roadhockey.net

One ends two streaks

Paul One ended his personal losing streak at six straight games Sunday, when he scored the winning goal from a scramble in front of Billy Idol. But the 20-13 victory was bittersweet.

Earlier, his own defensive lapses had cost Lak Attack a chance to record his fourth consecutive shutout and allowed their feisty opponents back into the game they had been trailing by as much as 10-2. With even his own teammates catcalling from the sidelines, he knew he had much to atone for.

"I felt the pressure from my teammates to finish it that way," says Paul One, whose skid included three losses in consolation games. "We didn't want to shift off without winning the game. That ball was mine at the end."

Indeed, right from the ceremonial stick pull to choose up the day's teams, One says he was determined to see the demise of his scoreboard misadventures.

"I'm on the edge of my seat for the stick draw. I wanna see where my stick is going to end up, who my goalie is going to be, who's going to be out there with me."

That kind of pressure can bring out the best in a player, especially a veteran, says Wink, who returned to the lineup after missing last week's game.

"Paul One always puts his cup in, and he always plays hard," says the notorious gameshow host gone bad. "It's all about the ebb and flow in road hockey. You have to have confidence in yourself and you have to have a little bit of luck with the stick pull."

"I think getting the game winning goal says anything that needs to be said about Paul One," says Elvis, who assisted on his linemate's winner. "He knows that sometimes he's gonna get some bounces, that things won't go your way for awhile; but he also knows he'll be able to turn it around, to rise against adversity."

That adversity almost turned into a calamity through the game's middle stages, as defensive discord allowed their opponents to score more than 10 goals on Lak Attack for the first time in a month.

"They weren't going out hard, they were leaving their man open, we just didn't play well in the second half," says the newfound netminder, taking the end of his record run in stride. "The morale of the team sort of dropped a bit."

And their opportunistic opponents, lacking team speed but no measure of determination, were keen to take advantage.

"The fact we made it as close as we did is a testament to our will," says Wink.

"We were really buzzing around the net, we had them on their heels," says Rudy.

"We were just coasting there for quite a while," says Elvis, of his side's lapse. "We knew we had to turn it around."

"We were just thinking about winning the game," says Paul One. "If there had been another goal against us, I think the other line would have stormed the court."

Posted by jaysuburb at February 1, 2004 04:36 PM