STREATHAM REDHAWKS VS SWINDON WILDCATS
SUNDAY 9th SEPTEMBER 2018
STREATHAM HIGH ROAD
PRE GAME
So after a long summer of anticipation the 2018/19 NIHL 1 season will soon be under way. Before that though the Streatham Redhawks had the little issue of the pre- season to take care of. A chance to shake off the rust, and see what works and doesn't work ahead of next weekend when the points are at stake. And so we start the season where the last one left off. With a pre-season challenge against the Swindon Wildcats
Going in to this game the Wildcats were looking to wrap up a successful pre-season campaign that had seen the Cats free scoring and putting plenty of weight behind the belief that along with Bracknell they were favorites to take home the league title. The Cats roster wasn't much changed from last seasons. In fact the additions of Sam Jones and Tyler Pews had strengthened and already strong roster that had a little bit of everything, speed, skill and size.
While the Cats had played 3 games together by tonight, the Hawks had only played one outing together. Despite falling short by one goal in Swindon the Hawks by all reports had made a good account of themselves. This gave many at the High Road an air of hope and expectancy going in to the return leg against the much vaunted Wildcats. However they would have to make do without Thomas Soar and Andreas Siagris, some double shifting and staying out of penalty trouble would be needed for the evening ahead.
1st Period
It was a cagey start from both sides as they both probed each others defenses for weaknesses. However very soon the Wildcats would begin to assert dominance of possession, penning the Hawks in their own end. The Hawks would be unable to clear the puck or use transition play to break out as no matter where the Hawks put the puck a Wildcats stick was waiting. The Hawks would see some sporadic offence but the closest would be Michael Farn in a foot race with Aaron Nell attempting to break in on Tyler Perre.
Soon after Thomas Beeseley would force a turn over, that lead to Carr getting in alone however he could not convert the chance. Going back the other way the Hawks looked well disciplined in this phase of the game on defense. However the offense was struggling to progress past the Cats blue line. Then a broken play would see Aaron Nell with the puck on his stick and Damien King at his mercy but he somehow fired wide.
Swindon's pressure would soon pay off though as at 11:44 the Cats would break at speed, Sam Godfrey finding Adam Harding who would feed it through to Floyd Taylor who would slot it home to make the score 1-0 Cats
The Hawks tried to re-organise and go on the attack, but the Cats clogging of the neutral zone was neutralizing the Hawks attempts at up ice stretch passes. Despite this the Ryan Webb and Alex Roberts appeared to be developing a good partnership, the big man able to keep pace with the speedster. This lead to several chances at cross crease passes that Roberts either couldn't quite get to or were saved by Perre. Leigh Jamieson and Jacob Ranson would then also attempt the same play with Jamieson firing high and wide.
The period would end with the score 1-0 to the Wildcats, with the Hawks due to have 18 seconds of Power Play time at the start of the second, and looking to find a way to break out from the neutral zone that had been claimed by the Wildcats
2nd Period
Despite having a good deal of momentum at the end of the 1st, the Hawks would be unable to use the 18 seconds of power play time to make any kind of impact. They would find themselves again hemmed in trying to withstand a sustained assault from Godfrey,Kostal and Bebris.
