Sands Win! Sands Win!

Aries 20, 2078, m249

The Sands finally won their first match of the exhibition season, putting away  the Phantoms 1 – 0 at Mareotis during overtime.

Having played their best match last week in a 5 to 3 loss to Khimik, the Sands were able to translate some of that some momentum into today’s win.

To assist with the Sands’ momentum was the announcement of Phantoms’ defender Alex Gaumond missing the game due to the flu. After 5 exhibition games, his two assists and one goal would be missed.

The Sand’s took advantage of Gaumond’s absence to apply offensive pressure all game, taking 20 shots against their goalie.

“We put a lot of offensive pressure on them today,” said Sands’ Captain Mitchell Cruz. “I think it eventually tired them out which created more concrete scoring chances for us late in the 3rd period and overtime.”

That pressure was evident in the first two periods as  the Phantoms fought off each Sands’ rush but incurred two penalties in the first and two penalties in the second period.

“It felt like all game, we were just fending them off, blocking shots, killing penalties, and fore checking” said Phantoms Captain, Jonathan Moore.  “We only got 7 shots on their goalie so I’m surprised they actually didn’t score more to be honest”.

Phantom’s goalie Vivien Lewis stopped 5 goals today, including a spectacular shut down of Jared Foster’s breakaway during the Sand’s first period power play.

Lewis pulled off another beautiful save as she used her right knee pad to block an attempt by Sand’s Captain, Mitchell Cruz to deflect a feed from Xin into the net.

Mitchell cruz Overtime goal against the Phantoms ends the Sands drought.

A wickedly high shot from Eric Wiliams almost blew past Lewis, but she flashed a quick glove to catch the puck and push the game into overtime.

Fatigue set in for the Phantoms in overtime and gave the Sands the opening they were looking for. Cruz was able to take advantage of a good bounce which led to a wide open side rush where he ripped a quick, short-side shot past Lewis at 2:18 of overtime to give the Sands the win!

“We’re happy to end the exhibition with a win. It’s too bad we couldn’t extend things a bit as I think we’re just starting to hit our stride,” said Cruz.

The win for the Sands and the loss for the Phantoms gives both teams a 1-5 record to end the exhibition season.

Sands Go Down, Fighting

Aries 13, 2078, m249

Sand's goalie Priya Christensen and Captain Jared Foster - Despite lose their 5th in a row, they played their best match yet.

In a highly spirited match, Ruslan Vasiliev scored a hat trick to lead Khimik past the Sands 5 to 3 at Korolev.

With the win, Khimik moves to 3 and 2 and secure a spot in the 2nd stage exhibition that ISMO officials announced earlier in the week.

For the Sands, another loss, but it was their best performance yet.

Early in the game, it looked like the same old Sands.  Alex Yanovna easily netted Khimik's 1st goal from a bounce off the body of the Sands' Mitchell Cruz who was jockeying for net-front position. 

To the Sands' credit, they didn't fold. They responded at the 7 minute mark, and short-handed nonetheless. 

Khimik's power play unit fanned on a shot allowing the Sands' Jared Foster to take the puck and rush up ice and deliver a top shelf goal to tie up the game.  

The Sands continued to push and were eventually rewarded just 5 minutes later as Anthony Xin buried a rebound off an initial save by Khimik goalie Veronica Danilenko to give the Sands the lead 2 -1. 

As the 2nd period started, Khimik's Denis Ivashkin was tagged with a slashing penalty giving the Sands another opportunity, but despite some a few chances, the Sands were unable close the deal.

With just seconds left in that power play, Foster made a last ditch effort by boldly skating up the ramp before the Khimik blue line in an attempt to deliver an aerial pass to teammate, Jessie Andersen. 

Unfortunately, the pass failed to connect with Andersen's outreached stick and was picked up by Khimik's Andrej Petrovyh, as Foster made an awkward crash landing.  This gifted Kihimk with an odd person rush the other way that Ilya Hryc finished with a shot from the point to tie up the game 2-2. 

For the next seven minutes, both teams fought to get the go ahead goal until finally the Rusian Vasiliev show got underway.

At the 24th minute, the Sands' Eric Williams failed to clear the puck in front of the net, instead sending it right to Rusian Vasiliev for a shot past goalie Priya Christensen to put Khimik ahead. 

Just two minutes later, Vasiliev scored again on a redirect of an Andrej Petrovyh shot to make it 4-2. 

With less than a minute before the end of the 2nd period, Vasiliev completed his hat trick when he ripped a wrist shot from the top of the right circle through Christensen's legs to put Khimik up 5 - 2 over the Sands.

With a three goal lead to start the third period, Khimik played to protect the lead using strong puck movement to dominate time of possession which helped neutralize much of the Sands chances.  

