Back across town to Strahov for an early game on one of the satellite fields.
Game 8 – Pool play, power pool P – 8:30 vs Ragnarok (Denmark)
Ragnarok presented Revolver with another completely new style of play that confounded us for the first 6-8 points as we traded to start off. Our defenders tend to afford a larger buffer when the disc is across the field, but the Danes punished this with around-the-mark forehand blades for small to large gains and several goals. #1 Henrik Thomesen in particular forced his way open underneath and killed us with these throws. Ragnarok was clearly used to catching these, but Revolver was not, so our defenders blocked three of these throws that popped back into the air before the Danes retained possession. Eventually we dampened the around throws enough and reeled in our buffers to pull away for a 17-10 win. The Revolver jersey went to the fantastically spirited and good-natured #32 Thor Moller, who used his body to work all the way across the field.
Hence Revolver advanced with the second seed intact. We made our way back toward the main Strahov Stadium and ate a pasta and salad lunch at a nearby pub, then returned to the big stadium to watch Fury take care of their pre-quarterfinal opponent. We hunkered down in the shade, hydrated, stretched, and turned our minds off of our next match-up for a while.
Game 9 – Bracket play, quarterfinals – 15:15 vs Colony (Australia)
Didn’t get the name of the jersey winner for this one and the Aussies seemed dispirited to bow out, but they gave us a tough game. They were content to work underneath despite having the ability to work deep too, so we battled to a 15-8 victory in the afternoon heat.
Most of the team walked over to a nearby stadium to kibitz the last quarterfinal game between Ironside and Sockeye, the showcase game at this complex. The large crowd enjoyed the spectacle with a back and forth game, plenty of drama, and a great showcase indeed. Sockeye pulled it out 17-15 after being down two at half.
We face another early start tomorrow with our third consecutive 8:30 start in the semifinal against the dreaded Buzz Bullets. The tournament bus schedule won’t get us all the way back to Strahov in time for our desired warm-up time, so they agreed to send an earlier bus to our hotel. Time to rest.