The second game for the young season of the Heartland Red Liners began auspiciously as they gave up their first goal after only fifteen seconds. But the guys in red brushed off the early mistake and regrouped themselves. It would be Sam would draw the first penalty (tripping) after missing on his first breakaway attempt. The Liners would not be able to capitalize on the powerplay. Sam would later tie up the score from a pass from I-berg. He had a breakaway at the Blades’ netminder and deked him with a backhand shot. Chris, “The Doctor”, S. along with Matty S. tried to jump start the scoring as well with clean shots on net. The Blades would score their second goal off a breakaway as they slipped past the Liners’ defense.
The second period began with both teams trying to gain the momentum. The Baron continued to display his energetic skating as he crash the loose pucks in the offensive zone and had several breakaway attempts of his own. The Blades would notch two quick goals off a mishandled puck in the neutral one and a bad line change called by the bench. More scoring attempts were made by Roller Kris lobbing more pucks at the Blades’ goal and Evan hammering at loose pucks in the slot. I-berg would again start the scoring for the Liners by picking up a loose puck in the top of the slop and wristing it at the net. The loose puck dribble just behind the Blades’ goalie where a waiting Sam popped it into the net. Rocket, the Liners goalie, made some key saves from pointblank shots that help keep the scoring down. The only scoring for the third period was a single goal for the Blades.
The Liners continued to work on their breakouts Motor Jake and TomTom were able to clear a few pucks out of the zone. Eric was hugging the boards better to help cover his point man. Mikey was tracking his opponents better and learning to get himself into the plays more. Brian was picking up loose pucks better. Much work still needs to be done. The bench coaches continue to guide the on-the-ice changes and try to instill strategies for the novice players to master. The guys in red have a two week hiatus to rest, recover, and regroup. They may even have a little time to practice. Their next game is against the Whalers, Dec 30th at 10:30pm.