Pats Problems

From way up high in the Brandt centre press box, things didn't look much better than they did from ice level. I took in different parts of the Oil Kings/Pats game from different areas of the arena and no matter where I was, the pictures were the same. Out of focus.

A person has to feel for the players and coaching staff as they seem to be trying everything to inject some life into a club that has dropped 11 of 15 and now is on the outside looking in at the playoff picture. Coach Derkatch was almost at a complete loss for words after the game. Some of the players we spoke with look as mystified as a Sigfried and Roy audience. The Pats confidence is just like a Vegas illusion act, disappeared.

Last night the Queen City kids looked as if they were thinking about what to do, where to go or when to shoot. Hockey at this level is fast and reactionary and if players take the time to work through the thousands of possible permutations available, they are destined to fail, because it'll be too late.

Too often Pats players were clearly outsmarting themselves, but never so evident than in the final 6 minutes of the game. After a Jesse Dudas slapshot had injured starter Torrie Jung, Cam Lanigan was called upon to hold onto the Oil Kings lead. Over those final minutes the Pats only directed 3 shots on goal. One shot every 2 minutes is not good enough when you have a cold goalie entering the game and you are trying to tie the affair.

Time and time again I saw Pats players pass up a shot because nobody was in front or the angle might not have been the best. That is the sign of a team squeezing the carbon fibre right out their sticks. There was no confidence in just trying to flat out beat a cold goalie with a shot.

There are no simple answers for the Pats. The team needs to walk by a mirror on the way to the ice and take a look in it. These kids are good young players and as a team they can be a strong force. They just need to see it.