The Green game plan was to limit the top two Black point-getters in their opening match-up and they enjoyed an overwhelming success in that category as they held Lee “Nitro” Naeth and “Silent” Seth Phillips to a combined one assist.
Unfortunately they lost the handle on Blacks next two marksmen as Will “The Thrill” Quary scored a goal and added an assist and Eric “Bonsai” Bodman found the twine twice from close range.
Adding insult to injury was a spectacular effort from George “Popeye” Paul who made several dazzling moves on a partial break before firing one home.
The other match up saw the worst possible start for White. As many assignments that could be missed in the first 13 seconds of a game were and Red scored on a rebound as Travis “Jolly old” Englund tapped one in.
That was quickly followed by a cannonading shot from Whites Dale “Big Dog” Bubela on a partial breakaway only 26 seconds later to knot the contest.
A beautiful three-way passing play resulted in White scoring on the powerplay a few minutes later as Scott “Little Softy” Fairless rifled one home.
The next 15 minutes saw end-to-end action until a mis-timed high stick to the cranium put White on a five-minute powerplay to start the second half and gave the culprit an early trip to the showers.
The terrific Red penalty kill gave them a huge momentum switch that they took full advantage of as Brad “Garbageman” Baker knocked in an even strength rebound that proved to be the final tally of the contest.
Steve Dodge is a defensive winger for the White team and an Observer contributor.
