Thoughts on last nights game - Beastly Baldwin

With the Steelers only playing one game this weekend I fully expected to see 60 minutes of hockey and effort from the boys last night.

I'm not going to lie though, after the first 10 minutes of the game last night I honestly thought I was going to end up having a really big moan in this blog. I'm still going to have a moan about one or two things, particularly something Mr Hicks did, or should I say didn't do, but damn that was some comeback and a thoroughly entertaining game of hockey in the end.


Firstly, why the heck do we seem to constantly start so slowly at home? It seems to take us 10-15 minutes to get our feet going some games (last night was no exception) which makes it all the more difficult for us. Last night was the worst start we've had at home, not just this season, but for a while. I cannot remember the last time we were 3-0 down at home inside the first 10 minutes of a game.

The defensive units were all over the place. The two D-men on the ice were constantly too far apart on the blue line which made it incredibly easy for the Blaze to put a pass right between them to a forward who would then cut through and get a chance at goal. Suicidal defending and we were lucky that Doyle was able to bail us out on all bar one of the occasions, that being their 3rd goal.

I'll give credit to the Blaze though for the way they came out and played. They were on the attack from the word go. They also gained early momentum from a couple of early powerplay opportunities which they profited on.

One thing that stood out for me though about their early powerplay goals was their 2nd goal scored by Devin. Ginand had the puck near the right wing boards and got a shout of "Gee!" from Devin. Ginand looked up, saw that Devin was in wide open space on the blueline, passed the puck right into Devins wheelhouse who was then able to let off a sublime one-timer that went past Doyle and into the back of the net. Excellent execution on a powerplay and great communication.

Talking of excellent execution on a powerplay, that's exactly how the Steelers got themselves back into the game, after a quick telling off by Christiansen right after the Blaze's third goal.

The powerplay units have been in great form lately in finding the back of the net after starting to look progressively more threatening since just before Christmas. Last night was certainly no exception. The Steelers were able to make the most of a 5 on 3 when Baldwin found the back of the net from the blueline, shortly followed on the resulting 5 on 4 by a great solo effort by Goertzen, who drifted in beautifully from the right wing before stuffing the puck past Zacharias. Baldwin picked up an assist on the play after it was his great pass across the ice in the neutral zone that allowed Goertzen to get into the Blaze zone and drive towards the net.

The second period saw the Steelers tighten up defensively and restrict the Blaze better. It was a much tighter period of hockey overall, hence neither side were able to score.

The thing that stood out for me in that second period though was Mr Hicks.

At one point, there was a delayed penalty against Coventry and then Adam Henrich pulled down one of the Steelers players. Right away the whistle was blown as another Blaze player had touched the puck. Hicks' immediate reaction was to stand there and say the words "I'm not gonna call it, I'm not gonna call it" in reference to the Henrich incident.

I'm sorry, but just because there is already a penalty on the play, that doesn't mean you cannot call another penalty when it was clear that it was. It was also clear that Hicks knew it was a penalty too, because of the way in which he responded to the Henrich incident. You simply cannot make up your own rules as you go along. If you know it is a penalty, then it simply has to be called, no matter what. The rules are there to be damn well followed, not followed as you please.

You can tell it wound me up can't you?

Anyway, the 3rd period saw the Steelers tie the game up at 3-3. Spencer poking one home on the powerplay. That is a much needed goal for Spencer, who in my opinion doesn't look as comfortable playing up front on the ice with Hewitt and Phillips as he does playing on D. I honestly think that with the type of game Hewitt and Phillips play, it restricts Spencer from playing to his potential. We saw very early on this season that he is far more than just a couple of fists. The guy has a great deal of skill and reads the play exceptionally well.

Unfortunately for the Steelers the Blaze were able to get their noses back in front. A nice little bit of passing resulted in the puck finding it's way past Doyle, who didn't really do much wrong all night. The execution by the Blaze, when they had their chances, was just that good.

However, much to the delight of the majority of the arena, the Steelers were able to tie it up again and once again it was on the powerplay. Some good work along the boards saw Goertzen find Legue on the blueline, who was then able to find Baldwin (who had snuck in down low next to the Blaze goal) who was then able to re-direct the puck past Zacharias. The arena simply erupted.

The scoreline stayed at 4-4 after 60 minutes and the arena stood and applauded both teams for what and been a very entertaining 60 minutes of hockey overall.

The overtime period saw the game open up a little, as it does when playing 4 on 4 and both sides had their chances, the Steelers probably having the better chances overall. However neither side were able to capitalise straight away.

It wasn't long though before the game winner came along.

After the Blaze had a bit of possession in the Steelers zone, the puck came loose to Kohn, who quickly looked up and saw Dowd was open down the left wing, and made the pass to Dowd as soon as the puck touched his stick. The pass was tape to tape and allowed Dowd to get the jets going, before cutting around Tanaka on his backhand, bringing the puck across his own body onto the forehand and then firing the puck past Zacharias for the game winning goal.

The arena once more erupted and was bouncing as the team left the bench to celebrate on the ice.

It was a terrific comeback and credit has to be given to them all for showing a great amount of character and spirit to overturn a 0-3 deficit after the midway point of the first period.

The Blaze will feel unlucky that they went home with just a point after the way they started the game but the Steelers will very much enjoy getting those 2 points and will also be very proud of the way in which they got themselves back into the game.

Despite Dowd's overtime game winning goal, it was Gord Baldwin who picked up the MoM for the home side. It was thoroughly deserved for his performance and was a true reflection of the way he has played since Christmas. Lets just hope he carries this form on for the rest of the season as well as the rest of them, although one or two players could perhaps do with picking up their game a little bit more having had some off games lately, one being Drew Fata. No offense Drew, you've just looked a little out of sorts lately in my eyes (other than that lovely powerplay goal in Braehead last weekend). Change the stick, it doesn't seem to like you as of late.

Also, I don't think it will be long until we see a more permanent return of Max LaCroix. He played last weekend in the absence of Goertzen (who's wife Sam was expecting the arrival of their second child at the time) and he didn't look that out of place despite having not played a game since late Spetember. His match speed and fitness obviously isn't there yet, as could be seen in Braehead, but his hockey brain still was, so hopefully it won't be too long until he fully returns to action.

Overall, despite the disastrous start last night, I left the building rather satisfied. Sure I wasn't too happy with the way we started the game, but what impressed me was the continuing form of the powerplay units and also the character shown by the players on the ice to get the Steelers back into the game and end up taking home the two points, that on balance of things were deserved overall because once we got our feet going, we controlled the game very well.

I hope you've enjoyed the read folks. As always, you know what to do.

@IAmMcCausland
@TomWalkeden
@AwkwardGinge
@FrozenSteelBlog

Cheers!

Alan
@AwkwardGinge