The Hawks would come so close soon after as Webb would break down the wing and feed a pass in to the crease area to a pinching Wood. He would attempt to stuff the puck home twice from close range however Perre would deny him. Digging for the puck would anger Godfrey and Liddiard who would both go to the box for roughing along with Wood. Gifting the Hawks a power play chance
The unit sent out that contained Farn, Carr and Roberts did a good job of moving the puck around and tested Perre and the Cats defense several times, looking to get Roberts the puck at the back post for a one timer and point shots from Farn was the game plan here
The Hawks would pull one back soon though, Farn would move at speed through the neutral zone, finding Roberts who would release Webb. Skating in at speed Webb would center the puck to a waiting Bailey who would shovel the puck home to make it 1-1 at 25:40
Swindon would immediately try to fire back with Sam Bullas firing one in from close range but Damien King was equal to this. Followed shortly after by Edgars Bebris working the puck round only to fire it in to Kings chest. The pressure would eventually pay off for the Wildcats though
Confusion between Warman and Russell would allow Floyd Taylor and Sam Jones to find space to get the puck in to the slot area where Taylor would fire it home to put the Cats back in front 2-1 at 28:09 The Hawks would attempt to fight back but the Cats had staked claim to the neutral zone and were repelling most offensive surges back. When the Hawks did manage to get in to the final third of the ice, a well drilled Cats D core would force the play in to the corners, or out to the boards. Where despite the size advantage the Hawks held, they would find themselves soon racing back to defend
It was one such broken play that saw Max Birbraer and Aaron Nell heading in on a 2 on 1 and it was only Nell firing high and wide that meant the game was still 2-1. However the Cats wouldn't have to wait long after this for their third of the night. Bailey found himself surrounded and stripped of the puck by Chris Jones, who would release Loris Taylor. Edgars Bebris would apply the finish cutting across the front of net to roof it over King to make it 3-1 at 30:18
Soon after Josh Condren would have a chance that was only denied by Whitfield taking a professional penalty hauling the big forward down as he broke away. After collecting an over the top pass Condren found himself almost in alone on Perre, and it was only the quick thinking of Whitfield that stopped what may have been a golden chance to put 2 on the board for the Hawks
The following power play showed flashes of brilliance. The trio of Roberts Carr and Quiney found chemistry here. Looking to play the puck down low in Gretzky's office behind the net, before going cross crease looking for Alex Roberts to fire home as has been seen in his highlights pack. Or alternatively ranged fire from the twin canons of Farn with Quiney when the two rotated to the rear.
Despite this the Cats held strong, and Tyler Perre continued to stand on his head. And the Cats D would clear every rebound, and cover their young net minder well. Yet at the end of the Power Play, it would be the exhausted Cats who would swing the pendulum of momentum back their way. Adam Harding and Sam Jones feeding the puck through to a waiting Aaron Nell who with acres of space simply had to release the shot and it was now 4-1 Wildcats at 33:42
3rd Period
The Hawks would start the third strong, they were finding a way through, however the final touch was missing. Shots would sail wide, or be fanned on. Any shots that did have purchase would be saved by Perre. Going the other way the Cats were looking just as lethal as they had all game. Edgars Bebris would come close and it was only King who stopped him as he once again pulled out his signature move of crossing the crease area looking for any gap or to draw King out.
Alex Roberts would then provide another flash of what I hope will be a successful season long partnership with Ryan Webb as he stripped Harding in the neutral zone and broke away with Ryan Webb in support. However Webb couldn't get the final touch on target. But the two were gelling well, Roberts moves with speed equal to that of Webb's which is surprising when you see him in person.
Soon after however the Wildcats would park the bus. Deciding to kill off the game they began a neutral zone blockade designed to tire out, the last energy in the legs of the Hawks. Not even dump and chase with the speed of Ranson, Webb or Beesley could brake through. The toll however had been taken and at 47:37 Alex Roberts was forced to make a desperation play hooking Wildcat(I'm sorry I missed who in my notes) and putting an already exhausted Hawks team on the PK
The Cats would use fresh legs, speed and accuracy to deadly advantage on this play. Moving the puck round to stretch the Hawks PK out of position until a succession of passes from Nell to Jones and finally to Birbraer saw the Canadian in alone with King at his mercy, King did all he could diving to save the shot but alas he was too late and it was 5-1 to the Wildcats at 48:10
Shortly after this the Wildcats would put the final exclamation on a dominant performance. A miscommunication between King and Gregory would see a failure to clear the puck and cover Loris Taylor. Taylor would strip Gregory and convert the turn over in to what I have to say was a wonderfully worked solo goal at 50:00
At this point Jeremy Cornish decided to change net minders and give Nate Gregory a little pre-season warm up time. Gregory would look impressive in his short stint in net, including being tested early on by a surging Aaron Nell and then a Birbraer shot, before just getting away with Kostal and Luc Johnson's attempt on a 2 on 1 sailing wide.
