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***KaleSalad*** · 05-04-2021, 09:54 AM

San Francisco's individual games recap.

Day 1

9-1 L vs Texas
If there was a way to start the season this was not ideal. Still in rebuild mode, despite being on the tail end of it, starting the season against the former president trophy winners is less than ideal. This was a tough one. We were outshot 44-16 and lost 9-1. Bjerg being the lone goal scorer for the Pride. On paper this is pretty much what was expected to happen Texas still has a very strong team and despite the heroic play of Nicolae Antonescu and Geezus Kryyst that is a lot of rubber to face in the first game of the year especially against one of the top teams in the league. We will chalk this one up to being a tough matchup in the first game of the first game of the year as there was not much to highlights or positive notes to take from it.

6-2 L vs Atlanta
Again another tough team to start the season against is Atlanta. Though this game ended up having what looked like a lopsided result it was actually a pretty close game. Going down 3-0 after two periods it would be safe to say a lot of teams would pack it in but not the Pride. We battled back scoring 2 but unfortunately we ran out of gas and fell apart late. Ended up losing 6-2 and again were outshot 46-23 this game and like we have grown accustomed to Nicolae Antonescu standing on his head and giving us a chance got burnt out. Kryyst would once again come in for relief and stop all 7 of the shots he faced. Another note for this game rookie Daedalus scores his first SHL goal which was cause for celebration as well as rookie Patrik Money got his first SHL point picking up an assist. The third line has started to gel very nicely and has had a very strong showing in this early part of the season.

Day 2
2-1 L vs Min
Two more home games to finish off the home stand of 4 games to start the season. There was a very hard battle fought against the Monarchs. This game really could have gone either way. It was a hard fought battle back and forth by both teams. Looking at the stats of the game SFP seemed to have the upper hand. Shots were 32-28 in favor of Min, but SFP out hit 24-7 and dominated the faceoff circle 29-15. This one looked like it was headed to OT until a lucky break allowed Min to score with 13 seconds left in the third period to secure the win for them. A tough break in a very winnable game for the Pride. But as well all know sometimes that just the way it goes with the puck luck and hockey gods. Despite the loss it was a complete game played from SFP where everyone showed up to play. Despite having 4 penalties and no power plays were able to stay in the game and give themselves a chance to win.

1-0 W vs WPG
Building off that tough loss SFP was now up against the WPG Aurora. This game was another battle back and forth that would come down to the final buzzer. Both teams were looking to get their first win of the season. This was a hard hitting battle with a total of 40 hits thrown 26 by the Pride and 14 by WPG. There was also a lot of power play opportunities for each team with SFP in the box for 4 min and WPG in for 8min. It would be a lone goal by the pride Captain Sven Svenson that would end up giving the Pride the edge for their First win of the season. Again this was all made possible by the absolute first star of the game Antonescu. All in all it was a complete team effort that gave us our first W of the season. If the pride are able to continue their play from the last two games then it can make for a very exciting season for them. Going back to being against Texas and Atlanta the next two games will be a good test.

Day 3
3-2 OT win @ Atlanta
This was a huge gut check win. Despite playing a little undisciplined and taking more than a couple penalties we were able to battle back in this game. Being down 2-0 after two periods and being outshot 31-10 at that point we needed a wakeup call and we got it in the intermission. Captain Sven lit a fire under us and we came out hard in the third and fought our way back into this game. Stormberg scored a minute into the 3rd to put us back on track and right back into this game. With about 8 minutes left in the game Henrik was sprung on a breakaway and made no mistake to bring us back and tie the game up at 2. After both teams had a couple chances after this we were headed to overtime! OT was unable to solve anything so we went to the shootout! SFP made no mistake sending out *** and they were all able to capitalize going 3/3 in the shootout secured the win for the Pride. Game notes: Bjorn Jacobson was given first star of the game and picked up his first SHL point with an Assist.

6-1 Loss @ Texas
Once again matched up with a much stronger team the pride got brought back down to earth. Being matched up to the beast in the eastern division Texas we hit a wall. Again we were out gunned and out played which led to the eventual defeat. Did want to throw a shout out to Bjerg who despite the score put on a clinic of defensive play while on the ice. Yngve Simmonson was the lone goal scorer for the Pride while Eric Hudson had himself a game for Texas with 3 goals and an assist. He continues to have a great start to the season with the Renegades. Other game notes Texas out shot SFP 64-14 as well as out hit, and held a slight edge in face offs. SFP did win the take away/giveaway battles which was one of few positives taken from the game.

