The Bob - Week 2 INTRO: Thanks Dan for the mini-write up last week while I was out of town. For those of you who are new to the league: I try to do a write up every week, but when it is actually released usually varies. Sometimes it is the next day, often times it is over the weekend or posted on Monday, and every once in a while I try to throw something together quick the day before our next set of games. Anyway – on to the action! WEEK 2 RECAP: Dwarves 13, The Bear 12 I got to the end of this game, only able to witness overtime which was a lot of fun to watch. Dan Glading volunteered (or was coerced) to write a quick recap of the action: “The first game of the night started out one-sided, but turned into a pretty good match-up, with each team showing their strengths. And their weaknesses. The Dwarves have one of the best players in the league in Zach, and a fantastic complement in Brian, but they dont have a ton of options behind those two. Konko is obviously a great asset in net, but Andy, Chris, and Colton are more role players than singular threats. They each make their team better with a combination of speed, tenacity, and quick thinking, but, individually, none of them truly scare an opponent like the Zach/Brian combination. The Bear (I refuse to type out these ridiculously long names) is a truly scary team in terms of firepower, but with some real inconsistency as well. Some surprising inconsistency on defense, with Jon and Jamie on the roster. Jeremy threw down either 3 or 4 goals in the 1st period, but then broke a stick by slamming it against the floor in frustration early in the 3rd, and followed that up with a critical penalty for doing the same thing again with just over a minute left in a tied game (the stick survived the second assault). Both times this obvious frustration occurred after the team had a defensive breakdown that I suspect came from looking for shots before protecting their lead. Both Kenton and Konko seemed to have decent nights in the net, but there was simply too much firepower on the floor for this to be a low-scoring game. The Bear jumped out to a pretty solid lead early, before the Dwarves came back to tie it and win a second game in OT. I credit that win both to Zach and the Dwarves never giving up, and to The Bear getting a little rattled when the chips were not quite as high. “It remains to be seen whether the Dwarves can keep squeaking out victories, can start dominating teams, or will be unable to keep up their momentum. It will also be interesting to see if The Bear can build some chemistry and fortitude to not let teams back into games, or into their heads. In overly simplistic terms, The Bear is a terrifying team that definitely can be beaten, while the Dwarves are a good team that doesnt seem quite as threatening but can not be underestimated.” I’m not going to type out all of the stats this season – you can go on the website to view them. I’m just going to highlight a few from each game: Jeremy Boehmer had 4 goals and an assist. Every Bear player had at least one point, with Jon Chatterton surprisingly having the lowest with only 1 lone assist. Zach Davis had 7 goals and 1 assist with Brian D’Angelo having 3 and 2. Three Stars (Upstairs): Zach D, Mike B, Brian D Three Stars (The Bob): I feel bad about changing these since I didn’t see the game, but I feel like Jeremy should have a star here if he is the one that put the Bear up so early. (And for those of you who are new, the 3 Stars that we keep track of in stats are only from “Upstairs” or the statkeeper. The 3 Stars from “The Bob” mean nothing other than to get people upset.) Headless Neds 6, Unsullied 5 Unsullied was missing Gianni, and it sounds like that was a last minute change. I didn’t see last week’s games, so it’s hard for me to get a good feel on this team without Gianni, but what I saw confirms my suspicions: theyre a bunch of players that do really well 1 on 1, but aren’t working together as a team. That being said :they had a lot of intensity on the floor, and even though they were missing their captain they kept this game close and I thought they were even going to win it. In the third period they had come back from a decent sized deficit and tied it up twice as time was running out. It wasn’t until the late go-ahead goal by Rich that the Neds could finally breathe a little more easily. This was my first time seeing Rich Hutchins in action, and he looked good, as did his whole team when he was out there. I dont know if its his confidence or leadership, but everyone just settled down when he was on the floor and his team appeared to be able to see the floor better and moved around each other as a cohesive unit. When he was off the floor they seemed to revert more to chickens chasing feed running around the court with less purpose and less teamwork. Either way, these guys grab their second straight win by a 1 goal margin and move on with 2 more points in the bag. Stats: Rich Hutchins, Jesse Tredo, and Mike Tepper all had 2 goals each in a well balanced scoring attack. Dave Fose had 46 saves for a 90% on the night. Tim Anderson and Gafei Szeto both had 2 goals with all of Tim’s goals coming in their crucial 3rd period. In fact: before the third period