Blue Fins Welcome the Weevils Back to C1 (1/10/08)
It was the start of a new season for the Blue Fins. After last season’s extended slide, hopes were high once again for the Boys in Blue. But hopes were high for the Weevils too - they returned to C1 and fully expected to beat last season’s worst team.
Three new players were added to the roster - Rich Kessler, Mike Something, and Chunks. (Granted two of the names are not exactly corret, but we are all sure about Chunks…..)
Another player joined as a sub and hopefully player to be. Kenny ‘Scooby Doo’ Glanville triumphantly returned to the factory ice for the Blue Fins.
The Blue Fins skated with a lot of energy throughout the game. The first goal was waved off by the more aged of the two refs after the blind zebra didn’t see actual puck cross the actual goal line of the actual net. The Fins didn’t blame him - it was probably difficult to not see the play from his vantage point of not near the play.
The first half of the game was even. The Fins defended their zone well, but couldn’t quite get the puck up the ice for any type of structured attack. Leading the strong defensive effort was netminder Joe ‘Heavily Medicated’ Durant. Durant made some great saves - including a floater that popped straight up. He snagged it on the way down as it fell directly towards the twines.
Offensively, the Fins enjoyed their injection of speed as the two youngsters lead the charge. After he purged some extra bile he was carrying, Chunks scored the game’s first official goal by following his own rebound - slamming it past the goalie on the right side.
The next goal was scored by Mike - Chunks2 - when he wristed the puck over the left shoulder of the Weevil’s goalie.
But once the Weevils felt pressured - they started playing physical. They especially played the body on Chunks and Durant. (not the way Bily ‘plays a body’ either….) Chunks was getting plowed into the back of the cage by ‘Thor’ - the Weevils biggest skater. Rusin broke it up by clearing ‘Thor’ off the Fin’s young speedster. In the process of this little melee - the Weevils went down a skater for four minutes.
Wayne Roan capitalized on this, and scored a sneaky power play goal from the point.
The refs tried to ‘even up’ the game and made some ‘questionable’ calls down the stretch. There was no question on Captain Mike McGee’s roughing penalty - he clearly shouldered a Weevils attacker in an admirable show of support for Durant.
With the game tied at 3, and less than 3 min to play, McGee sent in a line to try and close out in regulation. After the Fins won the drop, Matt ‘Cage Match’ Pusateri hustled for the puck before it exited the Weevils zone. He fed the puck in deep to Chunks 2 - who grabbed the biscuit, paused, and shot it clean under the left arm of the goalie.
The Fins win the first game of the season, thanks to hard play all around. The Blue Fins’ tank of high hopes is back to full and they expect the wins to come more often………as least double last season’s mark!