WEDNESDAYS #5 vs. MISFITS:

(vol. 10W, no. 5; newsletter by c.g.)
For our first game back after an unexpected hiatus, the Coastal Pirates drew the Misfits. After such a long period away from the game there would undoubtedly be some rust to shake off for both teams ... so the Coastal Pirates made their return to the ice on a hot July evening hoping to come out of the Olympic break primed for the stretch run into the playoffs.

The 1st period started out strong as the line of the Miller brothers plus Russ, kept the puck in the attacking zone for almost their entire first shift. LeMatty and Roger manned the points, and helped to keep the forwards moving by not letting the puck clear the zone on several Misfit attempts. As the first shift was winding down, Russ feathered a perfect pass through the slot to a wide open Scott Miller who buried the puck for the early 1-0 lead. The second line of Goione, and the two Glen(n)s (Farkas and Chambers — who was making his own return to the offensive ranks following nearly a year on defense) kept the pressure on, but couldn't convert although they had some good attempts. Manning the blueline on the second line was defensive stalwart Dave Matthews and, making a return to competitive play after an 8-year absence from the game, Keith Richardson. The Miller brothers line would produce again quickly as Scott picked up an errant puck, and fired an off-angle shot that beat the goalie for Scott's second of the night. The Glen(n)s line would also get on the board in the 1st, as Goione buried a Chambers' pass give the Pirates a dominant 3-0 lead at the end of the 1st. Overall, the Pirates played a pretty solid period; they narrowly missed several more scoring opportunities, but also denied any real Misfit offensive pressure.

Unfortunately the 2nd period wasn't as productive, as the near misses kept coming and the Misfits were able to muster a bit of their own offensive pressure. Evan Miller looked like he may give his brother Scott a little competition for the evening, but just couldn't put away a couple of chances. The Misfits continued to pressure, and finally got on the board as a Misfit player scooped-up a bouncing puck and put one by Harris high glove-side, as it glanced-off a defenseman's stick in front. With their goal the Misfits had some new life and started to press, but the Pirates continued to turn away any good scoring chances and closed-out the period with the 3-1 lead.

The 3rd period started with both teams knowing that the next goal was huge. Up until this point the Pirates had outplayed the Misfits with not a lot to show for it — that would change in the 3rd as the team would finally start getting rewarded for their efforts. Dave Matthews headed out for the 3rd period face-off admonishing everyone to "just put the puck on net"; just a few short moments later, Dave did just that with a shot from center ice that seemed to handcuff their goalie and bounce in. Shortly after, Russ (who had played his usual strong game) faked right, left, than right again to beat the defenseman and place one of his patented wristers to beat the goalie high in the far corner for the 5-1 Pirate lead. To continue this offensive output, Richardson (who looked steady all night on defense), made a beautiful outlet pass to Goione that sent him on a breakaway only to be denied by a sprawling goalie. Goione would get revenge later in the shift as he netted his second of the night (assist to Glenn Farkas), that the goalie partially blocked, but could do nothing except watch as it trickled in. Scott LeMatty finished the scoring in the closing minutes as he took a puck end-to-end and deked the goalie for the unassisted score and the 7-1 Pirate victory — our first win of the Wednesday season.