Playoffs, The Finals (Game 1): Mark It Zero vs. Nice Marmot
Had a few minutes of downtime at work so I put these signs together:
Expecting this to be a great series, although Feller (their leading scorer) wasn’t there for this game. He wasn’t available for their first round matchup against Da Bulls and they smoked them like 8-1 in the first period, so we wanna pounce on this team quick.
VS NICE MARMOT
Todd got a rebound goal - his specialty. Don’t remember when, but I remember he got it. Sweeeet.
On another opportunity, the puck found me in the slot, and I took a slapshot that missed the left post (I don’t know when my slapshot will get better, but will keep pluggin away), caromed off the end boards, and found Miller’s stick right on the right doorstep. He put it away and I gave him a hugable.
I would get a penalty in this one. It is part of my repertoire to lift opposing players’ sticks with my stick and steal the puck out from under them. Upon completing a theft, I turned up ice and learned that I was being called for tripping. I have no idea what this guy did after I took the puck, but he ended up upside-down on the ice. I think Juke probably took a run at him or something. An absurd pity call in the first period when we got a quick lead on them. Shame on the officials. Again.
Gorski got a goal in this game. Todd, who had been playing hard all game, stole it from their defenseman in our end, and led a 2-on-1 to their net. Passing across to Gorski on the right side, Gregg found the smallest opening in between the goaltender’s hip and post. I really thought he had Gregg’s shot covered, but it was a well placed shot nonetheless. Was great to get an insurance goal on these guys. Sidenote about Gorski, the man has shrunken & plumped up as part of a challenge at his gym to lose the most weight & gain the most muscle. In each successive week he’s looked leaner. He’s been using HGH though, which they don’t test for in adult league hockey. Holla!
Miller and I had been weaving on the breakout all game and it helped the D-men find us through the neutral zone. On one such occasion, Juke threw a cross ice homerun-pass to me, but the Marmot defenseman was stepping in to intercept the pass. I reached back, poked the puck, which flipped it end-over-end over his head and sent myself in onsides on a breakaway. The other defenseman was gaining a little on me as we approached one another - me on the left and him on the right. Knowing I’m near-invincible with the puck (not bragging, just from a officiating perspective) I lowered my shoulder, stuck out my right leg to protect the puck, and drove through him. The impact did push me off the puck, and play was whistled dead. I thought I had drawn a penalty, certainly. I didn’t realize until I reached center-ice that I had drawn a penalty shot.
To give you background, I once won a shootout competition in the good old days (prize: Trevor Linden Bauer stick) but had never been awarded a penalty shot. Ryan was trying to give me a quick scouting report on the goaltender before I advanced, and with a handful of my friends watching, I proceeded in on Aryan Nation*. I knew what I was going to do from games past. I have lately been awful at finishing breakaways on my backhand, as I write about in this post, this one, and this one. I was going to fake a shot, fake backhand, and stuff it forehand. I went through the motions, handcuffed the goaltender, but fanned on the finishing attempt on my forehand.
Was a bit embarrassing not to score on a penalty shot at a crucial part of the game (3rd period, fairly late) but it feels better knowing we won the game comfortably back in the first period, and I got 2 assists in this one. The only regret I have is I probably should’ve brought some more speed in on the penalty shot, and maybe should’ve looked to go five-hole, as he has awfully small pads.
We ended up winning, I believe by the score of 4-2. We need to come at them even harder next week, as Feller will be back - so say the rumors.
*My little nickname for the goaltender that played for us during week 16 when we didn’t have Justin. He was playing net for Marmot this game.
STATS
Playoffs, 1st Round: Mark It Zero vs. The Green Hornets
Ryan, Adam, Melissa, Jeff, Ramos, Autumn, Ashley, and Tyler made it out (I think that’s everyone). The recap of this game wouldn’t tell the entire story without mentioning the email I sent to them:
Next THU at 10pm (I’ll send a reminder), my hockey team (Mark It Zero) is playing The Green Hornets. It would be very helpful if we had a fan section for this game, and I hear the experience is entertaining. Care to partake? Location here.
