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3rd Annual Super Series Game #3.
Put a fork in them… THEY’RE DONE!!! Team Makri loses another heart-breaker with a final score of 9-7. They now have a 3-0 deficit in the series and have a quasi-insurmountable task of winning the final 5 games in order to win their series 5-3. Even with the moral support of their official mascot (a dog called Romeo), Team Makri couldn’t get the job done and win. It’s not like they didn’t provide a huge effort (they bombarded the other team with shots) but it quickly became a case of “too little, too late”.
Once again, Team Makri started the game on a roll and had the lead going into the second period for the second time in as many games. But again, they blew the lead in the second period and entered the third frame with a 7-5 deficit. Overall, the game was a very exciting, nail-bitter of a game that could’ve gone either way. Disappointingly, it wasn’t enough to bring out the crowd and the game ended up getting the lowest attendance, so far in this series, with a grand total of ZERO fans for this game. Which leads me to wonder, did the fans not come out because they already knew the outcome of the game? This should certainly give Team Makri another motivation factor to come roaring back and give Team Hondronicolas a run for their money.
Nonetheless, I’m happy with the effort given by Team Makri in this game. The guys, by and large, battled hard and gave their all so I cannot fault them on that regard. [...] On the upswing, [the referee] understands that he shouldn’t be the focal point of the match so he lets the players PLAY AND DETERMINE THE GAME!
Given that, the players from Team Makri should stop the whining and complaining. Especially during the match!!! If they don’t, they will play straight into the hands of Team Hondronicolas. The team seems to look at external factors to explain their losing streak (i.e. [...], [...], “the other team is playing dirty”, etc…) but what they seem to forget is that you ‘win as a team and you lose as a team’. The reality is that by whining & complaining and by lashing out the referee, they become more and more distracted and they eventually lose their focus. They let their emotions (especially their anger and frustration) get the best of them and ultimately, they start making costly mistakes during the game. It still amazes me at how, with the veteran leadership of this team, they can let this happen. The leaders need to assert themselves and steer the ship away from the blame game…
I bet you team Team Hondronicolas relishes this turn of events and the more this whining and complaining continues from Team Makri, the easier it will be for them to win their next games (and eventually the series). Team Makri needs to wake up and stop blaming others for their poor performances. The team has to look at themselves and internally to find the answers they need to beat Team Hondronicolas. They all need to look at themselves in the mirror and ask: “What can I do more to help our team win?” Some of the players in the team are playing like ghosts. The second line of Team Makri (Nelson, Allen and Taki Maroulis) needs to step it up and elevate their game. The whole team has to be playing better defensively and the forwards need to be helping out the defense more. In case Team Makri isn’t aware, DEFENSE wins you championships!!!
Team Makri needs to increase their morale by constructively building on the positives of their team and George Skoufaras is definitely a huge positive. He was a monster on the rink, displaying lots of skill with an extraordinary amount of heart and intelligence. At one point, he realized that no one was crashing the net and standing in front of the goalie for screen shots, so he took it upon himself to do that job. Thanks to his quick thinking and quick play, they were able to keep possession of the puck, cycle it around and increase their shot output in order to improve their scoring chances. He also was quick witted enough to pull out the goalie, in the final minutes of the game, for the extra attacker, which led to a last minute goal for his team.
A second huge positive is the play of their goaltender George Kapogiannopoulos. Despite playing with a huge hangover (due to his wild partying the night before), he still managed to make unbelievable saves. He, himself, admits that he wasn’t in shape for this game and was completely spent in the third period, to the point that he couldn’t move anymore. Even so, when the game was still close and his team needed him to shut the door in the last period (in the hopes to make a last minute comeback) he delivered by allowing only one goal
Some players from Team Makri should look up at Louis Gomato as an example of hard work and raising your game. Louis Gomato really elevated his play this game by making huge contributions offensively and dominating on most occasions. He was so effective that he even drew a penalty against him in the third period. He got checked hard on the boards and Lainis got two minutes for boarding. It seems that he used last week’s game as an opportunity to get rid of his “rink rust” and to find his legs for the other games coming up. However, Louis is one of those players that is very vocal about his displeasure for the referee. He must stop thinking about the referee and concentrate more on playing hockey and I guarantee you he will develop into an unstoppable force
As for Team Hondronicolas, I thought Louis Hondronicolas was the best player in the team with an overall strong performance. He was especially dominant in the late first period, going into the second period with a four goal performance (at least) during that span. His leadership skills were evident from the start with an inspirational, funny, speech before the game started to inspire his troops: “Fuck Team Makri, it’s not our fault he didn’t bring enough players so screw them, let’s go all out for the mercy rule”. Add into the mix his impressive quickness & speed and he becomes a devastating force for any opposition.
The goalie, John Vrettis, had an incredible night with multiple game-saving saves. The opposition peppered him with shots, especially in the last period, but John made the needed saves down the stretch for the win. He was simply outstanding and Team Hondronicolas would definitely have trouble winning if it weren’t for his efforts.
Dino Da Silva played like a true champion and displayed his awesome skills throughout the game. His best moment was late in the third period, when he had two breakaways and managed to convert one of them, to “seal the deal” for his team. It just so happens that Dino’s third period, breakaway goal is also the winner for the “goal of the night” award. He went straight towards the net from the goalie’s left side and took a sniper shot for a marvelous, right-side, top corner goal.
Prediction of the week: It’s all over for Team Makri. I don’t believe they can win the next five games to ultimately win the series. The morale is low and their heads are not in the right place right now. They are still searching for others to blame instead of concentrating on playing hockey. The “Mighty Olympians” are simply going to put the “Wimpy Christians” out of their misery and run away with it.
Team Makri
* George Skoufaras
** George Kapogiannopoulos
*** Louis Gomato
Team Hondronicolas
* Louis Hondronicolas
** John Vrettis
*** Dino Da Silva
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