roadhockey.net

Stormy comeback blows itself out

Bird and his teammates were almost blown away on Sunday, first by a windswept rainstorm, then by a ferocious comeback by their resilient opponents. But, just as the storm blew itself out, so did the feisty foes, who never scored again after battling back from an 11-4 deficit to tie the game at 14.

"We really died off in the third period there," said the flighty forward, who scored the last of six unanswered goals to snatch victory for his team. "They were working harder than us, they were just playing better."

Which wasn't the game was supposed to go. Led by speedy scoring duo of the Kid and Lak Attack, and anchored by Unabomber's fearsome blasts from the point, Bird and his powerful mates seemed to have the game in hand early.

"It seemed like the game was out of hand early on," said Unabomber. "There were complaints about the stick pull."

But then complacency creeped in.

With their passing game struggling, the underdogs started shooting. And they started finding a lot of holes in emergency backup goaltender, Billy Idol, who may have been more than a little rusty after he missed most of last season due to the onerous demands of his exploitative employer.

"He struggled for a little while there," said Bird of his side's confounded creaseminder. "He made us all a little nervous."

"We were taking it easy, just taking (the lead) for granted," said Unabomber.

And their overmatched opponents were quick to take advantage, riding a 7-1 scoring run in the third period to eventually tie the game 14-14.

"We didn't give up, that's the main thing," said Wink of his side's courageous comeback. "It's such a small court so many things can happen. It's all about chemistry, guys playing well together and sometimes the most talented guys don't play well together so you always think you've got a chance."

But just as quickly as they were able to capitalize on their confidence, their scoring prowess petered out. Billy Idol became impenetrable, while at the other end, the once formidable Frosty seemed to melt.

"The tide turned," said Unabomber. "I think at the end we just kept peppering Frosty with shots and it just became too much for him to handle."

"On a day like today, you've just got to take a lot of shots," said Bird. "It's really slippery out there, you've just got to make sure you get your shots and take advantage of your opportunities."

Posted by jaysuburb at October 30, 2006 07:28 PM