The Florida Eels Premier team like their brothers on the Elite team came into this weekend with quite a few unknowns. 19 new players. Yes 19 guys who never played for the Eels before. 6 rookies. This was their first set of games as a team. A home opener weekend. A season opener. We had 4 weeks of training camp. But there is a marked difference between training camp and games. This was their first real test. Inter squad scrimmages are never a true test for your players. The intensity and fortitude simply is not there no matter how hard to the coaches push and no matter how much the players play.
The stage was set. The Atlanta Mad Hatters came to town for a weekend homestand. From the drop of the puck and continued through out the game you could see this Mad Hatters team was so much improved. Much deeper. Physically Stronger. Faster. Better shooters.
On Saturday the Eels drew first blood. They were on the scoreboard leading the way. But the Mad Hatters would not hear any words of defeat. They came at the Eels with such determination. They put on a show driving to the Eels net over and over again. Going into the 3rd they were ahead 2-1 and within a minute into the 3rd the Mad Hatters put another fluke goal by Alex Caron and the rink went silent. 3-1 with the Eels on the receiving end. The Eels were under attack and their penalty woes were upon them. This was unfamiliar territory for the Eels. You could see the Mad Hatters players were in celebration mode. A little bit of complacency set in. Somebody forgot to tell them that a wounded animal in the jungle is the most dangerous. Never, take the Eels for granted. Indeed, coach Scarpaci regrouped his players and settled things down fast.
A refocused Eels Premier team. You could see it. Truly they had fire in their eyes. Every player on that bench was dialed in. They brought what was taught them over the last 4 weeks. The Eels vets integrated their experience. And the results were astounding. The Eels went on to score 4 unanswered goals in the remainder of the 3rd period and Alex Caron slammed shut the door to his net. In 19 minutes the “Wall” was built. And it was made of bricks and cement. Caron style.
In day two, Sunday, everyone felt the Mad Hatters would regroup and bring the same grit and skill to the table as they had for the 1st 41 minutes of Saturday’s game. That was indeed the case. This Atlanta team is made up of some very talented players and they brought their best game. The teams were quite even throughout the 1st two periods. Neither team scored in the 1st period. Up and down incredibly fast paced game. The Eels scored 2 goals in the 2nd period. Power play and Penalty kills – both teams were incredibly strong. Impressive.
The Mad Hatters scored their only goal of the game at the 6-minute mark to bring it within 1. However, Coach Scarpaci again regrouped his guys, and they went on a full tent attack scoring 5 unanswered goals on the Mad Hatters goalie. Moreover today’s net minder, Duncan Rolleman was nearly flawless allowing only one goal. He was virtually impenetrable. A solid effort in his first junior game for the Eels.
What was amazing was all 5 goals in the 3rd period were at full strength. Things clearly started to jell for the Premier team. They simply overpowered the Mad Hatters and placed their undeletable mark on the make-up of the Eels Premier team.
Coach Scarpaci was quite happy with his team’s performance this early in the season. He says he has a lot of work to be done. The guys are all still learning one another and the development needs to be harnessed. But we were quite pleased to come out with two solid wins.
