roadhockey.net

Colonel shuts up shooters

Colonel put his money where his mouth was on Sunday, but it was the opposition that was talking to themselves.

The outspoken veteran, who was critical of last week's editorial by the Living Legend calling for a curfew as a solution to the chronic late starts that have plagued games so far this season, showed up at the road hockey court ready to strap on the goalie pads for only the second time in his career. Constant badgering and negotiating to convince players to play net have contributed to the delays.

After a tentative start that spotted his opponents an early 7-4, the Colonel settled in to lead his team to a decisive 20-11 win. Only two late goals separated him from his first career shutout.

It was an unlikely turn of fate for the player who donned the protective leg pads to make a point, then ended up earning his team two.

"I just wanted to hold my position, stop the shots, and as long as they were coming straight on so I could see them, it wasn't that hard," said the unsure shotstopper.

His mates were equally nervous.

"I wouldn't say we were full of confidence," said Cowboy Bill. "I mean, we've got a goalie who hasn't been in net for years, we haven't seen him play, we don't know how competent he's gonna be in there."

Opposing shooters salivated in anticipation of a quick, and easy, romp. They quickly feasted, charging to a quick 7-4 lead.

"We just figured it would be a cakewalk," said Gump, making his regular season debut after missing the first two games due to other commitments.

Even the Colonel was doubtful. "At 7-4, I thought 'geez, I didn't really know how this was going to go."

But then he made a pair of big saves, instilling confidence in his tentative teammates and shifting the game's momentum in their favor.

"He made a couple of good saves and that gave us the confidence that we could leave him alone a little bit, put some extra pressure on the forecheck," said Cowboy Bill.

Buoyed and emboldened by their goalie, the Colonel's mates rallied. When rebounds escaped his grasp, they were on the scene to clear the evil orange plastic ball from opposing sticks. Scooby and Cowboy Bill dominated the boards while Kid and Scrappy knocked down passes through the middle.

"We amped up the defensive pressure and that gave us some breaks going the other way," said Cowboy.

"I knew we would really have to play a team game on defense if we were to have a chance at winning," said Colonel.

They did more than that, scoring ten straight goals to win the game running away. Literally.

"Once you're down like that against a team with the speed they had, you're not gonna come back," said Gump. "Colonel made some big saves which gave their team confidence and at the same time, he took away our confidence because we thought we were supposed to have easy goals."

Posted by jaysuburb at November 2, 2008 09:38 PM