2-1 W Vs Wpg
Well fresh off a back to back with Atlanta and Texas, SFP was once again home to the Aurora. Much like their first game against one another this was a fight right to the end. As we have grown accustomed to WPG outshot SFP 35-20. Alternate Captain Sven seems to be finding his groove netting both the Prides goals to help lift them to the 2-1 victory. WPG would get on the board scoring in the second period. But once again Sven seemed to elevate his play and bring the comeback kids a strong third period. The defense was then able to tighten up and help hold off the Aurora’s late charge in order to secure their 3rd win of the season. Bringing the overall record to 3-4.

Day 4
6-1 L vs New England
This was a tough one all around. Going into the day we thought we had a good chance at taking all 3 matchups. But New had other plans for us. A tight first period finishing with a score of 2-1 quickly fell apart for the pride who would never recover. It appeared at times to be a shooting gallery with a total of 85 shots taken in the game, 54 from NEW and 31 from SFP. The line combination of Price, Kostitsyn, and LeBlond had the prides number posting 3 of the team’s goals. Between them and Eller putting on a great performance in net it was an uphill battle for the Pride who never really did find their grove in the game. Let’s hope they can rebound from this loss for the next matchup.

3-2 OTW vs Seattle
As we are starting to grow accustomed to the pride found themselves down in the score despite playing a pretty evenly matched game. Giving up a goal in each of the first two periods. SFP would turn to their big guns with HLO and Brogan each picking up a goal in the third to force overtime. Unfortunately that was as close as SFP would come surrendering the game winner in OT to Seattle. The young defenseman Bjorn Jakobsen continues to have a strong showing this week earning himself another assist and the second star of the game. Antonescu continues to face a ridiculous amount of shots per game and SFP needs to find a way to create more scoring opportunities to help him out. Despite all that this was still a close game that with lucky break could have easily had a different outcome.

2-3 L @ Winnipeg
So far SFP had gotten the upper hand on the Aurora this season in their home barn, but with home ice advantage Winnipeg was able to take over the game and secure the victory. With each team scoring a goal in the first and the second it is becoming apparent that these teams will be in a game of inches every time they play one another. Bjorn Jakobsen would also pick up his first SHL goal and Brogan was able to find the back of the net again as well. However like the last two meetings against one another it would come down to be a one goal game. WPG would get the last laugh this time Goku Muerto would end up getting the eventual game winner at the midway point of the third period. The Goal would give WPG their first win of the season. SFP would fall to 3-6-1 on the season.

Day 5

3- 0 L @ Seattle
Getting goals this year has been a struggle for the Pride and game against Seattle that came to fruition. Thor Odinson was able to turn aside everything that San Fran sent his way and earn himself his second shutout of the season. Seattle seems to have caught on as of late despite their slow start to the season. San Fran offense has struggled this far only scoring on avg 1.2 Goals per game. The will need to find a way to score with the amount of shots they give up a game.

4-0 L @ Hamilton

The goal drought continued for the Pride when facing one of the power house teams in the great lakes Hamilton. Both teams elected to start their secondary goalies and Hamilton was still able to shut them down. Hamilton all around out played the pride and has continued their strong start to the season as we have come to expect from the Great Lakes division. It will likely be a few more seasons before SFP will be in a true position to compete against these teams.

Day 6
3-2 L vs NOLA

In a battle of the worst in the West San Fran was finally able to break their goal drought. Sven Svenson netted the tying goal at 14:25 in the second period. The Pride were then able to take a lead off the stick of Alex Pertanko who netted her first of the season. However this lead was short lived and Nola stormed back with two goals of their own to take a 3-2 lead which they were able to hold onto. SFP seemed to have dominated play and did outshoot NOLA 34-23 but just came up short unable to capitalize on their chances.

4-1 L vs WPG

Coming off a hard fought loss there was little time to turn around as the Pride took on WPG the next night in their back to back home stand. A very tired and beat down Pride team appeared to show up against the fresh and hard hitting Aurora. Winnipeg dictated most of the play and made the most of their chances. SFP felt like they were chasing the game for most of it but did try and make WPG pay by throwing 24 hits in the game but it wasn’t enough to slow them down and they were able to secure the victory.

2-1 OTW vs NOLA
After getting a day off to recuperate from their back to back where they dropped games to two teams that they had chances of winning SFP was back at it against NOLA. It being their second meeting of the year. Nathan Thomas would score his first of the year to break the stalemate in the second period. Nola would come back in the third and tie it up though. This one would need overtime. Sven Svenson would find the back of the net to help SFP earn the W. Sven has been one of the few consistent point getters for SFP this year, and has been a true leader on and off the ice.

