WEDNESDAYS #4 vs. JAGUARS:

(vol. 13W, no. 4; newsletter by k.r.)
Remember when Wednesday was Sunday at Carvel? Well Monday was Wednesday at GoodSports as the Pirates skated against one of the many Jaguars lineups. For many it was the second games in two nights, but with our shortened bench for both outings, it seemed that our collective tanks were a little empty. Could an extra player or two been the difference tonight?

The 1st period began with a five-man forward line rotation of Russ-Chris G-Evan-Jimmy-Wildman. The “D” was Mike Farrell-Keith-Glen Chambers (who would later hurt a knee, but still hang in for rest of the game). Within the first few minutes the Pirates were awarded a powerplay on a highly-questionable slash and it was obvious that this referee was going to call every little thing. Nothing came of this powerplay but it helped the Pirates to bring the play to the Jags instead of the other way around. When the Jags did threaten, Harris was there. As luck would have it, the only scoring came on a scuffle inside the crease that was banged-in by #82 Wright (Chris' new best friend — I'm sure everyone saw the exchange of pleasantries between Chris and #82 on the opening face-off). On the next shift, however, the Pirates got right back on the board as Russ picked up a cross-ice pass (which seems to becoming a habit) from Mike Farrell and came down the left side to score and tie things up at 1-1.

The 2nd period stuck to the same script as the 1st, with the only difference being the oddman advantages awarded to the Pirates (during a 5-on-3, we were able to get a little cycle going, but weren't able to convert). In the end, however, it was the Jags who scored again when Goione's #82 Wright “buried” a shot by spearing Harris' legpad and forcing the puck in for the 2-1 advantage.

Better action in the 3rd: As the Jags were beginning to tire, the Pirates picked-up their pace and held the puck in the offensive zone for much of the period. The Jags converted one more oddman rush, however, for the two-goal lead and that score remained until the 4:00 minute mark. Then, when a Jags' defenseman tried to wrap the puck around the far boards, Keith held the puck in the zone and fed Russ in front for another slapper that would close the gap to 3-2. The comeback ended, though, with an emptynetter by the Jags. A good effort none the less. Remember, a bad night on the rink is better than most anything else.

And because this my first newsletter (subbing for Brian) I will add the following for those who miss the usual writing style of the Wednesday newsletters: #67 #67 #67 #67 #67 #67 #67 #67 #67 #67 #67 #67 #67 #67 #67