Gafei was the only player on Unsullied to score (1 goal in the second). In the third Tim scored 2 and Gafei and Shane Humphrey both added 1 each. Three Stars (Upstairs): Jesse T, Dave F, Tim A Three Stars (The Bob): Rich H, Dave F, Tim A – no disrespect to Jesse, but I thought Rich did more for bringing his team together than what the stats show. Children 15, Rydaz 12 Team Canada (Children of the North Woods) looked scary good to me. Scary. When they had the line with Paul Paradine, Jon Ramsey, and Mike Furlano, their rookie Canadian, it was sick how they looked on the floor together. They all moved so well like they knew where the other person was going to be before he was even there – it was really amazing to watch from upstairs how all three of them moved together and around the floor like they all knew where each other was going to be and where the puck was going to be before anyone even started to pass it. On the flip side, the line with all three rookies didn’t look so good. I think that will improve as all three rookies get to understand the game at the Y a little better, but when you paired any one of the three rookies with veterans Jon and Paul, it seemed to fit a lot better than any line with 2 rookies and/or all 3, including rookie Mike. It was hard to figure out the Rydaz because of early in the game rookie Pete went down with a knee injury and without Bill Smith being able to make the game the Rydaz played the majority of the game with no subs. But between Joe, Mike, and Matt they showed a lot of intensity and fire, including a late third period surge. They were down 11-6 entering the third with the Children controlling the tempo of the entire game, but the Rydaz made it interesting by scoring 6 goals in the third alone – all off of Joe Gandt’s stick. The power and teamwork of the Children was too much, and the lack of subs obviously hurt the Rydaz, but this team showed a lot of potential and fire. Joe Gandt had 10 goals in the losing effort with Matt and Mike adding 1 each. All of the Chidlren’s goals came from Paul Paradine (8), Mike Furlano (4), or Jon Ramsey (3). Three Stars (Upstairs): Joe G, Paul P, Jon R Three Stars (The Bob): Agreement Kings 10, Faceless 2 My own team, the Faceless Men, had a disappointing night. We were missing captain Dan Hoock and first round pick, goalie Matt Marfione. We had Ryan Konko able to sub for Matt, and he played a great game, but without Dan we were suffering offensively. I didn’t think our defense was terrible after the game, until I saw the stats this weekend: we were outshot 59 to 40. This was the result of not having any pressure on offense which allowed the Kings Guard to keep sending two players to pinch up on offense and create lots of two on one opportunities and forced the Faceless Men to stay on their heels. It was a vicious circle where we were afraid to put too much pressure on offense because of all of the scoring opportunities, but we also weren’t shutting down opportunities on defense because of all of the pressure and emphasis the Kings put on us knowing they had Dan Glading or someone else back on defense to easily shut down any offensive threat. I thought Kurt summarized it pretty well for us when he was talking about trying to keep control of the puck more. Unfortunately that is not a strength of our team outside of Dan Hoock, and hopefully when Dan is back he brings that for us. As for the Kings, they looked good but its hard to tell since their backs were never against the wall and they had the game well in hand almost the entire game. The first period ended 2 to 2, but even after that point the Kings never looked rattled and after they put up 4 goals in the second to make it 6 to 2 it never again looked like we were testing them. Stats: Kyle Antilla and Kurt Brownell scored the only 2 goals (1 each) for Faceless. The Kings goal totals look kind of funny for a numbers nerd like me: 4, 3, 2, 1, 0 (Tim Torrey, Dan Glading, Jeff Birge, Kevin Parker, and Joe Fertitta respectively). Rookie goalie Bill Reilich had 38 stops for a 95% save percentage. Three Stars (Upstairs): Tim T, Bill R, Dan G Three Stars (The Bob): Agreement Three Stars of the Week (Upstairs): Joe G, Paul P, Bill R Three Stars of the Week (The Bob): Joe G, Paul P, Zach D – nothing against Bill R, especially after he essentially shut down my own team, but I don’t feel like we really tested him during our game. Zach, on the other hand, got his second straight overtime game winner and scored 7 goals in his game – I just thought he deserved the nod on this one. POWER RANKINGS: 1. Dwarves – 4 points; 2-0-0 (2-0-0) (Last week: N/A) This is really hard only two weeks in, and when I didn’t even see the first week, but the Dwarves are one of only two unbeaten teams. They won both of their games in overtime though, so obviously they very easily could be sitting at 0-0-2 or even 0-2-0. But I’m excited about the Zach/Brian combination, and so far they have beaten two teams who are both very good and are sitting at 3 points each. 2. Neds – 4 points; 2-0-0 (2-0-0) (Last week: N/A) I can already hear the arguments on why would I put a team who has two overtime victories at #1 over a team who has one regulation victory and an overtime victory. But my response to that is all about the other stats: Dwarves have more goals, and more importantly to me: more shots on goal and a better shot on goal/shot allowed differential. That to me shows more promise for potential because the Dwarves are getting more looks and it makes me nervous that the Neds are being outshot by an average of 6.5 shots per game so far through two games. 