In clax action this week two teams that have struggled to start the season face off as the Durham TurfDogs take on the Iroquois Ironmen. Both teams have had a rocky start to the season as the TurfDogs are 1-1 after splitting a series with the Toronto shooting stars while the Ironmen are 0-2 after losing to the Demons and to the Lock Monsters.
For the Ironmen their biggest problem has been their defense as they have allowed 40 goals in just 2 games. They cannot hope to have a chance at winning if they continue to let teams score with ease. Luckily for the Ironmen their offense for the most part has kept them in games thanks to the play of Chris Atwood who leads the team in points with 15 and is no stranger to having to carry a team on his back. In net his brother Mike Atwood has struggled and will need to pull himself together and regain his form from last season where he helped to lead the Ironmen to the Creators cup final.
For the TurfDogs they have struggled to score goals but their defense has been solid. Aside from a rocky start against the Shooting Stars last week both the TurfDog’s games have been decided by one goal. John Chesebrough looked good in the TurfDogs first game but struggled in their second game as he got shelled by the Stars and had an early end to his day. Expect Chesebrough to bounce back against the Ironmen and be solid in between the pipes. The TurfDogs biggest problem though is their offense as they need more secondary scoring. They only have one player with over 10 points in 2 games. The TurfDogs have been led by Shane Scott who has 12 points in two games. The TurfDogs will need Nic Grasby and Scott Defranceseco to pick up their production in their game as the Iroquois team can score goals in bunches.
The key to victory for the Ironmen is to strike quickly and often as they have had little trouble scoring this year. If the Ironmen can get to Chesebrough early and chase him from the game they will be in a good position to win this game.
The key to victory for the TurfDogs is to continue to play tight defense. Against Toronto the TurfDogs played tight defense and were able to battle back although they came up short. They will want to force the Ironmen to make mistakes in this game and capitalize on the mistakes. The TurfDogs do not have the ability to beat the Ironmen in a shoot out and need to be defensive minded in order to beat the Ironmen.
In the end I feel the Ironmen will pick up their first win as their offense led by Chris Atwood will be to much for the TurfDogs and will score early and often building a big lead which the TurfDogs offense will be unable to overcome.
