Nov 24, 2018 | Bob Pozzebon | 769 views
Game #7 @ Penetang Flames
After a week off, the Stars traveled to Penetang to finish off the second half of a home and home series against the Flames.
After earning a hard fought victory the week before against the same Flames team the Stars were looking to sweep the season series and build on their 3 game winning streak.
The message before the game focused on getting out of the gate fast and making sure the team got their legs underneath them as the week long layoff was a concern. Along with a fast start the focus was to key in on #66 of the Flames as he seemed to be the player that lead the Flames and if he could be shut down the Stars would have a good chance of coming out on top.
It appeared the Stars got the initial message as they took a few extra laps in warm-up but you could see during their pass and shoot warm-up their was some rust in their game. As the puck dropped to begin the game it became obvious that the Stars were going to be in tough as just over a minute in, #66 took control of the puck and scored the Flames first goal with a great shot into the top corner. The goal seemed to be a wake-up call and the Stars gathered themselves and held the Flames scoreless for the rest of the period but they could not muster a goal for themselves.
The second period began the same as the first with #66 of the Flames dominating play when he was on the ice and his effort was rewarded with another goal to put the Flames up 2-0. This time however, the Stars could not steady themselves and they fell further behind as the period continued and at its conclusion they were down 5-0.
The Stars were able break the Flames shutout in the middle of the third period when Matthew M took control of the puck on a turnover in the neutral zone and zipped a puck past the Flames goalie for an unassisted goal.
In the end it was very apparent that the week long layoff was not of any help to the Stars and in resulted in one of their worst games so the season falling the 6-1 to the Flames. There were some positives to build on and the team was looking forward to playing their second tournament of the season, The Silver Stick Qualifier, in hopes of moving onto the finals in January in Niagara Falls.
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GO STARS GO.