SUNDAYS #6 vs. ZOMBIES:

(vol. 15S, no. 6; newsletter by c.g.)
This Sunday's opponent was none other than the Zombies who — like ourselves — came into the game sporting a less than stellar record. For this contest we knew we would be short two players with Mike and Kevin reporting they would be absent. In their spots were ex-Sunday Pirates Roger Weiss and Dave Matthews; as the game started, however, we were also missing Russ and Scott LeMatty. Russ was busy changing (having squeaked out every last minute watching his Jets triumph, while LeMatty was just plain missing). The game began with eight skaters with Richardson, Weiss and Matthews playing “D,” and the forwards rotating five men (Ferraro, DiPierro, Wildman, #19 and Ralz). Russ would jump on a few minutes into the game and take Dave's place on defense, while Dave moved up and solidified the forward line rotation.

Suffice it to say that the Pirates looked a little more than a bit out of synch for the first two periods as the Zombies built up a whopping 5-1 lead by the end of the 2nd. The Pirates only goal to this point came off the stick of Dave Matthews who borrowed a page from Scott Miller's playbook by shooting an off-angle shot that bounced off a Zombie and in. That, of course, does not count the one Roger put in — because that was on Harris. The game also saw its share of penalties, such as Russ picking-up a 5:00-minute major to end the 2nd period.

The 3rd period started with the Zombies scoring their sixth goal right off the opening face-off, and things really looked out of hand at that point. I may have forgotten to mention, but as the 2nd period wound down, Scott LeMatty jumped onto the bench, and took his place alongside Jimmy on the first line. While on the penalty kill in the 3rd period, Scott would contribute to not one, but two shorthanded goals to bring us back into the game. The first being a goal by Jimmy from a LeMatty setup, and the second being his own unassisted tally. Russ would leave the penalty box and roof a goal of his own (assist to LeMatty) to draw us within two goals, 6-4, with 3:00 minutes remaining. Jimmy would then add his second of the night as he went to feather a pass across the crease to #19, but a Zombie defender swatted it in instead. The Zombies were now way on their heels having almost completely blown a five-goal lead, and the Pirates were deep in their zone challenging with the extra skater when final horn sounded. The great 3rd period sparked by Scott LeMatty's presence brought us to the brink of a great comeback. The team never quit and — given a little more time — would probably have tied it up or more.