roadhockey.net

Happily never after

The game that almost didn't start, nearly never ended.

Velma squeezed a wrap-around past Twizzler's pad in the fifth overtime to seal the victory, 27-25. It was the second consecutive marathon match; last week's thriller went four extra periods.

From its opening moments, Sunday's game was a tight, hard-fought affair, as neither side managed to open more than a three goal advantage. Snipers on both teams were silenced by goaltenders at the top of their game. Nibs, making his first start between the pipes in week, conceded little through the game's first half. At the other end, Twizzler overcame some early miscues to make some big saves that allowed his side to take its first lead at 13-12.

But it was late in the game the rookie rearguard showed his true mettle, diving across the crease time and again to stymie two-one-one break-aways. With his side down 19-17, he made a miracle glove save on Beetle Boy that extended the game into overtime. A few moments later, he caught just enough of a Lak Attack shot from the side of the net to keep the ball rolling just outside the goal line and just out of reach of Elvis' stick as he careened in from the wing.

"Twizzler just kept on robbing our team," said Scooby, who played his first game in more than a month.

"Twizzler was just shutting the door on us," said Beetle Boy. "Both goalies were playing phenomenal."

Both teams exchanged leads in overtime, but neither could score the clincher.

"We were starting to wonder if it would ever end," said Beetle Boy. "It was equal, back and forth. We just couldn't put it away."

Exhaustion started to take its toll. as players chopped shots at the net in the hopes a fluke bounce might make the difference.

"We just had to take a lot of shots on net," said Scooby. "A lot of our goals were just ugly bang-ins."

"We knew it probably wouldn't be a good goal (that would end the game)," said Beetle Boy. "That's all you can do, is just keep throwing it at the net."

Which is just what Velma did, as he swept around the post and jammed the evil orange plastic ball towards Twizzler's outstretched pad, squeezing it just past the goal post.

"That was one of the best games of the season," said Scooby, who collapsed in a heap after Velma's game winner.

"It felt great to win," said Beetle Boy. "That was one for the ages."

Except it almost wasn't, as a group of roguesters, refugees from a Saturday afternoon game, had tried to lay claim to the court the Sunday Morning roadsters have been calling home for 15 years. Tensions ran high as the newcomers argued for squatters' rights, but the roadsters refused to back down and eventually prevailed.

The unfortunate confrontation reinforces the need for the roadsters to get to the court well ahead of the scheduled 10:30 start time, especially as the weather improves. The spurned roguesters may try to make a point next week by refusing to respect the roadsters' long-standing claim.

Posted by jaysuburb at March 29, 2009 09:51 PM