Game 20

 

VILLACH 2 - 3 OLIMPIJA

JOSE MOURINHO HOCKEY SECURES REGULATION WIN

DRAGONS POUNCE ON TURNOVERS TO PUNISH EAGLES

https://giphy.com/gifs/roma-jm-mourinho-jose-leGtI4JDAzrWo7jquD

Lineup changes

MacWilliam on 2nd pair, Petan to 1st line with Meyer and Mahkovec. Quince to 2nd line with Pance and Sabla.

Stars of the game

* Luka Kolin - I suggested some adjustments to his game last game and it seemed that the coaching staff was already cooking on that front. He stayed in his favoured lower stance, but he more aggressively came out to attack scoring chances (when possible), closing the gaps on the spaces for high shots. He frequently got something on those higher shots, as well as flashing his glove like Horak and deftly utilising his blocker right up until the final second against Hancock looking for his hat-trick and the equaliser. VSV were singing his praises post-game (making excuses, a little bit - especially the post-game commentator who didn't shake Coach Cooper's hand).

** OZ turnovers leading to goals - Mahkovec to Meyer, Beričič to Mehle, Pance... I am so proud of all of these guys. Mahkovec looked dangerous with the puck on his stick, Meyer scored two goals (one disallowed), Beričič was sensational on the PK and was trusted with being on the ice at the very end of the game, Mehle finally scored and Pance got us the winner, defending his new teammate at the end and interviewing very well, to boot!

*** Andrew MacWilliam - Well, now, I enjoyed scouting his performance very much (see below). He is such a good defensive role model for the rest of the unit. He was laying out, putting his body on the line, over and over tonight. He was doing his best to defend and control the net-front area, something which this team has struggled a bit with. Not naming names, but it was really pleasing to see someone aggressively preventing chances and regaining possession in the net-front, instead of just standing around and watching the other team score. On this small sample size, he seems a great signing to help replace Halbert.

Goals

P2

VSV - Kolin makes the first save but his two defenders, the usual suspects of Crnović and Gregorc, are just standing around for the rebound, which goes in. I honestly don't care anymore if this is too harsh or not, it feels like it's always these two who act completely powerless in these situations over and over. Ćosić and Bohinc are available.

OLL - Meyer from Mahkovec. Mahkovec's pressure on the forecheck creates a turnover as he deflects a pass. Meyer pounces and gets it off his stick quickly for a 5-hole bullet. 

OLL - Mehle from Beričič. Beričič pickpockets a defender on the forecheck and turns to make a fantastic back post pass for Mehle, who elevates his shot to find the back of the net. Take note, Quince! I'm really happy to see Mehle score, as he seemed a bit snakebitten in front of goal. I hope the plug has been pulled and we'll see a few more along the way shortly.

OLL - Pance. Another pouncing on a turnover - his first shot is saved, but he elevates the puck over the goalie's pad off his own rebound. Take note, Quince x2! Evergreen Pance's silky skill still lighting up the scoreboard makes me all fuzzy inside.

P3

VSV - VSV gain the middle of the ice through a lovely peel-in play at our blue line. From that, a cross-ice pass goes from circle to circle and the resulting shot beats Kolin's blocker, as he is not able to get fully set in time. One goal behind with 10 minutes to go!

What I liked to see:

• I asked last report where our vaunted PK had gone - well, it came back with a vengeance tonight! We are back up to 2nd in the league off the back of this performance alone. It came with a blank on our PPs, too, but at least we kept things even.
• Luka Kolin going 51/53 for 0.962. ZG and I agreed that it was surprising how many shots VSV had, as it didn't seem so lop-sided on first viewing. Nevertheless, Kolin did so well and evolved from his previous performance to deny more shots. You can't ask for more than that. One thing to note, though, is that this mini-evolution is more of a quick-fix than a full resolution. By coming out more aggressively whilst remaining in his favoured lower stance, he opens up more danger regarding a lateral pass. Yet, there is no one solution and he made a strong improvement, so well done him.
• Seeing Meyer bank one in from behind the net was very cool, even if the goal was overturned for a Petan high stick. He took advantage of what I was advising Kolin against doing, dropping too early and leaving the high shot open. A shame it didn't count, but it proves players are good enough in this league to exploit high gaps.
• We flipped our recent P2 script, going 3-1. This absolutely had to happen after a scoreless P1 and I'm so glad it did. That all of them came off forced turnovers in the OZ was the cherry on top.

