Express Scoring A Lot, But Defense Needs Work...

[tcookie 902]

The VHLE season has just crossed the halfway point and the fates of both Phillip Rave and the Cologne Express are largely unchanged since the last time we checked in. Over those past 14 games, the Express have posted an 8-6-0 record to move to 21-15-2 and remain firmly entrenched in third place, well back of the Rome Gladiators and Vasteras Iron Eagles but also 8 points ahead of the Bratislava Watchmen, the closest non-playoff team.

 

The Express continue to have the league's best record, with 124 goals for, and also continue to have a middle-of-the-pack defense, with 106 goals against (4th among the league's 6 teams). Anthony Simmons (18 goals, 45 points) continues to be the team's best player while Joshua Schwarzer now leads the team in goals with 21 and is tied for second with 39 points. Schwarzer has gone on quite a run over the Express' last 14 games, soaring above the point-per-game mark on the season. Those 21 goals place Schwarzer third in the league, and his development and recent hot streak has to be exciting for the Chicago Phoenix, who drafted him 6th overall in the S91 VHL Entry Draft.

 

Simmons sits 4th in league scoring while veteran defenseman Jordan Bennett has maintained his own point-per-game pace with 39 points in 38 games himself. Bennett has taken over the VHLE lead in defenseman scoring. Three of the league's top seven scorers play in Cologne, so it shouldn't be surprising that they are boasting the league's best offense.

But the Express continue to struggle at keeping the puck out of the net and it's a problem that they'll have to figure out if they want to be a contender when the game tightens up in the playoffs. You could argue that Clark (2.77 GAA, .910 SV%) has been outplayed by backup Devon Giguere (2.53 GAA, .906 SV%) and the Express need more out of their starting netminder. However, they need more out of the entire team defensively, too.

 

"We just haven't been taking care of business in our own end," said rookie centre Phillip Rave after a recent loss to Vasteras. "We get sloppy at times and then we're hemmed in our own end for a bit and then the puck's in the back of the net. Playing good team defense is about working hard, making the smart plays, providing puck support for your teammates, all the little things... that's what we're struggling with right now. That's what we need to do better and it's throughout the whole lineup. It's easy to point at the goalie but the bottom line is we aren't helping him out; we're making his job tougher. I know we have the right players on this team, we have the guys who can play like that and make it work... we just have to dig a little deeper on game day and make sure we're doing it consistently."

 

Three of Cologne's next four games will come against VHLE leaders Vasteras and Rome, so that philosophy will be put to the test in a hurry. There's a half season left for the Express to reign in their game and chase down the teams above them in the standings, sending a message that they'll be a factor come playoff time, but the sooner they start the better; the end of the season comes faster than you think and it's imperative for the Express to sort that issue out if they intend to capture a third-straight championship.