Confidence Building

Last night, we lost in a shootout 3-2. We were winning 2-1 with about 8 minutes left, and they scored to tie it up. I felt like we dominated the 3rd period. We had a lot of time in their zone, but we couldn't get the puck in the net. The good news is that we still clinched first place in our division with the one point, but the bad news is that we got beat 2 out of 3 times by the second place team in our division who we will probably have to play again somewhere down the road. I didn't play as well as I played on Saturday night, but I still think I had a strong game aside from a few mistakes. I had one shot blocked that I should've gotten through to the net, I gave up a 2-on-1 in the first period, and there was one time when I let someone get a step behind me, but Fresno's pass went for an icing. All night, Fresno was flying guys out of their zone. That's the only play they seemed to do. But other than those few mistakes, I think I played a smart game and I still felt confident out there.

You know you're making a difference in the game when the other team starts trash talking you. Some of the Fresno kids were telling me to "go back to the NA." And I was thinking how that could be an insult to me. It says a lot that they knew who I was, that I was in the NA, and that they were wasting their energy trying to get under my skin. It didn't work. I think I played even better in the 2nd, 3rd, and overtime periods after people started trash talking me. But I really feel like I can play better than I did last night. I'd like to play more physical and win every battle in the corners. And I'd like to get more shots on the net. I had a few shots, one shot that almost went in, but I want to shoot the puck more, especially in a close game like that where we just need to get pucks to the net.

It's tough to clinch with a loss. The mood in the locker room was disappointed after the game because we had the game on our sticks 4 or 5 times in the shootout, with the shootout going to 9 rounds. But we still clinched, and we should be proud. I think we are the best team in this league. We really need to bear down here in the next two weeks and start playing our best hockey because we play to our potential for parts of a game, but not the whole and sometimes I think I and the team need to do the things it takes to win a hockey game better: block shots, put your body on the line in the corners, win the battles for the puck, chip pucks out. Sometimes we revert to a skill game, but we need to play a gritty game, especially in playoff hockey. And this weekend sure felt like playoff hockey.

Nonetheless, I think I had a good weekend overall. I'm excited about the way I played, and I'm excited to keep getting even better and more confident every time I get on the ice.