6-2 L vs LAP
In the first matchup of the year for the two cat teams in Cali it would be the Panthers that would take the edge. SFP again playing a back to back and would have a tough challenge from their Rivals from up the interstate. LAP matching up well against the Pride would end up taking the edge in this game. They drastically outshot them 47-17 and chased Kryyst after he allowed 5 goals on 37 shots. Kahnwal would earn himself 2 goals from the point and Atreides would earn himself 3 assists and the first star of the game. SFP goals were from Alex Petrenko and Patrik Money. Antonescu would stop 10 of the 11 shots he faced in his relief appearance.

Week in review:
Season kicked off with the exciting news of there being 2 expansion teams coming. No real details as to where or branding might be for these teams yet. But it is exciting to see the league continue to grow so quickly. Surprise of the week is Chicago going 14-0 to start the season. I knew the great lakes division was strong but this was a surprise as I did not expect Chicago to be at the top of their division and to see them undefeated so far in my opinion has caught a lot of fans off guard.

SFP thoughts:
Pride sit at 4-11-1 and have 9 points. They are 3 points up on NOLA who currently sits in last.
Despite giving up on average 44 shots a game Antoneescu and Kryyst both own a .922 and .901 save percentage. Both have been the Prides best players on the ice.
Offensively the team has struggled owning a 1.3 average goals per game. This will need to improve if they have any hope in finding their success from last season.
Sven Svenson has been the Pride’s best player (not in net) and has shown no signs of slowing down. The captain is leading by example. He is leading the team with 12 pts that is double the next closest player with 6.

Week 2

Day 7

5-3 W @ Edmonton
Finally! The goals started coming for the Pride against one of the more unlikely foes. Edmonton and San Fran have gotten themselves a little rivalry the past season and it appears that it is going to continue this season if this game is an indication. In the highest scoring contest for the Pride this year putting up 5 goals compared to their previous best 3. HLO and Sven lead the charge with the top line each collecting 3 points. Alex Petrenko was also solid on the back end and contributed a goal and an assist. Kryyst stopped 31 of the 34 shots he faced to pick up the W and owned a .912 save %. Hopefully this was the spark the team needed to ignite their offense.

4-3 L vs Min
In a battle that came down to the end it would be a pair of 3rd period goals that would lift the Monarchs over the Pride. The game would see two pretty evenly matched teams trades shots back and forth. it would come down to almost the last minute where Cal Labovitch scored at 18:55 in the third period to give himself a two point night and get the win for the Monarch. Nathan Thomas picked up two assists for the Pride and HLO picked up another goal as well. It was another hard fought close battle that seemed to go against SFP. Here is hoping that they get some more puck luck and these close games go in favour of San Fran.

Day 8
1-0 W vs Edmonton
In their second meeting this season we thought we would see a clash of the offenses again but it was the defenses that would be on showcase tonight. Antonescu and Ward would both put on goaltender clinics for their teams. But in the end Antonescu would prevail holding onto a shutout win turning aside all 39 shots he faced. Ward allowed just 1 goal on 23 shots and had a .957% save average in the loss. Kev Kevens would score his second goal of the year against his former teammate in the third to give the Pride the W. They have gotten the upper hand on their Eastern conference rivals both times this season and have matched up well against them despite their record. Antonescu earned his second shutout of the year in the win.

7-1 L vs Toronto

In their first meeting since the first round of playoffs last year. Toronto would continue their dominant season as most of the great lakes teams have. Completely outplaying SFP in their own barn and despite a lucky break in the third which came off the stick of Niccolo Livius Toronto would have earned a shutout. They dominated play and controlled the tempo of the game. Kryyst would allow 6 goals on 54 shots and Antonescu would allow 1 on 19 shots. Toronto would total 66 shots in the game compared to SFP’s 10. Coming off this loss the Pride have a tough next couple games against other highly ranked teams hopefully those games will be more competitive. Ruslan Zaporozhets had a monster night for the North Stars with 4 goals and an assist for a 5 point night as well as Adam Barron continued his offensive form picking up 3 assists.

Day 9

5-0 L @ Texas

Tough one all around to start the home and home on back to back nights vs Texas. Texas dictated and dominated play from start to finish. They outshot SFP 61-16 out chanced them and nearly outhit them 17-18 despite owning control of the puck. Texas top players Kubinec, Sulfurgold, Kvalheim each had a two point night in the victory. SFP played a little undisciplined taking a total of 10 pims in the game as well. You will have a hard time competing against the top teams spending that much time in the box. Let’s hope for a better game tomorrow night when SFP is home to Texas.