The winner of this game will advance to the finals. Contrary to what I thought, the playoffs aren’t a best-of-3 game format until the finals, so this round is actually single-elimination. To have a few fans in the stands would give us the edge in a game that can easily swing in momentum.
For additional context, The Green Hornets have complained (whined) to the league commissioner that our team must be broken up after this season because we’re unfairly good. How well we’re playing or not isn’t relevant, but it makes me feel an awful lot better about celebrating a future (perhaps imminent?) goal in a classless manner, and at the moment my celebration of choice is to fetch the proverbial arrow from my quiver and draw it back with my stick (bow), shooting the arrow into the stands. The fan section would recoil as appropriate. Your presence and participation in this potential act of theatre can only elevate the desired effect of destroying what’s left of their will*.
Oh and it should be a fun game otherwise, too.
Thx for considering, lemme know if you’d like to go or any questions/comments/celebration suggestions and I’ll email you on WED just to check in on yall.
Happy March,
Eric
*Or give me a misconduct penalty and fuck the momentum up. Go hard or go home!
VS THE GREEN HORNETS
First thing I noticed upon the puck drop was that the pace was fast. I didn’t think the Hornets were capable of achieving what Tom lovingly refers to as a “high level of play”, even though they forced overtime against us twice before (both MIZ wins).
We opened the scoring on our first shift. Ben ended up with the puck at the point and wristed a shot through a high screen. I was there for any rebounds but there just weren’t any. 1-0 and I hugged him first. Also got the assist on that goal. Not a coincidence. I don’t remember setting up that play but I believe that my presence out there alone warrants an assist. Wait, no I don’t.
The next shift we went up 2-0, and it was started by Ryan, whom is now officially on a line with us. Entering the zone, Ryan found Juke who was providing offensive support, and took the puck to his forehand to the right of the defender, I followed to the left post and he fed the pass across as if we rehearsed it. I one-timed the pass low left side and kept my speed as I approached the near-side boards. Getting down on one knee and fetching the arrow, I drew back and launched (pantomimed) one into the fan section. As I got down to one knee to start the celebration, I remember hearing a teammate utter “What’s he doing?” People don’t celebrate like they used to.
I’m pretty sure that Derek got on the board before the Hornets would, on a play that was described to me later as an excellent individual effort. Sounds like Derek. 3-0.
Ned got the Hornets on the board towards the middle of the game on another individual beauty. He split our defensemen and beat Justin on a pretty play. It broke my heart a bit because I wanted him off the board completely after he wins a co-MVP award, but I guess he can have his glory now that I know his season’s over. Oh shit. ****SPOILER ALERT**** DON’T REREAD THE LAST SENTENCE IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW THE GAME’S OUTCOME.
As memorable as (I think) I made the 2nd goal, I’m pretty sure Ben’s 2nd goal was the one people remember the most. With the score 3-1 with about 2:30 left in the game, Ben receives a pass at the right point and, big surprise, nobody’s covering him. So he’s evaluating his options. The goaltender’s giving him the right half of the net, even as he’s pausing, and nobody’s forcing him to shoot it yet. Looking around for a pass, Ben delays a few seconds more, and unleashes a low tortoise towards the right side of the net. This shot is slow. I’ve heard of sacrificing power for shot accuracy but damn. Best part is, the netminder STILL doesn’t cover the low right side and it goes in unopposed. THE SHOT WENT IN. Writing about this event might not do it justice. I’ve seen thousands of fluke goals in my career but this was the most unavoidable of all of them. Was the goalie baiting him to shoot there and took his eyes off him? Did he lose track of his posts? He didn’t look like he was screened at all…was he looking at the clock?
Whatever. 4-1 Final. Hornets are dunzo and we get the matchup everyone wants, Mark It Zero vs. Nice Marmot, 3-game series, for it all. Whatever “it all” is.
