McLaren and Reapers rolling, but hit speed bump against Mexico

[tcookie 897]

The Philadelphia Reapers are cruising early in the VHLM season, and forward Addison McLaren is off to a great start. But after the team's last couple of games, there is a little bit of disappointment in the air for McLaren.

 

The Reapers had been riding an 11-game winning streak before the San Diego Marlins snapped it, then after bouncing back with a win, they suffered a second loss in three games when they faced the Mexico City Kings in a battle for first place in the VHLM. Again they bounced back, this time with a 3-2 win over San Diego, but they've lost their grip on top spot in the minors.

 

"I mean, our last four games we played San Diego three times and Mexico once. Those are two of the top three teams in the league so far, so I guess you take going 2-2 against them," McLaren says. "But I don't think I've played up to my standards in those four games, so it's disappointing. For the most part, everything's been going well for me this season. But we got to our biggest stretch with four games against two tough teams and I didn't bring it, not to the best of my ability. You always want to help your team win and to be contributing. So for my coldest stretch and my team's coldest stretch to co-incide, yeah, it's disappointing for sure. But I have faith in this group, we'll bounce back, and we'll be ready the next time we see the Kings."

 

McLaren himself has just 3 points over those 4 games, but he remains the VHLM's leading scorer with 50 points so far, while also sitting 2nd in the VHLM in goals (24) and leading it in hits (108). He's sitting just ahead of fellow Riga Reign prospect Dolant Fertitta in points (just behind him in goals), and also just slightly ahead of Reaper teammates and linemates Robert Bouchard and Darius Marimoto in the scoring race. "Those guys are playing great and making my job easy. They're both very talented guys, they have great vision and they're just hard to cover defensively. I just have to go out there and hit guys and try to get open, and you know those guys will take care of their business and make plays happen."

 

As for Fertitta, his play is particularly impressive on a Halifax team that doesn't have nearly the firepower the Reapers do. Halifax ranks 6th in the VHLM in goals, but Fertitta has been putting on a show. McLaren says the Reapers have come away impressed with him even as opponents this year. "We've played him a few times now and he's got a nasty shot and just does a great job creating space for himself. They've got some good newer forwards but for the most part, Halifax has been a two-man show on offense this season and Dolant is leading the way for them and even with defenses focusing on him he's just always finding a way to make an impact - that's another guy I'm very excited to be teammates with in the future."

 

The Reapers will take on Yukon and Miami tomorrow, and will play Miami three times in their next five games. McLaren's old team is 5-2 in their last 7 games after an uneven start to the season. "I can't say I hope their run continues," McLaren laughs. "I wish those guys the best, I've kept an eye on them this year and I'm glad to see them playing better lately, but when it's game time I definitely want to beat them."

 

Players mentioned:

@Gaikoku-hito @Dolant @dariusmarimotoman

Edited November 30, 2020 by tcookie25

[Gaikoku-hito 2,081]

Nice read!!

 

Yeah, Robert has gone cold now as well for the past week or so; which has also seen our overall line production drop. I am not 100% sure why he has dropped off but I am going to look into his skating this week and strength so that we have more puck possession before switch back to scoring or passing to max at 250 tpe for the year.

 

Hopefully we find our grove back so that we can rack up the points again.

[Dolant 37]

9 hours ago, tcookie25 said:

The Philadelphia Reapers are cruising early in the VHLM season, and forward Addison McLaren is off to a great start. But after the team's last couple of games, there is a little bit of disappointment in the air for McLaren.

 

The Reapers had been riding an 11-game winning streak before the San Diego Marlins snapped it, then after bouncing back with a win, they suffered a second loss in three games when they faced the Mexico City Kings in a battle for first place in the VHLM. Again they bounced back, this time with a 3-2 win over San Diego, but they've lost their grip on top spot in the minors.

 

"I mean, our last four games we played San Diego three times and Mexico once. Those are two of the top three teams in the league so far, so I guess you take going 2-2 against them," McLaren says. "But I don't think I've played up to my standards in those four games, so it's disappointing. For the most part, everything's been going well for me this season. But we got to our biggest stretch with four games against two tough teams and I didn't bring it, not to the best of my ability. You always want to help your team win and to be contributing. So for my coldest stretch and my team's coldest stretch to co-incide, yeah, it's disappointing for sure. But I have faith in this group, we'll bounce back, and we'll be ready the next time we see the Kings."

 

McLaren himself has just 3 points over those 4 games, but he remains the VHLM's leading scorer with 50 points so far, while also sitting 2nd in the VHLM in goals (24) and leading it in hits (108). He's sitting just ahead of fellow Riga Reign prospect Dolant Fertitta in points (just behind him in goals), and also just slightly ahead of Reaper teammates and linemates Robert Bouchard and Darius Marimoto in the scoring race. "Those guys are playing great and making my job easy. They're both very talented guys, they have great vision and they're just hard to cover defensively. I just have to go out there and hit guys and try to get open, and you know those guys will take care of their business and make plays happen."

 

As for Fertitta, his play is particularly impressive on a Halifax team that doesn't have nearly the firepower the Reapers do. Halifax ranks 6th in the VHLM in goals, but Fertitta has been putting on a show. McLaren says the Reapers have come away impressed with him even as opponents this year. "We've played him a few times now and he's got a nasty shot and just does a great job creating space for himself. They've got some good newer forwards but for the most part, Halifax has been a two-man show on offense this season and Dolant is leading the way for them and even with defenses focusing on him he's just always finding a way to make an impact - that's another guy I'm very excited to be teammates with in the future."

 

The Reapers will take on Yukon and Miami tomorrow, and will play Miami three times in their next five games. McLaren's old team is 5-2 in their last 7 games after an uneven start to the season. "I can't say I hope their run continues," McLaren laughs. "I wish those guys the best, I've kept an eye on them this year and I'm glad to see them playing better lately, but when it's game time I definitely want to beat them."

 

Players mentioned:

@Gaikoku-hito @Dolant @dariusmarimotoman

Thanks for the shout out lads