One thing we all can agree on is that the Titans are fast. They had so many quick break-aways, so many odd man rushes, and so many quick scores. The Wranglers just don't have that quickness and they don't know how to organize quickness into a scoring play. At least the Wranglers got on the score board and made their few shots count as goals. In fact, lets do some "new math." The Titans shot 70 times and made 13 goals. Or, you could say, that for every 5 (5.4) or so shots they would get a goal. The Wranglers made a paltry 20 shots for the game and made 4 goals. Hey, wait a second for every 5 shots they scored a goal. If the Wranglers could have mustered 70 shots like the Titans, they possibly could have scored 14 goals and won the game. Okay, okay quit dreaming.Last night was Gayet's first game with the Wranglers. During the 1st and 3rd period he faced 51 shots, let in 9 goals, and earned a GAA of 13.5, and a save % of 0.824. Hmmm? Blanton came in for the 2nd period, and earned a GAA of 12.0 and a save % of 0.789. Hmmm? Prior to coming to the Wranglers, Gayet had a GAA of 3.85, a save % of 0.891, and was ranked #25 of NorPac goalies while with the Puget Sound Tomahawks. Are these figures a result of the Wrangler forwards and defense? Or, are these figures a result of the fast skating and of a team that combines fast skating with dynamic plays. That is, crossing patterns in front of the goal crease, quick pinches, and back door positioning combined with a shot or pass from outside.
Now the "anonymous boo birds" are probably going to blame the Wrangler "D" and the forwards. "Blah, blah, blah player X played horrible, if they had so and so, they wouldn't be in this position." And/or, "Get rid of the coach and blah, blah, blah." What I am going to challenge is that Wranglers played as hard as they possible could and to the best of their ability. I saw the Wrangler "D" go to make a hit, only to have that Titan make the pass at the last second. Now the "D" was out of position and "whamo!" a shot on goal. Again, the Wranglers are just not used to playing a fast skating and quick play team.
What Wrangler offense there was, was effective. If I were handing out stars, 1st star goes to Jeffrey Purslow for assisting two goals. Jeff is a play maker. 2nd star to Lucas Walsh for his first Junior goal. And 3rd star goes to Sam Jossie for the goal. Jeff, Lucas and Sam demonstrate game in and game out dedication and effort. But they're not the only ones, last night I saw the Wranglers play 60 minutes of hockey and act as if they were only down by 3 or 4 goals not by 8 or 9. Can the Wranglers pass better, can they position themselves better, yes they can, and they need to continue to work on these skills. Right now I'm not in the mood to play the blame game - that's just too easy. Rather I want to be supportive and encourage these boys to finish out the season by playing hard and as best as they can. They did that last night against the Titans.
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Finally, it's hard for the Wranglers or any team to play effectively when the zebra's turn out to be jack-asses. Last night's officiating was beyond saying it stunk or was horrible, it was abysmal. The referee lollygagged his way around the rink, like it was a Friday evening public skate. "Hey, would turning on the spinning glitter ball and dimming the lights help?" So many calls were missed, and then so many truly horrible calls were made. I think last night's ref should try figure skating rather than hockey. If you can't call the game, then get off of the ice.
