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Gump swamped in stormy scrimmage

Gump couldn't take advantage of a mid-game surge by his team's offense, succumbing 12-11 in Wednesday's special midsummer scrimmage.

The veteran shotstopper had trouble picking up where he left off in May, when he made a number of key saves to lead his team to a stunning comeback in the Stanley Stick championship series, as opposing sharpshooters had little trouble finding holes around and through his equipment to build a 10-4 lead.

Then, just as he did last Spring, the Colonel pounced on defensive laziness to spark his side's offense to a six-goal run that tied the game, 10-10. With darkness, and rain, falling, the game went to sudden death.

For the laconic netminder, it was a rough day's work. But the final score wasn't as important as the toll the game would take on his preparation for the upcoming season.

"You've just got to get your movements ready and make sure the boys don't get their heads too far into the clouds," said Gump, who predicted before the game he'd likely have the edge over opposing shooters who struggled with their fitness and shooting accuracy.

But that's the whole idea of the summer scrimmage, said Cowboy Bill. "We've just got to start getting our legs back under us and see how much we've lost over the off season."

Posted by jaysuburb at August 21, 2008 11:17 PM