Tonight’s game between the MCLA Trailblazers and UMass Dartmouth Corsairs did not go how MCLA had imagined, I am sure. I will keep this brief, because this page is about building guys up and not breaking them down, and there wasn’t much to take joy from tonight in a 4-1 loss.

              On the offensive side, the Trailblazers struggled all night to find a rhythm or create any substantial scoring chances aside from a fantastic goal by Brunner from Rhoss and Moore. Aside from those 30 seconds of excellence the team fought the puck and the boards all night. Even with two 5-on-3 power plays, the offense never felt like it was there. Luckily for the guys, this was just one night of many, and they will have plenty of opportunities to get back into the groove they found against Rivier.

              Defensively, MCLA was sound in their own zone but had issues preventing chances for the Corsairs in transition. Quinn Murphy and the centermen did a great job in the last 40 minutes of the game in the faceoff circle after a challenging first period to prevent UMass Dartmouth from setting up in the zone effectively. Again, all these things can be tweaked and corrected in practice and from watching the game film. The livestream from UMass Dartmouth will also be great for this due to its camera angle giving guys the ability to evaluate their gaps and lines from their own POV, rather than from the traditional isometric angle used in broadcasts.

              Overall, this was the first loss and first tough outing of the season for the MCLA team, and I believe that they will respond well from this in their game against Plymouth State on Saturday.