WEDNESDAYS #7 vs. DUCKS:

(vol. 26W, no. 7; newsletter by h.s.)
The infamous July 3rd game — a game that the Pirates fought to postpone — went off without a hitch ... or a scoreboard. Thanks to some creative subbing (including Mike Farrell, Joe Baio and Kevin McLaughlin on a bulked-up blueline), the Pirates fielded a full 10-man roster. This was in stark comparison to the five “ironmen” on the Ducks side of the bench. Thankfully the Pirates were able to break out the alternate white jerseys since most of the team hadn't had a chance to do laundry since the previous night's outing versus the Kings.

Gucci, #67, and Craig all tallied goals during the 1st period to give the Pirates a solid 3-0 lead against the Brooks-led Ducks. Scott Miller assisted on Brian's goal and the ever-humble Gucci was the one to send (in his words) “a mind-bending pass right on the tape of Craig's stick” for the eventual gamewinner. In the absence of a scoreboard (a victim from the previous night's storm), every minute for the last 5:00 minutes of play Adam-the-Scorekeeper's voice boomed over the P.A. system to announce how much time remained. The bizarreness was punctuated by Adam's amazingly-loud, man-made horn sound to signal the end of the period.

Craig, Scott Miller, and #67 would rattle-off goals in the opening 17:00 minutes of the final period, giving the Pirates an outrageous 6-0 lead against an obviously-winded Ducks squad. But no sooner had the Pirates joked about allowing a goal so the game wouldn't end due to a “Mercy,” then did Brooks fire a shot that glanced-off my left pad to erase the shut-out bid. Just one minute later the reinvigorated Ducks forced a defensive-zone turnover and scored their second of the game. If nothing else, the back-to-back goals seemed to signal that all bets were off and the Pirates answered back with two of their own: The first, a blast from Kevin; and the second, a shot in the closing seconds to seal the hattrick for Craig (assist to Mike). And that was that ... or as Adam-the-Scorekeeper said at the end of the game: “BRRRREEEEEEEEP!”
date of game: 7.03.06

editor's note: The post-game “meeting” has comfortably relocated to its new, brightly-lit Eastern location. The Pirates that attended were treated to some Heineken Lights® courtesy of Kevin, who was promptly paying his “Fine” (and more) from the previous evening.