PaPas - Naiset (3 - 2)

Our winning start to the season came to a sudden stop in this game with a very close 2-3 loss. This was always going to be a very hard game for us for many reasons. It was our first away game as well as being the first game that we had to travel a long distance for. It was only 5 days since our last game & because of our usual training venue not being available during the week our training was disrupted & limited. Our biggest hurdle though was, of course, our opposition. PaPas had lost two games in a row & were very determined to win, especially since both losses had been at home?.no team ever likes losing at home!

Our first period defence let us down in this game & I think that in the end our mistakes in this period were what decided the game. Some poor free-hit defence & missed opportunities by us to score allowed PaPas to go to the first break with a 0-2 lead. The 2nd period was very tight &, in particular, our defensive play was greatly improved, but we were able to score just the one goal.

PaPas put themselves in a strong position scoring early in the 3rd period & although we were able to score very quickly to bring their lead back to just one goal, we were not able to break their defence to bring the scores equal & take the game to overtime. Two penalties against us late in the game also made the team´s aim of scoring even more difficult, & along with an error on my behalf in not taking an opportunity to call a time-out, meant that the game ended very disappointingly for us.

I think the 4.30am start to our day showed in our 1st period performance & this was really where we lost this game. Otherwise the teams were very even, with both teams having many opportunities to score. However, from every game we can take some positive things from it & from my point of view one of these was the excellent performance of Essi Leppinen, a former junior SB Vantaa player. Also Heli Haapasalmi, who came to SB Vantaa this season from M-Team, was involved in both of our goals, & is proving to be a very consistent player with another strong game.

Sarah Mitchell
Päävalmentaja