3rd goal - PPG - PK gets sucked in to the left circle/corner area (from KAC's perspective), they overcompensate once the weak-side (where fewer players are) point pass goes out, which leaves space on the formerly strong-side (where more players are) for a deflection that would have been a back door tap in anyway.
4th goal - precise D-zone exit from KAC catches us flat-footed for a 2 on 1. They win the puck on the boards and shift it to a man hitting the neutral zone with speed, anticipating the breakout. Back door pass once more. Gregorc was taking the pass but they thread it through again.
5th goal - another one where we get sucked in to the left circle/corner area, freeing up a late joiner to receive a central high slot pass all alone.
6th goal - they establish O-zone presence with a quick transition and a 1 on 2 rush. They circle back to let others enter the zone, send it low left circle and then it's just a high snipe from a tough angle.
So, you can see here that two things were responsible for 4 of the 6 goals. Like school kids playing football, we got caught chasing / watching the puck twice. We also allowed two 2 on 1 breakaways goals. Those can be the two things we focus on preventing against Linz today, as they will certainly have scouted that and will be looking to take advantage (unless they're playing some gigabrain meta-game where they expect us to correct those two things and thereby attack something else - but I'm probably overestimating ICE league strategies by this point).
2 on 1s will happen to the best of teams, but it does seem like giving up breakaway chances is happening too much for us. It'll be up to the coaching staff to decide what that's down to and to try to fix it before it undoes our chances at a decent play-in and playoff run.
Shots-saves at 5 on 5:
P1: 6-5 (OLL G, KAC GG + PPG)
P2: 9-12 (OLL G, KAC G)
P3: 8-9 (OLL G, KAC GG)
Pretty even, yet the score told a different tale - the quality of chances given up was far in KAC's favour.
Shooting %: 3/24 for a surprisingly good 12.5%.
Save %: 30/36 for 0.833 (I know this isn't technically a percentage but I've seen so many NHL save stats in this format that I prefer 0.833 rather than 83.3%).
PP: 0/2
PK: 1/2
Not a night to remember for special teams.
Game flow
P1
1806 Horak's rebound control is wobbly and KAC nearly pounce (geddit?).
1804 GOAL KAC - a one-timer shot from Olimpija's right circle goes well wide outside the right post. Horak still moves for the save, leaving him well out of position for a lucky bounce rebound on the other side. KAC score on their second shot.
0-1
1602 GOAL KAC - and now they score on their third shot! 2 on 1, Bohinc goes down but the pass to the back post finds its way through and in.
0-2
Saying we're having a slow start doesn't really cover it!
1533 A slick backhand 180 by Beričič is pad saved.
1123 GOAL OLIMPIJA - a wonderful pickup off the boards on his off-hand side by Kapel, whose ensuing shot squeaks through the goalie's armpit area and leaves a tap-in for Mahkovec. Great pass by Ćosić but even better puck control by Kapel.
1-2
The cameraman positioned next to me in the West stand packed up his stuff right before we scored. The ironies of life!
Tomaževič is seeing time on the 4th line with Beričič and Pance, as Sodja is still out. He ends up hitting his head twice tonight, though, which is worrying given he was off with concussion-related symptoms.
630 Sabla with a big open ice hit in the neutral zone, yes please!
548 Červeny with a menacing hit into the boards, KAC player is clearly rattled as he goes to the bench yapping at Rudolf.
457 Great glove save by Horak through a lot of traffic.
432 Pad save by Horak on a slick set-play by KAC (point to right circle to low slot).
325 PEN OLL Pance for interference. Looked a pretty soft call and it's an offensive zone penalty, never a good one to concede (defensive zone penalties are easier to stomach as at least you're trying to prevent a goal scoring opportunity).
PK1 is Gregorc, Ege, Bonino, Beričič. Ćosić and Atwal are the PK2 d-men. Bičevskis comes on for Bonino but Beričič stays out. I'm not sure if this was an intentional double-shift for 10 or whether they couldn't get the change.
127 PPG KAC - 3s left on the PP, they get a tip from the low slot. KAC are certainly being efficient tonight - this was their 2nd shot on the PP.
1-3
53s left PEN KAC - trip. Another one of these penalties that straddle a period break. They are nowhere near as useful as having 2 consecutive minutes, at least for us. 108 PP time left for P2.
