Howie van Winkle Awakens from Long Slumber to Find Pirates Beating Up on Powerful Chiefs
2006-11-27: Mighty Pirates 6 vs. Original Chiefs 1

Huh? What happened? Last time I remember, I was being lulled to sleep by a bunch of slow, outplayed Pirates in the Molson Dry Division, with the goals for the good guys coming few and far between. Heck, in the face of faster, stronger, younger and more aggressive teams, they looked like deer in the headlights! Next thing I know, they are 3-1-1 in their last five and absolutely on fire! Huh? What happened?

Well, looking back, it sure looks like being told they were just not good enough to compete with the likes of the Money Shot, Mid-Ice Crisis, Corpap Cobras and the Venom, the Pirates seem to have decided that they just were not going to take it any more, and stunned the Suicide Wings with a 3-0 blanking, the first time this season they scored more than two goals. Then, relegated to the Coors Light Division, the first team they faced was their old nemesis, the Loch Monsters, and fought them to a 1-1 tie, surprised the Scorpions with a 2-1 victory, and fought the high-flying first place Red Army down to the last rush and came close in a 5-3 loss. Every game was hard-fought, but it appeared that the Pirates had learned their lessons, and Pirate Brand Hockey® was starting to make its appearance in fits and starts.

On Monday Night, it did show up full-blown! And so did the team! For the first time since the ill-fated Les Klein-induced roster disaster of 2003-2004 (when 11 forwards and six defensemen were signed to the regular team), sixteen skaters showed up to take the ice. To everyone's surprise and amazement, Kwinter made it in time from his meeting, Mutch showed up despite being a potential scratch due to a rib injury, Klein made an appearance after his party, and Sturgeon — the Pirates' fill-in sub for this season when someone is missing — also dutifully showed up as expected!

So there were no scratches, and Captain Mola cooly and calmly put together his lines with the forwards working in the extra man on one side. As it turned out, the Pirates really needed the extra legs and recovery times against the Original Chiefs — which was in fact partly the team that the Pirates have known in previous seasons and partly a new, young, fast and smart team. They have bolstered their offense and their defense, and backed up a roster of wily veterans with some new and energetic young players, which gives their offense and defense a new pop. Certainly, there were to be no guarantees against this team, and the Pirates knew it from the first drop of the puck.

For whatever reason, though, the Pirates maintained a calm demeanor throughout the contest. The first period was a very tight, defensive affair. The Chiefs were able to cycle the puck effectively, and were using their defensemen to set up plays from their own blue line. Passes were threaded across the ice and along the boards to meet the sticks of streaking forwards, and the Pirate defense was tested time and time again. However, the Pirate centers, Gallivan, Mutch and Perri, were always back to help out, and Lella's stellar play kept the Chiefs off the scoreboard. Then, with 2:05 remaining in the first period, Kwinter took the put down the ice and shot in on the goal, Phillips (looking to match his three point game the previous week against the Red Army) took a second shot, and then Gallivan put it away in a great third effort backhander, giving the PIrates the lead that they would not relinquish. With the clock running down two minutes later, Mandell followed in Leggett and Mutch and put up his first goal of the young season with just one second left in the period.

The second period was much like the first, in that both teams controlled the puck equally, and the pace was fast and furious. The difference was that, while the first period was penalty-free, the second had its share of visits to the sin bin. The Pirates were called for one on Sager, who was in the thick of the action all night, while the Chiefs were penalized twice in the frame. Though none of the penalties figured into the scoring column, the Pirates began to show the benefits of the full bench. The shifts were short and effective, the changes were the best this correspondent has seen all year, and the communication among teammates on the ice superb. Forwards were at the blue line covering the D, and defensemen found their targets on clearing passes. The short shifts meant that no one got caught on Chief breakaways, and on the occasional scoring chance that the Pirates did let happen, Lella was there to slam the door shut! And towards the end of the frame, Matusek took the put on a superb solo effort from end-to-end and made the score 3-0.

