SUNDAYS #5 vs. RINK RATS:

(vol. 20S, no. 5; newsletter by c.g.)
Sunday's game was a game about halves. The 1st half was solidly Costal Pirates as the team was able to build a 2-0 lead over the #67-led Rink Rats. Keith got the Pirates on the board early when he scored from the point off a pass from Scott LeMatty. Bobby Currao registered his first point as a Pirate when he scored the other goal from a face-off win deep in the Rats zone. The Pirates (who had a ten-man crew, with Mike subbing for an injured Kevin) skated well through the 1st half, with a strong defense converting to quick rushes up the ice for the offense. The Rats were held with few quality opportunities through the period, and things seemed like they would fall into line for the “W.”

The 2nd half, however, was pure Rink Rats as they took the play to the Pirates, and put on the same type of pressure we had given them in the earlier stages of the game. About 3:00 minutes into the final period, #67 scored on a nice redirect play to cut the lead in half. Just 5:00 minutes after that the Rats would even the score 2-2 when a broken play landed on the stick of a trailer who beat Harris up high for the game-tying goal.

Some questionable refereeing kept things interesting down the stretch, but as the overtime ticked down it was obvious this one would not be decided for either team. After having been absent for a while, the old scoring drought is starting to raise its head again and the onus will be on the offense to pick up their collective burdens and start putting some goals on the board in the coming weeks.

editor's note: Kevin, who has been sidelined with an injury, is set to make his comeback this Sunday. Like the NHL, we won't give our opponents any advantage by disclosing the nature of Kev's injury, but his return is earlier than expected — especially since the Patriots are alive-and-well in the NFL Playoffs.