Saturday, November 12, 2011

Day 2 of Shuley Cup '11 - Game 3

I'm sure most would agree they were grateful for a noon game-time start. The first matchup of the day featured Eisenberg Uncertainty Principal and Matty's Team. EUP having suffered a loss on Friday came in at 0-1, while Matty's Team strode in with a 1-0 record.

As soon as the teams were lined up, you could see that EUP had made some big changes --- The first line of forwards featured superstars Tony, Mike and Ryan, a big change from Friday when Tony and Mike took turns playing defense. Second line put Byron, Mysel and Pauly together. The big surprise was Denny Mark sliding back to defense. In-ter-est-ing!

To say the game wasn't action packed was an understatement. EUP showed up hungry and was in control of the puck for most of the game. Credit must be given to Matty's team who played good defense in front of netminder Marco. At 7:20 in the first, EUP had their first real chance to score, but alas, no goal! 36 seconds later, another huge opportunity for EUP, but once again turned down by Marco. At 6:26, Matty's team crashed the net, literally, with their first real chance at a goal. Poor Billy ended up on his back, but.. no goal! At 5:23 Scott Parkin found himself on a breakaway -- he lost control of the puck for a millisecond but recovered well enough to release a decent shot on Billy but Billy showed him who's boss. EUP's bench nervously wondered aloud when at 4:40, Captain Pauly decided to dipsy doodle in front of his own net. It was entertaining and didn't cost the team anything, but I could feel the heat rise when he was skating past the crease. The first period was fast-paced with EUP dominating offensively, but regardless neither team could find the back of the net, so the period ended tied at zero.

Second period continued like the first -- frenetic, exciting, and nerve-wracking. The power line of Tony-Mike-Ryan unleashed shot after shot on Marco. It was starting to look like the game would end with neither team scoring. Then Tony made it happen at 8:57. Finally, the red lamp is lit! EUP up 1-0. This could be a turning point. Matty's Team kept the pressure on with excellent saves by Marco and the defense doing  a great job moving the puck away from the slot. Try as they might, they were unable to prevent the triple threat from scoring at 4:26. Kunelius sank the puck into the net with assists from Eizy and Tony, Up 2-0 with a period and then some to go... talk about nerves.

Third period saw a different Matty's Team with Scott Parkin and Jordan trading positions and this change seemed to turn up the offense of Matty's Team. In the 3rd, it was obvious that Matty's team had an edge over EUP. Don't get me wrong, EUP still rattled off shots like there was no tomorrow, but Matty's team definitely stepped up their game and it paid off. At 5:41, Matty's team came oh so close to a goal.. did they have a shot or do we dare think if "shutout"? Robin played incredibly on D protecting his net and his people and sacrificing his body. Nuge did her part when she took down Porro at the blue line. As the clock wound down, I'm sure I wasn't alone wondering about a second shutout.. tick tock tick tock.. oh but wait! At 1:35, Captain Ken decided he must do something for his team and scored a beauty. The last 1:35 was all mayhem with opportunity after opportunity for Matty's Team-- I was convinced that Matty's Team would tie up the game. Their firepower was undeniable but sadly.. they ran out of time.

Final score, 2-1 EUP.
0 penalties!

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