At about 4:15 today, I was thinking of how I was going to put into words the impending victory by the visiting Woodstock Slammers over the Dieppe Commandos this afternoon. At that point, Woodstock was leading 6-3 and with the win, would create a huge eight point divide between the two clubs in the race for second place in the Meek Division. The game seemed to be firmly in the hands of the road team. That's not to say the Commandos were playing terrible. They were hanging tough against a formidable opponent, certainly not mailing it in. It was just a matter of the Slammers holding a decent sized lead as the clock slowly began to wind down.
Fortunately for Dieppe, the clock ticked off slowly enough... and before 5 o'clock had arrived, I was in a situation whereby I would have to greatly change the direction this post was headed in.
As I already stated, it's not like Dieppe was playing terrible. In terms of territorial play, it was pretty even. Both teams were full marks in regards to using their speed through the neutral zone and playing a very strong passing game. Both sides had their chances... Woodstock was just the more opportunistic team.
I mentioned the other day in this blog that Dieppe could surprise most any team this season despite their relatively young (for this league) roster. The thing about this young roster is the fact that in spite of their age, they still have plenty of experience behind them. A guy like Blanchard or Murray or Martin (just to name a few) have enough miles behind them in the MHL. They know how to play while facing a deficit. They also know when an opportunity arises for them to take control of a game that no one was really taking full control of, despite the score. Today was one of those days.
When Mark Simpson finished off a two on one break 6:26 into the third to bring the Commandos to within two, my main concern was not giving one right back to Woodstock in a game that had featured previous flurries of offense (two goals in 1:10 in the first... two in :39 in the second). Dieppe had done a decent job of keeping the Slammers out of most of the prime scoring areas for the majority of the third and did not waver from that in the least, forcing the Slammers into lower percentage shots from the outside in the hopes of getting a tip-in out front. Dieppe simply continued to give Woodstock just enough space in the defensive zone to allow them to get shots off... just not enough for them to be shots of the dangerous variety. After Alex Murray popped home a rebound to make it a 6-5 game with just under seven minutes to go, Dieppe put things into high gear. A minute later, Joel Blanchard forced the tie. Less than three minutes later, the most fitting player of all in my estimation, Matt Bernier, capped it off for the Commandos.
A couple weeks back I had made mention of Bernier looking more and more confident with the puck, while using his speed and sense to both become a more effective rusher as well as close the gap and keep opponents on rushes of their own to the outside as much as possible. With Justin MacDonald still sidelined and Joslin Gallant out with illness, the Commandos were down to five defensemen for this game, thus increasing the role and the minutes played by Bernier, who actually made this team as a forward back in September. All he did was make the most of the time given to him, not to mention the space afforded him on the powerplay as he had a clear shooting lane in which to put the puck past Sam Renault and deliver the knockout punch to the Slammers in the biggest victory so far this season for Dieppe.
For the Commandos, that potential eight point deficit in the race for second place has been narrowed to a very achievable four. The more I watch the Slammers, the more I feel the Commandos have the potential to beat them at their own game. This is not the RBC Cup finalist Slammers that forced their will upon opposing teams all last season. The compete level and work ethic of this club has to be higher in order to win. They have to dig and grind for goals a little more and often, it isn't pretty but it's effective. If these two teams meet in the playoffs (which seems more and more likely) and the Commandos can gain an edge in nets - one of the few areas in which a series between these two could be decided - all bets would be off in a seven game series. Today's third period was a classic example of a team on a mission... and it's games like today's that make me feel fortunate to be in broadcasting.
A side note to this game: Alex St-Arnaud's stats line with the Commandos now reads as follows: 2-0, 5.50 GAA, .831 Sv Pct. You couldn't make something like that up.
Dieppe gets back to work on Friday night as Summerside comes to the AJL in a 7:30 showdown. This Caps team will pretty much look nothing like the Summerside team that last visited Dieppe back on November 23rd. However, on a positive note the Commandos will probably be familiar with how to best defend the Caps' top scorer.
In Saint John, the Wildcats showed everyone that getting one win over a team whom you've struggled against can be a huge step in the right direction. The Saulnier line scored in a five on five situation for the first time in nine games, eleven different players registered at least a point and Alex Dubeau kept the Sea Dogs at bay while things were still close, making 23 saves in a 7-0 win for the Cats. As tough as it is to continuously slug through games against lower ranked clubs, it has been a haven of sorts for the Cats as they both collect valuable points to stay in the mix with the other teams in the upper echelon of the Q as well as allow them to boost the confidence of those key players in the Moncton lineup. The Cats are back at it Wednesday night against - god help us - PEI.
Finally a crappy day for baseball yesterday got even worse. After the announcement in the morning of the passing of longtime Orioles manager Earl Weaver, the St. Louis Cardinals announced in the evening the passing of Hall of Fame outfielder/first basemen Stan Musial. For many years the National League's all time leader in hits, he played in an era that spanned from before the US's entry into World War Two until a few months before the assassination of JFK. He was also the owner of one of the most incredible statistical anomalies in all of sports. Of his 3,630 hits, 1,815 came at home, 1,815 were collected on the road. As it was stated in Ken Burns' outstanding documentary "Baseball", "He didn't care where he was, he just hit." For St.Louis, a city that loves it's baseball as much or more than any locale in the world, "The Man" will be sorely missed.
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