After the Blowout - Two Tough Losses
2009-11-09: Mighty Pirates 4 at Corpap Cobras 7
The Mighty Pirates are now 2-4-0, with three straight losses, and the fans are wondering if there is any way to right the ship before it disappears forever into Davy Jones's locker. Well, to this reporter's eye, there is in fact much to be optimistic about – something most Howie Report fans are unaccustomed to hearing. Let's look at recent history:
- The 0-9 shellacking from the Ice Demons was to be expected – they are a team that plays far above the TNHC Monday Night Hap Day Division level, and unless they have some lower tier players hidden in the roster who did not bother to show up the night they played the Pirates, the Bucs will need their A+ team to keep up the next time these two squads face off.
- The 1-3 loss to the Mongolian Horde had to be one of the most lackluster performances by a Pirate team in recent memory. There was virtually no passing, there was virtually no defence, there was virtually no forechecking or backchecking, and the shifts were interminable, with players sleep-walking haphazardly along the ice for what appeared to be an eternity. Upon its completion, Pirate Brand Hockey® was taken off life support and left for dead. Never mind that the Horde are currently sitting in first place and have won three in a row – there is no excuse for coming out to a game and then not playing (except of course if, like Jezioranski did that night, you actually forget your skates!).
- It was really the last game – and a sporadically attended 11:10 pm start game at that – which gave this Pirate fan some hope for the future. Something happened – and whatever it was should be bottled, put into syringes and appropriate doses administered to each and every man wearing the yellow and black – that suddenly sparked some life into the bench and on-ice performance last Monday evening. Though it ended as a 4-7 loss against the Corpap Cobras, it was a loss that felt more like a win – or at least a tie!
The game began once again with lines being shuffled due to absences from many regular starters. With 13 skaters, Alternate Captain Turner put S_Klein, Tassone, Siddons, E_Mintz and Jezioranski (this time with skates) on defence; the Two Johnnies (Gallivan and Mutch) at centre; Turner, L_Klein and Phillips on left; and Leggett, Kwinter and Brown on right. Absent due to a variety of weak-kneed excuses were regulars Bingham, Besant, Mandell, Mola, Sager, Sturgeon and Sousa – a stunning total of seven absentee starting roster players (and it wasn't even a Jewish holiday!); and the subs Kitchen, P_Sinclair and N_Sinclair (though the Barrie boys are usually given a bye for post-11:00 pm starts). It was just good luck that the Pirates could call on four subs to step in and carry the colours.
The Cobras came out strong, scoring just over two minutes into the game, again six minutes later, and again two minutes into the second period, making the score 0-3 before the Pirates were even able to mount a decent attack. It was looking more and more like another shellacking was coming again. However, with just under four minutes gone in the second period, Jim Jezioranski rushed the net and took a rebound off a shot by Rob Kwinter to put the Bucs on the board. The snakes quickly recouped that goal less than a half minute later, but the life suddenly returned to the Pirates. Shifts suddenly became harder and shorter, Pirates were chasing down the puck and attacking the net, and the Cobra point men found themselves (at least sometimes) shadowed by the Pirate forwards in the Pirate end. And suddenly, there was passing! Just past the halfway mark of the second period, Jezioranski and Gallivan again carried the puck down the ice, and E_Mintz, flying in from the blue line, took a pass right on the tape and hammered the puck past the Cobra goalie to make it 2-4. And just 24 seconds later, Siddons fed a streaking Leggett up the middle, who was joined in the rush by Gallivan. Leggett slid the puck under the stick of the one Cobra defender and Gallivan shot it past the sliding goalie to bring the Pirates within one at 3-4.
Unfortunately, a penalty called on E_Mintz early in the third period resulted in a goal for the Cobras just four seconds into the power play, and in frustration and response to the goal, Evan going ballistic and being ejected from the game. Not only did the Pirates lose Mintz's talents on the ice, but also their focus on the game. Another Cobra goal three and a half minutes later made the score 3-6, a gap that would be hard to close. With just over seven minutes to go, Jezioranski notched his third point of the night on a rocket from the blue line, fed by Kwinter and Mutch, who had already each had effective shots from up close on the goalie. That again breathed life into the Pirate game, but some 20 seconds later, the final Cobra goal of the night would cap the scoring and make it 4-7 in favour of the bad guys.
Overall, the game was a clean one, though not necessarily well-reffed. Both teams seemed to enjoy the intensity and the fast pace, and it was unfortunate that the glimmers of Pirate Brand Hockey®, even late in the third period when the defence was sorely challenged with just two shifts, did not result in goals that would have reflected the effort that was seen on the ice. So, while hockey rewards results, not effort, it is that level of fervour and commitment and desire that the Pirates will need to demonstrate over the next 16 games if they are to remain in contention for the rest of the season. Skate hard for the puck, don't give in to pressure and if you are not going at 100% effort on the ice, get off and have a rest! Howie is optimistic – are you?
The next game is Monday, November 16, at the respectable hour of 9:00 pm on RINX 3, against the Scorpions, who now sit above the Pirates at second place and have won their last two games. While the Pirates have owned the all-time series against the poisonous critters, this is a different Scorpions team – and we do not know which of the Mighty Pirate teams will be out on the ice either. We predict that if Pirate Brand Hockey® shows up, it will be a turning point for the Pirates 17th season; if not, it could get really ugly, both on the ice and in the locker room afterwards. Be there and see for yourself! The bar will be open afterwards!
GO PIRATES!!! VIVEN LOS PIRATAS!!!
Howie
