The preseason wrapped up last night, and the Anchorage Armada went 5-2-0 during the preseason. We set out this season to watch the middle pick of the draft, Patrick Rail. We are going to look at his preseason and take a guess on how we think that will translate to for his first regular season with the Armada.

Preseason game one- Armada hosts the Ottawa Highlanders
Patrick Rail got his first taste of action in a great comeback for the Armada. With 5 new boats getting their hulls wet, there was many questions on how it would look. Patrick finished the game with an Assist, +1, 5 shots on goal, 1 hit. He had 20:29 minutes on ice, seeing just under a minute on the power play, and over a minute on the penalty kill. Patrick's assist was to Mathew Pano with just under 2 minutes left in regulation to tie the game up. Rail also got a shootout goal to put the Armada up 2-1 in the shootout before Optimus Autonomous drawled it back to 2-2 on the next attempt. The shootout would go 8 rounds before Hughes Incorporated put Armada up 3-1 and Cheese N'Wine couldn't answer. Overall a better finish for Rail in his first preseason game but his ratings weren't great. He had a 62 game rating, 55 Offense rating and a 69 (nice) defensive rating.

Preseason game two- Armada sail to Nevada
Armada was able to finish a close game off in overtime off of Meredydd Meyrick game winner. Patrick rail had a very quiet game in Nevada. He went +1, with 1 shot on goal, he had 2 penalty minutes for tripping, 3 hits. Rail clocked 21 minutes of ice time, over 4 minutes of that came on the power play, and he had no time on the penalty kill. His game rating came in at a 69 (Nice), 72 offensive rating and a 65 defensive rating.

Preseason game three- Malamutes maul the Armada
This was the welcome to league game for the little boats. Yukon came out and beat up the boats by a final of 4 goals to 2. This game will be a learning experience for Patrick as he gets used to the travel from other teams back to Anchorage and how tiring it can be for a player. Patrick finished the game with a -2 rating, he had 3 shots on goal, 2 hits and 2 giveaways. He had 22 minutes of ice time, over 5 minutes of that came from the power play, and he had less than a minute on the penalty kill. The only positive was he was 66% from the face off dot. His game rating was a 58, 57 offensive rating, and 48 on the defensive rating. This is a game he should learn from but ultimately forget, Welcome to the J!

Preseason Game Four- Armada Docks two in Shootout to Extinct the Raptors
The boats battled back in game 4 to avenge for the loss to Yukon, Armada beating the Raptors 2-1 in a shootout. This was a very quiet game for Patrick. He had 2 shots on goal and 2 hits. The Armada was able to get a goal from Mike Moodano and scored both of their shootout attempts to win 2-1. Patrick's game rating was 70, 65 on the offensive side, and 76 on the defensive side. He had just over 20 minutes of ice time, with less than a minute on the penalty kill.

Preseason game five- Armada weapons come on hot versus the Scarecrows
The offensive firepower was on display for the boats in this game. They outscored the Scarecrows 7 to 4. Patrick scored his first preseason goal just under four minutes into the game on an assist from Kirkby and Juneau. He also got right back on the board with just over 9 minutes in the game with another goal to make the game 7 to 4. Pano and Meyrick were the apples on Rail's 2nd goal. Patrick's stat line was 2-0-2 for a +1, 6 shots on goal, 4 hits. He had just over 19 minutes of ice time, just over a minute of it was power play time and another minute of it was penalty kill. This was his best game of the preseason. His game rating was 75, 76 on the offensive side and 73 on the defensive side.

Preseason game six- Early Tide is too much for the Armada.
This was another welcome to the J game. Tidal jump out to a 3 goal lead in the 1st period and the boats can't overcome it. Patrick Rail did cut the lead down to two with just under 3 minutes in the first with his 3rd preseason goal. The goal was assisted from none other than pesky Pano. Stat line for Rail was 1-0-1, 0 plus/minus rating, 4 shots on goal, 1 block shot, 2 hits and 1 take away. Patrick had 21:37 minutes of ice time, over 4 minutes of that was on the power play and over one minute on the penalty kill. Armada was 0 for 5 on the power play, the only saving grace was the boats penalty kill was 4 for 4. Patrick led the team with a 72 game rating, led the team with a 71 offensive rating and had a 73 defensive rating.

Preseason game seven- Walleye caught in the Armada's net
Anchorage was able to answer for their lackluster performance versus the Tidal with a great showing versus the Thunder Bay Walleye. Armada beat the walleyes 6 to 3, with 3 goals coming in the third period. Patrick Rail had a very quiet game. He played what was his best defensive game of the preseason to help hold the Walleye back. He had a +1 rating, 1 shot on goal, 2 hits, 3 takeaways and had 1 giveaway. He played 19:24 minutes of ice time, close to 4 minutes of that was on the power play and had no time on the penalty kill. The Armada was able to 2 for 3 on the power play to make up for the 0 for 5 the previous game. Jonny Hockey had a bounce back performance with 32 saves and a .910 save percentage. Patrick had a 71 game rating, 58 on the offensive side and a 81 on the defensive side.

Overall in the preseason Patrick stats are the following. He went 3-1- for 4 points in the preseason. He had a +2 throughout. 2 penalty minutes, 2 even strength goal, 1 power play goal, He had 22 shots with a 13.7% shooting percentage. He averaged 20:33 time on ice, 2:49 average of power play time on ice and :41 of penalty kill time. He was 5 for 10 in the faceoff dot. He had 1 block, and 16 hits coming in 3rd on the team in hits. His average game rating was a 68, average 65 on the offensive rating and 69 (NICE!) on the defensive rating. He was played the preseason as the 2nd line Left wing, he is the 2nd line center in 4v4 situations, 2nd LD in 3v3 situations, played 1st line LW on the power play, and 2nd line Left wing on the penalty kill.

That isn't a preseason that is going to blow away SHL scouts. He will have to take what he learned during the preseason and try to adapt to the new pace of the J. He did show some really promising moments. He is growing with his line mates, so I think this is just the start of a great race this year. As him and Mathew Pano grow on the line with Kirkby they could become a sneaky dangerous line in the J. This Armada group is looking to keep getting stronger through the season. Patrick is working hard to improve many of the areas that he thinks will result in some wins for the Armada.

This season looks to be a tough one for the Armada. They look to be a middle of the pack North team. The thing that I see this team having is that they are going to start to become even better towards the end of the season and may make a great playoff run. They will need to weather the storm through the first couple weeks of the season to get there thought. They have some great veteran presence with Hughes Incorporated, Dieter Fruhstuck, and Javelin Bodine. Their defense should keep them in games. The two questions that this team has is: 1. Will Linus Ully take over the pipes and become the great goal tender that the team thinks he will become. 2. Will the little boats learn their offensive weapons fast enough to give the back end support?

Armada starts their 81st voyage in Saint Louis versus the Scarecrows. They will have a 3 game road trip to start the year starting in St. Louis then going to Vancouver and finishing the trip in Great Falls. I am ready to get this season launched, are you?

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