(vol.
34S, no. 6; newsletter by h.s.)
:02.1 seconds.
That was the time remaining in the game when Scott LeMatty lifted the puck over Casey, giving the Pirates one of most dramatic finishes in our team's history. Although the image of Scott receiving the pass from Tony (and patiently waiting ... waiting ... waiting ... for just the right opening as the last few second ticked-off) is engrained in my memory, the first 38:00 minutes were entirely forgettable. In fact, up until the last 6:00-minutes of the final period, you couldn't have blamed broadcasters if they switched to “Heidi” in favor of the one-sided affair. (For those non-NFL fans, this refers to the Jets-Raiders Super Bowl when NBC switched away from football — with :65 seconds remaining in the game — to the movie “Heidi” because the Jets seemingly had the game locked-up. As Russ can no doubt recount with a tear, the Raiders engineered a 14-point comeback that, ironically, no one saw.) But as #67 would say, I digress ...
From the beginning ... For the second Sunday in-a-row the Men In Black found themselves without a formidable number of starters. If all goes well our Captain may be back in the line-up as soon as next week, but joining him in absentia this night were four other regulars (Gucci, Tim, Dan and Kevin). Filling-in, however, were Marty and our long-lost center Nick Campanale. Because the Pirates only had seven skaters, we rotated four forwards and a trio of defensemen.
We skated well for the 1st period and if not for some remarkable saves by Casey, the game should have been closer at the break. Instead, the Bruins were able to score twice (both times I got a piece of them, but that doesn't help on the scoreboard) and have a comfortable lead..
During the break, Tony rallied the troops and a persistent Pirate attack ensued for most of the final 22:00 minutes. It looked as if the Bruins were satisfied with the two-goal lead and were playing more a dump-and-chase style, but Campy at last put us on the board at the 5:51-mark after Mike got him the puck. That's when the fun really began. Campy (who somehow was wearing a Pirate jersey #22 — the only officially-retired number in franchise history) would feed Joe Lyden for the game-tying tally with 2:00-minutes remaining. It looked certain the game was headed to overtime when a streaking Joe Lyden was then pulled-down with :15 seconds left in regulation. The call was made by the scorekeeper-turned-ref, but it was Victor Massino who finally had to tell his father (now in the box) to shut-up or he'd get a 4:00-minute major for referee abuse. Although the Pirate powerplay had been the weakest part of our outing, Campy won the face-off and fed it to Tony who controlled it behind the net and drew the attention of the Bruins as Scott LeMatty positioned himself on the doorstep. And the rest, as they say, is (Coastal Pirate) history.
FOR THE RECORD*
Attendance (players): Glenn, Lyden, Toscano, LeMatty, Mike, Nick C. (sub), Marty (sub). Net: Harris
Scratches: Russ, Gucci, Kevin, Dan, Tim (AWOL).
Scoring: 1st period: 2-0 Bruins. 3rd period: 3-2 Pirates: Goals by Campy (Mike), Lyden (Campy), LeMatty (Toscano, Campy), PPG.
*The accuracy of these stats are not guaranteed since they have not been reviewed by Brooks.
date of game: 8.10.08
SEÑOR JUAN PASSES
John A. Gwaltney, better known as Señor Juan, passed away last Thursday. Owner of a Belmar cigar store (that was frequented by Dave Matthews, Russ and Harris), he was a friend to the Pirates and would oftentimes stop by the post-game “meetings” with his yellow labs, Bonnie & Clyde, and hand out cigars. He will be missed.
[ read the obituary / click here ]
