Phineas Gold -

The Militia have been off to a great start this year.  Backed by a squad of 14 rookies who are playing in every game, they are currently 3rd in the league and only one of three teams to have a positive points differential. If they want to contend with the Knights and Falcons a few things are going to have change, or improve.  In their matchups the Militia have been great on getting those rebounds into the net.  The shooters are getting their shots in a critical moments but as compared to the league we are basically average or below average in almost all the stats.  If we can get our core rookie group trained up we should have no problem in the playoffs. 

Here is what we are doing right.  We currently are delivering the most hits in the league.  We are a small but aggressive team.  It seems we have the other teams cowering away from our physicality and its giving us opportunities that our middle of the road numbers otherwise don't back up.  Currently we are at 18.63 hits a game.  Not bad for a team rebuilding.

We really need our centers to be winning more faceoffs.  While our centers are driving our plays and getting the puck where it needs to be, we currently have lowest faceoff win percentage of any team.  At 45.15% midway through the season, improving on this should really help bolster our playoff potential. 

While most of our rookies are playing well, the 3rd and 4th lines are still trying to find their rhythm. These line seems to be on more often than not when the goals are getting scored and has lead to a huge disparity from -5 on the bottom to +14 on the top.  These lines really need to start producing or our top players are going to be too tired to even play in the playoffs. 

In fact, looking at our stats one would wonder how we're third in the league.  I guess someone out there is rooting for a team that was considered to be the underdogs by many going into this season.  A team that had been collapsing inwards has now found new life with a vibrant locker room and great players who are really putting themselves out there.  Once these rookies are no longer rookies, it can be safe to assume that this will be a powerhouse team to contend with over the next few seasons.