Looking into the mirror

[Quik 4,113]

Daytona, FL - Again, we find ourselves in an American city, selected by random, as the first city to pop into my head. Today, we talk about the Seattle Bears and their series against the Helsinki Titans. After losing the first two games in Finland by a combined 2 goals, the Bears came home without any panic, knowing that, in the playoffs, you are not in trouble until you lose a game at home. In game 3, the Bears came out with a purpose, defeating the Titans by a score of 5-2, putting 5 behind Helsinki netminder Jacob! However, Game 4 was a different story. The Titans took a 2-1 lead into the third period, but even with Markus King pulled and a man-advantage allowing the Bears to throw everything, including the kitchen sink at Jacob, the Seattle squad was unable to crack the Titan's goaltender, and ultimately lost a game on home ice, officially putting the team into a desparate situation.

 

The team will now have to win 3-straight, as they look to return to the Finals and defend their S59 Championship title, but they will need some of their players, aside from Matthias Forsberg and Gabriel McAllister, to step up, in order to do so. Mats Johnsson, the team's star defender, has managed just 3 assists thus far in the series, after leading all players in last season's tournament with 18, as well as more than doubling all defenders in points from the blue-line! If he can't pick up his production, this may be a very short post-season for the Bears, one that will lead to a lot of disappointment in their locker-room.