Puck Ewes Hand Soviets Worst Loss of Year in Season Finale

Going into Sunday's action, the Red Army, with a win, could have leap-frogged the Puck Ewes in the standings and climbed into the number one spot. Instead, the Soviets used the opportunity to lay an egg, and no jumping, climbing, or leap-frogging was accomplished. The four seed it was, and remains. But as the adage goes: first is the worst, second is the best, third is the one with the hairy chest, fourth is the one that wins four playoff games to win the Bronze League Roller Hockey Division!

Since there is a lot of playoff previewing to be one, this gamer will have to be short. So I'll break it down with some goods and bads.

GOODS:
-Puck control. At times, very brief times albeit, it looked like the Soviets were the better team. With the likes of Odell, Breiterman, and the Hendricks brothers, it's no secret that this team can hold on to the puck. When they did, things worked. When they didn't, things broke.

-The cycle. The few times that the Red Army established the cycle, it resulted in goals. Odell's late goal was a direct result of Mark Hendricks working behind the net.

-Line changes. Usually this is a bad with this team, but last game it seemed like the players seemed fresh. Just thought I'd give props to the guys on the bench.

BADS:
-Communication. Where was it? When nobody talks, things aren't organized, and mistakes get made. Ask my ex wife.

-Net presence. Too often players that go to the front of the net do the "fly by". That is, instead of parking in front, they skate to the front without slowing down and then skate away, so the amount of actual time they spend at the front of the net is close to one second. Park it.

-Stars trying too much. This one in particular is to #18, who despite putting up 4 points, still played unremarkable. Him and King rarely were on the same page, and a lot of that can be attributed to Hendricks thinking he is Jesus on wheels when he gets the puck. Use your teammates.

-Missed opportunities. Call it being unlucky or call it being snake bitten, but the Comrades his the post and crossbar about eight too many times last game. Somewhere Gordon Bombay is tossing in his sleep, probably because his knee hurts.


So, those are the goods and bads. Before I wrap up with the three stars and get into the playoff preview, I'll give you this quote by goaltender Andy Schram, who admittidly played a poor game in goal.

"I wasn't very good tonight. But I want them again. Run.... it.... back."

THREE STARS:
3: Scott Hoefer
2: Ryan Odell
1: Neal Hendricks