(vol.
30W, no. 1; newsletter by h.s.)
Question: What's the difference between the GoodSports Blackhawks and the NHL Blackhawks?
Answer: The GoodSports Blackhawks make the Playoffs.
After a hard-fought pre-season game against the Bottom Feeders last week, the Coastal Pirates began their quest for back-to-back Titles. Although our roster is the same, our division has changed: The Pirates are now card-carrying members of the “Red” Division (aka the A-division). Even though we were without #67 and Brooks for our first game of the new season, we still fielded a full ten-man crew. Up front we had Craig, Russ, The Miller Bros. and (subs) Scott Lematty and Dan DiPierro. Manning the blueline was Gucci, Dave, Wildman and soon-to-be-39-year-old Mike Farrell.
Things were off to an ominous start even before the first puck was dropped. Gucci had eaten a “bloomin' onion” for dinner and it was returning with a vengeance— so much so, that at one point the scorekeeper and myself had to literally clear the area. The Pirates held their own for nearly the entire 1st period, including a great penalty kill (too many men). With just over 3:00-minutes remaining though, the Blackhawks broke the 0-0 tie. The score was deceivingly close, however, as most of the period was played in the Pirate zone.
The Blackhawks doubled their lead on the first shift of the next period when they scored from the point. A few minutes later, a seemingly-harmless defensive zone faceoff that we won ping-ponging off a bunch of players and into our net. (Later in the period — in an eerily-similar sequence — a puck skirted across our crease and Mike yelled, “Oh no, not again!”) Although the Pirates had the occasional run up ice (including a few memorable rushes by Craig and Scott LeMatty), the Hawks for the most part were putting on a passing exhibition. Late in the period, they added two more, including one with :27 seconds remaining. Perhaps the silver lining of this game was that it was so physically exhausting that Wildman couldn't even torment the racoon at the post-game “meeting.”
date of game: 6.11.07
TIED FOR FIRST!
With the demise of the Crunch, the reigning B-division champion Pirates were moved to the A-division for the Summer. For a brief moment (before the 18:00-minute mark of the 1st period Monday night) the Pirates were locked in a four-way tie for the division lead.
