SUNDAYS #9 vs. FLYERS:

(vol. 9S, no. 9; newsletter by t.h.)
As it turned out, this game was played on Cinco de Mayo with a small band of Pirates fighting against the mighty Flyers of the A-Division. The usual domination by the Flyers reared its ugly head early when they were able to score on their first shot of the game at the :24 second mark. Such a blow would usually deflate a team, but the shortened bench of the Pirates appeared not to be phased by this minor setback; the Pirates began to apply some offensive punch of their own and scored two goals to take a 2-1 lead midway through the 1st period. The goals were by Jimmy Ferraro and Chris Goione with assists going to Glenn Farkas and John “Wildman” Cassens, respectively. It's too bad that games last 45:00 minutes and not 8:00 minutes, because the Flyers picked-up the pace and began to pass the puck with a little more finesse and take some quality shots. Our fearless goaltender was able to turn away the majority of their scoring chances on some remarkable 'tending. However, the Flyers put two shots behind Harris and ended the period leading 3-2.

The 2nd period saw more of the same Flyers domination. They tacked on an additional three goals. The low point of the game occurred with less than 1:00-minute remaining when the Pirates had an offensive rush: Ralz drove to the net a little too hard and bumped the goalie which dislodged the net; as this was occurring, Glenn fired a shot which found the back of the net, but the goal was disallowed. The 2nd period ended 6-2.

In the 3rd period, the Pirates scored an early goal and then were awarded a powerplay. On the goal, Scott LeMatty bullied his way along the boards past a few Flyers and fed Ralz in the slot. The Flyers goaltender made the save on the initial shot, but Ralz was able to backhand a shot to the top corner of the net. During the powerplay, we couldn't control the puck long enough in the offensive zone to generate any scoring chances. When the extra-man situation ended, the Flyers began skating and shooting and scored four more goals. In between, Scott LeMatty scored for the Pirates as he and Glenn Farkas drove to the net on scoring opportunity.

LOST 10-4

THE
SILVER
SKULLS

1) HARRIS
In a bizarre chapter in Pirate history, Harris is nominated by three teammates for a Silver Skull after allowing 10 goals (from emails: “You were like the Bear in the bee-hive — you can swat away 60 or 70 shots but sheer numbers say you are going to get stung a few times” and “Score should have been 20-4” and “He shut them down on several breakaways, and point-blank opportunities”).

2) SCOTT LeMATTY
Scott volunteered to bulk-up our defensive corps and still had 2 points! (from an email: “Scott LeMatty is my hero — carrying Glenn Farkas on his back and still scoring that last goal”).

3) CHRIS GOIONE
If there is an ESPY for “best goal” in our league, Chris would get a nomination. He received a long feed from Wildman and lunged for the just out-of-reach puck, and somehow managed to lift it over the Flyers' goalie.