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Charlotte Hounds Week 9: In the Pound

EN: Welcome Lance Antoine back to LAS! Lance is covering the Charlotte Hounds this year in-depth and has a great game report from their last game below.

Last Saturday, the Hounds traveled to Denver to play the undefeated Outlaws. The Hounds lost by a total of six goals, with the final score being 17-11. This once again drops the Hounds below that golden .500 win percentage level and makes a late season playoff push even more important.

Earlier last week, Charlotte’s game notes listed Tim Fallon as a player to watch, because  face-offs would be a key to this game. Oddly enough Fallon did grab the majority of the face-offs, 18-31. Other stats favored the Hounds too, as they grabbed 38 ground balls and had more shots on (and off) goal too. In the first quarter the Hounds even led 5-4.

All of the goals came from Danowski, Young, Sawyer, and Tripucka. All the goals in the first quarter went unassisted. Now I’ve said it countless times before, and I’ll say it again, the Hounds shut down in the second quarter. This time the Hounds went scoreless while Denver climbed to a four point lead.

I can not, for the life of me, figure out why the second quarter shows no love to the dogs, or why they show no love to the second. Charlotte racked up 11 penalty minutes in the second quarter alone, which was also a new season high. They came out and put up five in the third thanks to Poli, Amidon, McCormack, and Sawyer. In the fourth there was only one goal by either team and it came from Sawyer.

This game also marked that three point game I foretold from Sawyer, even though it couldn’t help the Hounds to a win, it did help Sawyer’s stats. Sawyer is up to 9 goals and 4 assists on the year, and he is a constant factor in the Hounds’ line up. With the addition of Hawkins, his former team mate, I can see them becoming quite the pair, especially in transition.

There’s really not a whole lot more to say about the game from the other night, other than the fact that the Outlaws showed up to play (as they have all season) and the Hounds didn’t quite match that level. Charlotte’s on the road again this week as they head to Boston.

This next game could shape the rest of their season and post-season plans. The Hounds are a young team that’s improving, but the question remains: how fast can they shape up? I can see them winning in Boston if the defense plays like they did against the Bayhawks, and the offense plays together throughout the game.

As you all know, June 2nd was the MLL trade deadline. There were some shockers, like the Lizards giving up Berger, but most trades were just a couple non-starters going here or there for a second round draft pick. The Hounds could be described as the most active team during the deadline day, with their biggest prize being Josh Hawkins from the Nationals. Hawkins brings a lot of potential to the table, but at the moment the Hounds don’t need potential, they need wins.

I guess the only thing left to say is good luck and Go Hounds!