Game Day Review: What Happened in the Second Period of Finals Game 2?

[Bonzaijoe 74]

                It’s a simple question that I don’t think many of us know the answer to. What REALLY went on during this insane finals game that led to a 3-2 OT Riga win? A quick look at the shot chart shows that Riga took a dominant performance out of the middle period of the game, but a glance over at the goal chart says otherwise? How really did this Calgary team manage to pull a 1 goal period out of something that seems so lopsided against them? That’s what I’m here to unpack in today’s statistical spotlight.

 

                The wild second period we had actually had the first two and a half minutes go by before a shot was taken, by the Calgary Wranglers. Kriketers was able to handle the shot, and the puck went to Riga for the time being. The next 3 minutes would be dominated by Riga, registering 2 shots on net, and registering 3 more shot attempts before the Wranglers could shovel one in the direction of Kriketers during the 6^th minute of this game. The Wranglers defensive prowess mixed with the Reign’s inability to force Stopko to block a few shots in this time allowed Calgary to gain control and ice the puck a few times before finally being able to move down the ice. Don’t let this distract you from Stopko’s performance, however, as he was able to handle an absolute barrage of shots that were sent his way in the following minutes, stopping 6 more shots within 3 minutes of 7:21 and 10:21 of the third period, which included a Riga Power Play.

 

                The play that followed, however, was able to change the outcome of this period greatly. As Mats Johnsson left his seat in the sin bin, the Wranglers went on the attack, and Johnsson was able to shovel a pass over to Keaton Louth who was able to bury an absolute ripper of a goal past Kriketers at the 10:37 mark of the 2^nd period. This goal would come on the first shot on goal in almost eight minutes for the Wrangles, and their on even their first shot ATTEMPT in 4 minutes and 16 seconds of the period. Johnsson would go on to show his “I should play goalie” mentality, blocking the next two Riga shots within 2 seconds of each other before a 3^rd shot gets through and is trapped by Stopko. The absolute barrage of shots from Riga that have occurred form an absolutely dominant performance that just couldn’t match the goal-scoring ability that was shown from the Calgary team just after their penalty kill unit went down the ice.

 

                The Calgary goal would actually be the last shot attempt until the final minute of the period when Mats Johnsson ripped one from the blue line that was snagged easily by Kriketers. In the almost 9 minute time frame without even a shot attempt, the Reign would register 16 more shot attempts, with 6 of them reaching Stopko. The Reign would go on to have 2 more shot attempts in the final seconds of the period to reach a whopping 32 shot attempts, with 14 of them making their way toward the cage.

 

                This second period performance of the Reign, and Calgary’s ability to play the puck when the ice is tilted out of their favor could tell us one of two things, depending on how you look at it. On the Reign’s side, you could say that this dominant performance looks great on their track record, forcing Calgary to one of the least offensive 2^nd periods you can have, or on the Wrangler’s side of things, you could say that this team can score when the chances are sparse and the opportunities don’t come their way. Either way you look at this, I can see an exciting final coming up between these two teams. Calgary’s ability to play well when facing diversity may have to come in handy, though, as the two game deficit has them facing a tough situation here in the VHL finals.

 

                Thanks for taking a look at this week’s game-day review! If you have any games you’d like me to look in-depth at, or would like me to look at anything in particular for a future “Statistical Spotlight” segment, feel free to let me know!

[Beaviss 4,949]

1 hour ago, Bonzaijoe said:

                It’s a simple question that I don’t think many of us know the answer to. What REALLY went on during this insane finals game that led to a 3-2 OT Riga win? A quick look at the shot chart shows that Riga took a dominant performance out of the middle period of the game, but a glance over at the goal chart says otherwise? How really did this Calgary team manage to pull a 1 goal period out of something that seems so lopsided against them? That’s what I’m here to unpack in today’s statistical spotlight.

 

                The wild second period we had actually had the first two and a half minutes go by before a shot was taken, by the Calgary Wranglers. Kriketers was able to handle the shot, and the puck went to Riga for the time being. The next 3 minutes would be dominated by Riga, registering 2 shots on net, and registering 3 more shot attempts before the Wranglers could shovel one in the direction of Kriketers during the 6^th minute of this game. The Wranglers defensive prowess mixed with the Reign’s inability to force Stopko to block a few shots in this time allowed Calgary to gain control and ice the puck a few times before finally being able to move down the ice. Don’t let this distract you from Stopko’s performance, however, as he was able to handle an absolute barrage of shots that were sent his way in the following minutes, stopping 6 more shots within 3 minutes of 7:21 and 10:21 of the third period, which included a Riga Power Play.

 

                The play that followed, however, was able to change the outcome of this period greatly. As Mats Johnsson left his seat in the sin bin, the Wranglers went on the attack, and Johnsson was able to shovel a pass over to Keaton Louth who was able to bury an absolute ripper of a goal past Kriketers at the 10:37 mark of the 2^nd period. This goal would come on the first shot on goal in almost eight minutes for the Wrangles, and their on even their first shot ATTEMPT in 4 minutes and 16 seconds of the period. Johnsson would go on to show his “I should play goalie” mentality, blocking the next two Riga shots within 2 seconds of each other before a 3^rd shot gets through and is trapped by Stopko. The absolute barrage of shots from Riga that have occurred form an absolutely dominant performance that just couldn’t match the goal-scoring ability that was shown from the Calgary team just after their penalty kill unit went down the ice.

 

                The Calgary goal would actually be the last shot attempt until the final minute of the period when Mats Johnsson ripped one from the blue line that was snagged easily by Kriketers. In the almost 9 minute time frame without even a shot attempt, the Reign would register 16 more shot attempts, with 6 of them reaching Stopko. The Reign would go on to have 2 more shot attempts in the final seconds of the period to reach a whopping 32 shot attempts, with 14 of them making their way toward the cage.

 

                This second period performance of the Reign, and Calgary’s ability to play the puck when the ice is tilted out of their favor could tell us one of two things, depending on how you look at it. On the Reign’s side, you could say that this dominant performance looks great on their track record, forcing Calgary to one of the least offensive 2^nd periods you can have, or on the Wrangler’s side of things, you could say that this team can score when the chances are sparse and the opportunities don’t come their way. Either way you look at this, I can see an exciting final coming up between these two teams. Calgary’s ability to play well when facing diversity may have to come in handy, though, as the two game deficit has them facing a tough situation here in the VHL finals.

 

                Thanks for taking a look at this week’s game-day review! If you have any games you’d like me to look in-depth at, or would like me to look at anything in particular for a future “Statistical Spotlight” segment, feel free to let me know!

 

This was awesome and not many people do these awesome media spot idea!