The Johnny’s Red Liners continued to move into uncharted territory with there latest game against the Black Sheep. The matchup did look lopsided on paper. At the start of the game, the Black Sheep were already at a disadvantage by only having 7 sk
aters. The Red Liners also had a bad habit of playing down to their opponents and losing games that they should have easily won. Tonight ended that practice as the Red Liners easily beat the Black Sheep, 8-1.
The scoring began within the first minutes of the period as Jimmie picked up a loose puck behind the Sheep net and fired a backhand shot past the unsuspected Sheep netminder. The defense jumped in for the second goal as Sobo fired a slapshot through the legs of Baby who apparently did not deflect it. However, the puck did end up bouncing through the Sheep goalie’s five hole. Baby would close the period out with 2 goals of his own. First, the Druck held back a breakaway attempt by the Black Sheep. He float the puck to Baby who sprinted into the Sheep zone and fire a pinpoint accurate slapshot into the upper Sheep net. For Baby’s second goal, Mixy’s threw a quick pass to a waiting Baby who knocked it easily past the Sheep goalie.
With more Red Liner reinforcements appearing and a tired Black Sheep team, Don Juan notched up the 5th goal by parking himself by the far post where he one-times the puck dished by Mixy. Teddy moved from left wing to center and got into the scoring action. He took the puck alone and fired a slapshot near the far circle which found its way just inside the near post. Late appearing rookie, Dan, was rewarded for his rough forecheck by deflecting Baby’s near circle pass to just inside the far post. The Black Sheep did have several break aways and tried to crash the Liner’s net more than they did in the first period. Stock and Bleach did sacrifice themselves at shots fired at Dr. Nick.
Both teams began to slow down in the third period as they had running clock because of the Mercy rule. The Sheep would score their first and only goal of the game off a knuckleballed puck that float just over Dr. Nick’s shoulder. But, he would remain perfect for the rest of the game. Teddy would net his second goal of the game after finding a loose puck and threading a shot through some traffic in front of the Sheep net. Tyty was given more ice time to try to notch a point but the puck just did not want to cooperate. He did a last minute chance but got into trouble as he ended up on his knees when he crossed the offensive blue line.
This seven goal
differential is the largest goal difference since the Red Liners came to Johnny’s. They have done it two previous times with both games having an 8-1 score. With this win, these Red Liners are now in first place in the C3 South division (tied with Ogilvy). This Saturday, the Johnny’s Red Liners
meet up with a familiar rival, the Rats, who also compete against the North Shore Red Liners. They hope to carry on this winning momentum but there will be a number of tough games against top ranked teams before the New Year.