Kincardine Atom LL2 travelled to Durham for a week night playoff game on 03Mar2009. Durham outplayed Kincardine from the opening puck drop.
However, Kincardine managed to hang on for most of the first period. The very short neutral zone may have had something to do with a lack of Kincardine offence. Four strides after exiting their end, the Kincardine players were crossing the opposing blueline, usually offside. When they were not going off-side, the Kincardine forwards were colliding with each other. Durham finally broke the deadlock with 4 minutes to go in the first period on a shot that Alex (#1) would have like to have back. The angles to the blueline also seemed to throw Kincardine's goalie off his angles. The first period ended 1-0 for Durham.
In the second period, Kincardine's problems continued. Defensive mistakes resulted in another 2 Durham goals. Some offense started with rushes by Hogan (#11) and Virat (#4), but Durham inevitably tracked them down or clogged up the front of the net so few shots would get through.
The third period continued with the same theme. Kincardine spent most of the time in their end, with the occasional rush up ice by Chris (#15) and the Rocket (#2). Durham scored another two goals to finish the game with a score of 5-0. Maybe it was the long drive right after school, or the lack of a good supper that caused Kincardine to play under their abilities, or maybe it was the location of the bluelines. Whatever the reason, the team is looking for a better showing in their next game on 04Mar2009 in Teeswater.