(vol.
45W, no. 7; newsletter by b.n. & b.b.)
editor's note: We are pleased to again present two perspectives on a game. The first is from Brian (aka #67) Newcomb, while the second retrospective is from our substitute netminder (and soon to be Sunday netminder!) Bill Barnett. Enjoy!
From #67: You know ... It's bad enough that Harris is constantly prodding me to get the newsletter done ... But when the Captain of the Geriatrics is nagging me in the same manner, it kind of sets me off. Throw in an all-nighter of #32 (son Dave) pukin' every hour on the hour, and you got the old donkey on the edge syndrome.
But as usual, I digress. But come to think of it, things didn't start out that well on Wednesday either ...
With Harris home sleeping, the Pirates started the game in their own form of slumber, allowing the Geriatrics to jump out to a 2-goal lead. Things got a little better when #67 circled behind the Gerry net and fed #99 crashing the goal to make it 2-1.
Unfortunately the Gerrys scored again to make it 3-1 in the final period. But the Pirates did not roll over: #67 got the puck shortly thereafter and pushed the puck up to Kevin who did all the work for the goal to make it 3-2.
This was probably the point where #67 said to himself, “Hey I have two assists, let me get the 'Scarf Trick' (that would be three assists).” So on Gucci's next rush up the ice — it's not that #67 “stole” the puck from Gucci — it was more like Gucci was off balance and #67 just kind of assumed possession, and as Gucci crashed the net #67 led him just a little too far; then, in the cycling of the puck it got just a little scary when #67 dropped on a slapshot from the point. You would think that when #67 got back to the bench everyone would be asking him how he was, but instead it was Gucci who greeted him first with “Don't ever take the puck from me again!” While all this was going on ... The Geriatrics scored again. Now 4-2. But the Pirates suddenly seemed to finally awake. Take a face-off win by Kenny (and subsequent shot that gave him the unassisted tally) and then Kevin would score his second of the night to finally tie the game at 4-2 with under 5:00-minutes to go. But unfortunately the Captain of the Geriatrics have been checking the Coastal Pirate newsletter every day for the past four days for a reason ... they were able to score the go ahead
Gerrys score the winner with 2:05 left in regulation ... well at least Nick G brought the beer.
The Stunt-Goalie’s Perspective (from Bill Barnett):
I made the disclaimer that I was getting used to some new pads before the game. After the first goal, Eddie skated by and jokingly said: “I don't like those new pads, my friend.” With the early tension broken, I think we all settled in a little. After a couple of bad bounces that lead to a few goals back and forth, the Pirates fought very hard to tie it up at 4-4. With a few minutes to go, our opponents tossed up a Hail Mary pass that fell in front of a speedy skater rushing into our zone. The puck was a little ahead of him and I saw an opening to get to it first and a black jersey I could pass to, with the intention of creating a rush back in the other direction. The good news was that I did reach the puck first ... The bad news is that I have no business passing a hockey puck with a goal stick. It just didn't get enough air to sail over the forward's stick and he made an incredibly athletic play on the puck, giving him an open net while I was still way out of position. On the whole, it was a decent game. For those who are concerned, I am happy to report that after another “fill-in” gig on Friday, my new pads and I are getting along much better and have a new-found respect for each other.
FOR THE RECORD
Attendance (players): Cassens, Genalo, Gesior, Gucci, LeMatty, Matthews, McLaughlin, Miller, Newcomb, Nicolosi. Net: Barnett.
Scratches: none.
Scoring: 1st period: 3-1 Geratrics: Goal by Nicolosi (Newcomb). 3rd period: 5-4 Geriatrics: Goals by McLaughlin (Newcomb); Genalo (none); McLaughlin (none).
date of game: 2.23.11
THE SAME LEAGUE ... MORE OR LESS
Leagues fees dropped by a $450/team for the Spring seasons. Expect this to mean a per Pirate reduction of about $30/each (you forgot about the ref fees eh?). The League is hoping this will bring in more teams, especially on Sunday which has been struggling with five squads for the past year.
