Game 24

OLIMPIJA 2 - 1 FERENCVAROS (OT)

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER FOR DRAGONS

THE SCORING FLOOD REMAINS DAMMED

Goals

P2

OLL  - Simšič throws the puck to the net from the blue line and Quince is there for the rebound. 

FTC - What a clanger -  Kirichenko misjudges the puck, which bounces off the back boards and past Horak's outstretched stick, falling slowly and serendipitously into the lap of an FTC forward in the low slot. Was it more of a bad bounce or more of a defensive misjudgement? Possibly more of the former, in retrospect, but both count.

OT

OLL - Mahkovec finds space down the middle and fires home, with the help of Mašič and Petan.

Thoughts

• As ZG pointed out to me, since scoring our 100th goal, we've found them quite hard to come by. The last two games, in particular, have been rather tough watches.
• Mahkovec scored the winner and I am grateful for that. It's worth asking, though - why isn't he being put in better positions throughout the first 60 minutes? The goals have dried up over the past two games; while that is only a small sample size, it is frustrating. We have been weathering injuries and lineup changes, but we need to play more of the flowing, connected hockey that got us to the top of the league. Now, we look disjointed and haphazard - not to mention how undisciplined we've been with penalties. It's been weeks now that the refs have been calling soft stuff, so we have to adapt better. FTC had four penalties and while we killed them all off, we shouldn't be giving our opponent that many chances. It has to be on us to clean up our play. If that means being squeaky clean, then let's be squeaky clean.
• You'll notice no stars of the game this time. Who played well? Horak. Anyone else? Mahkovec scored right at the end. I honestly couldn't pick out anyone else who stood out during the first 60 mins than Horak. We need people to start waking up and showing what they have to offer because we are not that far off crunch time in the regular season.
• Although our PP has looked lacklustre, I did really enjoy Meyer's clever 'sit and wait' with the puck behind the net. That stop-motion made the PK-ers flinch, giving Meyer a passing lane to the middle that he took advantage of. It sadly didn't end in a goal, but at least we looked more dangerous than the past few games on the man-advantage.
• Talking of manufacturing offense, we seem to be doing almost everything by the boards, when we're not that big a team (especially with Polei out). Why aren't we using our skill players to carry the puck in more? Is it a choice to stay to the outside or are we just taking what the defence is giving us? I accept that dump-ins and board battles are necessary elements of good hockey; I also accept that we can't reasonably expect Connor McDavid-level carry-ins every time we enter the zone. Yet, I still find it frustrating that we are not unleashing our creative players (e.g. Petan, Mehle, Meyer, Brennan) sufficiently to make them confident enough to attempt more controlled entries to the OZ. Playing to a system is all well and good, but that system needs to evolve under changing circumstances. That's easier said than done, but it can start with empowering players to attempt more zone entries with control instead of the constant dump-and-chase-and-lose-possession.
• FTC are not that good a team defensively. Their goalie played well and I really liked his monk-like pose in timeouts (see below), but we should not be getting bossed around by them. Offensively, they do have some pop - they were able to generate multiple dangerous free rush chances against us. So, an uncharitable assessment of our current capabilities would be that we are in a bit of a bind, with the worst of the Cooper offensive system without the benefits. We still just about ground out a win, but it doesn't fill me with confidence for Fehervar on Wednesday or Villach on Friday. 

Photo by yours truly

• In general, I think my frustration comes from the feeling that we are fighting against the game rather than flowing with it. Our zone entries are wonky, with offsides aplenty. Our passing is stilted. We aren't even getting the bread and butter of CC's system, the point shot deflections. Here's a great article I found about how teams are moving away from high-volume point shots, as they produce far fewer rebounds than closer-range efforts: https://substack.com/home/post/p-180121673. Talking of the Cooper system, do we need to shift the focus from shot quantity onto shot quality? Can Mehle be used in the Polei role until he gets back, to help us move back into generating inside chances instead of ineffective outside chances? Time will tell!

Coach Cooper Post-Game Locker Room Speech 

He praised Horak and the penalty kill, said that certain players seemed to be lacking in confidence and suggested that the team needed the impending day off. He also apologised for having shouted at them, presumably right before the cameras rolled. 

If Meyer was off with illness, it's a safe bet that other players have been playing through sickness as well. We certainly look in need of a recharge, which we'll get in the break from 7th December to 17th. Until then, we need to find a way to play more effectively at both ends.

Coach Cooper Post-Game Interview

"Bit of a flat game, for sure. We did what we had to do to win the game. Penalty kill in 3rd period, we defended fairly well, we didn't give Shaw much. Wasn't our prettiest win, but all we care about is getting the win".

I'm pleased he felt similarly; I can sympathise with the struggle to motivate and energise a group of fellow humans, as my class at school are currently pretty hard work in that respect. Maybe it's just the time of year, as suggested above. Hopefully things will improve in the New Year (or sooner) for both of us!

Red Bull DJ Truck discussion

Photos by me again - I'm no Domen Jančič, that's for sure! 😆👑

For context, Red Bull somehow sponsored the Student Night game and brought along a heinously ugly, branded Cybertruck. My first reaction to seeing it driving around inside Hala Tivoli was "get that sh-t off our ice', to be completely honest. I must admit, I also thoroughly enjoyed VBT's comment on the announcement, enquiring if SIJ Acroni (Jesenice's former main sponsor) would be the next sponsor on the agenda. 

More sponsors are generally good (Wilkinson's crowd advert was funny, for instance, with the zoom-ins on the bearded men who refused to even countenance applying one of their products to their beard), but Red Bull is obviously a different kettle of fish. They have been putting their fingers in more of the league's pies, with their marketing assistance, for instance. This has been to almost universal displeasure (when the other Austrian fans even get mad, then you know it's bad). Their helping out with student night doesn't change the fact that they are the backers of the quadra-champs, RBS. 

Unless they are going to invest their megabux in us, I don't really want to be associated with them. Now, this could be a first toe-dipping towards diving into an arrangement with us, granted. Maybe that's what the club is angling for. Overall, I think the team has done a very good job with acquiring sponsorships and commercial partners, especially given the backdrop of how other Slovene hockey clubs have been doing, so I will continue to put my trust in them. The RB Cybertruck has continued to show up to our games, though, for no apparent reason. I think some communication on this front would be sensible, but then I have very little interest in the business side of the sport (as I found out in the middle of a Sports Consultancy job interview a few years back), so perhaps I've got it all wrong. Anyway, can we please get MacWilliam back in the team so I can see him try to hurt the opposition some more? That would be great, thank you.

P.S. I forgot to mention that Game 23 coverage was sponsored by SS, who very nobly provided me with a late birthday drink. He's one of the funniest guys I've had the pleasure to interact with, so many thanks to him for the drink and his enlightened correspondence over IG!

P.P.S. KŠ kindly responded to my story about being unable to participate in družinski dan, as my family are all far away. She mentioned that I have an OLL family, too - that proved prescient of her. I'm not American or Canadian, but my Thanksgiving would definitely include the OHB community. Wearing the blue Kerbashian jersey has meant a few people have come up to me and said thanks/hello, which I really appreciate. Particular thanks go to the absolute gentlemen that are NR, ZG, ED, SS, the other SA and Olimpija News, whom I all had the pleasure to meet/sit with/chat to over the past week of games. They are all really great guys and I am grateful to be friends with them! Anyway, that's enough positivity - see you on the weekend for the AVS and VSV reports (hopefully going to win at least one game at a card game tournament on Thursday - but I wouldn't bet on it 😆).