Buffalo continues the woes for the Riveters

J.J. Pavlick

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1/21/23

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The Riveters went into the weekend already on a 4-game losing streak, trying to end the skid. The common theme during the losing streak has been unforced errors and missed passes. The positives during the streak have been the netminders and the increase in shot production. As a wise player once said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”, The Riveters have taken that mantra to heart firing shots from all over the ice. While the shots per game have increased the high-quality shots haven’t followed suit in the trend. One other glaring part of their game during the streak has been 1 shot and back on defense, along with the lack of high-pressure forechecks and backchecks. Facing the Beauts should allow them to work on the flaws and hopefully produce 6 huge points.

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The Riveters Eveliina Makinen stood strong this game having a solid performance for her team keeping them in the game throughout. She had 12 saves on 15 shots throughout the game and only one of the shots she may want back but to be fair she was briefly screened on the power play shot that lead to Buffalo’s first goal. The other 2 were out of her control and she made some big saves along the way.

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Minttu had the lone goal for the Rivs when she made it a 2-1 game toward the end of the 1st period and Kelly Babstock came within less than an inch of tying the game late in the 1st. That would be all the offense for the Rivs tonight in their 4 – 1 loss.

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The Riveters played a more disciplined game only going to the sin bin 3 times, unfortunately, though Buffalo capitalized on 1 of the 3 power plays. For the Rivs their power play continued to struggle and failed to score during their 4 chances throughout the game.

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The game had seen some positives, Regan Rust was assigned the center role and she did well in the new role. We got to see her dangle and create something she was stellar at during her time with the Boston University Terriers in college as an offensive defenseman. While Rust is technically considered a defenseman, she has the hands of a dangler with the shot of a sniper. Honestly, I hope we see more of Rust in a forward role this season. It suits her well and has given her the confidence to show off her skills on the offensive side of the game.

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Looking forward to tomorrow afternoon’s game when the two teams meet again, I expect to see the Riveters capitalize off the momentum they built throughout the game and create chaos in front of the Beauts netminder. The two teams with faceoff at 1pm on Sunday.

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