Dog's didn't play Good!

That's right. Paul Good missed his first game of the season and it was evident. The first place Mad Dogs came out with a short bench and completely flat. For the first time this season they were shut out with a final score 4-0 for the Mayhem. It was obvious that the Mayhem wanted to win. Captain Brian Loehr chalked it up to the fact that the Mayhem were out to revenge their last season playoff loss to the Mad Dogs.

The tide was turned in a chili game at SPA's Drake arena. The Mayhem controlled most of the game by winning virtually every race to the puck, playing smart position, and passing the puck very well. They looked good. The Dogs's were unable to connect on any passes, struggled with positioning, didn't shoot too often and were unable to capitalize on 3 power play opportunites.

If the 1st period was a sign of what was to come the Mad Dogs were outshot 15-3. Goaltender Larry Amundson was pumped up and only let in one in the first period. The Mayhem continued to shoot and put pressure on Larry. They had a total of 39 shots compared to the Mad Dogs 26. Larry kept his cool and was doing everything in his power to get the team fired up.

Despite all his efforts the Dog's never caught their spark and suffered a difficult defeat agains the then 2 and 4 Mayhem. First year captain caught some flak from the bench for his line combinations and for not calling a much needed time out late during third period. During the post game press conference Captain Loehr blamed the difficulties of injuries and the abscence of second year Paul Good for the unusual line combinations. He also noted that the shattering of rookie Sean Gervais skate in the third period was the icing on the cake.

The Mad Dogs maintian their first place position with a 1 point lead over the Hawks and the Falcons. The Venom and the Mudflaps are tied closely behind by 2 points. As the Dogs eneter mid-season it's critical that they fine tune a few things.

1. Hustle! They have to skate their ass off their entire shift. Skate to the puck. Put pressure on the other team. And when their legs are no longer moving... time to get off.

2. Passing. The Mad Dogs had no passing game going on. No break-outs, nothing in the neutral zone and no break-ins.

3. Shoot! We've said it before. A team needs shots to win. This was the Dogs second loss and the second time they were out shot... badly. Players don't always have time for big wind-ups when the other team is all over them in the offensive zone. They have to quit trying to make pretty plays and fire that puck on net. And when that's happening, someone needs to be in the goalies face screening and distracting him and someone else needs to be ready for the rebounds because there are a lot of them.

4. TALK! Is anyone out there? The Dog's need to start communicating out there. Let each other know when they are open, or not, or yell when someone else is. It's gotta be loud though. Defense needs to hollar if they are wide open on the blue line. More often then not they are. Forwards, keep your heads up and look around for the opportunities. They are there as well.

Just a few simple things the Mad Dogs can take into consideration as the enter mid season. If they can take anything positive out of the loss it's that they now remember losing sucks and that a team with any record in this B2 division is capable of playing a strong, smart hockey game like the Mayhem did. Next up is the Lumberjax in a primetime game, Sunday night the 21st, 9:35 at Saint Louis Park East. The Lumberjax are a .500 team that moved up from the C1 division this year. All reports indicate they are a very strong team that is capable of beating any team in this B2 division. Fire up Mad Dogs.

Mayhem Scouting Report

The Mad Dogs take on the Mayhem this coming Monday the 15th, 7:45 at St. Paul Academy, Drake Arena. Click here for a link to arena info.

Just a few thoughts about our next game that came in from the scouting report.

• The Mayhem is the second most penalized team in not only our division, but the entire league. Let's play our game, stay out of the box, and no retaliating, Steve Riley ; ) They have six players with at least 10 minutes in penalties.

• Decent goaltending, so a lot of shots are needed. We know we can shoot, 51 last game alone. So let's get a lot of shots... on net, and pick up the rebounds. Anyone going to the net to pick up rebounds do not get in to tight. We seem to be missing a lot of rebound opportunities because we over skate them or are in to tight to get a shot off. When you are in their zone hurry up and snap that shot off when you have a chance. Let's not be too patient, it's a fast game. The slap shots in close are getting blocked and the goalie usually has all day to get set for them. Sanp shots will not be block as often and are less predictable.

• Our power play was looking great last week. Let's keep it up when we have the chances. Set up, move the puck around, screen the goalie and pick up any rebounds.

• No real superstars on the Mayhem, but a few guys that have between 4-5 goals. A very balanced team. That usually means their passes will be pretty obvious. Keep your head up and watch the play unfold. We should be able to pick off a lot of passes in the neutral zone. Doing so will create a lot of scoring chances.

• Keep the puck in their end. Icing is at the red line so if you don't feel you can skate it in or have a pass option send the puck into thier zone and send it hard then skate your ass off to the puck. If we keep it in their end and keep dumping it in on them they will get exhausted. When we do that lets not have all three forwards in the offensive corner fighting for the puck. Someone stay high or in front of the net to screen their goalie.

• They’re 1-1-1 in their last three, and just beat the Mudflaps. They can be dangerous like any other team in division, and for the most part have played every opponent tough. Lost to the Venom by two goals earlier in the year. We also beat the Mayhem in a tough playoff game, our last game of the season last year. If I remember right they were not to happy so they may be looking for a bit of revenge.

