roadhockey.net

Deja-vu decimation

For Smith, it was a case of deja-vu all over again.

The rookie forward scored three goals on his first shift, two of them on identical plays only moments apart, to lead his team to a decisive 20-6 win in Sunday's game.

After spotting their opponents a quick one goal advantage, Smith charged deep into the offensive zone. Streaking down the right side, the he feigned to his left, then paused for a split second. That was all it took. Gump committed too early, allowing Smith to rip his forehand shot just past the goalie's outstretched trapper and into the far corner of the net.

Moments later, he did it again.

"He had light pads on today, you could tell he wanted to come out all guns a-blaring," said Smith of his deft delay. "He comes flying out of the net and you just had to play a waiting game with him. I went the same way twice, and on the third one I went the other way. It was kinda fun."

"I was just going down too early," said Gump of the two identical goals that put his side back on their heels after their promising start. "You wanna move a little quicker, but you've really got to be more steady in the net, take your time, wait for them to make their move."

Smith's back-to-back breakaways gave his side the early momentum, which they never relinquished.

"I think it set the tone," said Smith of his early hat trick. "Our confidence just goes, the passes are working, you're going up the court and you're not even thinking 'I'm going to pass' or 'I'm going to shoot,' either way you know it's going to work out."

"It had to be just a little dejecting for them to go down like that," said Unabomber, who returned to the court after missing more than a month with a wrist injury. "It was really a momentum shift."

"I think that took a lot of the wind out of the sails of the team," said Gump.

"When a guy who can't normally score in warmup comes out and scores three in a row, momentum just swung and we could never get it back," said notorious gameshow host gone bad. "The teams were fair and we just couldn't produce."

They also couldn't run, battle the corners, or generate many quality scoring opportunities, as they quickly fell behind 7-1. From there, it only got worse.

"We got out-hustled, we got out-worked, we got out-everythinged," said Wink. "We didn't do anything well."

"We dominated a good chunk of that game," said Smith.

"We got seven goals in a row there, and it was tough for them to climb back from that," said Unabomber.

"They had a lot of weapons," said Gump of his powerful opponents. "They really had a lot of ebb and flow out there. They had a lot of speed and they definitely outworked us today. They just always seemed to have the extra guy open."

After charges and challenges through the week, Sunday's much-anticipated Six-Pack Challenge between Gump and Billy Idol was postponed when lapsed backup ER reported for his first game in almost two years.
The unexpected change of plans may have thrown Gump off his game.
"I was pretty pumped up and ready to go," said the ebullient backstopper, who instigated the rivalry with his netminding nemesis. "I wasn't playing against Billy Idol, and looking at the outcome, I'm kinda glad we didn't because I would be down a six pack right now."
"I think he went flat a little bit," said Smith of Gump's disappointment.

Meanwhile, ER picked up where he left off when last he climbed between the pipes, sucking up rebounds like a vacuum, denying opportunists like Bird and Beetle Boy.
"He definintely did the job," said Unabomber. "He didn't allow any rebounds, he gave us a chance. I think the game was close than the score indicated but ER really made a difference."

Posted by jaysuburb at March 4, 2007 09:05 PM