Coming in with the best record in the entire C2 division, the expectations were high for the Red Liners. And with their tendency to play down to the level of their opponents, they tried their best to not fall into that trap. But the Pirates had a different plan. Though they were the ninth seed (out of ten), they had 7 wins and 2 ties. Further look into their record made it obvious that if their bench was full, they would be a tough team to beat. Tonight, they brought 14 skaters. But so did the Red Liners.
In the first period, the teams were sizing up each other. Both squads were playing an aggressive forechecking strategy. Red Liners used their passing and puck handling. The Pirates used their speed. Toe would get the scoring started at the seven minute mark by with a backhand shot that slip passed the sprawled Pirate goalie. But the Pirates quickly answered back with a bouncing puck over Bigfield’s leg pad who had saved a goal out of the air just seconds prior. The Voice would power his way through the Pirate defense and deflect Twink’s cross-slot rocket pass into the net. But the Pirates kept nagging away as they tied it up a mere two minutes later. Twink would regain the lead for the Red Liners with a minute left in the period after slamming the puck through a hole just inside the far post. Penalties were called on both sides but neither team could capitalize on the man advantages. This was a sign of further roughhouse to come.
The second period was a back and forth affair as the Pirates took more changes with breakout chances and long bomb passes to speedy forwards. Bigfield held his own and made several key saves. The Voice would bump up the goal difference off B-hole’s pass to the slot. After drawing a penalty in the middle of the period, the Red Liners got called for one. The Pirates would quickly score on the 4-on-4 scramble to bring them back within one goal. Once again, The Voice came to the rescue off Double D’s perfect breakout pass to him which eventually found the five hole. The period would end with the Red Liners up 5-3.
With the two goal deficits, the Red Liners expected the Pirates to throw everything they had at them. This would include multiple players attacking Bigfield, deep pucks, and quick breakouts. And they were correct. Eventually, the Pirates did find a hole in Bigfield’s defenses and moved within one. But the Red Liners stuci with their plan. More penalties by newly wed Seefy added pressure to defense. They continued to weather that storm by battling along the boards, in the corners, and in front of the net. In the closing minutes, Baby would provide the insurance goal after tipping in a loose rebound near the net. With the waning seconds and a pulled goalie. the Pirate skaters could not avoid Donna Miller, Sobo, and Bleech from clearing them in the ice around Bigfield. The final buzzard sounded to the scattered cursing of Pirate players.
The predictions on the Pirates were correct. A bigger bunch was a bigger threat. What the Red Liners could not anticipate was that it was the Pirate’s speed that was their best weapon. Luckily, the Red Liners managed their lines and adjusted their strategy to neutralize that advantage as best as they could. With the win, the Red Liners will be facing off Hawkauto.com on Aug 23, at noon. In their only matchup, nine Red Liners faced off with seven Hawkauto skaters. After a slow start, the Liners won 8-5. However, half of those opponents are not eligible for the players. The Liners will be shooting at a 4.26 GAA goalie and play against possibly nine skaters (maximum number eligible). The Red Liners hope to overpower Hawkauto with their 15 skater strong lineup.
Their was an upset in the other bracket with the seventh seeded Ogilvy shutout the second seeded Screeching Monkeys. It is difficult to take much away from this game as both teams only had seven skaters. Ogilby now meets up with the third seeded, Feeny Flyers.