Pirates Shatter Scoring Record with Eight Goals!
2004-03-08: Mighty Pirates 8 vs. Zig Zags 4

The Pirates woke up on March 8 and felt like it must be the summer, because their games seemed to be reruns, as they faced the prospect of playing the Zig Zags again for the second week in a row and the fifth time this season. But, having secured last place in the TNHC Monday Night Canadian Divison and adopted their strategy of focusing on offense for the balance of the season in preparation for the playoffs, the boys once again agreed to let Klein play defense in order to keep the pop in the front lines that was so evident in last week's game, when the boys mustered a barrage of shots and three goals for just the fifth time in the season.

This week, though, the lines were a bit thinner, as just 12 skaters showed up to support Matthew Lella in net. Two centres, John Mutch and Jim Jezioranski, played with three pairs of wingers, namely Auby Mandell and Jonathan Gallivan; Rob Kwinter with Nick Perri; and Kapil Khatter with Dave Turner. Defensive pairings were Blair Dimock and Les Klein, and Michael Levine and Peter Toth. Mark Sager was felled by a mysterious illness, Richard Bingham was starring in the role of Big Daddy, and Shaun Leggett continued to enjoy his holiday time, as utility player Brian Vandenberg was unable to answer the bell and Vito Mola continues to nurse his knee to good health in preparation for Summer Pirate Hockey.

The boys took the ice with the approach that there was no pressure, that there was nothing on the line except the opportunity to play as well as they could, and as a team. Of course, there was the race for the Pirate scoring title, which had heated up dramatically in the past few weeks, with Gallivan and Mutch neck and neck at 14 points apiece. Well, something woke the tiger, because they came out roaring. Mutch scored the first goal on a beautiful feed from Dimock just 45 seconds into the game. And when the Zig Zags tied it up late in the first period, Jim Jezioranski blocked an attempt at a pass with his body and took the puck on a break-away to score and take the lead again just 10 seconds later!

In the second period, it was Jezioranski again, on assists from Dimock and Perri, just 37 seconds after the puck was dropped that made the score 3-1. And after the Zig Zags scored again late in the second period, it was Mandell who potted a goal just 42 seconds later after shots by Gallivan and Jezioranski that made it 4-2. Mutch added another unassisted goal and then, after the Zig Zags put in another at 4:52 remaining in the second, Gallivan scored 1:12 later with assists from Mandell and Jezioranski to make it 6-3.

The third period began with an early goal by the Zig Zags, but again the Pirates responded in kind 43 seconds later, with Mutch taking a perfect pass from Gallivan to slap it to the back of the net. And as if that were not enough, the scoring race continued, as Gallivan took a pass from Jezioranski 2:40 later and potted a second goal to make it an 8-4 final.

Once again, the Pirates showed that they play best with level heads, as one late penalty in the third period against Dimock was the only black spot against both teams in the whole game. This allowed lines to stay together and minds to stay focused on the game, not the reffing on the other team. The Pirates' approach was to emphasize their play and to put aside what happened on the other bench. This attitude shift seems to have helped the Pirates to play the kind of game they enjoy, and to raise the spirits in the locker room, on the bench and in the bar after the game.

As Jim Jezioranski notched five points in the game, John Mutch collected the first hat trick of the season for the Pirates and his team-leading fourth game-winning goal, and Jonathan Gallivan, with two goals and two assists, showed that being a helping hand can be rewarding, the scoring race for the Pirates is red hot. JG leads with 20 points (9 goals and 11 assists), JM is just one point behind with 19 (14 goals and just 5 assists), and JJ is close behind with 16 points (9 goals and 7 assists). Rumours abound that the rest of the team is planning to add at least one "J" to each of their initials in order to help them rack up those scoring numbers!

With just one more game in the offing, a make-up game against the Venom, the playoffs loom large. And, wouldn't you know it, the Pirates face the Zig Zags for the third straight Monday night in a row on March 22 at 10:00 p.m. in the first round. After the scoring fests of the past two games, expect nothing less than a shoot-out. Be there, and don't forget about the Wednesday Night Pirate Skate™, which continues until March 31.

GO PIRATES!!! VIVA LOS PIRATAS!!!

Howie