Well having recovered a bit from last night's dismal performance, I am still trying to remember the very accurate statement I made to Frank as we droopily flew away from the Hive last night. I'm sure I'll remember it before I finish this report.
It had started quite brightly too. Both sides on the attack with the Bees getting the better of the first encounters, and the first line making menacing forays into Eagles territory. It was no real surprise when the Bees took the lead at 4min 6secs when Denis Burke was the quickest to react after a Shayne McCosh shot had rebounded off Riendeau's pads. It all went downhill from there on however. The Bees defence was at its most charitable and I did not count one effective check from them all evening, and the forwards, when they weren't passing to the opposition, were shooting straight at the Eagles netminder.
In the 12th minute, Scott Young made one of his attacks along the Eagles left wing and couldn't believe his luck as the Bees defence backed away and let him skate on. The result was a foregone conclusion. A simple pass into the slot and there was an unmarked and unmolested Dennis Purdie to put the Eagles back on level terms at 12min 42 secs. Worse was to come. Some twenty seconds into the first Eagles powerplay,the Bees defence again went walkabout and Purdie was left to pick his spot (that could be painful missus) and it was 1-2 at 13min 15 secs. Assists went to Byram and Parco.
The Eagles were in the lead and not playing particularly well, the Bees were playing so badly it didn't matter. During the 14th minute there was a great tangle around the Eagles net, Paxo went flying, and Ref Carson raised his hands to signify high sticks. With Paxo lying injured and the play not moving back to the Bees end for a face off, I assumed the call was against an Eagle. But after Paxo was escorted off the ice (and played no further part in the encounter) no penalty was called. No doubt someone will explain this seeming discrepancy. The period ended 1-2 and on the run of play a bit hard against the Bees although their performance was by no means worthy of a lead.
In the second and third periods it got progressively worse for the Bees. An awful pass in defence let in Parco at 24min 14 secs for a shot that Bernie should have stopped but didn't. A rare, threatening Bees attack at 29min 20 secs saw Dennis Burke's shot completely beat Riendeau only to ping back off the foot of the post. The fourth Eagles goal came at 31 min 8 secs when Trevor Burgess fired in from the point and Bernie watched as it sailed passed him into the net. Although the Bees did mount some attacks of their own the final shot invariably was hit straight at the Eagles netminder who gratefully received the little round black thing into his catcher. 1-4 at the end of the second.
With the third period only just over 1 minute old the Eagles had another powerplay. Sure enough at 42min 22secs Alan Schuler popped the puck passed Bernie, and that was enough for the Bee netminder and he skated off to be replaced by Brian Greer. He had no chance at 45min 2 secs as Shawn Byram converted from a pass by John Parco after an anonymous Bee had passed the puck to the Eagles man. The final Eagles goal summed up the Bees performance as Scott Young that wonderful and well known stick-handler skated unchallenged the length of the ice to make it 7-1 at 51 min 50 secs. By that time I had my head in my hands and young Craig sitting nearby thought I was weeping - I think I was actually. Not by the fact that we were beaten, but if the Bees had played to the best of their ability and still lost Icould have accepted that we were beaten by a better team. If the Bees hadn't played up to their best, but the opposition had such a good night I would have left the rink thinking "well on that form the visitors would have beaten anybody", I can just about take that. What really, really rankles is that the Eagles were only ordinary tonight and the Bees just crumbled before them. I did not see one effective check on an Eagles player this evening, and our defence might just as well have not been there, and if the forwards shoot directly at the opposition netminder how do they think they are going to score goals. I have read both Dave and Buzz's accounts of the game, and agree with the comments about the badly behaved section of the home crowd. It was unnecessary - the team know when they have played badly.
I have a great remedy for the Hockey Blues and it really works for me. Write a match report, and somewhere along the way you will find something amusing to write about. When I started this report I was as down as possible. Then, after the bit about "picking his spot", I suddenly remembered what I had said to Frank. These immortal words:
ITS ONLY A GAME