3. Bear – 3 points; 1-0-1 (1-0-1) (Last week: N/A) I still haven’t actually seen this team play, but they have scored the most goals of any team so far this season (24) and have a win and an overtime loss through two games. When you go to overtime in a game against a very talented Dwarves team and first round pick Jon Chatterton didn’t score a goal, that says to me you have a lot of talent on the roster and can make things work with a variety of combinations of players. 4. Kings – 3 points; 1-0-1 (1-0-1) (Last week: N/A) The Kings are in the same boat as the Bear – a win and an overtime loss under their belt. In fact – both teams have a win against my own team, Faceless, and both teams have an overtime loss against the Dwarves. So their resumes look pretty similar, but to me the difference again comes down to opportunities. The Kings played a team without Dan Hoock whereas the Bears played a team without yours truly – quite a difference in talent there. Also, the Kings have the second lowest goals total, even after the schellacking they put on my own squad (second, obviously, to my own team). They have some amazing defense/goaltending right now though, with the best defensive efficiency, the second best shots allowed, and the best goals against. Let’s just see as the season goes on if this is truly a result of their team or just because they played my team as one of only two games on the books. 5. Unsullied – 2 points; 1-1-0 (1-1-0) (Last Week: N/A) I haven’t seen this team play with Gianni, so I had to cheat a little on my power rankings and look at the schedule/results. I wanted to put the Children at #5 because I was really impressed with what I saw this week, but Unsullied beat the Children of the North Woods in week 1 by a decent margin (7 to 15), with both teams at full strength. So I have to think Unsullied just looks very different with their captain out there, and I can’t justify ranking them below a team they beat so decisively (although, I’ve certainly done that before in my power rankings). 6. Children – 2 points; 1-1-0 (1-1-0) (Last Week: N/A) If they play like I saw this week, then they will be shooting up these charts very quickly. That combination of Paul P/Jon R/Mike F is just scary to me. As all of their rookies, including Mike and their goalie, get more comfortable at the Y this team will be very hard to beat. In fact, it might sound silly for me to say this about a team that I have ranked #6, but these guys are my dark horse championship pick. 7. Rydaz – 1 point; 0-1-1 (0-1-1) (Last week: N/A) Two big question marks for the Rydaz: 1) I hope that rookie Pete Skidmore isn’t hurt too badly and can return to the team. It’s always scary seeing someone go down clutching their knee, and I hope that he has a speedy recovery and it’s not too serious. 2) Bill Smith hasn’t yet suited up with the Dragon Rydaz, and he could be their X Factor. He has a deadly accurate shot and I’m really interested to see how he plays with Joe. He’s not a run and gun like Chris Enright was, but at the same time he’s also not one to take longer shots and likes to push the tempo a little. His style is almost right in between what we’ve seen out of Joe and what we’ve seen out of Mike S and Matt G; I look forward to seeing how they come together when they’re all out there at the same time. 8. Faceless – 0 points; 0-2-0 (0-2-0) (Last week: N/A) Like the Rydaz, we have yet to play together as a full team. I missed the first week and Dan and Matt M missed the second week. I think we will all be together week 3, but that means that will be the first time that we try to get team chemistry. I think we have the tools. We have the defensive talent and the offensive talent, and the goalie who has his name on the Goaltender of the Year award more than any other player. We have the speed and athleticism, the talent and stick handling, and the grit and heart represented on this team. I think there are five championship wins between Dan and Matt Marfione alone. But those are all of the Tim Tebow intangibles, right? What about the actual stats? We’re worst in the league in goals for – and the second closest has almost double our total. We’re worst in the league in goal differential. We’re worst in the league in offensive efficiency. Worst in the league in shot differential (being outshot on average almost 17 times per game). And, of course, the only team yet to register a point. It’s a long season, but we better start working on our chemistry soon. STATS/ANALYSIS: Point Leaders: 1. Joe Gandt (18), 2. Paul Paradine (15), 3. Zach Davis (13), 4. Tim Torrey (12), T5. Mike Bryant and Brian D’Angelo (10), T7. Rich Hutchins and Mike Furlano (9) Goal Leaders: 1. Joe Gandt (17), 2. Zach Davis (12), 3. Paul Paradine (11), T4. Mike Bryant (8), T4. Rich Hutchins (8), 6. Gafei Szeto (7), T7. Tim Torrey, Brian D’Angelo, Mike