CLOSE CALLS: Too many, as usual. There would’ve been even more if we didn’t get so many penalties this game. Miller had 3 penalties, one an interference call right after the ref dropped the puck. I don’t know how this is possible unless Miller drove him into the end-boards, and even then it’s kinda within that 2-3 sec. window. Oh yeah, no hitting. I hooked Miller up with a hard centering feed right on the doorstep, but the pass handcuffed him as it was neither on his forehand or backhand, and all he could muster was to poke it. The puck went straight upward. But enough picking on Miller, I had two breakaways and missed them both. One was off a fantastic, barely-onside saucer feed from Ryan as I called for it behind their D when we were shorthanded. That would’ve brought the entire team…up. When I fake the shot and go backhand, I must be 0-5. I promise I’m going forehand next opportunity. Head-faking left. C’mon Marmot you ain’t reading this!
Statistiques
Week 18-19: Mark It Zero vs. Da Bulls & Lebowski
After work kept me late and the subsequent white-knuckle thrill ride that ensued to get to the game on time, I was overenergized for this game. We were short, playing w/o Todd, Andy, and Derek, but Da Bulls were as well. Playing w/o playmaker, Tony, as well as a couple of others, they looked like a completely different team.
VS DA BULLS
Despite dominating play, It may have stayed scoreless for the entire first period. Ben and Juke were ironmanning it on defense, staying out there almost the entire game. We would get it going in the 2nd. Ryan took advantage of a weak goal to start things, and I got on the board next with a pass-across from Miller. I actually hit the goaltender’s chest, but it ricocheted off right into the net.
Miller brought his beastly backhand to this game, as he scored on two of them. On one, I gained the line, and Miller tried to beat his defenseman to the post. With the D-man in position, he made a fine adjustment and took him to the inside. I passed it as he made his move, he torched the defenseman and went backhand on the goaltender above the pad about blocker-high. It was a thing of beauty. He curls around the net effortlessly as if to say, “and then what? So that’s it?” Silky smooth.
Don’t remember the score, but we won. By one. I think. Damn.
CLOSE CALLS
I had two breakaways, went backhand on both of them, and got stoned both times. Here’s to trying something else!
VS LEBOWSKI
This was a make-up game for the time a film was shooting during our regularly scheduled game. As compensation for the move, we got free stick practice vouchers which I redeemed today (more on this in the next post). Point is, we’re playing Lebowski, and we’ve already got the #1 seed wrapped up, but Lebowski needs this game to be in the playoffs. Otherwise we’re playing the Green Hornets in the first round. Technically, we can choose who we want to play based on how hard we try, but that’s bad sportsmanship.
In the first period, Miller and I got on the board first. This was purely a catch-them-sleeping-on-their-heels (2 clichés?) play. In what is becoming routine for us, I gained the zone, stalled, and fed a hard pass backdoor to Miller, who beat his man and beat the goalie. The “closing” section in a textbook never looked as good. I remember this pass being as good as any pass I’ve had in recent memory. I’m very accustomed to saucer passes but this one was flat, hard, and landed perfectly on Miller’s stick before it overshot him. It also got there through at least 2 defenders’ legs, who were closing in on the pass from either direction. Quick 1-0 lead.
Not much later, I was able to put away a rebound off of a Juke shot from the point. Juke and Ben are so good at keeping shots low. And goaltenders in this league can’t control rebounds to save their lives. It bounced right to me - easy buckets.
Ryan had a great game in this one. He deflected Ben’s shot from the point for one tally, and ****SPOILER ALERT (Nobody reads this, Eric)****would end up with the game winner.
We won this game by one - I believe the final score being 4-3 - which is disappointing considering what we can do against this team, but they were fighting to extend their season, so all things considered we’re glad we came out w/o any injuries/suspensions. Ryan, acting on mounted frustration from playing on the other line, got a dumb penalty with a minute or two left and yelled FAGGOT on his way to the locker room. I thought this was directed at the refs and might’ve warranted a suspension but he told me later it was to a Lebowski player. So this makes it OK!
Playoffs - Green Hornets - Thursday (tonight). Post Soon.
Team Stats:
League Stats:
Week 17: Mark It Zero vs. The Green Hornets
We bludgeoned the Green Hornets the last time we played them. They fought back a lil but it was too late to make a large dent in our lead. So I brought the boys some Hoegaarden for this one expecting sweet victory.
