The North Shore Red Liners faced off in their first of two meetings against the Meatheads, a previously B-league team who was dropped into the Recreational level because of their poor performance. This game was also the first appearance of the Music Man as goalie for the Liners. Based upon their efforts tonight, the Meatheads will do well in the Rec level as they beat the Liners, 10-4.
The first period started out slowly for both teams gauged the level of each other. The Liners did have several breakouts in the period but had trouble with their passing when entering the offensive zone. There were not many shots on the Heads’ net. On the opposite end, the defense had their hands full with several speedy opponents. It would be the Meatheads who would score first and only team to score. The period would end with the Heads up by two goals.
But the Liners would quickly come back early into the second period. Baby won the faceoff at the start of the period and fired a wrist shot at the Meathead net. The shot was blocked with the rebound lying near the crease. He and the Baron tried but could not pop in the loose puck. Baby grabbed the puck and skated behind the net. He took a wrist shot from the sideof the net that slipped just inside the goal post. The Liners did have more offensive threats with more breakaways from Baby and Toto. The Meathead did notch two more goals off odd man rushes. Andy did draw a double minor penalty but the Liners could not take advantage of the 4 minutes of power play. CSJ stepped up against a speeding Meathead and poked the puck just in time and prevent a breakaway. Baby had a second breakaway attempt but could not finish the deed. In the closing minutes, Teddy corraled a puck shot behind the Head’s net and took a wristshot form the far circle. The shot was blocked but the puck landed just by the far goal post where a waiting Toto popped into into the net.
Things were looking better for the Liners but the goal scoring became fierce from the Meatheads. They rang in 3 goals in the first 3 minutes of the third period. Teddy would score a goal of his own right after this outburst of goals from the Heads. Toto blocked a clearing pass in the offensive zone. The opponents came charging as the Liners defense tried their best to stop the onslaught. The Heads scored 3 more goals in the next 5 minutes but then the defense seemed to settle down a bit more. Gigi engaged the head deep into the corners and blocked passing lanes. Jay tried to position himself near the net and help clear out loose pucks. On the opposite end, The Mot along with Big Daddy did connect on a few rushes but were stymied by the Meathead defensive. The final Liners goal was off a breakaway from Baby during a penalty kill as Sobo would sit in the box for elbowing. Baby threaded his way through the slot and lasered a perfect backhand shot into the Heads’ net.
While the score was lopsided, the two teams were not evenly matched. The Meatheads did drop from the B-level to the Rec-level but still had B-level players as evident by one of their players scoring 5 goals. However, the Liners never gave up and kept trying their best to get that next goal. They were able to score on the power play, even strength, and short-handed. The Music Man may have wished for a better outcome but he also made some key saves. These Red Liners still have 7 games left to play before playoffs. They will meet up with the Meatheads one last time. The next game is on Tuesday, Feb 12 at 10:20pm.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | Total | |
| NS Red Liners | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Meatheads | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 |