We were beaten today by Wissahickon, a very disciplined, well-coached team. They beat us using a lot of short, give and go passes. Our forecheck was largely ineffective because of good, heads up passing, and moving to open areas by opposing players. We tried to contain our game to the offensive end, but were unable to do so. Consequently, we played on the entire ice surface, costing us our stamina. Well balanced teams will be able to use this against us unless, of course, we focus our forechecking efforts. In addition, we were hurt with poor decision making as we carried the puck out of the zone. Largely, we tried to do it alone, without benefit of passing or using open teammates. Also, there was little defensive side support when we did attempt to carry it out of the zone. This team used the dump and chase (very effective, although I've always wondered why teams who have the capability of passing the puck choose to get rid of it -- I guess if they can recover it with little opposition, it is a good strategy). In the future, if we play teams with similar strategies, we will need to block or hold up their forecheck and also block or hold up their pinching defensemen. If there is no sure breakout pass, we should chip it up to our wings who are blocking the pinching defensemen and get the puck out to center ice. If that doesn't work, we should follow the maxim, "No Pass -- Off The Glass". It was a good game for learning the importance of short passes. We should work to do the same. Have a great Christmas Vacation.

I've learned that something constructive comes from every defeat. -- Tom Landry