roadhockey.net

A scrappy way to win

With no spare player to spell off tired teammates, Scrappy and his team knew if they were to win Sunday's final preseason tuneup they'd have to build an early lead then hope their weary limbs could weather the inevitable late-game swoon. And Pig Farming Goalie would have to be in mid-season form.

They scored on all counts, carrying a 10-5 lead into the final period before scrapping out an unlikely 15-13 win.

Facing a neophyte netminder, Twizzler, called up by Nibs from the defunct afternoon game, the undermanned underdogs stormed the net right from the opening face-off, sending two players deep to pounce on rebounds and rattle the rookie rearguard while a defender conserved energy in the backcourt. Taking an early lead gave them confidence. Building it gave them a cushion.

"You know you're going to get more tired than they are, so we knew we had to pile on as many goals as we could, so when we got tired at least we had that bank of four or five goals," said a sweaty Scrappy after the game. "We knew we had to keep it down in their end as long as possible.'

"It was good to build up that lead and give ourselves a little bit more insurance," said Billy Idol, who responded to his reprieve from backup goaltending duties by scoring eight goals. "Once we found our long shots and their goalie was letting out a lot of rebounds, we were able to capitalize."

Their rested opponents were shellshocked by the early barrage. But with the extra man on their side, Elvis said they were confident they could prevail.

"We had all the advantages going in, and maybe we just didn't take it seriously enough because we thought it was in the bag," said the veteran centerman. "The other team showed a lot of heart, they played hard, they checked hard."

And when exhaustion started to take its toll as defenders let their checks slip past, Pig Farming Goalie proved almost impenetrable.

"He was amazing back there," said Scrappy of his team's titanic netminder, who managed to steal away from his newfound fatherly duties to make a rare start. "We had so many two-on-ones and three-on-ones we gave up because we were slow, and he held the fort."

With PFG on his game, Billy Idol and his mates could afford to stroll back from the offensive zone on occasion to save their legs, as long as there was a defender deep enough to dispatch rebounds.

"We were able to let those two-on-ones go every once in a while because we knew we had a goalie who can handle it," said Idol. "That makes a huge difference when you're playing without a sub."

While Elvis and his mates battled back late to tie the game at 13, they never took the lead.

"We had some good pushes, but every time we got close, the other team would just pour it on," said the frustrated forward. "We just couldn't find it within ourselves to rise up to their level."

Posted by jaysuburb at October 13, 2008 07:52 AM