At the 41st minute, the Sands finally found an opening as Xin's pass from behind the net found Andersen who banked it in past Veronica Danilenko to narrow the lead to two goals.  

With a few minutes remaining, the Sands deployed all three forwards at once in an attempt to tie up the game. This led to a mad scramble for the Sands.

With under two minutes left, it looked like the Sands would narrow the gap but a Foster shot from the slot rang off the post and that would be as close as the Sands would get. 

"They really pressed us hard at the end," said Khimik Captain Alex Yanovna. "Everyone keeps talking about how bad the Sands were but they were quite good today. If not for Ruslan's hat trick, the outcome may have been different."

"I'm proud of our effort today," said Sands Captain Mitchell Cruz. "We didn't give up and kept the game really close.  Next week will be the last exhibition game for us, so we plan to make the most of it."
 

Sands Bite The Dust, Again

Aries 7, 2078, m248

It’s been a tough exhibition for the Sands so far as they’ve been shut out of almost every game they’ve played so far. They were not able to break the losing streak today. In fact, they were utterly crushed by the Moles 4 to 0.

It is becoming obvious that poor planning on ISMO’s part has entered a team into the exhibition that is way out their league (so to speak). The Sands just have not been remotely competitive and that has got to be demoralizing.

Half way through the exhibition schedule, Sands can't catch a break losing their 4th in a row.  Right-to-Left: Mitchell Cruz (Captain/Defenceman), Priya Christensen (Goaltender) and Jessie Andersen  (Forward)

“We’re trying our best out there, but something is just not coming together,” says Sands captain, Mitchell Cruz.

The Moles were extremely aggressive today and clearly stunned the hapless Sands.  The Moles earned a total of 5 penalties by the end of the game. 5 minutes into the game, Vicky Li was sent to the box for  highsticking. Not 30 seconds after, Campbell was penalized for cross-checking a Sands defender while scrambling for the puck.

Even a 2-player advantage of a minute and a half, was not enough to give the Sands the break they needed to score a goal. The Moles played a tight defense to kill the penalty—with forward Bryan Taylor sticking close to the net to protect Sam Bailey from the barrage of shots coming from the Sands.

Hall was swapped in for Campbell while she waited out her penalty.

The Moles aggressive strategy was evident in the stats. They kept the pressure on the poor Sands the whole game, leading to twice as many scoring chances as the Sands.

“We came out hot,” said Campbell of the Mole’s performance today, “we never got over confident, and we kept the heat and pressure on them for the entire game.”

Moles forward Vicky Li gets a little air in front of the Sands box.  Li had 2 goals in the game. 

An early breakaway by Taylor got him past the Sands defense line as he scored the first goal of the game at 1:50 minutes into second period. Taylor’s goal would be followed by a beautiful shot by Vicky Li as she swooped around behind the net and tipped the puck right past Christensen’s left skate. 

The third period would be sung to a similar tune as Campbell broke away from the pack and charged Sand’s goalie down the mid-right, and faking a shot before firing it true to the top-right corner of the net. With 5 minutes to spare, Vicky Li scored her second goal to bring the final score to 4-0. 

Sand’s forward, Jessie Andersen, made a valiant effort today—intercepting and breaking the Mole’s plays multiple times today. But she just was not able to hang on the puck long enough to make a difference.

Spirits were low in the Sands locker room after the game as players were largely silent after their fourth defeat. 

“I know this is just an exhibition game,” says Andersen, “ but it still smarts, you know? I mean, no one likes losing.”

Today’s win puts the Moles at 3-1 while the Sands remain at 0-4

Lessons From Today's Match

Aries 1, 2078, m249

Sands Lack Hands

Their 4 – 0 loss to the Cosmonauts at Noviymir was the second time the Sands have been blanked this season. Overall, they’ve lost all three of their exhibition games games, and have been outscored 19 – 2; which includes their season debut bloodbath, a 9 - 0 loss to the Wildcards.

They’ve mustered up a paltry 37 shots in total for all three games – the lowest of all the teams.

“Their players look like they have hands of stone out there”, said one fan after the game.

Sands’ Captain Mitchell Cruz was unable to dispute the fan’s assessment of their play.  “Things just aren't clicking for it yet,” said Cruz, “But we won't give up.  Even though this is an exhibition, we really want to give the new fans a good show.”

Some are wondering if the team’s poor play can actually be attributed to bad planning on the part of ISMO.  With all the teams assembled by the organization over the last 8 months, the exhibition teams represented the 'best' from the 15 teams in the program.  The Sands may be better than the teams that didn't make it, but simply be uncompetitive in this pool.

Blood Thicker Than Water

Meanwhile, Cosmonauts Captain Anna Fedin and her sister Kate may represent the future for the sport.