VS THE GREEN HORNETS
We definitely took this team too lightly. We were playing our typical passive 1st period as we soon found ourselves down 0-2. This Ned kid just worked our D-man (to remain anonymous) and had a nice individual effort, deking around Justin. While bewildered, I felt like the team had a confidence (overconfidence?) that we’d battle back. Don’t even worry about it. It’s early.
The second period arrived, and the Hornets added 2 more. It was clear that whatever we were doing wasn’t quite working. Ryan hopped on to our line and shit got real, quickly. Derek did a good job of drawing a couple of penalties in this game, and we went on the power play. Ryan threaded a pass to me on the right side (Steve and I must’ve switched) and I buried one over the goalie’s right shoulder. 4-1 Hornets.
The same shift, I had the puck on the left wing and looked for someone to sneak in the back door to the right post. Ryan was equal to the task, and I fired a pass through the middle. He got a great initial shot off, then after a Miller rebound, Ryan put it away. 4-2 Hornets.
Justin doesn’t put Ryan, Miller, and I on a line together simply because the balance of the lines would be off. The first shift together yielded 2 goals, though, and although it made sense to keep the lines balanced, all three of us were enjoying the difference. Justin came to the bench at the 2nd intermission to give us a piece of his mind, and afterwards, it was hard to tell one guy on the other line to double-shift so we could restore the starting lines. So what did we do? We kept playing together YAYAHHH!
The game stayed 4-2 until the middle of the third period. After waiting at the blueline for my teammates to get back onside, I handed it over to Derek, who proceeded to take it in and put it away top-left corner. A nice shot. 4-3 Hornets.
With time winding down (within 2:00) we needed a goal - soon. Going into their zone, I had one guy to beat. Considering the circumstances, I quickly shot it through him and the goaltender let out a high bouncing rebound to his left side. I followed the puck as it bounced to the end boards, and backhanded a blind pass back to the net. The goaltender had been far out after my shot and rebound chances, so my original intention was to send a pass off his pads and into the net on his way back to the crease. What ended up happening was the second possibility - the puck finding Miller all alone with the goalie scrambling back to the crease and an entire net to shoot at. BOOM - Tied at 4.
The overtime session must’ve been about 5:00 long, and it felt like running time. After one or two shifts, the period was almost over. If nobody scores, it’s a tie in the regular season. We had already clinched first place by picking up one point after the regulation tie, but obviously we wanted to win this one and complete the comeback. Both teams committed overtime penalties (what is with these refs?) but theirs came with :45 left to play. What happened next was a scramble in front of the net, and Todd put the game winner through at the :33 mark sending us off the ice victorious.
After this game, I don’t know whether to feel upset at how soft we played in the beginning, or proud of our character and how composed we were most of the game. We did have to kill like 2 of Derek’s penalties, as well as 2 others (Juke, Andy), so it’s remarkable we kept them off the scoreboard after their 4th goal at the beginning of the 2nd period.
CLOSE CALLS
Plenty of close calls once Miller, Ryan, and I were a unit. I think we averaged about 4 chances a shift. It’s disappointing to know we didn’t convert on some. I remember a rebound that the goalie popped in the air towards the left post that I almost batted in, I passed a gift across to Miller that he didn’t convert, and he reciprocated by doing the same to me. I was amazed he fit the pass through at the last minute and picked my stick up.
Final 5-4 (OT)
1st place is ours.
Week 16: Mark It Zero vs. Da Bulls
I don’t think anyone’s noticed, but I think we’ve ALWAYS been the home team. Crazy.
The playoff scenario has worked itself out so that out of our remaining opponents, Da Bulls, The Green Hornets, Da Bulls, and Lebowski (how’d this happen?). We only have to beat Da Bulls once out of the two remaining times we face them, assuming we win against the Hornets & Lebowski.
As I walked in to the locker room, I noticed an Aryan gentleman who seemed to be lost. I mouthed to Miller “WTF is he doing here?”
“Justin has food poisoning. That’s our goalie. His name’s Daniel.”
FOCK.
VS DA BULLS
This game stayed scoreless throughout the first, yet we were borderline dominating in most aspects. They only seemed to register one (quality) shot all period. I will always deem this a success.
