SUNDAYS #3 vs. BLIZZARD:

(vol. 15S, no. 3; newsletter by c.g.)
The Coastal Pirates came in to this week's game against the rival Blizzard sporting a 1-1 record and looking to get back on track after suffering a tough loss the week before. The Pirates had ten skaters, missing only Glenn Farkas for the third week (Glenn may, in fact, end up missing the entire season — we'll keep you all posted on his progress). The defense was our usual strong lineup of Russ-McLaughlin and Richardson-Farrell, while the forwards were a combination of LeMatty-Ferraro-DiPierro and the line of Ralz-Wildman-Goione.

The 1st period began with the Pirates playing the role of “visitors” due to the unfamiliar bench assignments when the Blizzard stole our usual side. The Pirates rebounded from this change and got on the board quickly when #19 put a shot past the stunned goalie on the shortside for the 1-0 lead; I purposely used the word stunned, because I don't think the goalie had ever seen such a pathetic shot before (but what the heck they all count on the scoresheet). Speaking of scoresheets: In case anyone missed it, Wildman began the play deep in his own end and fed it up to Russ who lasered a perfect pass to #19, who then proceeded to ... well you know the rest. That combination almost put another one on the board seconds later when Russ waited and then fired a shot on net which #19 redirected into the goalie's chest. The defense were playing a tight game and jumping into the plays regularly to offer even more scoring chances. Because of this, Harris had to be “on” as a few of our rushes resulted in odd-man rushes the other way; as the period wound down, though, he got every one of them.

The 2nd period picked-up right where the 1st one left off, when the line of LeMatty-Ferraro-DiPierro went to work; Scott was the beneficiary of a beautiful setup from both Dan and Jimmy and put away a goal on a pretty play for the 2-0 lead. The Blizzard got one back though, when Pat Geer was able to take advantage of a breakaway that beat Harris high, gloveside for the 2-1 score. As is often the case when we play the Blizzard, the play got a little dirty — elbows and checking came out early and never went away through the final buzzer, but the Pirates got a few opportunities off the powerplay. Kevin had several end-to-end rushes during the period, but couldn't get the puck to go. Both Russ and Mike jumped up on several occasions, while the defensive-minded Richardson stayed at home most of the night (hey someone's gotta do it). So at the end of two periods the Pirates seemed to be controlling the play although we only had the lead by one goal.

The 3rd period saw the feistiness pick up as both teams struggled for an advantage. Dan DiPierro took Keith out behind our net, injuring his groin (we really need to aim Dan at the other team, as I am still nursing a sore knee from a similar collision with him from two weeks ago). For his part, however, Dan was on this night; he once again got his name on the scoresheet as he and LeMatty both assisted on another Jimmy Ferraro goal (incidentally Jimmy has scored at least one goal in each of his games since his return — which is probably some sort of Pirate record — but I'm sure we've jinxed that now). Ralz would add his name to the scoresheet a little later, unfortunately it would be in the penalty column as he absolutely creamed a Blizzard player, and then got jumped by another skating halfway across the ice to tackle him from behind. Wildman would add the final tally of the evening when he won the face-off towards #19 deep in the Blizzard zone; #19 only had the puck for a brief instant when Wildman literally took it away from him, and put it on net for the 4-1 lead (incidentally #19 was looking to pass the puck back to the point on the play so Wildman's choice was probably a better one!). Throughout the game Harris provided the type of steady goaltending that can sometimes go overlooked by just looking at the score. He was consistently steady, and made the big saves when he had to. Next Week the Pirates face-off against the Bruins, and hope to jump to two games over .500.