The Blue Fins ended the regular season in a serious down-hill slide. But somehow, they managed to maintain first place for the first time in Blue Fins history. After a win in the first round, they faced the Mother Puckers who upset Ale House in the previous week.
From the start of the game, the Blue Fins appeared to have the game in control. They were moving themselves and the puck just a bit faster than the Puckers.
Mid-way into the first period, Vlad ‘The Impaler’ Potapoff scored the first goal, assisted by Rich ‘Hawkey’ Denisi.
The second period was all Blue Fins. The always-strong Blue Fins defense kept the quality scoring chances to a minimum. Like Tom Cruise in the movie – Cocktail, Dan ‘The Man’ Fahey served up a perfect mixture of hockey. On his side of the blue line – his icy demeanor chilled the Puckers’ attacks; outside of his zone he carried the puck like an inebriated floozie grips her pina colada.
Not selling the rest of the defense short (but I’m out of colorful adjectives) – Cookmeyer, Gyure, and ‘Chainsaw’ Lavin played equally as well and frustrated the Puckers with 60 solid minutes of play. On the very few times needed, the defense was there to scoop up the loose rebound and clear it from harm’s way.
Adam ‘The Shocker’ Hoover took a pass from Captain Mike McGee and skated directly at the Puckers goalie. He blasted it in for the Fins’ 2nd goal of the night.
The momentum of the game was just starting to turn Blue, until ‘Super’ Dave Berent took over. On a penalty kill – Berent relentlessly attacked the puck. He battled in the offensive zone and fought off 2 defenders. He dropped the puck back to John ‘The General’ Allman who scored shorthanded on a perfect wrist shot.
Now, the Blue Fins had everything going their way.
E.J. ‘The Sandman’ Darisse put on a clinic. Of the 28 Puckers shots on goal – Darisse got a piece of every single one. Darisse piled on to his record season by tallying yet another shut-out – for a league-leading total of 5!
Keith ‘The White Shadow’ Locker grabbed a pass from Fahey, and got just far enough ahead of the Puckers defense to manage one quick shot. It was all he needed and his shot found the back of the net to put the Blue Fins up by a four-goal margin.
The 3rd period was relatively quiet, as the Puckers had little fight left in them. In true Mike McGee form – the Captain got the last goal of the night thanks to nothing but hard work.
The Blue Fins win by a final score of 5-0.
Next week they play for the championship against arch rivals Chick-Fil-A. Chick-Fil-A appears to have figured out the Blue Fins as of late. In their last meeting, they beat Blue Fins relatively easy as they not only scored more goals, but they won the mental battle with a cheap, but smart, physical game. The Fins ‘lost-it’ long before time expired.
The Championship is Monday night at 8:30 pm.