In the early 2nd, I gained the blueline, stopped and wound up to take a slap shot. Looking up, I saw Miller streaking to the far post, so I shot-passed it right to him and he one-touch lifted it crossbar-down. This sent me into a zen-like state of satisfaction. Miller and I had been working on some form of that play in practices and it never fully materialized until then. So pumped.* 1-0.
Shortly afterwards, Derek had the puck on the left blueline and let loose a shot that was about 1 foot off the ground. It was a nice shot that found the twine. Derek didn’t pass for the majority of the game. But by the 3rd period, Miller gave him a piece of his mind and he started passing to spite him. Whatever works. 2-0.
The refs were horrible in this game and weren’t calling anything. I usually like refs that “let em play” but they weren’t whistling clear trips on both sides, and some obvious harassment went undisciplined. Derek hooked a kid juuust outside the blueline and the boneheaded refs decided to award the guy a penalty shot. He scored on it five-hole (Daniel’s pads were tiny)
The 4th goal came when both Ds were pinching. Aaron had taken the initial rush into their zone but Ben accompanied him. Aaron and I switched, and I was playing the left point. When Aaron’s rush was finished, he quickly made his way to the point, and we both motioned to switch back. It was then that I noticed Ben had possession and was heading behind their net, looking for an outlet pass into the slot. I was more than happy to dart right in. If he got the pass through, it was a definite goal. He threw it in front, and I shot it far glove side. That side was actually the goalie’s strong side all night, but this was through a screen and he had given me the whole right side to shoot at. 4-2 at that point.
They ended up scoring again, but we were able to hold them off in the final 3-4 minutes by playing very defensively the rest of the game.
Final score, 4-3. A huge win that pretty much locks up first place for us. Justin later told me that we only need one point to lock it up, but we have chances to get two points with a win against the Hornets or Lebowski. Nice Marmot and Da Bulls have two games left supposedly, and we have 4. How does this happen?
CLOSE CALLS
I’ve done away with this section, mostly because I’ve been writing posts w/ three games in em lately, and haven’t remembered the details. Not many close calls in this one, though on one shift I fed Ben and Steve with gift-wrapped passes on the right doorstep that didn’t get buried. On the Steve pass, I came out from behind the net looking at the point-men, and fed a no-look crafty/sneaky pass right across the crease, but Steve was handcuffed at that point and could only suffice to give the fast pass a poke.
*And no credit. The assist went to Ben. He was the first to hug Steve. That’s the trick with these refs. Hug him first!
Week 13-15: Mark It Zero vs. Nice Marmot/Lebowski/The Green Hornets
When work heats up, the blog suffers. Hockey recaps stall, memories fade, buildings collapse. The latter more because of structural impurities & shoddy engineering than my being busy w/ pilot season, but I digress. Here are my recollections of the last 3 (grimace) games:
VS NICE MARMOT
I didn’t bring my usual Marmot game offensively in this one, but we were able to get a lead on these guys. I’m not sure how much we were leading them by, but they caught up so it was 3-2 midway through the 3rd period.
After about a 35 second shift, there was a stoppage and Ben asked if I wanted to come off, advocating for shorter shifts. I motioned for just a bit more time on the ice. The ensuing action was all in our defensive zone, and just when we were about to clear the puck out finally, Marmot kept it inside our blue line, and threw it on net. I remember the puck doing the following: hitting off of a back/chest, off Andy’s face, and onto a Marmot player’s stick. All the caroms left Justin out of position, and the game tying goal was buried easily. On my way back to the bench, Derek in his passive-aggressive glory uttered, “See, another :30 turns into 2:00”. I let him know I thought he was an asshole. Game’s still tied.
On the next shift, Derek - who doesn’t pass - lost the puck as he was busy dangling near our own net. The Marmot player stole it, fed it in front, and Marmot was ahead 4-3 with about 4 minutes left.
Justin was talking about how one of the Marmot scoring plays were offside but the refs didn’t blow the play dead. I’m guessing he’s talking about when they tried to keep it in our zone during the shift Derek was timing from the bench.
Speaking of, one funny moment was when Miller and I looked on from the bench as Derek predictably brought it into their zone himself, had the puck in their corner as he looked to our open defenseman (good players pass at this point), CARRIED the puck to the right defenseman, then CARRIED the puck across to the left defenseman. At this point Miller snaps, yelling “PASS THE FUCKING PUCK!” in a quiet rink.
