SUNDAYS #9 vs. ZOMBIES:

(vol. 18S, no. 9; newsletter by c.g.)
Who would ever have guessed that the Red Stars would be responsible for the Coastal Pirates making the playoffs. After compiling a dismal 1-6-1 record (and that one win was against a team with no goaltender), the Pirates found themselves in a must-win situation in order to make the playoffs. As fate would have it, the Red Stars' alternate captain Rob Guimaraes joined the Men In Black in a subbing role, and ended-up vaulting them over the top-seeded Zombies for the win and giving them the edge over the Jaguars as a playoff seed. Absent from this week's game were Richardson and the Haskell-bound pair of LeMatty and Russ;

As the story goes, Guimaraes arrived late for his own game and was recruited by the shorthanded Pirates because he “wanted to skate some more.” Wildman-Guimaraes-Goione, formed one forward line with Ralz-Farkas-DiPierro as the other forwards. The blueline was handled by the rotation of Farrell-Scooby-Kevin, with Harris between the pipes. The Zombies took an early lead, but the Pirates were playing well and generating some chances of their own.

Early in the 2nd period, Ralz would cross the opposition blueline and pass to new father Farkas (his daughter Ella Grace was born just the week before) in the slot for a quick Pirate goal. Guimaraes added two more tallies in the 2nd giving us the commanding 3-1 lead at the second buzzer.

The Zombies started the 3rd with a flurry, but Harris and the defense turned away each Zombie advance with little trouble. Guimaraes finished up his hattrick and added an assist when he and Goione raced in alone on a 2-on-0 for the final tally. It wasn't until after the game that the Pirates found out they had made the playoffs — and only because they edged-out the Jags by having more “goals for.” Now if we could beat the Zombies for a second week in a row, this improbable season could chug its way into a Final's berth. One game at a time though, and at least we get to move forward.