Instead of choosing a team with a winning record for my second deep dive article, I wanted to focus on the worst team in the league and analyze their play. 

The Detroit Falcons, with a .314 winning percentage, are having an abysmal season. They have scored 98 goals, and given up 160. They have 12 wins, 28 losses, and 3 overtime losses. Their defense is horrendous, giving up a league-leading 1473 shots, which 143 more than than the next team (St. Louis Scarecrows). Goalie Thor Odinson is doing his best facing that neverending barrage of pucks flying at him. His .906 save percentage is in the middle of the pack, and he somehow managed 2 shutouts despite being abused in net by opponents. 

Their team has only been in 1 fight all season, which is an unbelievable stat, and more proof that Detroit just is not aggressive enough on the ice. 

Sammy Blaze is the one true bright spot on the Falcons, and he is a future superstar at the next level. His 38 points ties him for 5th most in the league, along with Carolina's Axel Foley, and Newfoundland's Marner & Slate. 

Some of the most disappointing offiensive play is from Center Taisto Jutila. Despite having a large amount of ice time, he has only 10 points on the season. His plus/minus of -22 ties him for worst on the team with Left Defenseman Anna Maier. He has a 6.98% shooting percentage, producing only 3 goes in 43 shots. His 33 giveaways are the most on the team, and 11 worst in the entire SMJHL. 

Right Winger Zakkira Diporov has the most hits on the team, and his 119 are 5th highest in the league. In addition, his 80 blocked shots are good enough for 5th in the league as well. The only players sacrificing their body on the ice more to block shots are St. Louis' Bud Weiser, Maine's Rikard Bjerg, Quebecf City's Emilia Bergman, Newfoundland's Niccolo Livius, and Anaheim's Joorgustraad DuBolk. A very telling offensive stat is their lack of shooting accuracy leading to goals. Detroit has 13 players with a shooting percentage under 10%. Those players have combined for a total of 37 goals in 640 shots. That comes out to an atrcious 5.8% combined shooting percentage for those skaters. Those are numbers that are just not going to get it done on the offensive side of the ice. 

They only have 1 player in the top 25 for giveaways, so that tells us that giving up the puck isn't a big problem. This team just cannot get the puck into the net. With only 98 goals, the 3rd lowest in the league, it is hard to win games. That is only 2.28 goals scored per game, and that is not a recipe for success. Without massive change, or increased training, the Detroit Falcons may be at the bottom of the league for many seasons to come. 

They have heart, but heart can only take you so far. They need more talent on the roster, and sometimes that is skill and many times it is luck. I am not giving up on their future, but it looks dim on the surface.

Approved, +5 TPE @3lewsers