It’s a horrible loss to be a part of, but it didn’t eliminate our chances of finishing the season with the #1 seed, we just made more work for ourselves and “made things more exciting”. Bleugh. I went scoreless for the first time in a while, but thought I played well. Frustrating…
VS LEBOWSKI
Derek wasn’t available for this game, so we were sure there would be a lot of passing in this one.
Miller brought the wood this game, notching 4 goals. I’m trying to remember them all, but I assisted on 3 of them officially, one of them unofficially, and a teammate’s goal unofficially. The prettiest one came when I was angling on the right side of the slot, circled back, and found Miller’s forehand with a nice, backhanded thread across the slot. Steve released it quickly to the top shelf. That assist was credited incorrectly to Darren, but I can’t be pissed because Darren’s the man. I take this lapse of officiating as a compliment, actually, at how sick the pass was. The ref just didn’t think it was plausible that it was me who made that pass but rather someone in closer proximity to Miller…whatever I cry nightly about it…
This game got out of hand early. We had scored about 8 goals (at least) in the first period. Justin took the high road at the first intermission, telling us that we should take it easy and work on passing. We came out the 2nd period looking obviously different. A bit more passive, working it to our Ds. We still played, but the urgency was obviously not where it was in the first period. When the second intermission came, some representative (I’m guessing their captain) came over to our team huddle and told us to destroy them - to keep playing. We had respect for that, so we obliged.
A later goal Miller notched (his 3rd or 4th), was a product of our forechecking. Their defenseman had the puck in their corner and panicked as I brought the pressure. He committed the cardinal sin on defense by throwing the puck right in front of his own net, where Miller was waiting. BOOM! I was exited at both my influence on this play and his excellent read & positioning that I had my hands up after what was probably the 10th goal of the evening, so some Lebowski bench players had some words for me for acting excited to play the game. I understand how this behavior could’ve been perceived as irritating, but what did you think was going to happen when you tell us to run up the score?
Final score - Too much - Not Enough
VS THE GREEN HORNETS
The way our league is broken down, Da Bulls, Nice Marmot, and us are in a dogfight for 1st, and The Green Hornets & Lebowski are the bottom feeders fighting for the last playoff spot. This one was anticipated to be another ugly one but you never know when one of these teams will surprise you like when Lebowski had a quick 3-0 lead on us earlier in the season.
I can actually provide accurate scoring information on this game as I have the scoresheet (framed) here.
Goal 1: Miller and I are in the high-slot on our respective sides of the ice. Steve’s carrying the puck and tries to get it across to me, but it’s a high pass (perhaps deflected) fluttering towards my chest. I gloved it to my stick, and shot it through.
Goal 2: This one started very typically with me coming into the zone hot on the left side off a sick pass from our defensemen. They played this one well with two defensemen back. I passed it across to Miller when he entered the zone, and crept behind him. He found me with a sick backhanded saucer on the right side and all I thought was DO NOT MISS THIS. Filthy play.
Goal 3: This was essentially a breakaway, even though there was a defender on my right side the whole way. I was bearing down on the goaltender going about 9/10ths speed, faked across and went to stuff it in the left side backhanded. The fake worked, sending the goalie flying to the right, but I had run out of space and stuffed it outside the post on the side of the net. The puck sorta stayed there for Miller, who made a heads-up play in taking out the trash. It just occurred to me that I could’ve scored a hat trick in under 10 minutes.
Goal 4: This was Ben’s goal, but Miller and I assisted. Are you paying attention? Miller and I have a 4 goal point streak alive right now. WTF? I wish I could’ve remembered this goal a bit better but the more memorable one came later when Ben roofed it.
Goal 6: I have a vague recollection of this goal. I know I was on the left post and that I had been given a sick pass across. Turns out it was from Miller. GO FIGURE. Hatty.
Goal 8: This was Ben’s roofjob. Sick. He fit it over the netminder’s shoulder in the smallest opening. At least from my perspective it looked small but maybe it was a better idea from where he was standing. Love it either way. Steve and I got assists just for witnessing this. It made sense at the time. This is how the refs work.