3-1 L vs Texas
Much better showing from the Pride against the beast in the West Texas. Despite the loss San Fran played a much better game and hung around until the late 3rd period when Texas was able to capitalize and secure their victory. Holding Texas to less than half the shots from the night before. SFP would also control the puck for some time in the offensive zone and created a lot of scoring chances for themselves. the final shot totals were 29-20 for Texas. HLO and Sven both had strong games for Pride combining for the lone goal as well as shutting down the top line for Texas. Antonescu continued his strong play in net and gave the Pride a chance to win this one.

4-2 L @ WPG
In another very good matchup The Aurora would get the upper hand on the Pride like they have the last three matchups. The pride did throw everything they could at the net outshooting Winnipeg 34-30 but were only able to sneak two past Mietitore in the third to try and get back into the game. Winnipeg added an empty net with 3 seconds remaining in the win. Another tough matchup that could have gone either way. Thomas, and Simonsson were the goal scorers for the Pride and they tried to battle back in the third like they have a few times this season but unfortunately came up short. The Pride have played a lot better as of late but need to find a way to play some more complete games. We are seeing flashes of the team that we believe it will turn into. The young team will hopefully continue to grow and mature behind its leaders and we will see more compete from them.

Day 10

4-3 Shootout L VS Seattle
The offenses came to life in this one, and once again Antonescu stole the show for the Pride. San Fran was able to battle back in the third off the strong play of sophomore Yngve Simmonson who netted his second goal of the game to tie it up at 3 in the second period. Both goalies would then take over stopping everything that was thrown their way in the third and in overtime forcing a shootout. It would take 5 rounds but eventually one snuck by Antonescu and gave Seattle the win. The Pride played well in front of Antonescu despite being almost doubled up on shots. Antonescu would end the game with a .945 Save % and was again the Prides best player on the ice. The Pride were able to pick up one point in this clash of the offenses.

1-0 L vs NOLA
In a battle of defenses it would be a momentary break with less than a minute left that Xavier Doom would score at the 19:37 mark of the third period to give New Orleans the narrow victory in the battle of the bottom teams in the West. Despite throwing 43 shots against Olli Saarinen JR would earn himself a shutout victory for his team. With time winding down it looked like this one would be headed to Overtime for sure but Doom was able to jump and a loose puck and find the back of the net to beat the buzzer.

Day 11
5-0 L @ Texas
This game was much like the others against Texas it was a whole lot of Texas power on display. San Fran held on as long as they could against the powerhouse keeping the score through 2-0 through 2 periods of play but they were clearly gassed when the third period rolled around and could not keep up with the Renegades. Texas added 3 in the third on their route to victory over the Pride. Not much else to note in this one was all Texas which also dominated the stats department.

5-2 W vs LAP
The battle of California got heated up as the Pride were able to come out on top of the Panthers when they faced off in San Fran. It was a team effort all around having 5 different goal scorers for the Pride. As well as another big game from Antonescu turning aside 43 of 45 shots. Sven, Ygnve, Stromberg and Brogan would all have a goal and assist in the game with Bjerg would also have 2 assists. The pride have started to turn into a team that shows up some games with the offense exploding and others where they cannot catch a break. It is strange to watch the FHM gods roll the dice it seems.
6-3 L vs Hamilton
After 3 days rest it appears the Pride were caught sleeping against one of the top teams in the league right now. Hamilton jumped out of the gate with 4 goals in the first period and San Fran was never able to fully recover from that. Though they did tighten up the defensive game and only allowed 2 more goals across the next two periods. San Fran would add 2 goals in the second to make it a closer score but Hamliton were able to hold on for the victory. Zlatan Ibrahimovic had a big day offensively despite being a defenseman. He picked up 2 goals and an assist in the victory. Kryyst picked up the loss allowing 6 goals on 57 shots against. Hamilton continues to make a push for the top of the league and the president’s trophy with this win.

Day 12

6-4 W vs Tampa Bay
Once again the offense came alive in the form of Sven Svenson as he picked up a hat trick in the Win. HLO also had himself a game picking up 5 assists. These two teams would battle back and forth trading 2 goals each in the first, before San Fran would take the edge in the second outscoring Tampa 3-2 before picking up one additional in the third to give themselves a 6-4 lead. They would then hold onto this lead and shut down the Barracudas offense the rest of the way. It was one of the best offensive performances we have seen from both HLO and Svenson this season. HLO is starting to find his form from a season ago where he had one of his best years. Svenson continues to be the best offensive threat the pride has this season.

