His singles 5 bar defense does look strange... like the 5 bar shot is wide open.. but playing Pappas is unlike playing anyone else. His reactions are so fast that he can usually block the left hook with his 5 bar, so he sets up his goalie men to try and block as much slop as possible. His transition speed between the rods is just insane too.. he always seems to grab the right rod at the right time... I don't know how he does it...
He was focused and you were in hurry.. He was disciplined and you were casual.. in short He respected his opponent skill and you underestimated him.. the right temperament, focus and discipline will eventually bring you back in momentum and lack of it will keep you same till the end of game.
I just kept hoping you'd go for the left hook on his extra near-side defense. I only saw you try one, though. I figure he was taking the calculated risk that you wouldn't want to walk away from the table beating Pappas by 5 barring. Personally, I would just be happy to walk away from the table beating Pappas, but what do I know.
I would have loved nothing more than to try 5 bar shots on him if i could score them. There's a reason he sets up his D that way though. He is super fast as getting to those shots and blocking them. I've played once before a few years back, and the whole match I just tried 5 bar shots without much success which took me out of my rhythm. There's no shame in beating somebody with 5 bar shots.
