Romanian National Team Powers Past the Stars
In exhibition action last night at the Klenkdome, the L.A. Stars hosted the Romanian National U-18 Team. The Stars and Romanian’s have shared the ice on several occasions over the past year, and this was another installment of what had previously been exciting and entertaining games.
With the International break occurring, and several players away with the National Program, as well as school trips, the Stars were putting together a line-up that featured players from all three teams, and the inexperience of several players, along with the lack of intensity and speed needed to compete at those levels, exposed several players on the night. Sandro Aeschlimann and Eliah Knecht shared the goaltending duties for the Stars.
The Romanians opened the scoring in the first period, as they beat Aeschlimann three times over the 20 minutes span to open up a 3-0 lead after one period. Just moments into the second period, Nikolaus Houben banged in a rebound to close the gap to within two, but the Romanians would go on to score three more times before period end. As the third period opened, the Stars conceded two more goals, before getting another of their own. The Romanians then rounded out the scoring just as the period was ending, to take the game 9-2.
After the game, the coaching staff of the Stars addressed what seems to be a lack of pride within the Academy, and how it can be improved. “This was an opportunity for players to see what higher levels of hockey are all about, but apparently they didn’t see it that way. They lacked focus, discipline, and communication,” discussed O’Leary. “Some of these players may never see an opportunity like that again, whether it is in the Academy environment, or on an international stage. To say that we were “lacklustre with our effort” would be putting it mildly. It is time that players from all three teams start to muster up a bit more pride in their game, not focus on how great they think they are.”
Next up, the Stars will host Feldkirch in St. Pölten on Sunday.
