Three Bright Spots for Chaos after Opening Weekend
Yes, he scored, but the grueling, physical nature that Chaos played with wore down the Waterdogs and kept the game within striking distance. They forced nine caused turnovers by the end of the game.
Jack Rowlett had an exceptional game holding Sowers to just one goal on eight shots which came on the powerplay.
“I think anyone who has to draw Jack Rowlett is going to have their hands full,” said Towers. Something Sowers can most likely attest to after the beating he took on Sunday.
Furthermore, the Waterdog’s leading scorer from last season – Kieran McArdle – was held goalless on nine shots. He did finish the game with three assists, but the ability to play him physically took away his ability to score off dodges and threw off the Waterdogs offense.
All in all, the key was shutting down the Waterdogs starting attack unit and by holding them to five points collectively, the defensive unit did their job.
As Jarrod Neumann mentioned earlier this week, “loud, mean, fast,” are three words you’ll hear all season long when describing the Chaos defense. They exemplified that in this matchup and will need more of that the rest of the way.
3. Will Bowen Made His Presence Felt
Will Bowen – who faced some scrutiny from Ryan Boyle when he was picked 7th overall in the draft – was met with praise by the opposing head coach after the game.
“I will give Will Bowen a lot of credit, you could feel his presence out there,” said Copelan.
Bowen drew the matchup of Jake Carraway, limiting him to one goal on five shots for his only point of the game. Besides that late first quarter goal, Carraway was virtually unnoticeable for the most part.
The Chaos found success as a unit, supporting defenders and sliding with authority, which is where Bowen left his mark.
“You felt him out there [Bowen] in slide situations, he slid really aggressively on rollback stuff,” said Copelan, which made life difficult for dodgers.
Bowen tied for the game high in caused turnovers with three. He also won three ground balls, including this crafty play stick handling the ball between the legs of Jack Hannah.
