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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.

The Ties That Bind
2010-10-18: Mighty Pirates 1 vs. Smell The Glove 1

The Pirates have finally found their place in the highly competitive world of True North Hockey Canada. The Monday Night Gilmour Division at RINX has achieved a level of parity never before seen in the storied 18 year history of the Mighty Pirates (1-0-3) hockey club. At the moment (still awaiting the results of the 11:15 battle between the first place Drunken Monkeys and the last place Cyclones) one point separates the two teams tied for first and the three teams tied for second. Of the 11 games played so far this season, four have ended in ties, and three of the four have involved your heroes in the black and gold. It is eerie, strange, unusual — almost Halloween-like.

But then again, you come to expect such things, especially when the clock passes 11:00 pm before the puck drops. So much depends on who shows up, what they ate (or did not eat) or drank (or did not drink — OK, the Pirates always drink!) for dinner, and whether they had a nap or not. In usual manner, the email asking who might be no-shows went out early in the day, and as the hours wore on, they were dropping like flies! Mola: "I'm out tonight, guys." Mandell: "Auby is still out." Kwinter: "Guys — I have to go to Chicago tonight — last minute. Sorry." Phillips: "On the DL for a few weeks after cataract surgery." (Oh, goodness, what about the Grind Line???) And when the call went out to the subs? Kitchen: "Sorry, too late for this old sub." Mintz: "Sprained my ankle couple of weeks ago and am still resting it. Sorry." N. Sinclair: "Sorry Les, can't make it to Smell the Glove this time around."

Yet, despite all this, thirteen intrepid souls picked themselves off their couches, dragged their infernal Hockey Locker Bags to Rinx 3 and dressed for the 11:00 pm historic first meeting against the oddly-named Smell the Glove (1-1-2). With Sturgeon between the pipes; Jezioranski and Gallivan playing centre; L. Klein, Sager and Turner on left wing; Sousa, Hine and Mutch on right wing; and J. Klein, Besant, Siddons and Tassone on defence, the Pirates took to the ice in fine form. From the first puck drop to the last, these 13 played their hearts out, and showed that they could keep up with any team in the division. Once again, the team demonstrated exemplary passing, great positional play, exceptional communication on the ice, and smooth transitions from defence to offence, with fore-checking and back-checking that would make a banker blush! Forwards covered for rushing defencemen and got back to help on the D when required. By all accounts, the Pirates controlled the play for much of the 32 minutes, and were it not for the simply stunningly brilliant play of the StG goalie, the score would have been a blow-out. The only problem the Pirates had on a couple of occasions was being trapped on the ice for shifts that were too long — not from being trapped in their own end, but rather because they had complete control of the puck in the opponents' end but were unable to either score or stop play!

Indeed it looked like it would be a blow-out, when just 28 seconds in, Jezioranski rushed the puck past the forwards and drove towards the net, shovelled it to a rushing J. Klein who in turn found Mike Sousa perfectly set in the slot to power the puck past the goalie and give the Pirates a 1-0 lead. On the next two shifts, the puck was again in the StG end, but despite peppering the net with shots, nothing found the twine. Lots of pad, lots of glove, lots of blocker, but no net. As this pattern continued, the first period saw the Gloves sag in frustration. But let us not forget the simple fact that the Pirates, while mature, are also very — well — mature, and the other teams in the division are increasingly — well — young! So quickly in the second period, the Smelly ones found their second and third winds, and started to run the puck far more effectively. Their skating skills and speed challenged the defensive squad, but they were full up to the task, and kept the shooters wide and off kilter. Only once, shortly after the start of the second period, did a momentary lapse allow the Gloves to pot a goal to put the score even at 1-1. But in the third period, parity set in again, and both teams found themselves working hard with little to show on the scoreboard.

You might have thought that this would lead to shenanigans on the ice, but until the very end of the game, cool heads prevailed on both sides. There were some penalties called, but nothing egregious. However, at the very end of the contest, with the Glovemen pressing in the Pirates' end, a check to the back of Tassone led to retaliation which ignited an ugly "third man in" situation. The refs, who were very good and kept control of the game throughout, issued game ejections to the three players (one Pirate, two Smellies) involved, and left it at that. This observer for one hopes that this incident does not prove to be a repeating irritant between these two teams, who otherwise played a great and competitive game.

All in all, the preseason is proving to be one heck of a good time, and offering the best hockey that Pirate fans have seen in years. Let's hope that the league sees to it that this division stays largely intact, so that the fun can continue. And continue it does next Monday, October 25, at 9:20 on RINX 1 when the Pirates take on the Toronto Blades (2-2-0), in what promises to be another epic showdown. Be there to enjoy all the action — and the beer, pizza and wings that will surely follow!

GO PIRATES!!! VIVEN LOS PIRATAS!!!
Howie