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A tale of two shoot outs
With apologies to Charles Dickens, the great novelist. What follows now is a story of how contrasting emotions can be when you watch ice hockey penalty shoot outs. One minute you feel elated, one minute you feel down in the dumps and to be honest as you know, I’ve had more of my fair share of downers since the turn of the year.
Since I somehow forgot to do a blog last week, not like me to forget really, I thought I do a double edition this week – and why not. We have the ups of winning our first game of 2010, and then losing a game we really shouldn’t have…both by penalty shots! As you all know, I am not the biggest fan of overtime and penalty shots but if that’s the way we solve things now then so be it. It’s great when you win but my God it’s damn depressing when you do.
Last Saturday, and I nearly didn’t go for the first time this season. I had been suffering with my sinus late that week and couldn’t drag myself off to college to see if my exam result had come through. I somehow dragged myself off to hockey though, feeling about 50% right and with a sore throat that just wouldn’t go away. The game didn’t start great for the Scims though, 1 down after less than a minute and 2 down after 5:50. A quick response was required, and we got it, level after a frenetic first 9 minutes. The action didn’t let up and Swindon fought back to lead 4-2 at the end of the first, their fourth coming on the buzzer after we’d inexplicably iced up the puck with just three seconds left in the period.
Slowly we cranked it up and it was only a matter of time before the Wildcats cracked. Yet we had to wait until a minute and a half inside the final period for a third goal, Matty Haywood from Captain Slami on the powerplay. Five minutes later and we got a rarity, Simon Butterworth (usually supplier of assists) netting past “Disco” Douglas. Nothing else could separate the sides, overtime, nothing – so we had to go to a shootout. Slami and Kohut shared scores, Mark Stewart missed and then Jan Krajicek well, missed terribly…he tried a slapshot from close range and it went well, well wide. Embarrassing. James Archer scored and then Ben Bowns saved from Cassells, cue celebrations and long overdue indeed.
We also had the cute sight of Finlay Archer, nephew of James, on ice at the end and everyone applauded him…even the Wildcats fans who had come up from Wiltshire did – nice touch! Yet the following night Ondrej Lauko proved to be that he is probably the import signing of season, sorry Messer’s Ed Courtenay and Jaroslav Cesky he is better, as he notched his sixth treble of the season as the Bison beat us 4-1 in Hampshire. Mind you, it was only secured in the last minute by the afore mentioned Mr Lauko so cause for thinking we didn’t do too badly after all. Hard lines.
Having found out I had indeed passed my exam in the morning it was soon Saturday night, last night, and it meant a visit from Guildford and some mates from Surrey to share some banter and the match as well. They’d been up for the game over Christmas and it was fun then so more of the same this time around. After two we led 6-3 and it could have and should have been, more. Referee Wardell incurring the wrath of the home support for washing off a goal when he had given it first place, the game would have definitely been over as the Flames (admitted by my Guildford pals) were all over the shop literally.
Given that lifeline, the Flames stepped it up and that bloody third period ghost came back as much as we didn’t want it. Simple mistakes of giving the puck away in your zone meant 6-6 after normal time, and just like Swindon last week, overtime didn’t separate it. Shoot-out number two in as many weeks, would we get a similar result? After Masa had scored the only goal after two rounds, it was down to Mr Archer to take it to the un-named third Guildford shooter. Now if the crossbar had been just a fraction higher, that’s what would have happened. Somehow we lost a game we didn’t deserve to. The banter post-match followed. Emma from Guildford going goo goo over Bownsy and me getting my COA for the fact I will own Tom Squires’ warm up shirt (Emma got jealous again)!
Wonder what next? Canada beating the US in the early hours of tomorrow? Please…enjoy your hockey folks!
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| 12th March 2006 19:00 | ||
5-3 |
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| 12th March 2006 19:00 | ||
4-5 |
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| 12th March 2006 19:00 | ||
1-4 |
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| 12th March 2006 19:00 | ||
4-4 |
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| 11th March 2006 19:00 | ||
2-4 |
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| 11th March 2006 19:00 | ||
| Club | GP | W | L | OL | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|
5-8 |
||
| 19th March 2006 19:00 | ||
5-1 |
||
| 19th March 2006 19:00 | ||
4-1 |
||
| 19th March 2006 19:00 | ||
5-2 |
||
| 19th March 2006 19:00 | ||
3-7 |
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| 19th March 2006 19:00 | ||
1-1 |
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| 19th March 2006 19:00 | ||
| Club | GP | W | L | OL | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|
- Adam Walker
- Alex Birch
- Andy Pierce
- Chris Gent
- Christopher Beal
- Craig Simpson
- Dave Simms
- Elliott Stanley
- Gareth Chalmers
- James Broughton
- James Gordon
- Katy Madgwick
- Luke Catterson
- Mark Briggs
- Mark Duell
- Mat Young
- Patrick Smyth
- Promotion
- Russ Morrell
- Seanna Murdock
- Stephen Dowson
- Stewart Roberts
- Tom Forster
- Vicki Smart
- William Lyon
