By: John Sparenberg
Game one wins/losses are very overrated.
Every series, even if it's a sweep is a grind, and the
longer they go on, they more grinding they become. And, if game one was any
measure of nearly the best of what CV has, and the Bears clearly not being at
their best, I think that bodes well for Hershey moving forward.
There are many factors that could contribute to a
victory/defeat game one. Such as, one team having more rest (fatigue), and injuries.
And I think the Bears’ effort in game one was heavily influenced by their
weariness. Their third period, when they game CV four straight power plays in
under 5-minutes of clock time, was in my opinion a combination of both fatigue
and frustration with their circumstances at the time.
Apart from their first goal, which was the combination of Joe
Snively being put in a precarious position at the point on the power play, with
no backup, I thought each of the CV goals were very preventable, with the
tallies resulting from poor positioning, bad choices in coverage, or multiple
failures to clear the zone.
Hunter Shepard doesn’t get a pass on his performance either,
and obviously, he could have been better in game one, but he has always
responded well to sub-par performances in the post-season, and I see no reason
why that will not be the case the rest of the way.
I, as I’m sure many others in Bears nation felt, a
goaltending change might be needed after Shepard surrendered the fourth goal.
However, in hindsight, I like coach Todd Nelson’s choice not to pull the
trigger.
Doing so, probably would have raised more questions that it
answered, and Shepard, despite not seeing many more shots after CV’s fourth
foray into the goal scoring column, stopped each of them and gave his club a
chance to mount their comeback, which fell just short.
Lastly, the Bears rash of injuries in the post-season has
certainly made their quest to repeat as champions more challenging, but there
is a silver lining in the lineup changes that have been necessitated by them.
For the Bears/Caps organization, they have been able to see
players playing out of their customary positions, play higher or lower in the
lineup than they did in the regular season, or play alongside personnel that might
either enhance their game, or make it more challenging for them to play to
their strengths.
As for the skaters, there is no better platform to display their
versatility for future contracts than the post-season, particularly now in the Calder Cup finals,
whether that be for the Bears/Caps organization or another potential suitor.
