13 shots in 16 games

[jRuutu 2,464]

 

Talk about not shooting, eh!? I get to play on the powerplay, which makes the 13 shots in 16 games even worse. I have been playing with DaMoose and McCloud on the powerplay. Someone might be wondering what on earth, a defender playing with two forwards? That is correct. The second powerplay unit in Riga has three defenders!

 

Is it working? Kinda. For example, Thunder scored two powerplay goals in the game against Vancouver a couple of nights ago. If you look purely at numbers, the second powerplay with three defenders has been more successful. How many points do I have? Two, both are goals.

 

I know I made a little joke about not shooting, but in reality: the puck is not on my stick that often during the powerplay. I'm waiting in the ''Ovechkin'' spot - ready to shoot, but I rarely get to do so. There are two reasons. One: it feels like other teams think I'm some kind of powerplay specialist. They mark me tightly. Don't they know I'm not a shooter? Nobody watches tape anymore? Second reason: guys on the powerplay don't pass it to me. Sometimes they can't for the reason I just mentioned, but there are moments when I'm open, but McCloud and DaMoose just shoot it themselves. Hard to argue with that when you are a rookie and you play with top-level players, but why I'm there, you know? Eventually, the other teams have to realize I'm not an Ovechkin type of player.

 

 

 

In other news, I got a five-minute major for boarding against D.C a few nights ago. I'm not sure what happened exactly, but Brian Strong Jr. received a pass in our end, and I steamrolled him to the boards. Oh wait, I guess I do know what happened. I saw his numbers and went for it. Oooops. D.C scored one goal during the powerplay, but it was not enough for them as Riga won the game 3-2.

 

The major penalty was the first one in my career. I'm not exactly known to be a player who hits a lot or makes those types of plays. I have 16 hits in 16 games. After the game was over, I looked at my Instagram and saw quite a few angry comments from D.C fans. Some said that I should show respect to veterans like Strong. Most wondered how I did not get thrown out of the game for a hit like that. I wondered the same while I was sitting in the penalty box. Perhaps the refs are my fans? Or I'm lucky.

 

I learned my lesson. I can't be taking penalties like that early in the game. The major penalty I took was late in the first, and the other team took a lead because of my penalty. Players and teams in VHL are so good that they will make you pay for silly mistakes. If you look at the big picture, a lost game early in the season can be the difference-maker when fighting for playoff spots. Of course, Riga does not have to worry about making the playoffs with Riga being first in the league and all that.