The Drain
Not the Roughnecks’, but, rather, my drain. Have to confess I missed Saturday’s 15-12 loss to Rochester. Planned to fire up the old laptop for an evening of B2 broadcasting, but instead spent the day dealing with a plumbing emergency at Rowe world headquarters. A mop…a plumber….a rug doctor….you know the drill…let’s just say we’re real glad it was the washing machine drain and not….well…you know. How was your Saturday? Here’s some thoughts based on game stories, scoresheets and ‘net highlights. Don’t want to be pretending to have the whole story on this one.
-Another bad start. Down 5-1 before the first quarter is 12 minutes old. And once again, it’s the other team’s big gun running the attack, this time John Grant Jr. Grant had the hat trick in the bag before the 10 minute mark.
-Another tough night for Ryan Avery. I don’t have the shot breakdown by quarter, but suffice it to say he was gone 10 minutes into the second quarter with the score 7-3 and the team needing a spark. Again, without seeing the whole game, I can’t know whether it was all Avery or if the defenders decided to play the same passive game that got them killed by Buffalo.
The fact of the matter is, Avery has to be the guy to lead this team until Steve Dietrich is healthy and ready to go. I’ve seen Avery at his best, and I think he can be an elite goalie in this league, IF he can get a little more consistent.
- The offense was able to turn in some good numbers, but again, not until the second half. The Riggers outshot the Knighthawks by ten, went 4 for 7 on the power play, won the face off battle, and did a better job getting after loose balls. But until the defense and goaltending find their game, the offense needs to take it to the opposition early and force them to play from behind.
Off to Portland for what now becomes the dreaded must win game.