In the sport of hockey, it’s not easy to appreciate a good effort from a team for the entire length of a season without a fair measure of finish. For a team that started off terribly and now plays competitive if unsuccessful hockey, the St. Charles Chill can be a frustrating team to watch. Robert Moss gives them a solid chance to win in net every night. Their defensive front can shut down opposing teams with in your face forechecking. Jamie Rivers is a patient informative head coach who will get the best out of his players. The offensive units seem to toss several pucks near the net. Good things seem to be shaping up watching this team play but in the end, the result is consistently disappointing. On Sunday night before a small crowd, The Chill lost to the Quad City Mallards by the score of 3-1.
The game got off to a slow start with a combination of 5 shots nearly 10 minutes into the game. The Chill play an aggressive if not pretty game. Lots of hits, choppy puck movement, mid ice collisions, chipping in and forechecking. They are grinders it not stars. Jordan Fox and Kyle O’Kane are the two most prominent scorers for the team and they seem to do the most with the puck and create something but even they had a hard time catching their footing in the first half of tonight’s game.
The Chill had the edge in shots at the moment but 10:48 into the 2nd period, the Mallards struck first on the power play with a goal from Vladimir Nikiforov. The Chill wasted little time with a power play goal of their own at 16:29 of the second period, with Martin Hlinka scoring his 6th goal on a nifty breakthrough to Quad City goaltender Ty Rimmer. After an initial shot missed, Hlinka smacked one in and the game was tied with the Chill holding a 20-14 shots edge at the end of the period.
Chill backup goaltender Linus Lundin, back from a callup to Springfield, made a series of impressive saves throughout the game. On a night where the film The Lone Ranger was being promoted, Lundin was just that for the Chill. The Mallards don’t pound a goaltender with shots yet make very good use of the ones they put on net. Lundin made several point blank stops and kept the Chill in the game. That is a sad old tale for the home team, with their stopper giving them a chance that seems to get wasted.
The Mallards picked up their attack in the 3rd period, scoring a goal 6:15 into the final period from Mike Hellyer netting his 8th goal of the season. While the Chill’s defense isn’t bad, they can suffer supreme breakdowns and let an opposing side walk right in and fire easy straight shots on their goalie. The Mallards made good use of their offensive zone work in the final period and took a lead they would never hand back. An empty netter in the final minute closed the door on a victory for the Chill. Lundin stopped 19 of 21 shots, including a flurry of late chances. Rimmer matched him at the other end, holding off the Chill in the closing minutes.
The Chill had a late power play with 4:04 to go but wasted far too many seconds of the clock cycling the puck around on the point. There are times where you just have to let pucks rip at the net and even for a team that clings it off the boards often, that was a time for the Chill to fire at will. With the fans yelling “Shoot”, the shot that finally came was soft and easily handled by Rimmer and the Mallards defense.
Another night played and another night that had the home team come up short in the final game of a 5 day 3 game battle with the Mallards that saw the Chill win on Wednesday but suffer close defeats last night and tonight. Rivers will be fuming due to this team’s energized yet result-less effort as he tries to build this newly minted team of St. Louis County into a formidable contender.
The Chill get a Christmas break and return to the ice Friday night against the Allen Americans at St. Charles Family Arena. If you are feeling game, purchase one of the Pepsi Family Four packs which includes 4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, 4 sodas, 4 bags of chips all for the low price of 60 dollars. Until next time, see you all on the ice!
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Dan Buffa writes for the local blog United Cardinal Bloggers in addition to Arch City Sports and also writes for his personal blog, www.doseofbuffa.com. He is a STL born and raised writer with a need to inform and the ability to pound out 1,000-1,500 word pieces with ease. He also runs and writes for a STL based movie website, film-addict.com. When he isn’t writing or drinking coffee, he is spending time with his wife and son in South City. Follow him at @buffa82 on Twitter and reach him for thoughts, comments and general feedback at [email protected].
