Re: Final - Devils Vs Panthers - Sunday 8th- 4pm Chat / Upd
I thought overall the Devils' playoff campaign should be viewed as a huge success. I hadn't given us a hope of getting near the final this season so to have done that is a credit to the team and the coaching staff
Had we played with the same intensity and team work ethic in the regular season it would have been far more enjoyable (from a personal perspective) but there we are.
While our gameplan yesterday was limited, I felt it was the right approach to keep us in the game and the vast majority of players clearly had a commitment and work ethic to follow out that gameplan.
I was surprised the Panthers didn't really go for the win. Given the talent gulf on the rosters, our short bench, and our semi-final going to penalties I thought we were there for the taking and had the Panthers really gone for it they probably could have put the game to bed in the first period (although the way Lyle was playing you never know) That said, their cautious approach gave us a chance, but for all our endeavour we never really looked like scoring.
Some really outstanding gutsy performances from individuals which I'm sure I'll get a chance to elaborate on in the 'who do you want back thread' (when that pops up). Clearly Lyle, was stellar as I'm told he was on saturday. Some big performances from a number of d men as well. Great to see Phil Hill playing physical and leading the line on that front and hopefully he'll play this way for the whole season if he comes back next year. A mention for Harding too who is superb defensively (learning from the terrific Scott Matzka no doubt!)
My only real frustration was that we didn't shuffle the lines when it was clear that Pearce was offering nothing. I'd have liked to have seen Davies elevated to play with Macrae and Hill and I also liked the couple of shifts G took with Matzka, with G being far more capable of retaining possession in the corners than Dobben.
Roll on next season
