Possession Recap

This game ended with a pretty even face-off percentage.  This would run parallel to the even match that unfolded n the ice today.  The Whalers came on top with a slight edge with 52% of the face-offs going in their favor.  This slight edge helped drive their shot total up above the Lions with the unfortunate consequence of the goal god just not gracing them with his favor.  Most notable face-off player was Marcus Weiser for the Whalers.  This rookie, while not having much to show for this efforts, came out of the game with a 66% win percentage. While he was pretty dominant, his counterpart on the other team, Luca Veccelli, came in at 65% and was seen all over the ice just being a better player.

Enough Icing to Frost a Few Cakes

In this game both teams combined for 34 instances of icing.  The Lions iced the puck 18 times to the 16 times of the Whalers.  Usually we see about half that amount in games played.  If we're looking to why the Whalers just had more shots over the Lions we should probably be looking at the discipline of these young rookies and players.  This wasn't the beginning of the season any more so players should be trying to avoid costly mistakes like a simple icing play.  Rookies Akira Ren and Disisde Dayude had a combined total of 7 of those 18 times.  These were both strong players who went early in the draft.  Getting them to improve on their passing so they aren't continuously icing the puck might help make this seasons for the Lions.