As the Blast learned Saturday, its easier to weather the storm with a win under your belt.
After defeating the Chicago Storm Saturday afternoon, the Blast was left to sit through a winter storm in the Windy City. But knowing that the team had won its fifth game in a row made the cabin fever easier to deal with.
“It?s kind of crazy and all they want to do is get home,” Blast coach Danny Kelly said of his team. “But its much better being stranded in Chicago after a good win than after a loss.”
With Saturday?s 12-4 win over the Storm, the Blast moved within 1.5 games of first place. After being as many as four games out of first and stranded in last place in January, the Blast (12-9) has made a turnaround since Jan. 27. Since that date, a 10-6 loss to Milwaukee, the Blast has won five straight.
“We?re finishing a lot of chances now that we weren?t before,” Kelly said. “We were in games that we lost ? and now we?re tightening things up well defensively and we?re finishing opportunities.”
The Blast took as many shots as they had points Saturday, pointing further evidence to success on offense. The team scored a pair of three pointers and three two-point goals among the 12 shots taken.
But Kelly credits the team?s defensive efforts of late for the winning streak.
“I think we?re starting to see that if we commit to playing good team defense and working hard for each other ? we can create opportunities for ourselves going forward,” Kelly said.
Whenever the club gets a flight out of Chicago, they?ll get back to preparation for a pair of home games this weekend. The Blast plays Philadelphia Friday and California Saturday. But Kelly isn?t overly concerned about the team?s prolonged stay in Chicago. As he said, the team was able to find hotel rooms on short notice.
And if anything, the mood with the team is strong considering the recent success.
“The guys are a relaxed group,” Kelly said. “But at the same time they?re focused. They know our job isn?t done.”
