by Gr8HockeyMind » Tue Jan 25, 2011 10:07 am
Medler does deserve a lot of credit for his performance especially a couple of huge saves late in the third. That being said, Minot played a disiplined hockey game supporting the puck, not giving up the odd man rush and keeping the Breves bottled up. The biggest key to the game was Minot forwards pressuring the Bottineau Defence and not letting them make make clean passes to the speedy forwards. Shots were lopsided but Bottineau did not get a lot from inside the dots and were lacking traffic in front of Medler. Minot did have a lot of shots blocked because they were waiting too long to shoot. They need to remember that they are not shooting on Medler in the games and a shot on net isn't always the best play, but it's never a bad play. There were rebounds to be had, but no one there to knock them home. It also appeared that Bottineau's attempt to get Minot frustrated backfired and they were frustrated at the end of the game and took a bad penality with 2:43 left in the 3rd. Bottineau is a great team and I am looking forward to the rematch in Minot. Kudos to Minot for rolling into Bottineau's nookie blankie and playing to their potential in front of a packed house.
P.S. try the hot cider from the concessions stand, it's phenominal.