Awful start for the JRC adult team

The season opener hurt the JRC team's standing in the Italian small rink mini-league.
The team played two matches in Milan against FC Milano and QT8 Milano.

A careful start and a goal by Maura in the 8th minute bode well for the team in the beginning but shortly after the score was tied.

The rebound finally began under another guise. The team reacted positively to the coach's request to concentrate better on their game but it wasn't enough for a decisive attack. While trying to recover, our team took a 2 minute penalty for holding but were able to keep the opponents from scoring with a good box play. In the final minutes of play, the team were given another chance thanks to a 2 minute power-play opportunity. However, it was not played very well and did not lead to a single goal. Good try but unfortunately the goal by Lucian F was the only one of the second half.
Final result: JRC Ispra 2 and FC Milano 4.

The second game continued to build on the successes of the first with the JRC players being attentive and determined to win the match. At the end of the first half, the score was tied at 0-0 despite several good scoring opportunities.
Things started looking good when Majo scored (assisted by Antongiulio) but a sudden mid-period defensive meltdown resulted in three goals against which could have been easily avoided. It looked like the team was beginning to suffer from exhaustion and lack of concentration due to the fact that there were only two lines for changes due to player absences.
Even the 2 minute power-play (in our opinion too short given the gravity of the foul on our captain) did not help even though Maura tried several times to score... However, digging deep into their soul and using their last bit energy left, Antonguilio (assisted by Majo) scored twice and Raimondo once to bring the result to 3-3.
With only 38 seconds left, when the game was almost over, QT8 scored a fourth goal (thanks to our adversaries being a little 'too' pushy). Time almost up and no chance to recover. Final result was QT8 4 and JRC 3.

A little disappointed, sure, but the team was also upset about the fact that so many players were missing in action from these important matches. Moreover, the fact that we had 4 players for which this was their first league tournament and only two lines to change certainly counted for something. The team is there and this is still a positive sign of the return to competitive play but requires more to satisfy the club's ambitions.
We expect greater commitment and perseverance, especially from the younger players (too few and spotty presence). The next chance will be played at home in Travedona on Sunday, January 22, 2012.