SUNDAYS #6 vs. BRUINS:

(vol. 18S, no. 6; newsletter by c.g.)
The winless Sunday Pirates laced them up for another ugly game this past weekend when they faced their arch rival Bruins. To add insult to injury, the lineup was depleted for a multitude of reasons and the Pirates began with a severely-depleted bench — only icing a mere six players to start the game (Kevin joined in the 2nd period after wishing his grandmother a happy 95th birthday). As it turns out, Kevin and Scooby played ironman hockey as the only two defenseman, while Glenn, #19, Wildman, Ralz, and longtime Pirate Allen (in a subbing role), manned the forward spots. Sadly Scott LeMatty — who certainly could have helped us — was a victim of the fine GoodSports front desk help who told him the game was at 6:00 p.m. instead of the 5:00 p.m.

Normally I like playing the Bruins; for whatever reason we seem to match up to them well, and the games are usually close and competitive. The first half of this game seemed like it would be that type of game: Glenn Farkas stole a puck early in the 1st period and raced in alone for a breakaway goal to give us the 1-0 lead; that lead was short-lived however, as Gucci quickly weaved his way in (yes, he actually did weave past a couple of guys) to knot things up 1-1 at the first break.

Both teams settled-in for a little back-and-forth, end-to-end action. Ralz scored a goal in the 2nd period to once again give us the lead, but the die was cast and the Pirates appeared more tired with each passing shift. At the end of the 2nd, the Bruins had overtaken us and given themselves a comfortable 5-2 lead.

Even Scooby's goal late in the 3rd period gave little cause for celebration as the Pirates finally succumbed to the onslaught of pressure from the full-squaded Bruin team. Everyone played as hard as they could, and the effort was good, but when you are short like that it eventually takes its toll. This has been a long season already, and now the Pirates are poised for another “perfect season” — a season with no wins.