Final at HNA.com (where I am credited w/ Decoy's penalty) Icemen - 4 Thunder - 5 Mills Shopgasm Arena | Attendance - almost 8!
Ahh..."You smell that? I love the smell of victory in the morning...smells like...napalm." Or something like that. It was as refreshing as a just-tapped beer. It was better than a massage from the Swedish bikini team. Almost as good as hand relief from a Czech transvestite in a Prague alley (or so my brother says...I wouldn't know).
But enough of Decoy Jansky'ssordidpast. His present includes him buzzing all over the ice last night like a hypercaffeinated Beavis. Nice forechecking, brother.
Winning a closely contested game against a division rival who spanked us 9-3 last time was, simply, sweet. It started with, well, a strong start. Again. No early lead this time, but this is encouraging: three games in a row now where we've come out with jump, not flat. Maybe the "Montreal" drill is helping get our legs moving and our feel for the puck back sooner (Or maybe it's the cocktail of depo-testosterone and some sort of fish paralyzer that Lee's been putting in everybody's water). Not that one would notice in my performance, since I bobbled away about 5 wide-open shooting opportunities in the slot.
Anyway, we let their big line get the first goal, but we answered back when Rob's rising point shot scared me into batting it down in self-defense. Rob having taught me how to defend myself, I ended up tipping a few more of Wiggins' cannons throughout the game, though "making contact" was about all I had to show for it (I try to keep Tom from getting assists, if I can help it).
The shot heard 'round the...mall Then in the 2nd, "It only takes one wrist to please" Garrett stroked home a low 5-hole goal to give us the lead. Copeland quickly followed that up with a Sergio Momesso-esque, booming slapshot from the blueline that stunned everyone, including, most importantly, the helpless Ice keeper. Wow, upper corner, end of the shift, blistering shot complete with aesthetically pleasing bulge in the back of the net. Where was cinematographer Hoagland The Greater when you need him?
Copeland's goal made it 3-1, and its artistry combined with the sudden two-goal lead seemed to take the wind out of their sails for a while. They eventually crawled back and got us running around a few times, but it seemed key to shock them a bit and get them bearing down for the comeback.
So sure, they tied it -- on a seeing-eye backhand that bedevilled K-Feld, and it was 3-3 going into the third. No matter, we had them right where we wanted them.
They tried putting their All-Star line against our third line (although, honestly, I thought *we* were the ones matching our checking line to keep them down), but Mouser, Carlton, and the Gov'na did a very impressive job of staying on them. I'm told Mouser also gave #66 a regular earful of his own special Charmed brand of Tikkanenese. (Something about "Alyssa Milano has a nicer kikki funnta daan nuurminemenem than you.") That line also pressed in the offensive zone quite a bit, taking advantage of their 'D.'
Meanwhile, Adam's line with Cope' and Mike K. sustained offensive pressure but got mostly tough luck to show for it. It didn't help that they were killing penalties for much of the first half of the game, as the one ref made a habit of calling rinky-dinky magic trips from the other side of the rink, single-handedly wrecking the Lady Bing candidacies of Decoy and Lee (I guess he thought Lee was the other Hoagland).
Yes, that was the same ref who told me to "Play hockey" (extra clever points!) when I complained after he just watched me be molested from one end of the rink to the other and back. I figured I'd lost him right there, but he did end up penalizing them for a few other molestations late in the third, so perhaps he had even seen enough pain for one night.
Skating + Backchecking + Smarts = Victory The big go-ahead goal came from Garrett, who pounded and pounded away at the rebound of Wiggins' shot from the circle to the left of the Ice net. That is why we don't give up until the whistle blows! We got an ultimately important insurance goal amid the parade of power plays and 4-on-4s late in the game, with their Ice goalie defining the word "gift" by watching my fluttering rebound wobble past him. Their fourth goal came with just 8 seconds left, as we took advantage of our cushion by icing the puck and playing it safe and smart.
Of the missed opportunities of the night, it pains me but I must mention how many spectacular rushes Stenson had with the puck. I don't know what kind of nutritional supplements he was taking down in the Caribbean, but that his moves and charges didn't result in a goal last night is a shame. But I think he's growing to like the Walker stat line.
All in all, a sweet night. All three lines moving hard and cycling. Defense marking up and moving the puck (and having people to move it to, since we were coming back in our zone). And K-Feld standing on his white-rapper head when we needed it most.
We were missing Irv, who's workload for The Man and strange fascination with roller hockey will keep him away for the rest of the season. And of course Hoagland The Greater, who may or may not be out with some sort of illness that only financial managers get. Or perhaps he went up to Modelo numero 8 on the wild "Hoagland Hedonist Holiday" family trip to California.
Post-game Addendum: Perhaps enticed by the prospect of a waitress and her tales of convicted-shoplifter-boyfriends, an unprecedented nine Thunderers made it to the Dorsett for post-game congratulatory breeze-shooting, where Decoy busted Walker for talking without his teeth in. No waitress stories on this night, but if we keep this up, Stenson will have to open up a new Pub & House of Riff-Raff just for us.
Next Game: Wed., Jan. 17; 10:45 @ Webster vs. the Stampede (we are away/dark)
Comments (2) for "'Play hockey' and other acts...
Awesome, total team effort against a skilled adversary. So much fun! K-Feld was as tight as an Asian undergrad. The only hypercaffination was by you Dom, who seems to lap everyone at will, including your more senior wingmen. Garrett's intensive "rehab work" with late night Cinemax "training videos" has done wonders. Thankfully the Icemen's slapshot is of a far less caliber than Wiggins's or Rob's, otherwise the shot I took to my wrist as I autorotated like a caught fish with my usual composure and finess to block one would have required similar work. As for Prague, it doesnt count against you if you dont know it was a transvestite until afterwards. Great Game, all!
By Martin "Decoy" Jansky, aka Cornholio - 1/10/2007 6:21 AM
Momesso? I was thinking more Wayne Babych (Momesso was a lefty) Great game everyone, I was thrilled and honored to be part of such a strong team effort but now I dont know what I am going to do if I am called as a witness before a federal grand jury, before now I just thought my head was naturally getting larger.
As you may have noticed, the site has changed. Sampa, the free-site host, did a version 2 of some sort.
Despite an FAQ that made it sound like allowing one's site to go through v.2 surgery would be okay, there were several flexibilities that surprisingly disappeared with the click of a button. (e.g. I cannot believe sidebars like this one are even narrower than before.)
And I'm told -- miraculously! -- that the conversion cannot be undone. Truth be told, I'm actually quite pissed. But free is free. Sampa has otherwise been good to me.
So I need to sort through site "features" to see how I can make do. Except that I don't have the time at the moment, in the middle of graduate classes and Lighthousehockey.com. (btw, I've removed that Lighthouse RSS feed so that you're not clogged with random Islanders hockey gibberish).
But I promise to touch up the accessories when I get a chance, and return to irregularly scheduled blogging.
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(where I am credited w/ Decoy's penalty)
Comments (2) for "'Play hockey' and other acts...