WEDNESDAYS #3 vs. TILE CUTTERS:

(vol. 17W, no. 3; newsletter by k.r.)
With the NHL trade deadline just seven days away, players can get understandably nervous about their hockey futures and not play at their best; it took the Coastal Pirates about half of this game to realize that the deadline does not apply to them. How else could you explain the 6-0 hole they built for themselves against an opponent that is sound, but a peer nonetheless. This game ended 7-4 as the Pirates tightened it up and outplayed the defending “B” Division Champs in the second half of the contest. On offense, Russ skated between Chris and Scott LeMatty, and Wildman was between Scooby and Brian (both Scooby and #67 filled-in for the missing Miller Bros. who were experiencing the sounds of Deep Purple in concert, while “The Bull” took the place of Craig Sudol); the “D” rotation was Dave, Mike and Keith.

The recap of the 1st period goes as follows: shot, goal Tile Cutters. Shot, goal Tile Cutters. Shot, goal Tile Cutters. Shot, goal Tile Cutters. Shot, goal Tile Cutters. You get the picture. Being that this is the Pirates website, the 1st period recap is now over. Where was the defense?

On to the 2nd period: Goal Tile Cutters. Then the bleeding seemed to stop. And leave it to our Captain Russ to apply the pressure to the wound; his tally on a great pass from Scott would get the line of Russ-Chris-Scott (as well as the team) going. If you ask the Tile Cutters they will say they sat back when they were up 6-0 — while this may have been true at first, it was the Pirates who took over the game from that point on. Before the 2nd was over the Pirates would add two tallies from Chris: The first on a dump out from Keith that Scott skated to and fed to Chris in the slot; the second on a giveaway that Chris intercepted after flattening one of their forwards at center ice. Both his back-to-back goals were high and to the gloveside, and they cut the lead in half by the second buzzer.

In the 3rd, the Tile Cutters would score first on a bad clearing pass from the Pirates defense. Each team held the other in check from then on out. The scoring would be closed-out in the final 1:00 minute when Scott would bang in a loose puck in the crease. Oh, and before I forget: #67, #67, #67.