Pandas Come Alive and Stingrays Solidify Identity

With week three in the books, all teams have now faced off against one another. All teams have an idea of what to expect from their opponents and what it’ll take to win. 

One thing is certainly clear: if teams are to perform their best, their star players must show up ready to compete. 

This was most evident in the game between the Balboa Pandas and the Escondido Rhinos. The Pandas’ leaders–including star player Nik Olsson, who had his league debut in week three–showed up and performed, while the Rhinos’ captain, Pasha Bocharov, was not in the lineup. 

The Leucadia Longboarders also played without their captain, Reed Kinsey, who was a big missing piece for the Longboarders in their loss to the Cardiff Stingrays. 

Seeing the Pandas come alive and roll into full stride was exciting for the league, and it signaled to other teams the importance of bringing their A game and being ready to compete. 

Gameplay Recap

Balboa Pandas vs. Escondido Rhinos

The Pandas came out strong, and they didn’t let up. The Pandas took a quick 2-0 lead off goals from Jimmy Becker and Nik Olsson. The first goal came off a clean defensive-zone face-off win by Becker, allowing the Pandas to gain control of the puck behind their net. At the same time, Becker raced up the rink to get himself open for a stretch pass from teammate AJ Wright, putting Becker on a short breakaway opportunity that he capitalized on. The second goal came from Olsson flashing his skills, as he skated into an errant pass from the Rhinos’ attempting to clear their zone, did a backhand toe drag around the Rhinos’ defenseman, and then used deception to pull the Rhinos’ goaltender away from the post before slipping it in behind for a clean tap-in goal.

Down 2-0 early in the game, the Rhinos played with heart and generated some scoring opportunities off of low-to-high passing plays in the offensive zone. The Pandas would score next, however, off an unassisted goal by Bailey Ridout, who turned strong defense into stellar offense. Ridout negated a Rhinos' scoring opportunity in his defensive end, then intercepted a pass and came barreling down the center of the rink before firing a low shot from the top of the circles that beat the Rhinos' tendy.   

Late in the first half, the Rhinos took advantage of a power play opportunity that ended with a wrist shot scorcher by Noe Santos from the right circle that went post and in, making it a 3-1 Pandas lead going into halftime. 

The second half started with the two teams exchanging opportunities. The Pandas captain, Rory Herrman, got the second-half scoring underway. Rory won a puck battle along the boards in the offensive zone and then used a few explosive crossover strides to build separation from the defending players and get into a prime scoring area to fire a quick snap shot high blocker side that beat the Rhinos goaltender. Then the Pandas scored their fifth goal of the game off a two-on-one break that resulted in Olsson firing a shot off a pass from Becker. 

After going down 5-1, the Rhinos came back and scored a couple quick ones, both plays being generated by Santos, who fired a shot-pass from the point that found its way into the back of the net and then followed up with a high-speed rush up the left boards to find a shooting lane and beat the Pandas goalie on a near-side shot. This brought the Rhinos to a two-goal deficit, a 5-3 score with 12:01 remaining in the second half.

But from here on out, it was all Pandas. 

The Pandas did a great job in both zones, keeping the Rhinos to the perimeter and making it difficult for them to skate the puck over the center red line and reach good shooting areas. Pandas’ Olsson and Herrman connected for a nice goal, making it 6-3; then stellar Pandas forechecking from Rylan Farwell and Becker led to a Rhinos turnover in their defensive zone, which Becker had time to collect and fire away at until eventually scoring on the third rebound opportunity, making it 7-3. 

This seventh Pandas goal was the dagger. Up until this point, the Rhinos had played with heart, but on this goal, they showed lackadaisical effort in their defensive zone and were nowhere to be found to support their goalie against the Becker onslaught. From here on out, the Rhinos lost their step and strayed away from their structure, which led to several egregious defensive-zone turnovers that put them further in a hole. More Pandas goals would come from Jay Neal, Becker, and Olsson. The Rhinos then got the last goal of the game off a nifty deke from Billy Metcalf right in front of the Pandas’ crease area. 

But this Metcalf magic was a tad too late, as the game would end a minute later, 10-4.  

The Pandas had a dominant performance and surely their best game of the season. Their transitional game, structured pressure, and east-west passing in the offensive zone all came together to generate prime scoring opportunities and wear down the Rhinos. 

Time will tell how this matchup unfolds with captain Bocharov on the bench for the Rhinos. 

For his hat trick and four-point performance in his EDL debut, Nik Olsson was awarded player of the game. 

