HOW often have you seen a dip in the next game immediately following an outstanding performance?
It happens in a lot of sports, but ice hockey is so intense and fast that a slight drop in effort or focus can lead to a loss.
We talked about this after our great win in Telford, but I think our effort against Hull at home was poor and we certainly lost focus at times in Bracknell.
That shouldn’t have happened, but it did.
The loss at Bracknell was especially frustrating as we gave them three goals simply because we were not focused mentally.
We also failed to take advantage of a five-on-three power play, whereas this was the situation we had turned to our advantage so effectively the previous week.
We did, eventually, remained unbeaten at home.
Our fans are used to edge-of-the-seat Saturday evenings and I’m sure they left the rink buzzing after overtime and a string of penalties.
As a coach, however, I was concerned that we had made life so difficult for ourselves.
At present, we are short-benched, which makes extra demands on the players.
With a home derby the following day, we needed to play a simple game and execute more effectively.
I don’t want to take anything away from a well-organised Hull team who gained their first point of the season.
They showed us that no team this season can be taken lightly.
Having come late into the league, they can only get stronger and their goaltender got a standing ovation from the Bison fans.
Have we learned our lesson? I won’t know until this weekend as we face Telford at home and Manchester away.
I have no concerns about effort or focus in these games!
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