Trusting Kerry Huffman's Process 1/12
ALLENTOWN, PA -- Already ten games into the Kerry Huffman era, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms' identity hasn't changed all that much in terms of how they want to play. The AHL club's new head coach is just fine tuning a lot of the things he was working on while he was the team's assistant coach with then head coach Scott Gordon.
As Huffman has told Inside AHL Hockey several times over the past three weeks, it's all part of the process. But what exactly is Kerry Huffman's process?
Early Ups And Downs
After Huffman's first few games as head coach, it was quickly evident he was a guy that the players in the locker room had no problems going to battle for. It's one thing to say a bunch of nice and cliche things about loving a coach and wanting him to succeed, but the way the Phantoms responded on the ice to begin Huffman's AHL coaching career - a pair of blowout wins over division rival Hershey and a spirited 42-shot offensive barrage in a 3-2 shootout loss to Syracuse - made it clear that the coach is well-liked and there won't be any internal issues of that nature.
Starting off his tenure with a five-game unbeaten in regulation streak (4-0-1) is all fine and well, but the team was riding the high of a roller coaster of emotions heading into the holiday break - coming together as a team for both themselves and their new head coach. That initial 'riding the high' phase ended with a "bad game" last Friday.
After that Friday game in Providence, Mike Vecchione explained,"We didn't play our best game, but I thought we battled. We definitely didn't deserve to win that one but I thought we played a good second half of the game trying to rally back towards the end there. Just need to move forward and be better tomorrow."
The next night in Hartford, a much better effort didn't provide the Phantoms with a change in the results despite the team perhaps 'deserving' a better fate than another regulation loss.
"It's not easy losing 3-1 on the road to a team below you in the standings," Huffman said after the game. "But in terms of how we played and the compete level was way better - way better - than it was last night. I said to the guys if we're going to have that level of compete and that level of generating scoring chances we're going to win a lot of games. Just one of those nights."
Sunday in Springfield, the tail end of three games in less than three days in three different states - coupled with a pair of losses to start the three-game trip - provided Huffman with a chance to see how his team would react to what he termed the recent losing skid as " a little bit of adversity"
"Not that we want to lose games, but sometimes it's good to go through a little bit of adversity - especially with the young guys," Huffman noted after Sunday's game, adding "I was interested to see how they were going to react to the game and how they'd play."
Lehigh Valley willed their way to a big road win Sunday in overtime, capped off (no pun intended) by Mark Friedman's overtime winner that struck the top shelf and hit the goaltender's water bottle.
Explaining Recent Results Despite Improvements In Team Play?
Beginning this weekend's three-in-three with a frustrating 2-1 regulation loss to the Binghamton Devils Friday night - a team toward the bottom of the North Division standings opposite the Phantoms' Atlantic Division in the AHL's Eastern Conference - has plenty wondering what's going on as you'd expect after seeing a team finish a 4-0-1 stretch and find themselves in the midst of four regulation losses in their last five outings.
The simple explanation? That's just hockey.
Sometimes a team is doing all the little things right, managing the puck - and the game - properly but can't get a bounce to go their way or on the other end of that have a bad bounce go in against them. While Friday's loss in Providence wasn't one to hang your hat on, the team controlled large portions of play in both Saturday's loss in Hartford and again less than 24 hours ago against Binghamton.
"When you out-chance a team 2-to-1 in every period, chances are you are going to win a lot of those games. I'm not really concerned about that," Huffman said after last night's home loss. "It's a loss, yeah, but when the team plays as well as it did you're going to win more than your share of hockey games playing that way. I can't really be too down on them for the puck not going in."
This is where "trusting the process" comes into play, and Huffman has had plenty to say about his beliefs and coaching philosophy.
"I'm really a lot more focused on how we're playing - particularly how we're playing 5-on-5 - than I am wins and losses at this point, Huffman told Inside AHL Hockey last weekend during the team's three-game road trip last weekend in New England. "I think if we just focus on being a good 5-on-5 hockey team the wins will take care of themselves."
"A couple of these last games we could have had better results. The Hartford game, this game [Friday vs. Binghamton]. It balances out. If we keep playing as well as we're playing - especially 5-on-5 - we'll be a good team down the stretch."
Friedman on the focus of 5-on-5 play
Mark Friedman, when asked about the focus being on the process versus the results, acknowledged Huffman's sentiments about the importance of playing well at even strength.
"Yeah, 5-on-5 play is huge," the second year pro said. "You get limited power plays and you want to make the most of every opportunity you get. Guys are starting to realize that 5-on-5 is just as important. It creates momentum. Every shift counts."
Despite the results, the Phantoms aren't playing like a team that has just one win in their last five games. The players in the locker room will need to continue to 'trust the process' and continue their efforts on the ice, but it's one Huffman sees as the norm of life in the AHL.
"I'm a firm believer in the results will eventually take care of themselves. If you're doing the right things and statistically you're managing the puck properly - it all balances out. There will be a time that we win a game that don't deserve to win in the future. I guarantee it. It's just the way this league works."
It seems as though Kerry Huffman is catching on pretty quickly to how things work in the American Hockey League.
