SUNDAYS #7 vs. JAGUARS A:

(vol. 12S, no. 7; newsletter by c.g.)
Going into last evenings game the Pirates were a dreadful 1-3-2 on the season. If you throw in the Wednesday team's record of 0-3, you can see that 2002 ended on a sour note — to say the least. So here we are, in a brand new year ready to atone for the misfortune of the recent past. Our opponents for the evening were the Jaguars A — certainly no slouches there, but a team we have matched-up with well in the past.

The Pirates started the evening with nine skaters (as we were missing both Jim Ferraro and Mike Farrell — editor's note: beer fines will be levied!). The offensive lines consisted of Ralz-LeMatty-DiPierro and Wildman-Goione-Farkas, while a three-man rotation of Scooby-Weiss-Nicolosi manned the blueline.

The 1st period started-off with a bang, as Scooby blasted home a rebound off a Nicolosi shot at the 1:00 minute mark to complete the “all defensive” score. The Pirates were tested shortly thereafter, as Russ was sent to the box just 2:00 minutes into the game with a slashing penalty; the Pirates killed that one off and even registered some pressure, as Farkas and Goione got off several good shots while shorthanded. The score remained 1-0 through the remainder of the period, as Harris and the defense were able to keep the Jags off the board during a last-minute flurry.

The Jaguars answered right back to start the 2nd, however, as Giordano one-timed a pass from behind the net for the game-tying goal less than :30 seconds into the period. The Jaguars just seemed to turn it on from there, as they scored their second goal 2:30 minutes later on a Gucci blast from the left point through a maze of bodies in the defensive zone. By the time the 10:00 minute mark rolled around, the Jaguars had a commanding 4-1 lead, and the Pirates took a time-out to try and gather themselves together.

In the 3rd period, Russ gathered his second penalty of the evening when he leveled a Jaguar player trying to dipsy-doodle his way into the slot; the Pirates almost killed off the powerplay, but the Jaguars found two-men open just above the crease with less than :05 seconds remaining and blasted a goal topshelf for the 5-1 lead. The Pirates battled hard for the remainder of the 3rd period, and Ralz was able to draw us one closer at the 12:00 minute mark with an off-angle shot from that caught Casey flatfooted (assist to Dan).

And so it was to be, after seven games the Pirates stand at a disappointing 1-4-2, and probably out of any playoff scenarios. Next week when we play the Jaguars B, we will face the only team we have managed to beat this season — but as everyone knows, we may just find ourselves matched-up against the same team as Sunday evening.