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[QUOTE="Powellfan, post: 2678557, member: 4819"]
I was puzzled by the defense last year - I thought they had all the ingredients to be a pretty good unit. It just never materialized.  I think it was a number of things - injuries to Bomberry and a number of the short sticks (Hutchins and Helmer were out numerous times), too many rotations, an inconsistent goalie, a struggling new short stick unit, a struggling face-off unit, and a failure to communicate.  Team-wide, last year it seemed like if one unit started to produce, another would fall apart. It was like wack-a-mole. The offense had some excuses with all the new faces though.  Hopefully with fall ball, and more defined roles, the defense can settle into a groove.

Question for others - who would you pick as your starting short stick duo? Honestly I watched every game last year and really struggled to figure out who the "starters" on that unit were. I thought some showed promise but the minute a mistake was made, guys were yanked and replaced by someone else who eventually made another mistake and the game of musical chairs continued.

If I had to choose I think I would go with Dearth and Helmer, with Dami and Murphy as the backups.  But of course I see question marks with all those guys - Dearth is a threat in transition but makes some head scratching defensive plays - Helmer and Murphy don't have the best stick skills and Dami looked lost at times last year.  I feel like if the coaches had stuck with a tighter rotation last year, that experience would have paid off this year. Instead it almost feels like we are back at square one with this group.
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