A lot of pointers but let's play like we have been. Let's have some fun out there. This game is ours if we want it.

An Impressive Performance

The Mad Dogs put on a nice show Sunday night at the West Side Arena in St. Paul against new B2 team the River Pirates. The first period was a bit rough and ended with a tied score 1-1. It could have been much worse for the Dogs but they managed to kill of 2 penalties. 

Second period the Dogs were killing another penalty when Mastro slid a pass over to captain Brian Loehr  who back handed it in for the go ahead short handed goal. However the Pirates came down :19 seconds later during the same power play for a quick goal to tie the game back up. Mad Dogs had enough and went on to score 2 more, 1 by Mastro and 1 by Good, before the Pirates got another with 1:52 left in the period. Mad Dogs responded :31 seconds later when Riley scored a late period goal assisted by Lobe and Ashton ending the period with a 2 goal lead. 

The third period was dominated by the Mad Dogs because the Pirates found themselves in penalty trouble. The Dogs out shot the pirates in the third 21-10 and goaltender Larry Amundson shut out the Pirates in the 3rd to help the Mad Dogs to victory. Pete Lobe scored 2 power play goals and Paul Good got his second with a minute left in the game. 

The Dogs won out shooting the Pirates by 30 shots, 51-21. Overall it was a solid game by the Dogs. The power play was looking good seeing that they had 3 power play goals. Their penalty kill was also solid. The Dogs allowed only one short handed goal killing off  6 of the 7 penalties that they received. Next Monday the Dog play the Mayhem, the second highest penalized team in the entire AHA. Should be an intense game. Scouting report came in from Pete Lobe and will be published to the blog soon.

Johnson Placed on Injured Reserve List

Mad Dogs rookie center Rousey Johnson met with doctors on Wednesday to check the progress of the double fracture in his right thumb. The results were not good and he had to undergo surgery on it Thursday morning. He is expected to be out 4 - 6 weeks putting him back on the ice sometime in mid January. Rousey was in good spirits Wednesday night while discussing the procedure with captain Brian Loehr and said he was excited to heal up so he could be back on the ice for the Mad Dogs playoff run. 

Johnson missed two weeks earlier in the season after the original fracture to his thumb. In the 4 games he's played in during his rookie season in B2 he has managed to tally up 8 points. 5 goals(1 short handed, no pun intended) and 3 assists. 4 of those points came from last weeks game against the Falcons. We look forward to having him back soon but until then expectations have been raised for rookie Sean Gervais to fill his place on the score sheet.

Mad Dogs Snipe the Dirty Bird

Expecting a dirty game from the Falcons the Mad Dogs kept their focus and concentrated on skating hard, scoring goals and staying out of the penalty box. The Falcons picked up 6 penalties (reminding us why we refer to them as the Dirty Birds) compared to the Dogs 3 penalties, 2 coming from Nielsen for checking and hooking.

The pregame scouting report pointed out that the Mad Dogs were usually stronger in the first period and less productive in the second and third periods. In an interview with Pete Lobe before the game he promised the Dogs will be skating their asses off until the final buzzer. That is exactly what they did. Skating noticeably shorty shifts their legs were well rested and the players looked fresh through the entire game.

Pete's line displayed that pressure during their first shift of the game with a quick goal coming from Nielsen assisted by defenseman Jeff Snyder and center Pete Lobe. The Falcons responded 2 minutes later with a goal of their own to tie the game up at 1-1. The game remained tied up until about half way through the second period when rookie Rousey Johnson picked up his first goal of the game 16 seconds into the Dogs first power play. Johnson also picked up one more goal late in the second after a nice set up from Mastro to end the second period with a 3-1 lead.

The Falcons found themselves in penalty trouble again early in the third period. Again the new line combination of Mastro, Loehr, and Johnson capitalized on the pp advantage and Johnson scored his third goal of the game for his first hat trick of the season. Another rookie Tim Moeller also decided the scoring looked like fun and wanted to get in on the action so late in the game during his final shift he scored two goals. One coming by way of a beautiful two line pass from defenseman Jeff Warren and another coming from a scramble in front of the Falcons net after a feed from the corner.

Shortly after that Rousey Johnson snuck back on the ice to pick up his 4th goal with 27 seconds left on the clock. After the game he admitted to feeling guilty for scoring a goal so late in the game with a 6-2 lead. Off the record he was overheard saying if it would have been any other team then the Falcons he would have never even taken the shot.

The Falcons did manage to score 1 more goal in the 3rd period while putting on tremendous pressure. The scouting report said they were a third period team and the third period shot stats proved that. The Dirty Birds out shot the Dogs 18 - 8 in the third period. Despite the tremendous pressure Mad Dogs goalie Larry Amundson was poised to win and only allowed one goal in those final 18 shots. Larry put on a goaltending clinic throughout the game. The total shots were even at 31-31.

Final score 7-2 keeping the Mad Dogs at the top with a 5-1 record. It was an impressive win. If the Mad Dogs bring this much passion, energy, and aggression to every game they will be very hard to beat. We are waiting to see the results of the Venom vs. Hawks game to see if the Dogs will have sole possession of first place. Look for an announcement soon.