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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!

You'll find links to each and every Howie Report right here after each game.

Howie Report, 24 September 2007
2007-09-24: Mighty Pirates 0 vs. Toronto Blades 3

Egads, where is our beloved El Capitano when we need him? With the Mighty Pirates (1-1-0) coming off a hard-fought victory in their first game of their 15th anniversary season against the Steelheads the week before, what they needed was leadership in the locker room and on the ice from C-wearing Vito Mola. After all, he had both scored the two key goals against the opposition in the previous game, and had shaken up the lines with a vision worthy of a biblical prophet. Now, the Pirates were facing another very tough opponent - who had owned the Pirates in their previous two summer outings, shutting them out convincingly both times - and the captain is nowhere to be seen!

It fell to A-wearing Klein (Howie wonders if it isn't time to change this Alternate Captain...) to try to patch together some sort of strategy to solve the Toronto Blades. With his limited experience, he designated Bingham, Jezioranski, Mintz and call-up Tassone for defensive duties; Gallivan, Perri and Kwinter as centers; Sager, Turner and Phillips at left wing; and Leggett, Mandell and Klein at right wing. Matthew Lella made his 15th season debut between the pipes.

Besides Mola's absence, John Mutch was also a work-related (or was it a golf-related?) scratch, and Chris Besant fell victim to the 6:10 p.m. start and rush hour traffic (had the boys been equipped with BlackBerry elbow pads, they would have gotten his series of increasingly frustrated emails). Sturgeon, Sousa and Brown of the sub brigade were all unavailable for call-up.

The strategy, such as it was, focused on Pirate Brand Hockey® - strong defense, short shifts, opportunistic scoring, staying out of the penalty box, and good communication on and off the ice. Overall, it worked pretty well. The Blades are also a very disciplined team - clean, sportsmanlike and skilled at using their defense not only to clear pucks, but to set up the offense. When they found themselves in trouble with the Pirates pressing, they often passed the puck back to the defense and repositioned their forwards to start another attack. Again and again, the Pirate forwards found themselves behind the play, and the defense was hard-pressed to hold them off. However, between the over-worked defensive core and Lella's sharpness in front of the net, the score was still tied at 0-0 until well into the second period.

A surprising call from the refs in the second period for a penalty shot (a seemingly growing trend at TNHC, this being the second one called in two games this season) gave Lella the opportunity to show off his highly-honed reflexes, as he turned away a great move by Zdolec of the Blades with a last minute change of direction, which forced the puck wide of the net.

While it was clear that the Blades were able to bring the attack consistently to the Pirate end, the Pirate shots in the first 15 minutes were few, far between and usually either wide of the mark or aimed right at the chest protector of the Blade goalie, who played superbly, as usual. It was a breakdown lasting a total of 5 minutes and 10 seconds at the end of the second period and beginning of the third that made the difference in the score. RINX 2 poses particular challenges in the second period, where the gates for the forwards are buried deep in the opponent zone, and special effort is needed to avoid line changes that leave the distant defensive zone open to attack. Goals at 2:23 and 1:52 left in the second and 9:13 in the third from the two Pattons made the score 3-0. Surprisingly, this turn of events in fact inspired the Pirates to some of the best hockey Howie has seen them play so far this year, with stronger and stronger attacks, extended periods in the Blades zone, and much more effective shooting in the last 10 minutes of the game. Against any other opponent, this would have yielded some goals and changed the dynamic of the contest. But despite this exemplary effort, they could not solve the goalie or the defense, and they were unable to bend the twine, light the big red light, or sound the horn with any goals at all.

Speculation after the game was rife in the locker room that the Pirates as a team were the equals of the Blades, and that with Mutch and Mola back, it would be possible to give them a run for their money. Notwithstanding the now three game scoreless streak, all agreed that this was a team that was fun to play, and brought out the best that the Pirates can give on the ice. Howie was particularly impressed with the calm that pervaded the Pirate bench, despite the frustration of not being able to notch a goal.

Next week features another exciting contest, as the Pirates see the Tigers for the first time in two years, at 7:10 on RINX 2. The two teams ended up in different divisions last season, but the rivalry is one that both teams relish. With their record an even 2-2-1 in 2005-2006, this game has promise for fun hockey - and Howie knows that both sides hope that it will be good-natured and clean as well. See you there!!!

GO PIRATES!!! VIVA LOS PIRATAS!!!

Howie