Goal 9: On this rush later in the 3rd period, our lines did a half-change and I found myself on the ice with Ryan and Gregg. Ryan had the puck and either missed the net or dumped it - perhaps both - and it ended up in the left corner. I pivoted and saw both players bearing down on the net. I threaded it to Gorski (in better position), and he put it away. The assist goes to…Ryan. Whatever, bro.
Goal 10: On the power play, Andy and I were together 2-on-1. We played catch with it for 4 passes as the goaltender was trying to figure out who would shoot. Andy did.
Miller (1g 5a) and myself (3g 4a) scored 13 points combined. This output was a new career high, but even in a blowout success like this: what stays in my mind are the missed opportunities. I tried to wrap one rebound I corralled in front of the net around the sprawled out goaltender, and hit iron. One clean breakaway I just blew (I think I lost possession), and on the broken scoring breakaway where I missed a wide open backhand put-away after juking the goalie. That one needed The Finisher to come in and git’ er done.
We play these guys again next week, but at the moment we’re gearing up for Da Bulls tomorrow. As you can see they have 5 players that are top scorers in the league, where we have 3:
They have some fast guys and will send 4 players up on offense (at least) so we’re going to have to play loads of defense. Should be a fast pace.
Posted February 9, 2011 at 10:09am in recap hockey mark it zero league nice marmot lebowski Green Hornets
Week 11/12: Mark It Zero vs. The Green Hornets/Da Bulls
Brief post on both these games as I took a hiatus from these recaps. I’m pretty much running out the door for our last Marmot game of the regular season. Looking to get a season split on these guys, or at least it feels like it will be a split. OK. Last two games:
VS The Green Hornets
Miller didn’t join us for this one as he had bronchitis. So my line was Todd, Aaron, and myself. Aaron and I had played until our backs gave out the previous night in Burbank, so we were looking to make some plays together. As our team dominated play, Derek would end up with a hat trick. I ended up down low in the left corner as I looked for someone to thread it to. Juke pinched into the slot and I fed him with an increasingly common saucer pass, and he buried it. Sick. Later in the 3rd, for insurance, I capitalized on Aaron either passing it across, or one of his rebounds but I had the whole left hand side of the net to shoot at so I flicked it over the netminder’s leg.
W 6-2
VS Da Bulls
We were ready for a dogfight when this one came up. These guys cherry pick like the dickens. Miller and I started the game on a line together, but since the team again wasn’t fully ready by the initial drop of the puck, one guy had to double shift. I opted to, and was on the ice for half the period straight. Didn’t feel very tired after that, which I was proud of. Miller, now playing on the 2nd line, stayed there even after we were fully staffed, which was annoying, but he did notch an impossible angle goal with his back on the left corner wall. It looked like he threw the puck in off the goaltender’s skates. Derek ended up notching his 2nd straight hat-trick. Credit where it’s due, but the guy had me wide open sitting on the left post for a tap-in and opted for a snipe job top-right corner through the smallest opening. Again, props - but unnecessary. I had 2 assists in this one, the one I’m most proud of came on the power play, when I was in the right corner peeling away from the traffic, turning up the boards and finding Ben, who had just subbed onto the ice. Ben and my pass were converging on each other, with Ben trying to get there in time to keep it onsides. I had feathered it enough to take some speed off the pass, he caught up, released a shot, and scored. Awesome. The other assist was actually a breakaway. I rang the top right post on a shot, the puck dropped onto the goal line under the goaltender, and Aaron jousted in my sloppy seconds. Couldn’t have happened to a better person.
Blowout win, don’t remember the final score, but Da Bulls got a goal or two.
Week 10: Mark It Zero vs. Nice Marmot
The big game. While Da Bulls (and everyone else, for that matter) seem to have improved, we’ve never beaten Nice Marmot and they will always be the true test. Miller, unfortunately, was unavailable for this huge game as he got arrested for disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and striking a police officer*. This really sucks, as we’d like to field a full team against these guys, but the fact remains that I tallied 6 points against these guys without Miller, and ever since he’s been on the scene I’ve become a pass-first, less aggressive player. Passing will still happen but we gotta keep an eye on Feller (1st in the league in points) defensively this time around or things might get out of hand quickly.