What I would like to see:

• We need to control possession a bit more going into future games, but I actually really like this defence-first and counter-attack second style of play that Jose Mourinho made his own in the football world. Coach Cooper in the post-game said that "We want to defend first", which shocked me. His entire system, as briefly explained by Halbert a few weeks back, seems to be securing as much OZ possession as possible. This is done with a view to overwhelming opposing defences by trapping them in their zone and peppering them with salvos of long-range shots with traffic and tips in front. I would love it if we really did defend first, but I don't think we really do. At least the intention is there! 
• With 2:06 remaining in P1, Quince could not elevate the puck over a flat-out goalie's arm. I would like to see him do better with that kind of chance next time. Luckily, our other big chances were scored on from then on.
• Get Simšič off the PP units. We had 3 minutes left of a 4 minute PP and he very obviously high-sticked a PKer in the face in front of the linesman. Very foolish. This team does not get better with him out on the ice, to be frank, so why we are giving him more special teams time is beyond me. Mehle is someone who should be out there over him every single time on the PP.
• Mašič came out of the penalty box and didn't fully commit to his sweeping backhand turn-and-shot motion, à la McDavid's goal of the season in the NHL so far. Trust yourself and go for it next time, Bine! Also, try to judge the bounce of the puck better at the OZ blue line, please - Kolin had to save a 1-on-0 against their best player because of you...

MacWilliam Scouting

I tried to keep a note of the impactful moments (positive and negative) that MacWilliam, our new defensive signing, had. He's another 35 year old Canadian who used to play in better leagues, as well as for Coach Cooper at RBS. He has pedigree, as a former Maple Leafs draft pick and player. His AHL resumé is particularly impressive.

P1

• Two nice DZ passes with his backhand that evaded the forecheck.
• Big NZ hit
• Helped out in last-ditch defence of the net, broke his stick laying out to deny the net-front space.
• Made a successful zone clear whilst on PK2.

P2

• Tied up the net-front man on PK
• Laid out to attempt a block on PK
• Got turned around by the net, allowing a slot shot that Kolin saves on PK
• Back to 5 on 5, made a good misdirection backhand pass to evade the forecheck again.

P3

• He pushed an attacker out wide, making the resulting shot easier on Kolin.
• A forceful and accurate stick from him breaks up a DZ entry
• He carried the puck into the OZ and made a dangerous pass across the slot
• He helped out with PK defending.
• He was out on the ice for the empty-net coverage, showing big trust already. 
• He helped deny these EN chances, particularly with a diving zone clear that made the opposition forward so angry that they got a 5 minute major for slashing, well-deserved because it came out of nowhere and was violent. Pance immediately defended him, which I loved to see.

Overall, I was really impressed with MacWilliam. The one negative I saw was on the PK and was a tough situation. Everything else was really positive - he might be a late contender for my jersey this season, as I love a commanding presence on defence (miss you, Pavlin!).

Post-game interview tidbits

VSV's Hancock - Kolin stole the game (I don't fully agree with that, but he played well!). 

Pance - It was a very difficult and close game. VSV never give up. We knew what we had to do, but we stepped back a bit in P3. Overall, it was a great fight and we deserved the win. They had the better stats, but we were more efficient. Kolin had an unbelievable game, he saved our asses in P2 (lol). We made a lot of turnovers and have to work on being outshot by so much.

Cooper - It was a really hard game, our goalie was outstanding, PK was great. It was a gritty game, not a ton of scoring chances but the ones we had were quality. We tried to stay calm and composed; this is a tough building to play in. 

We talk about defence every game, we want to defend first (!). We want to stay calm and keep playing our game, kill another penalty and make big saves. It was probably Kolin's best game of the season. He stuffed a breakaway, 6 on 5, PK, even the last second save at the end there. He had a big win last weekend v Bolzano and it's nice to see him performing well because it's tough as a backup goalie with the starter out. He's now filled in excellently for us in two games.

(An Austrian reporter who sounded mega arrogant said 'Laibach are good this year...what is the secret of this change this year?) We've brought in good people who are smart, composed, competitive athletes. Lots of veteran guys who've won. Our Slovene players are hard-working, fit players who care about winning (slightly damning with faint praise here, Coach...). We have an aggressive system that everyone has got behind. We take a game-by-game mentality, defence first(?!), but we have skill and scorers, too. It's nice to see it working for us, it's been good fun so far.

Final thoughts

We are back on track. Now to obliterate Linz this afternoon!