SUNDAYS #11 vs. BLACKHAWKS:

(vol. 22S, no. 11; newsletter by k.r.)
Like poop through a goose, the Pirates were out of this one early. Four unanswered goals — two of them shorthanded — proved to be too much of a hill to climb. Unfortunately, this seems to be a pattern when the Pirates square-off against “A” teams: We get down early, then control much of the remaining game only to run out of clock.

After a scoreless 6:00 minutes to start the game, the Blackhawks went up 4-0 during the next 10:00 minutes. It was Russ who stopped the bleeding on a feed from Glenn Farkas to make it a 4-1 game. The Blackhawks would get it back to a four-goal bulge before the half was out, however, and they led 5-1 at the break.

As per the script, the Pirates would battle back in the final 22:00 minutes. Scott LeMatty would get his first of the night to start of the period, and then he added an assist on Glenn's tally to make it a 5-3 contest. The Blackhawks would work it back up to 7-3 before the Pirates would come in force to get the final score to 7-6 — thanks to a couple of goals by Chris Goione and one more by Scott. Chris' second goal — coming with less than two clicks on the clock remaining — came after Harris came to the bench for an extra skater. Although the Pirates had one last face-off at center ice, it was too little too late (although the Blackhawks looked to be a bit worried until the final buzzer sounded). The playoffs start this Sunday, so let's make sure that we are the ones to get off to the fast start. On a side note: What kind of “fine” is appropriate for an Alternate Captain who wears something other than a Pirates-issued jersey?
date of game: 8.21.05

editor's note: this game was originally scheduled as the fourth game of the season, but was postponed due to weather.