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After a lacklustre performance by a lineup featuring some new players in a loss against the expansion team GUTZZZ, the Homeless Dads won the next two against the Long Island Ducks (3-2) and the Dinamo daugmale (11-0) with the players that had gotten them to fifth in the league. Máté Klausz has been starting to fit in with his new team, and scored two goals against the Ducks and scored another two with a helper against Dinamo, and now has five goals and an assist in six games.

Also helping the team get back on track is left wing Ladislav Ševčík, who was benched in the GUTZZZ game, despite leading the team in points per game. Coach Tuomo Riihihuta said that the lineup changes were to keep players like Ševčík fresh for the playoffs: “Ladislav's been a great player for us, since coming over from the Czech leagues, and we were simply hoping to keep guys like him, Pfeiffer, and Sykes fresh for the playoffs against what we thought was an inferior opponent. Obviously, that was a poor assessment and we ended up with a loss. But I was glad to see Ladislav come back and get an assist in his first game back against the Ducks, along with a four assist game and his first all-star selection against Dinamo.”

Mr. Ševčík has had 18 goals (third on the team) and 20 assists (fifth on the team) in his 22 games with the Homeless Dads, good enough for third most points (38) on the team, and the highest points per game (1.7) on the team. “Getting that all-star selection feels really good, it feels like I've finally arrived in the American leagues,” Mr. Ševčík reflected, “I know Vern's (Forrest) our only other forward with an all-star selection, so it's real special. Hopefully there'll be more of that in the future.”

Another player that is playing well after his one game reprieve is goalkeeper Lawrence Sykes. “I know the team went out and got Aljaž Jan at a great price, but I think me and Max (Schwaiger) have been doing a great job here,” he commented, “Aljaž got a tough result against a new hungry team, he'll get his wins.” Mr. Jan, the new goalkeeper allowed four goals in just nineteen shots in his first league appearance, rivaling the stink he created in his first friendly game with the club, a putrid 12 goals on 36 shots performance. His poor performances have led many to speculate one why such a move was made. Since coming over from Slovenia, Mr. Jan has allowed 31 goals in five friendly contests for an abysmal 6.2 GAA and has failed to get a save percentage over 90%, frequently falling in the 75-85% range.

On the contrary to Aljaž Jan's struggles, Lawrence Sykes continues to shine. With just two games left in the season, the Homeless Dads' keeper is in the top four in both goals against average (2.07) and save percentage (91.43%) and is tied for the most all-star selections amongst all players in the entire league, with six. Add on top of that six shutouts, good for third in the league, the Homeless Dad's keeper could get full of himself, but remains humble: “Yeah, the stats are all well and good, and I know I'm performing real well. But we've brought in some great defensemen over the course of the year, and they keep only giving up low-percentage shots. And now that Bobby England is healthy, he'll be putting up big numbers with Vern and Watts (Mike Watson). We've just got a real solid team, and are getting healthy and peaking at the right time.”

Coach Riihihuta echoed the sentiment: “We have a very solid club. Our defense is coming together at the right time, giving Larry the room to make saves and keep up his confident play. Our offense has two amazing top lines, and has third liners in Ševčík and Galiov step up all year long. Now with Klausz, Grežo, and Matthias anchoring the fourth, we can roll four solid lines that we have a lot of confidence in.”

When pressed about the acquisition of Aljaž Jan and how that has fizzled, the Homeless Dad's coach had this to say: “Stefan (Stanka, the GM) and Mr. Jane (the owner) are doing a great job of putting this team together. We're making the playoffs in our first season. Aljaž was available at a terrific price and we, as group, determined he's someone we wanted on our team.” Coach Riihihuta continued, “He hasn't had the performances we'd like, and probably won't play come playoff time, but he'll be here next year. And I think the acquisition has further lit a fire under Larry to continue and improve on his stellar play. That said, Larry and Max are our guys for the postseason.”

Coach Riihihuta was asked if they'd rather see the American Rangers or BHK Posavina in the postseason. “Well, both of those are real good clubs, and we'll have a tough matchup either way. On paper, we'd stand a better shot against the Rangers than Posavina. We beat the Rangers at home and are 0-2 against Posavina. Sure getting revenge would be nice, but I think we match up against the Rangers very well and it would give us a better chance to advance. However we're playing for fifth place rather than a matchup, no sense in losing games for a preferred matchup with no guarantee. Besides, as soon as the playoffs happen, it's a new season. We even had a win against a terrific Buffalo Lasers opponent earlier this year, so anything can happen.”

On a more personal note, the coach had to say goodbye to his assistant this year, as Edwin De Smet was placed on the transfer market. “It's tough to say good bye to Edwin,” coach said of his old assistant, “But Harold Sousa (his new assistant) just leaves, breathes, eats, and sleeps hockey. He's one of the best hockey minds I've had the pleasure of working with. Stefan made a great move in picking him up. It'll probably only be a season or two before he gets the reins of his own team.”

“So it's certainly good to have him on board, but now I've got to watch my back or he'll take my job,” coach said with a snicker. He then excused himself to prepare for Monday's big matchup with the second place Buffalo Lasers.

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