P2
No shots in the PP. KAC at 5 on 5 is like them having a PP though, at the moment!
We are flat and disconnected tonight. I hope we haven't lost our AT momentum.
1706 Huge stop by Horak with a blocker save on a rapid rush chance for KAC.
1611 Ćosić hits a KAC player trying to enter the zone. Well done! Make it hard for them!
1443 Pad save by Horak - rush chances galore for KAC!
Refs twice refuse to call boarding on us.
1323 Beautiful move by Kapel on a 1 on 2, where he spins, goes through a defender then switches around for a backhand shot that's saved. It drew audible 'oohs' and 'aahs' from the crowd - not a common occurrence watching Olimpija, to be fair!
1257 GOAL OLIMPIJA - great pace from us! A 3 on 2 sees it go from 96-19-12 at the back post. As for Bičevskis and Lavoie, G for Simšič. At 2-3, we are back in this!
2-3
1122 GOAL KAC - KAC are making their shots count. It's another 2 on 1 rush - and KAC get a reverse Smash Burger goal. I wonder if any of their fans tried to redeem it?! Just like that, it's back to a two-goal deficit.
2-4
543 PEN OLL - Crnović trip. Atwal does a chicken dance to a KAC player who wouldn't fight him after a nasty accidental impact on Horak in the net.
Lots of close shaves on this PK.
248 PEN KAC - holding on Sabla. Gregorc is the PP1 QB with Mašič out.
KAC's PK is quite spread out, and they are able to smother us. In unfortunately common Olimpija fashion, they get a shot on goal before we do. We actually don't get one at all, so both our PPs end with 0 shots. Ouch.
A very stylish P2 interval set of fan goals for the Dubai holiday competition - a lady does a backhand straight down the middle first time and a man does a moonwalk celly after a goal on his 2nd try. Easier to pull off on ice, no doubt, but a good effort nonetheless!
P3
1418 Kerbashian hits a KAC player forcefully - nice to see more physicality tonight from the team, although it may just be frustration at the impending loss.
1214 Kapel gets pushed back into the D-zone and gives it up for a 2 on 1 that Horak saves. Is that four 2 on 1s we've given up tonight?
1132 GOAL KAC - centring pass and a top corner shot for ANOTHER reverse Smash Burger goal! You couldn't write this stuff! At 2-5, this is essentially game over.
2-5
252 GOAL KAC - a high shot from a tight angle sneaks in.
2-6
This is the first embarrassment of the AT era.
152 GOAL OLIMPIJA - Pance from th eleft circle, assisted by Lavoie and Ege. Makes the scoreboard look slightly better.
ENDS 3-6.
Lavoie gets MVP for his two assists.
Final thoughts
KAC outclassed us here. It's a time-worn tale of a team going on a break and coming back looking lethargic and disconnected. I really hope this is a one-off and an unfortunate catching of a red-hot KAC rather than the Tavželj new coach bounce momentum coming to a standstill. Let's explore the two extreme scenarios potentially ahead of us:
Blessed - KAC were just really good. We finish the season strongly against tough opponents. Winning glosses over the unpopular appointment of David Rodman as assistant coach, and he ameliorates the coaching capacity available to the players. Our PP returns to form. We use this momentum to defeat our play-in opposition and really compete for the championship in the playoffs proper. We retain some star free agents for a more put-together run at the Cup next season.
Cursed - we continue to look dishevelled against a murderer's row of opponents in our finish to the regular season. David Rodman's arrival sours the fanbase and kills off the good AT vibes in the playing squad. Our PP goes back to being moribund, à la Karhula. We secure our play-in place, nevertheless, but get bounced by our opponent. We feel like we've wasted a season of this powerful squad and lose key free agents.
Linz and Bolzano coming up will be real tests for us, but we should be fine for a play-in finish regardless. As friend of the blog NG said to me, if we finish 8th we'll at least get a guaranteed final home game.
P.S. I found it hilarious this week when at work we were asked to test out Microsoft's Copilot AI. I, of course, asked it about strategies for Olimpija in the playoffs. It ended up citing this blog twice out of three sources ^^ and yet if you Google search Olimpija Hockey Blog the site doesn't come up! The miniature tragedies of modern day life, eh?!
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