roadhockey.net

Rivalry riles roadsters

They're the stars. They're the leaders. They're the players whose sticks the roadsters have committed to memory and then watch with eagle eyes to see where they fall in the pre-game pull.

The rivalry between Lak Attack and the Kid is intense. When the two veteran speedsters face off against each other, players on the bench rarely sit down. Everyone wants to be a part of it. Everyone wants to elevate their own game to help their teammate prevail.

"When they go against each other, you just wanna do your best to help the one who's on your team defeat the other one," said Beetle Boy, between shifts of Sunday's game, which renewed the longstanding rivalry. "Everybody is trying their hardest. People who normally don't backcheck start backchecking, people who normally don't try to go into the offensive zone go into the offensive zone."

"They both want to come out and win, so they're both really driving the rest of their teams to go out there and dig hard," said Cowboy Bill. "Everyone wants to work just a little bit harder."

"They lead by example," said Wink. "You put those two guys against each other and it raises everybody's game because they're such leaders."

"It's really inspiring," said Elvis. "They keep you running out there."

While the two veteran superstars can run circles around the rest of the flatfooted roadsters, that's where the similarity ends.

Lak Attack can finesse and stickhandle with aplomb, but he can also be gritty in the corners. He's a defensive quarterback, taking command in his own zone then leading the transition game into offense, where he'll often swoop in from the center line to finish the job with a sizzling snap shot from the slot or a timely pounce of a juicy rebound.

The Kid is a pure goal scorer. He relies on his stealth, incredible balance and explosive bursts of speed to sneak behind defenders and deke around startled goalies even before they know what hit them.

When the stick pull puts them onto the same side, they're almost unstoppable. But when they're pitted against each other, the game becomes a high-speed chess match.

"You know they're going to check each other," said Elvis. "They almost neutralize each other, so that allows for the rest of the team to make things happen."

"I think they realize they're above everybody else, and they're particularly jacked," said Wink. "They play even better when they're playing against each other."

Playing perhaps his strongest game of the season, Lak Attack dominated his fleet-footed foe in Sunday's game, leading his mates to a 20-9 victory. Lak Attack scored four times, while his rival scored three.

The Living Legend missed Sunday's game, and he could be out of the lineup for an indefinite period as the fellow founding father recovers from a separated shoulder he suffered while servicing the onerous demands of his exploitive employer. The slothful veteran did make a special guest appearance at Sunday's game, and he expressed enormous frustration with his inability to play, especially as the conditions for an outstanding game were almost optimal after a season of gloomy weather .

Posted by jaysuburb at January 29, 2007 12:47 PM