SUNDAYS #3 vs. DIRE WOLVES:

(vol. 11S, no. 3; newsletter by c.g.)
The Pirates faced-off against the newly-named (and outfitted) Dire Wolves early on Sunday evening. Though their names were new, most of the Wolves had been present on other GoodSports teams, so for the most part they were familiar to us.

The 1st period began with the line of Ferraro-Goione-Farkas up front and Weiss-Farrell (our newest Pirate blueliner) manning the points. While the second lines consisted of Wildman-LeMatty-DiPierro who were backed-up by Russ-Scooby. The Pirates would strike first as Goione took a breakaway feed from Russ and beat the goalie for the early 1-0 lead. Russ would setup the second goal as well, when he fed Ferraro in front for the 2-0 score less than halfway through the 1st. The passing throughout the game was both crisp and accurate, as the defensemen setup each offensive rush with a good first pass. Russ would finish out the period's scoring when his attempted clearing pass from the Pirates own end went the length of the ice into the Wolves net for the 3-0 lead at the first intermission (the Wolves goalie would repay Russ later in the game when he stopped a shot in the 3rd, which Russ would lament at the “meeting” in the parking lot after the game as his “best shot of the year”). The defense played strong throughout the 1st period — limiting the Dire Wolves to only a few offensive opportunities. Harris also played aggressively, as he wandered from the cage several times (as in, to the blueline) to clear loose pucks.

The 2nd period began with Goione collecting his second of the night, as a loose puck squirted free and found him alone in the slot for the easy wrister and the 4-0 lead. The Dire Wolves mounted a charge of their own as they collected their first goal of the evening on a breakaway that was able to beat Harris 5-hole. The Pirates would roar right back as “The Ferraro Show” got into full gear — Jimmy would score the next three goals in a row to give him four on the night. The first one came on a breakaway after Goione redirected a pass to a waiting Ferraro, who broke in and beat the goalie up high. The next one was from a feed from Goione to Russ, who smartly dished the puck off to Jimmy in front, after drawing the defenseman to himself. This made the score 6-1 at the end of the 2nd.

The 3rd period began just where the 2nd had ended — with Ferraro scoring his final goal of the night (from a feed from Goione). The Wolves would put one more on the board, as an offensive zone face-off glanced-off Scooby's skate and trickled past Harris. The line of LeMatty-Wildman-DiPierro had their chances all night through good hustle, but weren't able to put one away until LeMatty made a nifty play on the Wolves goaltender; the Goalie had made the stop on a Wildman shot and was standing over the puck when Scotty swooped in and lifted the goalie's stick and poked the puck in through the stunned goalie's legs for the 8-2 final. Not to be lost in the offensive avalanche is the play of the defenseman, however. The combinations of Farrell-Weiss and Nicolosi-Scooby were stellar, with each duo turning back any Wolves onslaught while setting-up offensive rushes with smart heads-up passing throughout the game.