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After extensive contract negotiations, the Mighty Pirates organization is extremely pleased to welcome back Howie for another season of insightful, amusing, and extremely addictive commentary! Yes, Howie tells it like it is!

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Komets Crash and Burn Against Pirates
2005-02-28: Mighty Pirates 3 at Komets 0

Late as usual, Howie has finally come up for air long enough to heap praises on the Pirates' final effort of the regular season, just before we rush into the REAL March Madness, True North Hockey's Monday Night Coors Light Division Playoffs!

With real gridlock at the top of the division even going into the final week of play (a tier administrator's dream!), a great deal was riding on each period, each shift and each rush of every game on the last Monday night of February, 2005. And while other teams were fighting for their playoff lives, the Pirates were slated to face the Komets, without question the best team in the lower tier of the division, and ones who play with grit and style. While their plus/minus is well on the minus side, and their penalty minutes are up there with the leaders, their GAA has hovered through the entire season around 2.5, among the best of the best. So the fans that gathered knew that the Pirates would have to figure out the defense and goalie, and Matthew Lella would have to be at the very top of his game, if they were to sew up one more W for the record.

Add to the conundrum that both Captain Vito Mola and star defenseman Blair Dimock were sidelined by knee problems, and the challenges were there for all to see. It was veteran former captain Richard Bingham, assisted by former captain Shaun Leggett, who drew up the lines. John Mutch was paired with wingers Jonathan Gallivan and Mark Sager, Jim Jezioranski centered Nick Perri and Dave Turner, and Rob Kwinter anchored Shaun Leggett and Auby Mandell. Defensive pairs were Richard Bingham and Jim Butler, and Todd Kitchen with Les Klein.

The first period was a remarkably even contest, with puck possession and chances shared equally by both teams, though the quality of the opportunities for the Pirates seemed to be in favour of your heroes. A period that was marked by steady, cool-headed defense and relatively effective offense was decided on the whole by stellar goaltending at both ends of the ice, as both goalies effectively robbed the other team of scoring opportunities. No scoring and no penalties were recorded.

This pace continued well into the second period, and it was only the clean play that began to disintegrate halfway through the frame, when the Komets were called for two tripping penalties, as the Pirates‚ better skating and speed began to wear down their opponents‚ attempts to slow them down. And with just over two minutes left in the frame, a scramble in front of the Komet net, initiated by a powerful shot from the point by an aggressively pinching Richard Bingham, was deflected by Mark Sager, perfectly positioned in front of the net and finally tucked away by Nick Perri under the goalie's pads and into the net, making the score 1-0. That goal would be all the Pirates would need, as Nick Perri notched his second game-winning goal of the 2004-2005 campaign.

In the third period, the superior play of the Pirates finally bore fruit, both in scoring and in being the brunt of some heavy stickwork and body contact, as the Komets tried as well as they could to turn away the attacks. With just 1:02 gone in the third frame, Todd Kitchen let go a booming slapshot from the point that Jonathan Gallivan once again slipped under the goalie pads to make the score 2-0. Then, in the dying seconds of the game, with 1:37 on the clock, Rob Kwinter let go a shot from pointblank range, which bounced way out towards the blue line. Klein raced into the zone, kept the puck on side, and executed what he later learned was a "saucer pass" towards the net and onto the tape of Jonathan Gallivan's stick, who rammed it home for a final score of 3-0.

As a result, Matthew Lella notched his career-high 7th shutout of the season, putting him among the pantheon of Pirate legends for all time. As well, the game brought him within sight of an astounding 5,000 minutes played in the Modern Era of Pirate Hockey, an iron-man achievement worthy of note in the annals of the game of hockey.

The end of the game was marred by an unfortunate incident in which a Komet player attempting to cover Auby Mandell in their corner fell hard onto the ice and against the boards, which his teammate interpreted as a body check rather than an innocent fall. This elicited some harsh words and exchanges on the ice, which luckily did not get too far out of hand and the third period ended without penalties being called on either side.

But now, the fun is over. The division has been split into an upper and lower tier for the playoffs, and as a result, the Pirates will not face any pushover teams in the post-season. Instead, they will have to bring their A-games to every contest, focusing on Pirate Brand Hockey® for a full 32 minutes of playing time. If they can sustain that level of play and bring to the games the type of crisp passing, energetic rushing and committed forechecking and backchecking that is seen every Wednesday night at Fenside Arena, then no team can stop the boys in black and yellow from marching away with the playoff title. If however they do not come prepared, then they will be relegated to second place in the division with nary a teeshirt to show for it.

Stay tuned for game-by-game, period-by-period and shift-by-shift coverage of playoff excitement as PirateHockey.ca brings it all to you as if you were sitting in the platinum seats. Be there to cheer on your heroes!

GO PIRATES!!! VIVA LOS PIRATAS!!!

Howie