This game began in true comedic Red Liners fashion with a mixture of line confusion, equipment malfunctions, and malaise that eventually had them coming from behind to beat the FOP Stars, 5-1.
With Baby and Davy unable to play from the start of the face-off due to equipment malfunctions, the Red Liners had to suit up seven forwards (along with 4 defensemen) which lead to line-up confusion. A power play at just 30 seconds into the game was a prologue of the scoring difficulties they would have for the first half of the game. However, the defense, lead by The Druck and Bleech, did step up as was evident in successfully neutralizing a 90 second 5-3 penalty kill. They also tried to help with goal scoring at times by skating deep into the offensive zone. Stars did take advantage of one of these times with an odd man rush and a wrist shot that just slipped under Biggie G, the backup goalie for the Liners. However, he would remain perfect for the rest of the game. With Davy and Baby now in back in the lineup, confusion began to clear and the malaise began to lift.
The second period began with another unsuccessful power play. The guys and gal in red realized a change was needed to score more goals. Their answer was to start shooting high. It would be Tyty who finally broke the ice with a rocket wristshot off a cross ice pass from The Druck that found the upper right corner of the net. A meer thirty seconds later, Baby would sprint from the neutral zone and through the right circle before firing a backhand shot into the upper left corner. It appeared that this new strategy was working.
Not surprisingly, The Liners continued this strategy into the third period. Sobo would notch the next goal early in the period. He was wide open in the upper slot and hit his mark with a wrist shot to the upper left corner, off the crossbar. To close the door on the FOP Stars, Easy E would pickup two more goals, another wristshot past the Stars’ net minder and traffic in the crease that would just get past the goalie.
Previously, the Red Liners had trouble coming up with a sound strategy when being shutout. This time, they not only identified a strategy but also executed it perfectly. With a 3-0 start, they are tied for first place with the Devils, last seasons champions, and the Rusty Blades of the North section. Of note, the three Red Liners victories were against teams in the top 6 (out of 10) teams in the South section. (The Devils’ three victories were against the bottom 4 teams in the same section). The Liners next game will be on Friday, Sept 27 at 11:10pm, JIH West. This ail be against the Nutty Squirrels (2-1-0-0) a.k.a LSM Media a.k.a. Helmet Heads.