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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 Future of This Team Hangs on Pirate Brand Hockey!!!
2011-09-26: Mighty Pirates 3 at Mid-Ice Crisis 2

As the Mighty Pirates (1-0-0) head into their 19th season — just one year shy of two full decades of dedication to the team, to the sport and to their unique approach to the notion of team — they are facing a number of huge challenges. As a very wise observer of (and participant in) the Mighty Pirates stated this summer in a private interview with this correspondent in the wake of a tsunami of penalties being assessed the Summer Pirates, leading them to ultimately forfeit a chance at moving on in the playoffs, "There is a yearly incremental increase in the divide between the mean age of our team and our opponents, which invariably leads our slower players to resort to illegal tactics. It also results in our stronger players sometimes having to compete harder in order to turn the tide of the game in our favour." Such a conundrum inevitably confronts every dynasty — how can they keep their essence intact and their players happy while facing the inexorable passage of Father Time?

In the case of the Pirates, the answer to that question — for the past decade at least — has been Pirate Brand Hockey®, a formulation that focuses on defence first and opportunistic offence second; that emphasizes the positional nature of play; that demands short hard shifts and fresh legs on the ice; that keeps its eye on the positive on the ice, on the bench, in the locker room and in the bar; and ensures fun first and foolishness last.

Well, the Pirates came out for their season opener with all of the pieces in place, and demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that this strategy would be the formula for success for the coming 2011-2012 season. Despite the absurdity of the time of the puck drop and the lack of space on the Rinx 1 bench, 14 regulars and The Sturgeonator showed up for the 11:15pm tussle with the Pirates' long-standing rivals (and good guys), the Mid-Ice Crisis. Captain Mola had the lines well-balanced: forwards were Turner/Sager/Phillips; Mandell/Mutch/Gallivan; Kwinter/Hine/L. Klein; defence was Jezioranski/J. Klein/Leggett/Mola/Sousa. Everyone looked in mid-season form, and Mandell in particular, having missed much of the last two seasons due to injury, looked amazing, trim and with toned arms. He only played three games all of last year, but he seemed to be in fine form from his first shift onward! For a team to come back virtually as they were at the beginning of the last season and look this good, it bodes well for the ultimate outcome, even at the challenging Day Division level, where the Pirates find themselves in the preseason.

Alas, just 29 seconds in, the MIC scored on a blast from the point. It felt immediately like it could be a long night. But the spirit on the bench held up, and their positive spirit was rewarded with:

Goal 1: A gorgeous stretch pass from J. Klein that sent Hine in on a long breakaway just over two minutes into the game. Being hounded all the way to the goal, Hine fought off the attacks and deposited the puck to even the score at 1-1. And things improved even more when just under two and a half minutes later:

Goal 2: Criss-crossing at the blueline, Mutch dished off to Mandell, who responded with a quick tap back to Mutch, and who in turn whipped a screen shot from the point that fooled the goalie on the short side. Suddenly, it was 2-1 Pirates heading into the second period. The MIC however have always been worthy opponents, and they pressed the attack in the second. Indeed, they managed to tie up the game just over halfway through the second period. But, again, without panic, the Pirates stuck to the game book. In particular, it was beautiful to see Kwinter, who skated like the wind all night, playing both ends of the ice with equal intensity. And similarly, Leggett playing defence was solid at the blue line, and he made it difficult if not impossible for the MIC forwards to get across the line into Pirate territory. And then, with just over two minutes left in the second:

Goal 3: Hine scored unassisted, dipsy-doodling around every MIC defender, losing then regaining the puck with that awesome reach of his, until everyone on both sides was so mesmerized that he was able to lift the puck high side over the the goalie's shoulder — a thing of beauty to behold! In fact, Hine was a machine! When he turned on his forecheck game in the latter stages, Mid-Ice Crisis had a real tough time dealing with it. Again, play at both ends of the ice on good, hard shifts was key.

The third period was a back-and-forth affair, with no goals, but lots of chances for both teams. Kudos must go out to the two goalies who both played solid games between their respective pipes, and who also kept their cool in the midst of some pretty intensive attacks.

And there was relatively good news on the penalty front — only six minutes amassed in total, as against four by the MIC, still too many but an improvement over a total meltdown, and it was also good to see that those assessed kept their cool and simply skated to the box with no back-talk to the refs. The penalty situation got messy in the second period in particular, when the MIC managed to score on the power play to tie up the game, and then the Pirates were briefly in a 3-on-5 situation, before taking the lead for good on a 4-on-4.

The challenge of course continues this coming Monday, October 3, when the other end of the schedule spectrum comes home to haunt the ever-busy and professionally oriented Pirates, facing a new opponent (or are they just a retread of an old rival from many years back?), the Road Warriors (0-1-0), on RINX #3 at the rush-hour time of 6:00 pm. But we know you don't really mind — the pleasure of seeing the Mighty Pirates back on the ice for another season will pack the stands with fans, for sure. Be there and catch all the action, on ice and then at the Howie's press conference afterwards!

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