Memorial Cup Game 1 Zone Entries

Trying something new for the Memorial Cup. Rather than my usual of recording scoring chances I decided to take a stab at tracking zone entries. A zone entry is how the team got across the blue line into the offensive zone. Since I'm new to this I only tracked dump-ins and carry-ins. I deemed an entry a success if the team was able to get a shot attempt before the puck left the zone. We care about zone entries because of the great work done by Eric Tulsky, who has shown that (NHL) teams generate more shots when the puck is carried into the zone rather than when it is dumped in.

As I do more of this I hope to be able to track more plays as well as individual players, as zone data like this is good way to evaluate defencemen.  You can see what players are being targeted with zone entries and how they are able to prevent chances. For now though just team data.

Team	Dump In*	Success Rate	Carry In*	Success Rate	Other*	Success Rate
London	27	15%	36	75%	11	64%
Val d’Or	23	4%	33	61%	12	42%

 *Even Strength Only

In looking at these numbers its clear London had the better game. They had more success on all zone entries. However they were  unable to beat Val d'Or goalie Antoine Bibeau, who was spectacular in stopping all 51 shots he faced.

This is a very short tournament but this game bodes well for the future success of London. If they can fire 50 shots a night they are going to win more often than not. Val d'Or got the win but needs to improve on getting shots after gaining the zone, particularly when they dump it in. They need to either stop dumping in or try to be better along the boards to create turnovers and retrieve the puck back.

I am looking forward to watching these teams again to see if they continue and make the adjustments they need to as the tournament progresses.