With the Cats taking the foot off the gas in the closing minutes the Hawks began to once again get some offensive traction. Beesley, Ranson and Webb all would attempt to use speed in order to make a zone entry. Once again Roberts and Webb were combining well causing chaos around the net with Bailey looking to pick up the garbage. Michael Farn would lead from the back in this phase quarterbacking the play from the blue line, looking for a way to fire one through and salvage some pride for the Hawks. But nothing either he or Quiney could create would beat Perre.
The game would close out there, with the Wildcats running out very convincing winners.
POST GAME
What we witnessed during this game, was a team who has been playing together a few weeks. And is the number 1 contender for the title in my eyes VS a team who had outside of 2 weeks of training had only just assembled. The unfamiliarity showed, especially on the back end as the entire defensive core is adjusting to the way Damien King plays. And King is doing the same, adapting to his new defense, you see its different playing against someone to playing along side them. King had a night to forget stats wise, but it took till the final stages of the game before he was chased from the net, and didn't look out of his depth at all during the course of the game. In fact at one point with the Hawks unable to clear King was proving the difference in keeping the score down.
Coach Cornish won't have liked the end result, however with the way he was changing the lines around, it was clear to see he was using this game as an experiment to see what worked in a game environment. At one point I had a chuckle at Ryan Webb centering Leigh Jamieson and Alex Roberts, though I think may just have been on a bad change. Now you can argue a 6-1 loss nothing worked, well yes and no. As I said the team has played one game together, and are still adapting to a new home. Part of what will have played in to the result in Swindon will have been fresher legs, and that the game was at a rink most of the team have played a lot at in recent seasons. Through out the night the nuances of the Streatham rinks boards caught out many a player. I remember Alex Roberts attempting a bounce out off the zamboni end boards only to see the puck bounce back in to the defensive end and not out as he'd hoped.
There were things that worked, Roberts and Webb seemed to have good chemistry and just need one to find a finishing touch next weekend and that line will be a nightmare for teams with less mobile defenses. Michael Farn and Rupert Quiney paired off really well, and while defensive responsibilities should be their main focus they looked good together quarterbacking the play from the point. Quiney's utility as a forward was also well exploited when he was used on the power play unit. Leigh Jamieson seemed to fit in well, I quipped at one point the part of Ryan Watt will now be played by Leigh Jamieson as he went on end to end rush attempt after rush attempt.
The PK for the most part looked well drilled, as it did last season. The only goal it conceded was after the wind had finally been taken out of the team and the energy level was low. But once Andreas Siagris joins the team and Thomas Soar returns the team will have a full bench and so the players will not be as gassed as they were last night.
Despite that I was impressed with the energy level shown by new arrivals Thomas Beesley, Scott Bailey and Josh Condren. All the way to the finish these three showed no quit, Beesley in particular at times showed the tenacious attitude he has always exhibited which made me so excited to see him sign up this off season.
I know I have been overly positive here on a 6-1 loss, but the guys themselves will be beating themselves up enough without me pilling in on them over a pre-season game, against the joint title favorites. There were things I didn't like about the performance last night. In particular the number of penalties taken were concerning for a team running a short bench. The lack of a plan B for getting through the neutral zone concerned me, but that's something that comes with more practice and game time together, and several of those penalties were due to tired legs and players making a desperation defensive move.
The signs are positive, with a little more practice, a full bench and with the teams match fitness level up a bit more when Swindon visit us again in a few weeks time I suspect we'll give them more of a run for their money. I have no doubt the game against the Thunder on Saturday will be a much different game.
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