In a classic match-up between the only squads to have occupied the FHL Penthouse this season, it was the Serenity Builder bunch who wanted it more in a 4-2 victory over Bear. That makes it two wins in a row for the Builders over Bear, but rumour has it the Communicator Video Crew has already dissected the root cause of Serenity’s sudden supremacy and a remedial plan is currently being drafted. Much like the contest three weeks ago, Serenity used a strong fore-check and the odd back check, which forced the Bruins into costly turnovers. Taking advantage of the loose pucks was Kevin (Big Daddy) Hesslegrave who scored a beauty for his newborn son and collected a pair of assists for his twins. Benefactors of his tiptop play were Brent (El Capitan) Carter who scored the winner and Steven (Stamkos) Dodge who has now scored more goals the past three weeks (2) than he accomplished in the previous two years. Also scoring for Serenity was Ray (Flying) Friesen who pinballed a puck into the net and several Bear forwards out of harm’s way in front of (Magnificent) Mike Moody in the Builders cage. Replying for a Bear squad who are searching for the Magic that followed them earlier in the season was Jimmy (The Greek) Sales and Troy (Story) McMillan who capitalized even strength but couldn’t muster much on a pair of man advantages.
In the penalty filled contest on rink 2, Fraser River dominated Blue Collar in every aspect of the game except Sin Bin attendance in a 5-1 victory. The result gives the Chevy Crew 13 wins this season, which is significantly more than the average third place seed in the long and distinguished history of the FHL. Earning a modified Gordie Howe Hat trick which has now been renamed a Dave (Chainsaw) McCulloch Hat trick of a goal, an assist and a penalty was Chad (The Comet) Swanson who set up Brian (Bubba) Inwood’s third of the season to go with an unassisted groin puller and a phantom penalty call. Opening up the scoring for the Rivermen was Grant (Plants) Johannesen as (Silent) Seth Phillips utilized his patented Savardian Spinarama move to notch a goal of his own.
Also scoring for the powder blue persuasion was Jim (Bon) Scott who has finally rounded into form after a mid season to forget. Skewering the goose egg that was only minutes away from fruition was BCS sparkplug Ken (Quicksilver) McMillan who went coast to coast to avoid being shut-out for the third time this season.
Reminder: Next week’s scheduled game is postponed until March 28 due to Spring Break. That will be the final game of the regular season.
Steve Dodge is a defensive winger with Serenity Builders and an Observer contributor.
