Game report BI Knockouts - HEL ry

BIKO - HEL ry 4 - 4 (0-1, 3-1, 1-2)

1-2 Tuomas (Douwe)
2-2 Miika (Tuomas)
3-2 Miika
4-4 Kalle (Miika)


It is really nice to play, when you can see everyone in the team concentrating on the game. The spirits were very high yesterday, perhaps, in part, a bit too high. We got two quite unnecessary team-penalties for continuous wrong playing style. This means mostly slashing, and hitting the stick. HEL did it too, they just did not get penalties from it. It was close though, the referee gave them a warning. Keep it cool, and play by the rules, even in tight situations.

We have now had two games in a row, where we've actually been in the chasing position, and managed to pull even, and even go past. This requires some backbone, and I've had the feeling that we've been lacking it previously. It looks like we're gradually growing some :)

HEL is a really skilled team, and their passing game is better than ours. Even more, they have one or two players, who are really confident with the ball, and can run laps around anyone else in the rink. Our tight box defense worked quite nicely, although in the first period it was almost non-existent. It got too tight, and everyone was just standing in the front of our goal. The second and third went a lot better. This killed their goal-spree efficiently. We forgot the defense a few times in the third period and they managed to shoot a fairly simple one. Their other goal in that period was quite good, and we would have had hard time preventing it anyway.

One thing to note, especially in the last period: When HEL had the ball, there were three of us up there after it. This is a no-no. Only one tries to tackle the ball. The winger on the side of the attack has the responsibility to tackle, and tackle hard. The rest of the attack chain has to drop down at that point, because if the guy gets a pass past the chasing winger, the ball is immediately in our end, with just two defense men.

The wingers also have the responsibility to drop down, if our defense runs up. This we forget too often. Take notice! Also, making a mask in front of the opponents goal is very very important, so there are lots of things that fall on the wingers :)

Next game in about three weeks. See you there!

Anni

Game Report BIKO - Finnsteve

BIKO - Finnsteve 5 - 4 (0-2, 2-1, 3-1)

1 - 2 Topi (Petri)
2 - 3 Artur (Tuomas)
3 - 3 Kalle
4 - 3 Topi (Anni)
5 - 3 Miika (Tuomas)


Well well well, it pays off to do things the way you know the best. Although not everybody was available in the briefing before the game, and we did not exactly find room to practice, I think most of us got the hang of our 'turtle'. It is about guarding a plot in the rink, not about guarding a specific player. There was still some confusion visible in the rink, but all in all the turtle was well packed, and made Finnsteve's game quite difficult.
On the other hand, Finnsteve let gaping holes in their defense, which we managed to use with some efficiency.
Finnsteve is second in the league. Our turtle has gotten us a 1-1 tie against the league leader, and now, a victory against these guys. And, to be quite honest, our game was not the best possible turtle game I've seen us play. The result is impressive. Also some crucial changes to balance the strength probably helped. Thanks for the hints, and big thanks to Enni, who slaved through the changes. It really made a difference.
This game should have ended 6-3, that's something that will bug me for some time. In the second period, I managed to shoot off an open goal, and immediately after that, Kalle scored, but on the end whistle - no goal. In the third period, right before the finish, Tuomas got an obscure penalty (pressing the stick? I was right next to the situation, I must have selective vision), which Finnsteve managed to exploit. Darn.

This is looking a lot better now! As far as I'm concerned, BIKO will continue with this style in the next game. See you there!

Anni

Game report Säätäjät - BIKO

Säätäjät - BIKO 10-2 (5-0, 1-1, 4-1)

5-1 Topi (Ilya)
9-2 Marko (Ilya)

I know. It is so frustrating to have two games like this in a row. What is positive in this is that now I know, what does not work. Two games lost so magnificently, when we tied against the best team in the league...

From now on, the tactics will change. We will stick to our own game, no matter who and on what level our opponent is. It is quite telling that after the little speach in the first break our second period looked so much better than the first.

There are a few things I'd like to remind people of:
1. Appear to the game early enough. A minute before the whistle is not 'early'. 5 minutes after the game has started is outrageously late! It will mess up the game completely, if we need to play with temporary positions for the first half of the first period, or change defense to offense and vice versa in the second period.
2. Practice basic skills. Arriving early helps here, too. There is no shame to go to the rink and start passing a ball in a circle with a few friends. Many of us may have that as the only opportunity to train basic skills for weeks in time. Especially important this is to those who are not going to the Tuesday practice anymore...
3. In game, listen to the goal keeper. Trust me in this. He sees the game far better than anyone else in the rink most of the time. If you hear him shout "Kaks muuriin!", make sure that there really are two players forming a wall where he points.
4. On the bench, shout warnings. Again, from the bench you are more likely to see the attackers sneaking behind our defenses. Tell the people about it.

OK, our next game is on 17th of January. I'd like to see as many as possible appearing at least 20 minutes before the game. We're going to shift our tactics to the good old turtle, which means tight guarding of men. We need to rehearse that. The game is so early, that it would be also nice to see somebody staying after the game for a chat in the bar.

See you in two weeks!

Anni