“We have photos of us skating when we were little back on Earth,” said Anna Fedin, the older of the two sisters. “According to our parents, we loved it.” 

Even though they haven't done it for years prior to signing up to the ISMO training camp, both women have a strong affinity for skating.  According to Dr. Elisna Katrine, a member of the ISMO training program, "Both Fedins are highly receptive to induction techniques, so are expected to continue to improve at an accelerated rate."

Their skating ability has, no doubt contributed to their early success.  Anna debuted the season with a hat trick that led the way to a 4-1 win over the Phantoms. She leads the team in points with 4 goals where Katy has 1 goal and 4 assists.  
 
“We are just having fun out there,” said Anna. “Happy that ISMO has given us a stage to play on.”
 

More Space, More Skills, More Speed.

The prototype rinks of ISMO are giving the players a spacious canvas to push their athletic artistry.
 
“All that open ice makes a difference”, said Katy Fedin. “It seems like night and day when compared to the footage of Earth hockey we've studied . I'm not sure that game would even work under our conditions here.  If you have the speed and stick handling skills to control the puck, there are lots of scoring opportunities as odd-person situations happen more frequently.”
 
This was clearly demonstrated in the Cosmonauts 4-0 win as they frequently ran well-timed and well-executed line changes which are paramount in 3-on-3 play. On the flip side, poor execution plagued the Sands throughout the match leading to many an odd-person rush for the Cosmonauts who converted for a few goals.
 
Speed plays an important role in all aspects of the 3-on-3 game. The Cosmonauts have the edge in this aspect, chasing down the Sands and steal control on multiple occasions. 

Less obvious, but just as important is the mental speed of the players and the team. Having this speed allows individuals to make snap decisions on an almost instinctual level, and allows the entire team to alter their point of attack or defense on the drop of a pin.

Defenders as Goalies, Goalies as Playmakers

Marius Hansen, Cosmonaut Goaltender.

“Smaller teams means more flexible roles.” This fact is quickly becoming the maxim, especially in the interplay between goalies and defenders.
 
Teams have already begun to incorporate their goalies into hybrid roles. And those with superior puck handling skills will help their offence either through a breakout pass or as the receiver of a pass when the team needs to regroup or make a line change.
 
In today’s match, both goalies lead their respective teams in passing: Priya Christense with 7 passes (Sands) and Marius Hansen (Cosmonauts) with 8. Overall, 60% of the exhibition games played so far have seen a defender block more shots than the goalie, while goalies have led their respective teams in passing in 50% of games so far.

This is definitely something to keep an eye out for as the team strategies evolve and mature throughout the season.

“I don’t want to just lead my team in passing, I want to lead in scoring,” joked Hansen. “Before this season is over, I’m going to score a goal”. With the breakout play of ISMO so far, Hansen’s playful proclamation could easily become a reality.

ISMO Hockey Roundup

Mina 22, 2078, m249

Fredrick Mattila, of the Moles.

ISMO concluded their first ambitious weekend of ice hockey in the 3 Northern settlements.  With each matchup a 'double header' seeing the paired teams repeat play on Saturni and Solis, the games delivered a taste for the new sport.

The small seating capacity at the prototype rinks ensured a sell-out crowd for the opening weekend.  Largely reserved for media, partners friends, and family, the audiences were enthusiastic and generally encouraging toward the amateur players.

Mareotis

The Cosmonauts delivered a convincing win over the Phantoms in game 1 at Mareotis.  Despite outshooting the Cosmonauts 30 to 20, the Phantoms were only able to beat goaltender Marius Hansen once after a wild scramble in front of the net allowing #75 Peter Lehmann to sneak the puck past him. 

Otherwise, the game was almost entirely carried on the shoulders of Anna Fedin, captain of the Cosmonauts, who netted a hat-trick and an assist.  Vitalia Burian also scored late in the 3rd period to make it a 4-1 game.

Early in game 2, it looked as though the Cosmonauts would repeat the prior day's victory. Goals by Anna Fedin and Yaro Novak allowed them to take an early lead.

The Phantoms held the Cosmonauts off during the 2nd period and closed the gap to 1 after a point shot by Jonathan Moore beat Hansen.

Phantom defenceman Alex Gaumond got the equalizer in the 1st minute of the 3rd period.   

The go-ahead goal came after Peter Lehmann was fed on the wing by Gaumond and snapping a powerful shot Hansen's open side.

Lehmann would add an insurance goal 6 minutes later, ending the game 4-2.

"It was a great start," said Anna Fedin who had a total of 4 goals over the two games, "It is an entirely different game compared with practise games.  We would have liked to sweep the series, but we are not disappointed in our performance as a team."

