Halting Problem: Game 6 Results

Starting Lineup

Congratulations, team! We beat TPP, who has had a lossless record in C-league until they met us. Mess with the best, lose like the rest! It was a hard-fought game, with plenty of excitement at both ends. Full kudos to our goalie, Mike Wessler, who stopped three of four breakaway attacks cold. As near as I recall it, the scoring sequence was:

1. TPP goal by their star. 0-1.
2. Tying goal by Chris. 1-1.
3. Go ahead goal by Fredrik. 2-1.
4. Insurance goal by Carlin, after a scramble in the crease from Fredrik's rebound shot. 3-1.
5. TPP pours on the effort, and it pays off. Goal by a TPP skater with a University of Toronto shirt. 3-2.
6. Insurance goal by Brett. 4-2.
7. Not daunted, TPP scores again. 4-3.
8. Penalty called against Tom Simon. Our second opportunity to kill a penalty. Fredrik scores shorthanded for another insurance goal. 5-3.

We put in a good effort to win this game, but we won mostly because of today's ringer, Brett [who'll be joining the A-league team, and won't play for The Problem].

TSimon: I beg to disagree. We won because our former D league players are tenacious as terriers. And due to Fredrik's stellar play. Not only was Brett not "mostly" the reason we won, his presence was almost negligible.

Today's game was sloppy; we played a much crisper game against the Media Lab, probably because we were scared enough to pay attention.

TSimon: Any day that Chris, and Jeremy, and Erik, and Ian, etc. put in the effort they always do, we will score plenty

Our difficulty was on defense. We made three basic mistakes; two by the defensemen and one by the forwards.

Assuming that the defense (ie. me) do not boneheadedly give away plays, we should do very nicely, thank you.

1. Keeping the puck in their zone is nice but not essential. Remember that the defensemen's main responsibility is *defensive*; they have to prevent the other team from scoring, which will not happen if they stand on the blue line and get bypassed. If the other team gets possession and start heading up ice, BACK UP! You're on the blue line for loose pucks and passes only. If they have control, get yourself back to our blue line as fast as possible.

2. Defensemen should never be closer than about 15 feet to each other. Do not bunch up. If you're closer to the puck, yell "I got him" [or something similar], and take the puck carrier. If you're the farther defenseman, but you're in position to guard the net, inform your partner that it's OK for him to attack by yelling "Take him" [or something similar]. The farther defenseman often has a better view of the action, and can direct the closer one.

   TSimon: You are completely wrong about the proper inter defenseman spacing. I must emphasize this so that your absurdly inept and uninformed advice does not contaminate anybody.

   When an opponent is coming up the center with the puck, the 2 Ds should stay fairly close (10 feet). Do not let her split you and take it between. Make her go wide and keep them to the otside.

3. Forwards need to learn how to backcheck without bunching up. Jeremy had a beautiful play today where he noticed that our defensemen were tied up along the side, and the front of the net was wide open. He skated *there*, not into the big mess of people fighting for the puck, because that was an important place to be in case the puck got loose.

   TSimon: The preceding is for transitions, ie. when they are coming up the ice. Mike's advice is relevant for when the play is in our zone, and one defenseman must cover the front of the net.

   So when we come back on defense, which most of our forwards are doing conscientiously, only one forward should take the puck carrier, while the others should cover the other attackers.

   TSimon: Do not ignore the guy in the center. And it's not good enough to just stand in front of The Curtain. Shove your man out. Stick check him. Push him.