The Wranglers will meet the NorPac Pacific Division 2nd place Eugene Generals this Friday and Saturday night. This will be a very tough contest for the Wranglers. Eugene has beat the 1st place Seattle Totems 3 out of 5 times. Although the wins have been by only 1 goal. Can the last place Wranglers do it?The Generals have 12 players that have more scoring points than the highest scorers for the Wranglers. Top of the list is Micheal Frei with 52 points (#4 NorPac), followed by Schlagel at 44 points (#7 NorPac), then Lehtola (37 pts. #13 NorPac) and McDonald (36 pts. #14 NorPac). As I have said so many times, the Generals know how to score. They are fast, agile, know how to "mix it up" to find the back door or open net, and are strong at fore checking. Several goals against the Wranglers have been short-handed goals where they have taken advantage of Wrangler mistakes. However the last time the Wranglers played the Generals on Saturday, Nov. 1 the Wranglers kept the game close only losing by 3 goals. If you remember the Wranglers kept the score close until the last half of the 3rd period when the Generals scored two goals to slam the door shut on the Wranglers. In fact, the Wranglers even scored first on that game. So, it is possible that the Wranglers - if they kept their mistakes to a minimum - could possibly steal one from the Generals. Wouldn't that be sweet?
The last few games the Wranglers have been able to cycle the puck in the offensive zone by doing some effective passing, but they've fallen short on scoring. Again, Wranglers try not to stop the puck, set it up, then shoot. Instead, richochet or redirect the puck off of your stick and into the Generals net. Make fast shots. And, be tenacious to keep control of the puck. Remember if you control the puck you keep the puck from the other team and can win the game. Pass the puck to the "D" on the points and let them shoot and get the rebound. The Wrangler "D" has got to be on point. What does that mean? If a General player comes into the Wrangler zone - HIT HIM! Be aggressive and put a body on the General who has the puck. Do not let them shoot. And, keep any player from camping in front of the net. Did you hear me? KEEP ANY PLAYER FROM CAMPING IN FRONT OF THE NET. Watch the "back door." The Generals are oh so effective at quickly moving the odd man in to find the open back door to the Wrangler net. SLAM THAT DOOR SHUT.
The Generals probably are figuring that the Wranglers don't have a chance to pull a win out. So they'll probably put Ohmart (GAA 3.39 Save % 0.892) or Levitan (GAA 3.00 Save % 0.786) in to get some experience and earn a win. That's what they did last time. They'll save Aslett in case the Wranglers get close and start to threaten a win. But, if there is no threat, Aslett will sit out. I would also expect that the Generals will play many of their younger players to give them some game experience (e.g., Jones-Edwards, Poulsen, O'Connor, McCarty, Charlson, Cigile). The Wranglers will be without forward Miglioretto.
Finally if the Wranglers could pull out even one win, it would be such a morale booster and a gift to the team. Hey! It would be a great holiday gift for me. So, GO WRANGLERS, BEAT THE GENERALS.