Noviymir

It was a sleepy start in Noviymir as the Moles and Khimik fumbled for much of game 1.  In fact, both teams looked rather scared at the onset.  There were long stretches of slow, aimless passing mixed in with other cringe-worthy moments.

The first goal by Ruslan Vasiliev in the 2nd period wasn't pretty.  He fanned his shot, slipped, fell, and yet somehow unintentionally got the puck passed Moles goaltender Sam Bailey. 

The following goal by defenceman Andrej Petrovyh was more convincing.  A wrist shot up as Bailey went down gave Khimik a 2-0 lead.

The Moles would eventually get one back in the final minutes of the 2nd period, ending the match with a 2-1 score.

Fortunately for the spectators, the pace of game 2 did not resemble the awkward and sluggish play of the opening game.  

According to Janice Campbell, captain of the Moles, "We psyched ourselves out and, as as result, it wasn't the game we wanted to play.  Today, we promised to play for ourselves and it made a huge difference."

Through much of the game, the Moles were in lock-step with Khimik.  Fredrick Mattila would counter goals by Alex Yanovna and Ruslan Vasiliev to earn a hat-trick and end regular time at 3-3. 

It would be Campbell to score 6 minutes into overtime for the Moles win 4-3.

Korolev

Unlike the Noviymir games, the Sands were heavily outmatched against the Wildcards as they played at the K-rink. Mateo Martinez singled handed scored 11 goals, 7 on Saturni and 4 more on Solis.  

"We were obviously outclassed by the Wildcards," said Sands captain, Mitchell Cruz, "I think we are all new at this, so we'll take this as a learning experience and come back harder next week.

After this weekend's display, the Sands have an obvious skill deficit.  The 5 week round-robin schedule is unlikely to provide the adequate time to further development of skills or team chemistry, so the Sands may endure further humiliation before the exhibition series is complete.

Next Week

Starting next weekend, teams will play just one match a piece.  

Moles will face the Wildcards in Mareotis; Sands will visit Noviymir to take on the Cosmonauts; and the Phantoms will make the trek to tackle Khimik.

Wildcards Dust-off the Sands

Mina 22, 2078, m249

This was a double-header weekend for the ISMO debuted Martian Ice Hockey in Korolev, Noviymir and Mareotis.  The Korolev series featured The Sands versus the Wildcards, playing back-to-back on both Saturni and Solis. The small spectator capacity at K-Rink was sold out with more than 250 curious attendees from across the colonies in attendance.

Game 1

The Saturni game was a showcase of dominance by the Wildcards.  The first goal came at 2 minutes and 30 seconds into the first period by Wildcards forward, Samuel Marquez, who fired a shot through the legs of Sands goaltender, Priya Christensen.

Before the end of the first 15 minute period, Carl Lindberg extended the Wildcards lead to 2-0 after a intercepting the puck from Sand's captain, Mitchell Cruz.

By the 2nd period, Sands seemed to lose composure and Mateo Martinez stole the show.  Martinez, scored 5 consecutive goals against the Christensen who received little defensive support from her teammates.

In the 3rd, the Sands tightened their defences, but not enough to stop Martinez from netting his 6th and 7th goal before the end buzzer.

Of game 1, Martinez said, "We're very confident.  Based on our practise games against Mareotis based teams, we know there is huge range in skill and competency, but having not played against the teams from the other home rinks, we just wanted to come out strong.  We are, I am, very happy with the results." 

Jules Arquette earned her first shutout stopping 12 shots from the Sands.  Christensen faced 26 shots in the 9-0 loss.

Game 2

On day 2, the Sands had hoped to forget Saturni's game.  They came out aggressive in the first half of the period and were able to draw first blood.  Forward Jared Foster snuck around Wildcard defender, AmeliaHarris, by arcing around the ramp.  His first shot was blocked by Arquette, but was able to quickly flip the rebound under her pads.

The Sands, however, were not able to hold the lead long.  Carl Linberg responded with 2 goals before end of period taking the wind out of the Sands offense.

Martinez made a repeat of his game 1 performance with a hat trick over the course of the 2nd period.

Jesse Andersen would get another goal on the board for the Sands in the 3rd, but Martinez would get the final word in the game.  With 7 minutes remaining, Amelia Harris made a beautiful pass for Martinez to tip passed Christensen.

Wildcards win the game 6-2 and sweep the Sands on their home rink.

Over the two games, the Sands were clearly outplayed.  They made a combined 24 shots on goal compared with 46 by the Wildcards.

"We were outplayed on both days by the Wildcards," said #28 Mitchell Cruz, Captain of the Sands, "When Carl (Lindberg) got that shorthanded goal in the first, we lost our momentum.  We are just going to keep at it and do our best in our next game against the Cosmonauts."