For home series, rather than write-up a game report that you can see on the Black Bears official site, I figured I could do three takeaways from the home weekend that was. This initial installment will be for the past weekend against Danbury. The Black Bears pulled off the sweep of the Jr. Hat Tricks, while also getting some familiar faces back into the line-up.
1. One of the bigger things I saw was a little bit of miscommunication in the defensive end. A lot of that could be chalked up to three new defensemen added into the mix, as well as chemistry still trying to develop. But there were many times– especially on Friday– where there were avoidable turnovers and missed assignments that led to opportunities for Danbury and a couple of goals. Saturday, things did start to straighten out, as the defense was solid in front of Benji Motew, only allowing 15 shots on goal in Motew’s first shutout. As players get into a groove and develop rapport with each other, those miscues will be limited.
2. The new additions did make an impact in their first games. Isac Nielsen had a goal, Evan Sofitkitis had an assist, Tyler Stern and Mason Stenger made their presence known despite not having any points. For Sofikitis and Stern, their arrivals add to the eight returnees from last year’s team, while Nielsen and Stenger look to be impact players off the hop for the Black Bears and solidify themselves as an everyday player in the line-up.
3. The trio of Markas Samenas, Harrison Smith, and Trey Hinton made their mark this past weekend combining for eight points. Samenas’ power around the rink makes him a heavy force in the Black Bears line-up, Smith’s crafty stickhandling gives fits to the opposing defenses, and Hinton has been able to find his teammates in the open areas for solid set-ups on goals. As the team develops this season, I wouldn’t be shocked if these three contributed plenty to the roster when all is said and done for the year.
Clutch And Crab Hockey 