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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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A Tie of Convenience
2005-11-07: Mighty Pirates 6 at Suicide Wings 6

A long-standing debate that has raged in the Mighty Pirate locker room since the inception of this storied hockey club focuses on the question of whether a tie ought to be viewed as a win or as a loss. Much of the evidence to support both sides of the question arises into two categories: the nature of the opposition, and which side scored the tying goal. Alas, having witnessed the game between the Mighty Pirates and the Suicide Wings last Monday at 7:10 in RINX 2, it was clear that such a simplistic approach would not be adequate to answer the question with respect to this particular contest. Why? Because other questions immediately arise? Which Suicide Wings team should be considered the opposition — the one with superstar St. Germain or the one without him? Which tying goal should be considered — the first Mighty Pirate tying goal at the end of the first period to make it 2-2, or the last one at the end of the third period making the score 6-6 to cap a comeback from a 2-5 deficit? You see, it is quite complicated — n'est pas?

So let's start at the beginning. With Captain Mola sidelined by his shoulder displacement at the hands of the Ice Cats the previous week, Rob Kwinter saving international corporations from the clutches of a meddling government, and Dave Turner — all-time Pirate leader in games played — inexplicably absent, it fell to former captain Shaun Leggett to fashion lines from the balance of the Pirate roster. With Matthew Lella reliably ensconced in goal, he appointed Mark Cooper, Blair Dimock, Paul Matusek and Richard Bingham (yes, THAT Richard Bingham!) to play defense. As centres, he named Jonathan Gallivan and John Mutch, and the winger pairs were Mark Sager and Jim Jezioranski; Nick Perri and Auby Mandell; and Shaun Leggett and Les Klein.

Very early on, it was clear that this would not be a defensive gem. Within 35 seconds of the first puck drop, John Mutch, celebrating his 40th birthday, took a perfect feed from Auby Mandell who was on the receiving end of a Paul Matusek pass, tucked the puck under the Wings' goalie to draw first blood. A most out-of-key (but loud) rendition of "Happy Birthday to You" from the Pirate bench met him as he made his way back to the red line. The elation did not last long, however, despite a number of great opportunities in front of the Wings' net, generated by excellent pressure from quick Pirate line changes, crisp passing and excellent positioning. The Pirates won races to the puck, controlled the corners, and used the point men to create scoring chances. Notwithstanding the above, they came up empty-handed, and instead, the Wings' superstar St. Germain connected with Mullally at 4:31 left to tie it up, and did the deed himself just two and a half minutes later to give the Wings a 2-1 lead. But less than a minute later, Mandell — positioned perfectly on the far side of the net — took a pass from Nick Perri and shoved it behind the goalie to the back of the net to tie the game.

However, in the second period, despite continuing effort by the boys in yellow, the Wings notched two more goals, with St. Germain contributing a goal and an assist in the effort. And as the third period began, he added a third goal to give the Suicides a seemingly insurmountable 5-2. But the Pirate machine was not done, and Mutch came back just 51 seconds later, working with Jim Jezioranski and Mark Cooper, to cut the lead to just two goals. Reverting to Pirate Brand Hockey®, your heroes kept the Wings off the board for five more minutes, when Richard Bingham (yes, THAT Bingham!), Shaun Leggett and Jonathan Gallivan combined to add another goal and get within striking distance of a tie. That magic moment came with 2:42 left in the game, when, supported by Leggett and Gallivan, Paul Matusek pinched in and scored the tying goal, setting off pandemonium on the Pirate bench. Alas, St. Germain was not yet finished, as he notched his fourth goal and sixth point of the night with 1:53 remaining to give the Wings the lead once again. With hope seemingly gone and the Pirates penned deep in their own zone, Cooper took control of the puck and fired a seeing-eye pass to the stick of a streaking Gallivan who was positioned well behind the Wings' defenders and took off on a breakaway, making the right choice with a deke and lifting the puck over the shoulder of the goalie, to tie the game up at 6-6 with just 37 seconds on the clock.

And that's how it ended. It was, as noted, not much in the way of a defensive battle, but it showed how a well-balanced team like the Pirates — with talent up and down the roster (only three Pirates have not yet recorded a point this season, and nine boasting four or more) — shapes up against a team like the Suicide Wings, which features a few very strong players and a more variable supporting staff. This night, the balance was perfect — a tie of convenience. In future meetings, it will, it seems, depend on which teams show up on each bench. But the end result of this game — and of the entire TNHC Monday Dry Division preseason — was a tie of convenience, of that both the Suicide Wings and the Mighty Pirates were convinced. With no team clearly dominant, and no team clearly outclassed, True North had no choice but to leave the Division untouched by realignment, a decision that clearly found favour with all of the teams in the division. While we all felt the pain of the Venom struggling in the next division up, there just was no clear candidate to take their place. Furthermore, all of the teams were united in their enthusiasm for the level of competition found so far this season, and they all look forward to the next round of games, and for the season to unfold in an enjoyable manner for all. This tie represents potential parity among all of the teams, rewarding hard work and effort — and punishing poor teamwork and sloth.

So the next chapter in the saga will be available for all to enjoy next Monday night, as the Pirates take on the Tigers at 10:00 p.m. on RINX 3. It should be a blast — you won't want to miss it!

Howie