Mar 05, 2013 | KWhite | 966 views
Bandits Burned by Bad Bounces; Lose 3-1
Bummer. The Bandits came out on the short end of the stick again last night, in a game that truly was determined by bad bounces and a late whistle. I'm sure even North was laughing a bit over their first goal, which bounced off at least three people before bouncing up and over Dylan into the net. To that point, the Bandits actually were outplaying North, who did not look sharp. Testament to this is that it was a few minutes into the second period, and North was scoring its first goal on just its sixth shot.
The lucky goal seemed to energize North a bit, who then started to pepper the net, scoring again just a minute or so later to make it 2-0. It looked like it wasn't to be the Bandits' night. But then Jake scored quickly, fed beautifully by Josh right off an offensive zone face-off, and the game suddenly seemed winnable again.
But then, late in the second, North scored on another one of those endless scrambles in front of the net, when the puck seemed buried for several seconds without a whistle. Finally, with about 10 players all occupying about 3 feet of real estate, several of them supine, the puck was shoved into the Bandits' net to round out the scoring: 3-1.
Not that the Bandits didn't have chances. A good save by the North goalie on a short-handed breakaway rush by Justis; a couple of pucks careening off the post; a puck just tipped wide of an open cage... goals that never came to fruition spelled the team's fourth straight loss after 3 wins in 4.
Three Stars:
1. Justis - for numerous excellent chances, both taken and set up
2. Jake - for the lone goal and his usual energized play. His game has revved up to a whole new level over the past 15 games or so
3. Josh - in many ways the team's offensive quarterback, seemingly part of almost every offensive threat
The last game of the round robin is this Saturday against Oakridge. The Bandits must win or tie to avoid ending up last place.
Then it's two rounds of playoffs (first to 4 points), with a possible trip to Provincials on the line. The boys could and perhaps should have won each of the last two games. It's time to start claiming those victories again.