Pirates Score Three Goals for First Time in 2004!
2004-03-01: Mighty Pirates 3 at Zig Zags 9

In the second to last meeting between the Pirates and the Zig Zags in the 2003-2004 regular season for the TNHC Monday Night Canadian Division, the Pirates showed that they were indeed tuning up for the playoffs, as they scored three goals in the game for just the first time in 2004 and the fifth time in the season - and all three goals were beauties! While the focus for most of the year so far has been defense, the boys realized that a few more goals would be required to carry them forward into the post-season. And as a result, the battle for the scoring lead on the team has really heated up!

The boys managed to put out nearly a full roster, as 15 skaters showed up to wear the jerseys, and with trade rumours and fans demanding changes (even if only for change's sake, with their heroes sporting a 3-12-4 record), Klein unilaterally decided that it was time to move himself to defense in order to add some strength to the front line and give the boys up front a chance to score without pulling an anchor around with them. After all, how many more goals can the opponents score than they already have? So, with Matthew Lella in net, the boys went with three full forward lines and five defense. The rear was bolstered by Richard Bingham, Peter Toth, Michael Levine, Blair Dimock and the aforementioned Klein, while the three forward lines consisted of John Mutch, Auby Mandell and Jonathan Gallivan; Jim Jezioranski, Dave Turner and Nick Perri; and Rob Kwinter, Mark Sager and Kapil Khatter. Shaun Leggett was enjoying a night off.

Solo efforts were what made the first two goals, as Gallivan took a puck at the opponents' blue line late in the first and took off on a clear break-away, ZZ sticks and bodies chasing him all the way. But in close, JG is hard to beat, and he popped it easily past a sprawling ZZ goalie. In the second period, Blair Dimock, ever the Eveready Bunny, took the puck end-to-end and made it stick, as he went high over the goalie's shoulder to notch the second puck. And in the third, not to be outdone, John "Assist? What's an Assist?" Mutch worked with his new line-mates as Gallivan gave it to Mandell, who created the rebound that JM put past the red line, for the third and final Pirate goal.

So the race is on, with Gallivan and Mutch neck and neck with 14 points each. On the penalty side, the Pirates managed to keep clean, as the game was penalty free with the exception of one early call on Blair Dimock in the first period.

The game was of course far more than the scoring, as the entire team came out to play that night. The play that everyone talked about, especially after seeing the highlight reels on TSN later that night, was Michael Levine's body-punishing block of a point-blank shot to save a potential goal in the Pirates' end. And the saves, oh the many saves, made by Lella in all possible vertical and horizontal positions and everywhere in between. In addition, the offense put on several displays of beautiful give-and-go plays, and some lovely passing. Control in the opponents' end was picture perfect, and the defense covered the blue lines like a can of paint!

It was, all in all, a great tune-up for the end of the regular season and the upcoming playoffs. To assist in that effort, the Wednesday Night Pirate Skate™ will continue until March 31, so come out and take advantage of this great chance to hone your skills in a fun and competitive environment. And with another game against the Zig Zags next week, the pressure will continue on the Pirates to perform, perform, perform - or as Jaromir Sager always says, "Shoot, shoot, shoot!"

Howie

PS Oh, yes, the final score of the game was Zig Zags 9, Pirates 3 - but who cares?