The Liners came into their Game 14 with the second most penalty minutes in the C3 division. In their past five minutes, the Warriors always played hard against the Liners and had a better record, 3-1-1. Their last match up ended in a 4-4 tie (shootout tie) after giving up a three goal lead. The guys and gal in red vowed not to repeat that. The Warriors were better than their 6-5-2 record would suggest. In true Red Liners fashion, the game had a little bit of everything but culminated in a last minute tying goal and then a shootout win.
The full-benched Liners pounded hard at the Warriors from the very start but the opponent’s netminder made several great saves to keep the game scoreless. On the other end, the Warriors did get several odd-man rushes but the shots were either easily stopped by Bigfield or wide of the net. The first goal of the game came halfway through the period off a laser shot by Toe. Dr. Watson in the near corner jetted the puck across slot where Toe one timed it into the far side empty net. Minutes later, the Warriors would tie it up off a a side shot that would bounced off Bigfield and into the net.
The second period saw the physicality slowly build up as penalties began to pile up on both sides. The Liners did kill a 5-3 powerplay but gave up a goal just after the penalties expired. Baby would tie is up with a powerplay of his off as a shot deflected off his skate and into the top corner of the net. The Druck would give the Liners the lead again as he received a pass from Queen Steph and went coast-to-coast. He fired upon the unsuspecting Warrior goalie and slip the puck just under his glove.
The third period was the climax of the entire game. More and more penalties were being called on both sides. Neither team to take advantage of it. But the Warriors would rattle off two goals in close succession to regain the lead. They kept the offensive pressure up to make it harder for the Liners to launch their own offensive attack. In the final minute of the game, Bigfield was pulled and a 6-5 swarmed the Warrior net. The puck pinballed around the far corner. Easy E was able to rifle it to a waiting Tyty in the circle who one timed it with all his might at the Warrior net. The puck appeared to bounce off three pipes but eventually stopped inside the net. The game would go to another shootout.
Jimmie shot first but had the puck deflect by a diving goalie. Bigfield deflected his first shot attempt with his glove but the puck still managed to float into the goal. Baby pierced the Warrior goalie’s five hole with a perfect wrist shot to tie up the shootout. Bigfield stood tall and blocked on the Warriors’ second attempt. Dr. Watson deked the goalie and easily knocked the puck behind the sprawled Warrior netminder. Bigfield came out to meet the last Warrior shooter who fired it into his pads for the last save.
The Red Liners had their typical tough game. They can neer do anything easy. With the mounting penalties and the frustrated shots off net or easily blocked, they kept on charging. There were some breakdowns with odd man rushes or uncovered players. But everyone stepped up when things got shaky especially when down two men. They proved they could matchup with another physical team or fast skating players or a top goalie. Their playbook on scoring continues to grow with as players become more familiar with each other. The final tally of penalties is still on going. There is no doubt it will push them ahead of the Nutty Squirrel for most penalized team. Their 10-3-1-0 (21 points) puts them back on top of the C3 South Division. The next game is against the Beer Bistro on Jan 14th at 9:10 (JIH East).