Game 8: 4/17 vs. North Kitsap

Views, thoughts and opinions expressed are those solely of the lax-dad. No player or team representative has endorsed any of the below content.

I didn't go and haven't seen video footage of play from this game, played after the boys needing to rush from school, wait for a ferry, travel across the Puget Sound and being given an extra half-hour to start the game so the team could warm up. Note the league scheduling agents: Teams need more than two hours to travel to game from one side of the Peninsula to the other. Anyway, it was a long trip for another blow out, this one 15-0. Matt scored two and did well in his draws.

As I said, I didn't go to this game, but evidenced by the stats, one concern about blow-out games like this is the guys playing for themselves rather than taking the opportunity to continue to work as a team. Four assists on 15 goals, to me, indicates a lot of one-on-one play. I understand the guys wanting goals. But teamwork keeps everyone involved, garners mores assists, goals and wins. If the guys are seeking cred, think POINTS. SLC will need to be a team if they want to go far in the playoffs, and these league games are the warm-up for any thoughts of future glory.

I'll mention one of the obvious, dramatic improvements this year: Goalie-play. Scott Johnson has been a rock, facing an average of 8 shots a game and saving 7 of those. Some of that credit can be passed to the Long-pole Rats for allowing the opponent only 8 shots/game, but it's Scott who has the "S" on his chest and is stopping the bullets. And Scott's clearing passes are solid. He has rarely made bad decisions with his passes from the crease.

Come back to this post and I will fill in with more details when I can talk to Matt more about this game.