Encierro 2013 - Report

Southampton Jaguars finished last in the MLRH Encierro 2013 Águilas tournament, Spain (9th - 10th Feb 2013).

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The Jags competed in Spain with only 2 players (joined forces with Team Malaga) in a 2 day tournament against The Jokes, Eagle Sports, HC Aguilas, Halcones and Cabuxos.
They started the first game well considering it was a bunch of guys who had never played together before, only going 3 nil down at the break against the Jokers, who had 3 French internationals in their ranks. The game eventually finished with a 7 nil loss against a good Jokers team. The highlight of the game for the Jags was the dangling by Nick Perry in the Jokers zone; he lollipopped 3 of their players whilst maintaining the puck for at least 1 minute of his shift circling their zone.
The next game was against the eventual winners Eagle Sports, even with our weakened team they hasveto be 1 of the toughest opponents we have ever come up against. Playing against them was an invaluable lesson in which way to play the game, even with a team full of very skillful individuals, their biggest asset was their team ethic. Again they had a couple of internationals in the ranks, which also helps.
The 3rd game of the day was against the local team HC Aguilas. From this game on-wards the Jags were a man down due to an injury to Antonio in the last game, and after 2 tough games in a big rink, fatigue took its toll. The Jags were merci'd 8 nil in the 2nd period.
The last game of the day was against Halcones, for this match luckily we had Setti help us out in the offensive line up as he had a break in his refereeing schedule. With Mulari in the line up this had a positive effect on the Jags as they were leading throughout the game until the last couple of minutes of the game. The Jags fielding a rookie goalie who'd only been playing 3 months eventually went down 5-4. The highlight of the game was Nick Perrys hat-trick; hes a clever player who knows how to utilize his skills and assets in a big rink.
The last league game and 5th/6th playoff place was against Cabuxos on Day 2. This was an end to end game with both teams going at it from the start. At half time the Jags were cruising 3-1. At the end of the 2nd lost 9-3; as they say a game of 2 halves. The highlight of the game was Vas receiving the puck from the goalie going coast to coast and scoring with Nick Perry chiselling out an assist??
Overall the Jags would like to thank the MLRH President Setti Mulari for inviting us to the tournament and with all his help in organising us getting there. Also a big thank you to HC Aguilas for an enjoyable tournament with excellent facilities.
Also a big thank you to the Malaga guys who we played with, a great bunch of lads that are new to the game but are great hockey enthusiasts. With more exposure to tournaments of this standard, will help them develop their skills further and become greater players to another level.

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