Pre Playoff Review

The Knights play against the Storm in the Elimination Final this evening.  The winner goes through to a Semi Final series of upto three games against the Blades (the other Semi Final is already set to be between the Flyers and Rangers).  We have entered the serious end of the season.  As such, now is a good opportunity to review the regular season just concluded, from both an individual and a team perspective.

My Season - GP 16 G 2 A 3 Pts 5 +4 10/4/1/1 PIMs 14


I played my second entire season in defence, didn't miss a game and had no serious injury events.  More than half of the season we have played with only three on defence.  I have generally been on the first pairing and had more time on ice than my partners.  My game has become much more physical, primarily crease clearing in the early season, graduating to board battles in the corners as time passed.  A perhaps necessary consequence of developing my physical game has been an accumulation of penalties.  I have also developed a tendency to join the rush and have skated coast to coast on a number of occasions.  Apart from games where my health was suffering I have finished games skating stronger than at the start.

My decision making has improved through the season, particularly when without the puck. Examples include taking my man, covering the rush, controlling the gap and keeping them on the outside, maintaining coverage in front of the net, setting up on the blue line and general weak side play and have all been reasonable to good. 

I have not been so consistent with the puck on my stick, still having a tendency to find the opposition D on the blue when trying to clear up the boards from our zone or to ice the puck when there isn't enough pressure to warrant this.  More head-up play is probably my best tactic to adopt to counter these failings this late in the season.

The increased physical performance has come about due a much more coherent pre-season training schedule than last year, training through the mid-season break and intelligent dietary choices (especially on game day).  My improved technique and reading of the play has come about through a combination of accumulating experience and making the majority of team training sessions.  Personal and team training combined have led to improved confidence, smarter play and a good foundation to rely upon as we enter the playoffs.

The Knights - 4th on the ladder G 54 (3rd) PIMs 108 (2nd)* SA 245 (1st) GA 37 (4th)
*if Stewy's ridiculous game suspension for momentarily removing his helmet prior the handshake at the end of a game is discounted (it triggered a major shakeup amongst officials with the responsible referee losing his position as head ref), we come in at between 4th and 6th in the penalty rankings.

It has been a good season for the Knights, especially considering that our roster was depleted of Bacon and then Matt before the xmas break.  We have a total of only eleven on the roster (plus Tommy the goalie) as we enter the playoffs, but are a fairly tight unit and usually field at least nine or ten skaters.  By comparison, the Storm generally fields thirteen skaters (occasionally twelve) while the Blades and Flyers generally only have eight or nine.

The primary stat of significance to me as a defender is that we have allowed less shots on goal than any other team.  We will need to continue to do this.

All in all, we have a competitive team who can push any of the other playoff teams and, puck gods smiling, beat them.  Certainly the Blades aren't invulnerable should we make our way past the Storm this afternoon.  IF we can keep healthy through the playoffs, we'll give them a shake.

Perhaps equally important, if we can keep the bulk of this team together for next season (and there are many signs that most if not all intend to return) and recruit a couple more useful rookies in the interim, then we will truly be a force to be reckoned with!

Let's go Knights!