Soviets lose to rivals Prestige Worldwide, fall to 1-3

Four weeks ago, the Red Army opened the season with a 6-2 win over the Easton Fections. Fans were excited-- new season, new hopes. Since then, the Soviets have dropped three straight games, each one more infuriating than the last. The season that was supposed to be a triumphant return to greatness has quickly morphed into a bottomless free fall deep into the abyss of mediocrity. The offense isn't scoring, the defense isn't stopping, and the team isn't winning. Sunday's 5-1 loss to Prestige Worldwide was simply the latest example of Mother Russia's penchant of playing, for lack of a better term, bad hockey.

What are the problems that plague the Soviets? For starters, everything. Okay, admittedly, that's not fair. But through four games, there are few positives to take away. Normally there is at least one player over-achieving, but such is not the case this season. Au contraire, nearly every player on the roster is underachieving. Pat King heads this department, as he has more PIMs (4) than points (2) through four games. Those two points, by the way, are assists.

Burn!

Let's not single out old Patty-Cakes though, he can't bear all the blame for the offensive woes. King's partner in secondary crime, Steve Hand, also just has a lone marker thus far into the season. The big guns, Mike D'Ignazio and Mark Hendricks, have scored six and ten points respectively, but both have disappeared late in games with the result still very much in the balance. Bottom line is you can't win games if you don't put the puck in the net, and right now, those four guys are not getting it done.

Despite the impotent offensive attack, it may be the defense that is crippling the team most right now. Defensive zone breakdowns, dropped assignments, and an utter lack of communication has allowed team after team to pick apart the Soviets. In Sunday's game against Prestige Worldwide, with the Red Army trailing 2-1 and pressing for the equalizer late in the second period, Tony Horton and Hand (who was playing defense) both crept into the offensive zone without informing D'Ignazio and Hendricks that they had activated from the points. The result? Once Prestige gained control of the puck, they were able to spring Scott Smith with one pass and the forward was able to beat goaltender Matt Dixon.

Make no mistake about it though, despite the egregious error made by Hand and Horton, they are not the only ones making gigantic mental gaffes at crucial times.

I will go into more detail tomorrow, namely about the fore-check and special teams.

NO ONE IS SAFE FROM THIS WRATH!