From the Man Who Calls It As He Sees It: An Overview of The Revolution's First Weekend in the Eastern Hockey League

By the Watchful Eye of Philadelphia Revolution Broadcaster Dan Marley

In their first weekend in the Eastern Hockey League, the Philadelphia Revolution dropped two straight contests to the Boston Bandits and the New Hampshire Junior Monarchs by the respective scores of 8-3 and 5-0.

Revolution fans may look at this past weekend as a need for improvement in a lot of areas of their game.  As for me, I look at this weekend as a sign of great things to come.

From what I've seen while calling the New Hampshire Junior Monarchs contest back on  September 14th, this team has a lot of potential to make an immediate impact in this league.  Right now, they are working on the kinks; but, there are some current upsides to their game that will do nothing but continue to strengthen as the season progresses.  Those areas are their goaltending and penalty kill.

Despite the 13 goals he allowed, goaltender James Caffrey made some incredible saves to keep his team in each game.  The majority of the goals he allowed were due to deflections in front of the net, rebounds, or quick turnovers in the team's defensive zone.  Still, the 42 shots allowed per game and 71 combined saves show that he will do whatever it takes to maintain the team's competitive nature.

The team's penalty kill was also strong this past weekend, allowing only two goals in 13 short-handed situations.  The effort did not only come from the net minder, but also from the unit's strong defensive efforts.  There was never a time where the Revolution was caught not blocking shots, using their sticks, and trying to neutralize the opposition's offense.

From now until their next game, there is only one major area where the Revolution needs to improve: capitalizing on their high quality chances.  Of the 65 shots they fired on net, only three resulted in a goal.  The chemistry is there to increase their goal totals, but it is all contingent on the appropriate time to shoot and pass the puck.

The EHL Revolution's next game will be on Sunday September 22nd on the road against the Walpole Express at 2:30 PM.  Fans can stream the game live on FastHockey.com.