WEDNESDAYS #3 vs. MISFITS:

(vol. 11W, no. 3; newsletter by b.n.)
20-1.
Is that the odds of Russ' favorite horse in the next Preakness? I don't think so. Perhaps it is the comparison of his penalties in a season compared to Harris. Maybe not. Could it be the likelyhood of aliens intercepting a broadband internet connection, logging on to www.coastalpirates.com and then deciding to “crash” our next game. Well let's hope not. Unless your name is “Nadine” you probably already know the answer, but for those that don't, I'm going to force you to read the rest of the newsletter. But before I get to that, I would like to stay on the topic of “those who don't.” Speaking of “THOSE WHO DON'T” — I couldn't help reading the following under the “Silver Skulls” awards in last Wednesday's newsletter: “1) Brian: for becoming a CARD-carrying member of the 'hattrick club.'” So before the game on Wednesday when Harris handed me my “Skull” I told him that I did not care about the “Skull,” but I wanted my “card!” Harris then said “Car?” I then enunciated a little better and said, “No, Card.” I really thought Harris was messing with my melon when he said,“cart?” However, after seeing the dumbfounded look on his face after I yelled “card!” a few more times, I finally gave up and went to the locker room to get dressed. (In Harris' defense, it finally dawned on him during the “meeting.”)

So getting back to the important stuff, our third game of the Wednesday night season found us up against the dreaded Misfits. Not that the Misfits are to be dreaded, it's just that most people dread heading to an 11 o'clock game on a Wednesday night. (That is, of course, unless your name is Roger or Jimmy in which case you don't dread it at all — you just fail to show). The game got underway with the line of Chris-#67-Wildman on “O” with most likely Russ-Chambers on “D” (though Keith may have gotten the start, I don't quite remember). The line got some early pressure on the Misfits, but the score was still tied at 0-0 when the Miller Brothers stepped on the floor. Perhaps it was the newly-installed floor, or perhaps it was the fact that the Yankees had just taken the lead on a Bernie Williams homerun, but whatever the reason, something certainly sparked the Miller Brothers to an offensive show — the likes of which I have rarely witnessed before. The excitement began when Scotty Miller picked up a puck to the left of the Misfits' goalie and scored. Then it was Russ feeding Scott Miller for another score. Then it was Russ skating in the zone down the left wing to the face-off dot and, with no one to pass it to, blasted a shot just under the crossbar. Then it was (is anyone sensing a pattern here?) Scott Miller picking-up another goal (I bet you he gets a card!). The 1st period ended with the score 4-0.

Between periods, the line of Chris-#67-Wildman discussed their concerns and openly mentioned their fear that the game could be over due to the “Mercy Rule” and the way Scotty Miller was playing, before they got a chance to get on the board. Those fears were quickly put to rest though, when Glen Chambers fed a pass to Chris who was camped-out to the goalie's left; Chris drew the puck back which forced the goalie to drop and then flipped the puck into the upper half of the net for the score. But after that score, the “Miller Show” returned when Scotty worked the puck to Russ who blasted a shot from the blueline that rang off the crossbar on its way to the back of the net for the sixth goal of the night. Then it was (this is almost getting ridiculous) Scott Miller feeding Evan for the next goal of the night. With all the scoring going on, Harris wasn't getting much work, which is not always a good thing. So, with the seven goal lead and memories of the letdown the previous week against the Geriatrics fresh in everyone's minds, things looked bad when the Misfits broke into our zone on a 2-on-1; Russ was able to slap the puck away from the Misfit, but it went directly to the other Misfit and then suddenly it was behind Harris for the apparent score. No, wait ... even though Bobby was only one on-ice official (Scott Baldwin got banged up in the previous game) and he was at the opposite end of the rink, the Misfit made such an obvious kicking motion that the goal was disallowed to preserve, at least temporarily, the shutout. The 2nd period ended with the score 7-0.

The 3rd period turned out to be more of the same when it was Farkas winning a fac-eoff and working the puck to Evan who would put the puck in for his second goal in a row. Then, after that, it was Scott Miller working the puck to Evan who crashed the net to the goalie's right and put the puck in before the net was dislodged — and Evan became the proud owner of a “natural hat trick” (three consecutive goals). The Miller Streak was finally broken in the last 2:00 minutes of the game when Wildman dumped the puck behind the goal and Chris chased the puck down and hit a wide open #67 for the final goal of the night and the 10-0 victory.

Besides the two hattricks on the night, there were also two shutouts. Two shutouts? How is that possible you ask? Well, besides Harris' shutout, the Misfit goalie was able to shutout Glenn Farkas who was turned aside on every one of his 15 shots on goal.

20-1? Yes for those paying attention, it's the scoring over the last two games. Let's try and not get cocky. Oh, and I have one more Harris bash to perform; here's another of his lines from last week's newsletter: “we play a Monday night game — not a Wednesday game — on Oct. 7).” What the heck is that supposed to mean, I checked the calendar and October 7 is a Monday — so who would think we would be playing a Wednesday game on a Monday night? Why wouldn't he just say we are playing a Monday night game? So don't forget, we play this Monday (this means you Chambers).