Red Army Rolls Over Pirates 4-1
2007-01-08: Mighty Pirates 1 vs. Red Army H.C. 4

To the tune of the 1812 Overture (complete with cannons), the Red Army pummeled the Mighty Pirates in a hard-fought game last Monday at Rinx 1, which started at the god-awful hour of 11:15 p.m. While most observers toe the party line that in the TNHC Monday Night Canadian Division, any team can win any game depending on how they play (and who shows up!), there is no denying the talent of the CCCPs — they are young, fast, strong and smart, and they look like they have been playing together for a while. They can control the flow of the play, their passing is excellent, they play their positions, and they do not give their opponents second chances on miscues. So, while they may be challenged for top spot in the division, with the Loch Monsters and the Original Chiefs (and maybe even the Scorpions, who have now won four games in a row) giving them a run for their money, they are unlikely to end up far from first place.

But as Captain Mola is likely to say, "nulla si fa senza volonta" (or "nothing happens without commitment"), and the Pirates were not intimidated as they prepared for the contest. They were missing rookie sniper Phillips and veteran forward Leggett, but they were still, despite the late start, to ice three full forward lines and five defensemen. With Lella manning the pipes; Besant, Matusek, Jezioranski, Mintz and Klein on defense; Gallivan, Mutch and Perri at centre; Sager, Sturgeon, Turner on left wing; and Mandell, Kwinter and Mola on right wing; the Pirates were ready to roll.

The game started off poorly for the Pirates wearing their yellows, as the Red Army penned them into their own zone for the entire first shift, and it was several more minutes before they were able to carry the attack into the Commies' zone. None of the Bucs' shots were up to challenging the Ruski goaltender, but Lella also made some spectacular saves of his own to stave off the comrades' attacks. Alas, with less than three minutes left in the first quarter, the Red Army managed to net three unanswered goals (the last while the Pirates were trying to kill off their first penalty) to lead at the buzzer by a score of 3-0.

Give the Pirates credit, because after that ugly meltdown, they did not lose their cool or focus, and in fact redoubled their efforts to play Pirate Brand Hockey®. The second period was much more even in terms of flow, and with 6:50 left on the clock, Gallivan raced in to collect a perfect Kwinter dump, feeding Jezioranski who joined the attack to put it away and get the Pirates on the scoreboard. After that, the Pirates began to generate opportunities fairly regularly, but the Red Army defense was also strong, rebounds were few and hard to control, and many threaded pass attempts were cut off and sent back down the ice in a flash of skates and a blaze of speed.

As Captain Mola is likely to say, "uva cattiva non fa buon vino" (or "you can't make good wine from bad grapes"), but the Pirates did give it their all in the third period as well. Even when the Red Army scored a comeback-crushing fourth goal just two minutes into the third period, the Pirates continued to work hard. There were no bad grapes on that bench! Yes, the youth of their opponents started to show as it became harder and harder for the Pirates to win those races to the loose pucks and to keep the charging hordes to the outside on the 3-on-2 rushes, but they did not give up. The fact that the second and third periods ended in a 1-1 tie shows that the Pirates did in fact play with a lot of grit and determination. And Matthew Lella's acrobatic saves were worthy of the TSN highlight reel time and time again.

Frankly, Howie was pretty impressed. No one looked to the refs or the gods above to avenge alleged misdeeds, or to shift the blame for the outcome of the game. Both good humor (well, relatively good humor) and sportsmanship were the order of the day for the Pirates on both the ice and the bench (Howie was unable, due to the ungodly hour, to see if that spirit extended to the post-game Howie's press-conference-and-wings-fest). It was not necessarily a day for Pirates or their fans to hang their heads in shame. They played two good periods (and really almost three — 29 minutes for sure!), and could have made it close with a few better bounces and some better breaks.

No, it is this correspondent's opinion that these Pirates are not out of it yet. There is plenty of season left and plenty of opportunities to show what they can do. A finish in the top three is well within their grasp, if their play against the Red Army is any indication. And — okay, we may be out on a limb here a little bit — we could even see a first place finish here yet. Say, a good third starting pitcher, reasonable play from the new shortstop and good performance from their returning regulars — oh, wait, that is the Blue Jays for 2007! But it still applies in our minds to the Pirates.

Don't give up hope and stick with these guys. They deserve your support. Be there on Monday night, the 15th of January, at 9:20 in RINX 1 as they take on the Original Chiefs. They have a tie and a win against the Hansons so far this season, and those guys will be looking to even the score. It should be a good one.

GO PIRATES!!! VIVA LOS PIRATAS!!!

Howie