4-2 W @ Edmonton
The Pride leaned heavy on their net minder yet again Antonescu would stop 53 of 55 shots against for a .964 save % in the win. This time though he would get the goal support that the pride have lacked this season. Kev Kevens again scored against the Blizzard giving him a goal against them in all three meetings this year. Svenson continued his hot streak finding the back of the net 2 more times as well. Jeff Brogan would be one of the top players though being the 3rd goal sorcerer for San Fran and adding 2 assists as well. It came as a relief to Antonescu who has continued to have a hell of a season for the pride to be on the right side of these games.

2-1 L @ Calgary
Calgary who has been a much stronger team than most expected this season would get the edge on San Francisco. Calgary would manage only 2 goals despite throwing 67 shots on net at Kryyst, who would end the game with a .970 save percentage. The pride who had enjoyed the offense coming alive the past few games suddenly fell flat again. They managed to get 1 goal on only 18 shots. Alex Petrenko would be the lone goal scorer for the Pride. Who appeared to let down Kryyst on his heroic performance in net. Calgary scored in the third to give themselves the edge in the victory. Overall this was a very close game despite what the shots say. San Fran did have some opportunities that they were unable to capitalize on. It seems to be this season is more of these breaks not going in favour of the Pride but we are only about halfway through the season.

Week in review:

The Location and GMS for the two expansion teams have been named! Montreal and Philly will be the homes of the two new teams. Team names and branding are yet to be named. This means that Chicago will move out of the great lakes divisions and into the Western conference. This is a welcome change to the league and will hopefully bring some balance to the divisions. Despite Chicago having such a long unbeaten streak they have been grounded this week being overtaken by Hamilton for the top spot in the league. Texas continues to make a push to reclaim the top spot but sit 7 points behind Hamilton with a game in hand. Aaron Wilson is leading the charge for Hamilton and currently sits top scorer in the league with 15 goals and 34 assists for 49 points in 31 games.

SFP notes:
Sven Svenson continues to lead the way for the pride with 16 goals and 11 assists for 27 points in 31 games played.
HLO has started to find his form from last season and now has 22 points for second on the team in scoring.
Antonescu and Kryyst have both continued to battle and keep the pride in most games owning .928 and .911 SV% respectfully.
Pride now sit 9-20-2 overall record for the season and sit 1 point ahead of Baltimore for 15th spot in the league.

We are 2 games away from the halfway point of the season. So far this season the Pride have underwhelmed. It is this writer's belief that the pride overachieved a bit last year and gave a very high hope for what was to come this year building off the last. This season is more a reflection as to where the Pride are really at in their rebuild. They are able to compete against the mid and lower tier teams but don’t have the legs and skill to really compete with the upper tier teams at this point. With the exception of the top line for the Pride they are still a very young team and are still bringing up a lot of cubs to step into big roles. This has gone very well for some players but still has its limits. We have seen those limits especially on the back to back games where it is clear the team has burnt out. Overall I believe the Pride are still on the upswing from their rebuild and are continuing to get better every game and week. They are right on course to become competitive in the next few seasons if they are able to keep their core together and continue the trend they are on. They are still only 5 points back from Manhattan and could jump to 11th in the league standings. The Pride have had a very tough schedule to start this season and we could see the team surge in the second half of the season to propel them up the standings and into the playoffs.

My prediction (hope) is that the Pride are able to win more games on the back half of the season then the first half and will end with more than 20 wins on the season. Their offense has really picked up lately and HLO and Sven continue to lead the way. I see their offensive production continuing to get better and picking up more. Ygnve Simmonson and Walton Stromberg have started to catch on as of late as well and I see their offensive production to catch on this second half of the season as well. Antonescu and Kryyst will continue to be the Pride's best players at a 1A and 1B situation they seem to be in and will give them a chance to win a lot of games they have no business being in without their help. Other thoughts will be Hamilton that ends up winning the presidents trophy this year and will be 4 great lakes teams in the top 6 teams of the league. Toronto North Stars will be the 4th place team in the Great Lakes. New Orleans will be the bottom team of the league with a close second being Tampa.

I look forward to the next half of the season and excited to see what is to come!

WC:5273

*AgentSmith630* · 05-04-2021, 01:49 PM

#ROLLPRIDE pride

ACapitalChicago · 05-04-2021, 01:54 PM

Nice read!

S66 Damian Littleton

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*ZootTX* · 05-04-2021, 09:49 PM

#rollpride pride

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