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How Things Have Changed Last weeks games were extremely tough vs Stavanger and Lørenskog. We first had Stavanger at home; what an awesome sight it was to have a full-house at Leangen...THANK YOU TRONDHEIM!! The Oilers have a good team who play with speed and are well coached. In addition, they had lost only 2 games until that point this season. We came out and played hard as we always do but just couldn't generate enough offence to get the goals we needed to win. The positive side was our continued strong defensive play which has given us chances to win all games this past month. The final result was 3-1 (their third goal was in an empty net); to hold Stavanger to 2 goals is a great accomplishment as they are the highest scoring team in the league. We had our chances in different parts of the game to score but we just couldn't get it done. The second game was vs Lørenskog Sunday in Oslo. We again continued our strong play defensively and did not allow a goal. Niklas Nilsen was the hero as he scored the 1-0 goal and Vegard Spets added an empty net goal for a 2-0 win. The shots were definitely one-sided as we were outshot 48-13 but we did not allow out-numbered rushes (2 vs 1 or 3 vs 2's) which cut down on "high quality" chances in the game. Nordh stood tall and the rest of the team did their job; blocked shots, played smart within our system and killed penalties which eventually led us to the win. It was another long bus ride but when you win it doesn't seem so long on the way home! Mention should be given to our young players who continue to "step up" and be accountable in our wins. Spets, Nilsen, Erbe, Strøm, Rosvold, Volden, Valde, R.Fossen and Andersen continue to be big factors in our success. Role type players such as Wiig also continue to play well and provide us with quality minutes game in and game out. When you add these players to our "big guys", our team is providing results on a consistent basis. The one note in how things have changed for us was after the game vs Stavanger (it's funny how you notice more about players when you lose). With most teams in our situation (especially young teams) after a 3-1 loss vs the best team in the league one would expect a little satisfaction with the result as we were close. The change I saw as a coach made me smile. Players were extremely disappointed after the loss as they thought the should/could have won the game...they were not satisfied with the result (losing). A month ago the same result might have gotten a much different response compared to the confidence we are playing with today. Once players believe in themselves and expect to win on a nightly basis you then have a special hockey "team". As always: Thank you to all the supporters and sponsors for your support our team; without you there would be no hockey in Trondheim! Best Regards, Wayde Bucsis Head Coach |