After the debacle of the previous game, the McFet Red Liners 95th tried to regroup against one of the higher skilled teams, Top Shelf. After giving up 3 unanswered goals in the first period, the Liners clawed their way back to tie the game. Unfortunately, the penalties would doom their come back and lead to a 5-3 loss.
The Liners suited up twelve players instead of the expected thirteen and shuffled the players around. This left a slightly weaker defense than expected. Also the centers changed and had to cycle frequently. A sign of things to come came from an early penalty from Maroony that resulted in a goal. The Shelf would notch another goal on a scramble for the puck in front of the Liners’ net. The missing thirteenth player, Judge Dreddy, hopped onto the ice but quickly drew a hooking penalty. This resulted in another power play goal.
With a full bench, all the lines tried to settle down and get into sync. The offensive pressure by the Liners increased as the fully complimented D tried to clamp down on the Shelfs’ two superstars, #25 and #14. The stick-on-stick matchups increased in this period too. Several Shelf players repeated complained to the refs but to no result. With the game settling down and the period winding, the Shelf D became lax. Gordie Jr skated unhindered and picked up a blocked shot in the Shelf’s zone and shot into the open net. The Liners were now only down 2 goals after two periods.
The guys and gal in red tried to carry on that momentum into the third period. And they succeeded for at least the first half. Jesse when pull them within a goal after he pushed in the puck at a mad scramble in front of the Shelf net. Just a few minutes later, Kryan found an open hole and shot the puck through it to tie up the game. At that point, the Shelfs’ offense turned it up again with dazzling puck control and finding a crack just inside the post to push the puck in. In the closing minute, one last penalty by the Liners would eventually lead to another power play goal, the Shelfs’ fourth, and a two goal lead that could not be overcome.
While the overall team effort was better by showing stamina and resolve to fight back against a strong team, the penalties and trouble breaking out would doom the game. In future games, the forwards will try to sync better with the D and carry pucks out the zone quicker and in a more organized manner. The senseless clearing no one and swiping aimlessly will need to be suppressed. They meet up against the High Rollers at 10:50pm on April 21.