Furlano, Jeff Birge, and Gianni Jones (6) Assist Leaders: 1. Tim Torrey (6), T2. Paul Paradine and Brian D’Angelo (4), T4. Mike Furlano, Jon Ramsey, Jesse Tredo and Matt Gilluly (3) Game Star Leaders: Paul Paradine, Brian D’Angelo, Jesse Tredo, Mike Bryant, Joe Gandt, and Zach Davis all have 2 game stars. Weekly Star Leaders: Joe Gandt has earned 2 weekly stars. Your other 4 players so far to earn a weekly star are: Paul Paradine, Rich Hutchins, Gianni Jones, and Bill Reilich Save Percentage: 1. Dave Fose (90.2%), 2. Bill Reilich (89.6%), 3. Tim Scott (84.9%), 4. Ryan Konko (84.2%) Saves/Game: 1. Ryan Konko (50.5), 2. Matt Marfione (50.0), 3. Dave Fose (46.0), 4. Kenton Sawade (43.5) Goals Against Average: T1. Dave Fose and Bill Reilich (5.00), 3. Tim Scott (6.50), 4. Ryan Konko (9.50) OTHER NEWS AND NOTES: None this week WEEK 3 PREVIEW: 6:30 The Bear/Maiden Fair at Kings Landing Kings Guard The defensive juggernaut vs the offensive juggernaut. Now, if you had asked me which one was which before the season started, looking on paper, I would have said the Bear was the defensive threat while the Kings were the offensive. That hasn’t been the case. The Kings lead the league in goals against, only allowing 10 all season, while the Bear leads the league in goals scored: scoring 24 so far. So a team averaging only 5 goals allowed per game faces a team averaging 12 per game scored. This should be an interesting matchup. Not only that, but you have a team that likes to press up on offense with Tim Torrey and Jeff Birge leading the charge, and a team that likes to possess the puck and control it in their own defensive zone with Jon C, Mike Bryant, and others. So I expect to see the puck in front of Kenton most of the night, but possessed primarily by his team. Meanwhile Bill Reilich has showed that he does not let up soft goals from long distance, which means Jeremy, Jamie, and Brian are going to have to make something happen around his crease. This is my game of the week – and I can’t wait to watch it. The Bob line: Kings -0.5 7:30 Dragon Rydaz at Unsullied Is Bill Smith going to be there? If so, I can’t wait to see how his team chemistry works with him in the lineup. Meanwhile, I hope all of Unsullied is there so that I can witness what Gianni and his team looks like when they’re all together. The Rydaz looked really good to me playing two men down last week, and I think they have what it takes to be a serious contender when they have a full team with subs. But, I have yet to see the Rydaz play a full game with a sub, and I have yet see Unsullied play a game with their captain, Gianni. Because of that, it’s hard for me to predict this game. The Bob line: Not accepting bets 8:30 Children of the North Woods at Headless Neds The game of rookies. Take Children’s four rookies and add in rookie captain Rich Hutchins and you’ve got yourself a game that is the future of the YMCA. The Headless Neds are undefeated, but I was tempted to rank the Children as high as the Neds even with their big loss to Unsullied in the opener. This game, to me, comes down to who controls the puck. Do the Headless Neds control the puck and keep it away from the dangerous Paul/Jon/Mike combination? Or do the Children build off of the chemistry they put together last week and make it a long night for the Neds? Based on what I saw last week, and only what I saw last week, the Children looked to play together as a team better than the Neds, but the Neds really benefitted from strong leadership from Rich. It should be a great game regardless. The Bob line: Children -0.5 9:30 Dwarves at Faceless Men There really are no bad teams in this league, so when I say: “I really wish our first game together as a full team wasn’t against the Dwarves,” I’m not suggesting that there are softer teams that are easier to play. But, I am not happy about our draw to play the undefeated Dwarves as we try to figure out our chemistry. Brian D’Angelo will make you pay if you are out of position and don’t have a stick on his forehand when he’s in his sweet spot. Also, if we’re having trouble finding our scoring touch, the last person I want to see between the pipes, after our own goalie, is Ryan Konko. So, like I said, I’m not thrilled with this matchup. To me this game is going to come down to whether or not we can find our identity, and the goaltending during that process. In a marquee matchup of Marfione vs Konko, we will see the Y’s two best goalies face off while the Faceless Men try to figure out our chemistry. If Marfione can step up and play above expectations to keep us relatively clean while we figure it out, and we figure it out before the final whistle, then we win. But if we can’t find our identity in 45 minutes of action, or if the offensive threat of D’Angelo and Davis are too much for Marfione to handle on his own, then we lose. Personally, I think we have one of the best teams in the league, but I don’t think we figure it all out in one game. The Bob line: Dwarves -1.5 It feels good to get my first real write up of the season done. I love this league – and I can’t wait for Wednesday!
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 19:06:00 +0000
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