VS NICE MARMOT
I was able to get dressed and get out there for the pre-game skate, but we had about 3 or 4 players on the ice warming up. Most of the team didn’t make it out until the 1st period started, and even Justin didn’t face any shots before the game. which was notable. True to form, we gave up two quick goals at the start of the first period. This was another hole we’d have to get out of, but at least the predicament is a familiar one.
Halfway through the 1st, Ben was carrying the puck through the neutral zone and I was doing all I could to stay onsides as he bore down on the blue line. With excellent awareness, Ben noticed I was about to go in before him, so he reached the puck out as I crossed the line, pulled it back in and charged the net. I’m not sure if he got an initial shot off, but he had the puck behind their net, fed me in front, and I lifted the puck on the tip of my backhand over the goaltender’s shoulder. It would stay 2-1 Marmot going into the 2nd.
The 2nd period was mostly uneventful scoring-wise. I got a penalty for bumping their man off the puck. Nobody fell down, I just positioned my body in between them and the puck and stopped his momentum. The ref deemed it, of all things, interference. Interference, for the uninitiated, is when you hit somebody when they’re away from the puck. This call was disgraceful.
The penalty expired thankfully without damage. On one rush late in the period, I was being harassed by the defenseman in front of the net. He hit me in the back and shoved me to the ground, as I threw a pass backward through my legs with my remaining balance. I went face-first into the ice but turned around to see the puck find the twine with :10 left in the period. I would find out later that Ryan Murphy got a stick on it, and we’re tied 2-2 going into the final stanza.
The next shift was huge for us. Juke joined the rush and I was behind him entering the zone. Making his way through the Marmot defensemen, he had lost his handle of the puck (or creatively left it for me) and I shot it through the two-person screen he had set up. 3-2. On the ensuing face-off, he was again leading the rush and we found ourselves in a similar situation, except it was a 2-on-2 with me to his right. Juke’s pass was in my skates but only because the D was playing me well and that’s the only place he could put it. I quickly kicked it to my stick (past the defender), brought the puck across to the backhand, and shoved it in the far side of the net right as they were announcing our last goal. There are few feelings as cool as scoring while your name is being announced as the last goal scorer. Never thought I’d ever experience this.
There was still the entire 3rd period in front of us, but Nice Marmot never fully recovered from that shift. They would add another tally to make it closer at 4-3. We got excited on offense and they had an odd man rush on the counterattack. I think it was a 3-on-1. Really bad news. Justin made a huge save on the initial shooter, but our guys hadn’t gotten back and covered all 3 of their forwards so the 3rd guy scored on a following chance. I got another penalty, this time for tripping. I had zero penalty minutes coming into this game and I got two in one game. Luckily (or skillfully) we did a great job killing the penalty and we got an insurance tally in the waning moments. Derek, who played a good game but hadn’t found the net, made a sick backhanded pass to Ryan at the side of the net for his 2nd of the match.
Final score, 5-3 Mark It Zero.
We beat Nice Marmot. Finally.
CLOSE CALLS: Derek had about 80 chances (some of them beautiful) to score in this game and either shot late or took too long in the process of shooting. He seems to favor his wrister rather than snapping a quick shot off. As the first period came to a close, I drew the puck out of a defender’s skates as we were all scrambling in front of their net for possession, and had about 3 chances to score point blank on their netminder. They were low quality, as I just tried to bury it underneath him, but in hindsight I probably should’ve just tried deking around him. There was another opportunity in the 3rd where I finally had the chance to unload a slap shot from the right hash mark. I got a new Synergy for Chanukah so I was ready to utilize my new toy on the far left post but I missed wide. I’m going to score on one of those and it’s going to be a nice, warm feeling but I’ll have to wait on that.
We have two weeks off before our next tilt against the Green Hornets. We’re now tied for 1st place, but have played one less game than the other two teams. Standings in the stats link below.
*I’d tell you the real reason (I don’t know it) but it wouldn’t be as cool.
stats (season)
