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Seeing eye surprise

Elvis snapped a seeing eye shot past a screened Twizzler to salvage a 16-15 sudden death nailbiter in Sunday's time-shortened regular season opener.

It was an unlikely finish to a game in which his team squandered a surprising 9-2 lead to their speedy and skilled opponents then battled back from a 14-13 deficit of their own.

For the second week in a row rookie rearguard Twizzler struggled to contain rebounds early in the game, allowing Elvis and his mates to build their advantage over a lineup stacked with fleet-footed forwards like Lak Attack and Kid, and big shooters like Colonel and Nibs. Buoyed by their success around the net, they also battled hard along the boards and forced the forecheck.

"We were getting lots of shots, and I thought we were moving the ball around really well," said Elvis of his side's early success.

But the veteran sharpshooters weren't about go down easily. With Colonel and Wendel crashing the crease, Kid and Lak Attack took control of the mid-court, wheeling and dealing their way across center and peppering a harried Pig Farming Goalie with shots from every angle.

"it was only a matter of time before we could open it up," said Lak Attack. "We made some crisp passes and we were able to bury some of the chances that we weren't burying early in the game."

"We had a lot of firepower, and we just had to keep throwing at Pig Farming Goalie," said Wendel.

While PFG and his mates bowed to the barrage, finally giving up their lead late in the game, they didn't break.

"I never felt like we were out of the game," said Elvis of his side's mid-game swoon. "We might have got away from our game a little bit towards the end, but I don't think we ever really had our backs against the wall."

Indeed, instead of panicking, they battled the boards and drove hard to the net confident that PFG's lighting glove hand would bail them out of any defensive miscues.

"They were quicker on the ball, they were quicker on the transition game," said Lak Attack of his feisty foes.

"They had a lot of competitive guys,and you've got to expect they'll just keep coming at you," said Wendel, who admitted his team paid a price for their earlier comeback.

The end to Sunday's game was as controversial as it was sudden. While Sunday Morning regular season games have traditionally been played until one team reaches 20 goals, with a two-goal margin over their opponents, Sunday's opener had a finite time limit due to Pig Farming Goalie's departure for another commitment.
With the deadline upon them and the score tied at 15, the commissioner declared the winner would be decided by the next goal. When Elvis scored that goal, some players on the losing team declared their dismay with the sudden death edict.
"I didn't know that was the end of the game," said Wendel. "I thought players were just coming off from their shift. That's just the way the ball bounces, I guess."
"We need a new commissioner," declared the Colonel.

Sunday's season opener was the first in five years to be played in dry conditions. The last time the season started on a dry court was 2003.

Posted by jaysuburb at October 19, 2008 03:37 PM