But the third period was the turning point. Just two minutes into the final period, the Chiefs executed one of their signature rushes and caught the defense napping.On a 2-on-1, the Chiefs' Dunn threaded a perfect pass behind the defense and Rainsberry slammed it past a sprawling Lella, to bring the Chiefs within two. This could have been a crushing blow to the Pirates, who had seen potential wins dissolve under pressure from their opponents. But one minute later, with a young Chiefs player sitting in the penalty box (having just executed a perfect "What did I do?" shoulder shrug for the refs), Sager and Mola streaked down the ice together, and after El Capitano and Gallivan worked a quick give-and-go, Gallivan put away the powerplay goal with a short side snapshot to restore the three goal margin. As the time ran down, and the Chiefs began to take more chances (and the youngsters resorted to the "I'll just do it myself" approach), the Pirates took advantage. Perri dished off the puck to Turner just two and a half minutes later, and Kwinter took the rebound and made it count in the final scramble in front of the net. Then the Captain took a Gallivan face-off win and put it away to cap a five goal lead. Following TNHC mercy rules, the clock began to run for the final 4:07, and the hourglass finally emptied on the Chiefs' chances.

Suddenly, the boys look like they are ready to finally break out. Theories as to why abound:

• Was it the signing of rookies Mintz (a young, skilled and solid defenseman with two assists and numerous contributions in both ends in six games), Phillips (a goal and three assists in eight games - fit in between running marathons every weekend!) and Besant (another solid D-man with cool and calm on the ice in every situation)?
• Was it the return of super-star Jezioranski, who suffered a broken collarbone in summer hockey and missed the first six games of the season?
• Or was it the Super-Sturgeon agreeing to be the regular substitute forward (as well as a regular goalie for the Wednesday Night Pirate Skate™, and alternate Pirate net-minder on Mondays), filling in the roster for our travel-hungry and family-obligated squad?
• Was it Gallivan (6G, 1A in 9 games) taking the bull by the horns and scoring the goals instead of dishing off the puck?
• The steady hand of Captain Mola (plus 4 goals and 2 assists in 9 games, and current iron man leader on the squad) on the tiller of the good Pirate ship?
• The end-to-end play of Matusek (a goal and 4 assists in 9 games)?
• The return of Mutch (2 goals and 2 assists in eight games and Modern Era Pirate leader in points and goals)?
• How about the hot hands and legs of speedster Kwinter (4 goals and 2 assists in just four games - imagine what his stats would be if he were not spending half his time saving the world economy!)?
• The Tower of Power Turner, with three assists already in eight games, coupled with a newfound speed and powerful shots from the slot?
• How about Mandell (with a goal and an assist in eight games), who has anchored lines on both sides and been in on many key plays?
• Or Leggett, with two assists in eight games, who in game after game, demonstrates to his mates the determination and grit that it takes to bring the team back from the doldrums?
• Could it be Perri, the playmaker (with two assists in a perfect nine game showing so far), who stepped into the role of centre early in the season, when the team was plagued with injuries and scratches?
• Or "Shoot Shoot Shoot" Sager, in on every play and embracing the new "skate hard and get off" short shift policy and nearly netting a goal in every game to date?
• Klein finally settling into his role as a cool and calm master defenseman, and accepting the fact that his recent play is probably the best of his career — and only getting better?
• Or the rock-steady Lella between the pipes in eight of the nine games and a steadily improving 3.13 GAA (and a shut-out and three one-goal games in the last five!)?

One thing is for certain — the Wednesday Night Pirate Skate™ is finally in full swing. And the extra ice time and opportunity to work on plays and individual skills is starting — as usual — to pay off on the ice on Monday nights. The squad is gelling, the communication is improving and — with the recent spate of successes — the spirit in the locker room is rising to meet the results. There is nothing like winning, and winning as a team, to put the smiles on the faces of your heroes wearing the black and yellow and their fans across the continent.

Next up — the always tough Loch Monsters (7-2-1), who own the Pirates in their all-time record with five victories, just one loss and three ties. It will take every bit of the effort that the Pirates showed against the Chiefs to make another presentable showing against the Deep Lake Dwellers, who have been responsible for not only regular season drubbings of your heroes, but also ending more than one Pirate playoff drive. Be there on Monday night, but get there early — the puck drops at 6:00 on Rinx 3 — it should be a doozy!

Howie