Top Team - Naiset (3 - 5)

We made this game a little bit harder for ourselves than it should have been.  We did not start the game particularly well & for the first period did not play 'our' game at all.  The second & third periods were much better & the final result of 5-3 gave us the two points that we wanted. 

After talking to the players at the first break we were determined to play a stronger, more physical & much more positive game. During the first period we had not attacked the ball & had allowed their players too much space, especially when they had possession.  We really changed this right from the start of the second period, working much harder to put a pressure on their players & to control our own possession much better.  Winning this period 3-0 showed that we were the stronger team & gave us the confidence to go on & win.

A error with our team sheet meant that one of our players, Mirkka Laaka, was not on the match record, & losing her for the game was very unfortunate.  This is always very disappointing for the player involved & difficult for the team, and I (once again) give my apologies for this error, but was very proud of how the whole team handled the situation.

A couple of late goals by Top Team made the final score a bit closer, but once we had got back to our game plan in the second period, I don't think that we were ever going to let the game slip away.   Top Team, like us, have a couple of players who have scored the majority of their points this season & we were able to not just stop them from scoring, but did a great job of limiting the opportunities for any of their players to even shoot for goal.

The statistics show that our goalkeeper, Krista Laine, only had to make 9 saves in the game, but every one of those was a really good quick-reflex save from very good shots.  These 9 saves definitely made a big difference to the final score & our win.

Sarah Mitchell

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