Final Score

Balboa Pandas: 10
Escondido Rhinos: 4

Cardiff Stingrays vs. Leucadia Longboarders

The game between the Stingrays and Longboarders maintained a fairly even cadence throughout the game. Both teams spent the opening minutes of the first half feeling each other out, neither pressing too hard on the forecheck or establishing extended offensive zone time. The Stingrays struck first, scoring the game-opener off a three-on-two rush that ended with Stingrays’ Logan Wise sniping a shot top glove from the high slot. The Longboarders’ defensive zone coverage was too loose on the play, allowing one of the top Stingrays shooters too much time and space.

The game opened up a bit after the first goal. The Longboarders capitalized on a two-on-one opportunity that ended with Blake Woods dishing across to Ray Kinsey, who blasted home a one-timer to tie the game 1-1. The Stingrays struck back shortly after with a tenacious goal by veteran John Quirk, who fell to the rink in his effort to get at a loose rebound, eventually knocking the puck into the net with one hand on his stick. The Stingrays scored again shortly after off a clean offensive zone faceoff win by Jason Effertz, who won it back to Wise, allowing him to take a quick, uncontested shot for his second goal of the game. Then it was the Longboarders turn to shine: Dylan Woods received a breakout pass in his defensive zone and carried the puck up the left boards and across the red line before cutting across the rink and leaving a well-placed drop pass for teammate Nathan Robert, who fired a low shot that beat Stingrays’ goaltender blocker side. 

The first half ended 3-2 Stingrays. 

The second half continued in the same fashion, with both teams going back and forth and capitalizing on their chances. The Stingrays got the first goal of the second half when Chad Lewis gloved down a blocked shot and placed it down in front of him in time to smack the puck into the net. The Longboarders were calling for a gloved-in no-goal, but it was confirmed a clean goal by the referees. 

The Longboarders would go on to score the next three goals. The first by Dylan Woods, who caused a turnover near the red line and then found himself with the puck in open space near the top of the left circle and fired a wrist shot that beat Stingrays’ goaltender far side. The next goal came from Jake Betsch, who collected a puck in the high slot area off a broken play and fired a shot that found twine, tying the game up 4-4. Then Dylan Woods scored his second of the game off a goal that fluttered over the Stingrays’ goalie’s glove before flopping into the net. 

Logan Wise would then disrupt the Longboarders momentum. Leucadia won back an offensive zone face-off, but Wise was the first on the puck and split the Longboarders defense to get in on a breakaway that he buried with a low-blocker shot. This was Wise’s third goal of the game, tying things up 5-5. 

The Longboarders would go on to break the tie on a fast-break goal right off a successful defensive zone face-off win. Anthony Mata took the draw for Leucadia, winning it forward to Betsch. Mata immediately beelined up the rink, and Betsch returned the puck to a streaking Mata, who found himself on a breakaway and scored with a sweet backhand that allowed him to shield the puck from the Stingray backchecker. The Stingrays would immediately tie the game back up as Jason Effertz found the back of a yawning net after collecting a puck that bounced hard off the end wall from a shot by Joe Kubani. 

The Stingrays broke the 6-6 tie after Tanner Stephan intercepted a blind drop pass from a Longboarders player, allowing Stephan to pass and cross with Stingrays captain, Wes Langeloh, as they made their way into the offensive zone. Langeloh created time and space for himself and his team by pulling the puck between his legs and carrying the puck along the perimeter and around Leucadia’s net, drawing the attention of three Leucadia players and allowing Stingrays’ Chad Lewis to sneak into a soft spot at the bottom of the left circle. Langeloh passed it across to Lewis, and with plenty of time and space, Lewis made no mistake as he roofed it on Leucadia’s netminder to put the Stingrays up 7-6 with less than three minutes remaining in the game.

The 7-6 score would hold up to the end. The Longboarders put on some pressure in the last minute of play with their goalie pulled, allowing for an extra attacker, but they weren’t able to find the back of the net.   

For kicking off the scoring and getting a hat trick in this Stingrays win, Logan Wise was awarded player of the game.  

Final Score

Cardiff Stingrays: 7
Leucadia Longboarders: 6

Looking Ahead: Keys to the Game

Reflecting on week three and looking ahead, these are the key components to giving each respective team an advantage, as analyzed by the Unify Elite Draft League front office.

Leucadia Longboarders: Find ways to communicate and stay structured defensively so that you can take away time and space from attacking players and avoid losing coverage. 

Balboa Pandas: Utilize your size advantage to take control of the center of the rink and force opponents to the outside. Capitalize on the transition by supporting teammates and generating opportunities through east-west passing off the rush.

Cardiff Stingrays: Build off the possession game, using speed and puck support to generate opportunities in the offensive zone and create odd-man rushes.   

Escondido Rhinos: Find ways to leverage speed changes to generate offensive zone cycles and capitalize on low-to-high plays.