We played a tough and tight final game of the night against the Shufflers after a pretty dramatic day on the rink. My night began upon arrival, when I noticed that the game that was underway was paused, and a player was down on the rink and in a bad way. All play stopped while an ambulance was summoned. The player was my nemesis from last week, Greg of the Rockers, and it became pretty clear that he'd snapped his leg just above the ankle. This was the result of a 'blue on blue' collision. What could you say except that bad shit happens, that's hockey, and join the round of applause as they stretchered him off.
This had served to delay the evening by about fifty minutes, which had consequential effects upon the rosters in our game, the final one of the evening. For example, we lost Merrilyn who had to get to work. Paul, who'd played in the earlier game, played with us as a reserve. Apart from him and me, Brenton and Natasha played, Jordyn was in net (she'd played in goal in the tied game before ours also), and Krystal came on board for her first game as a Wheeler (she'd also filled as a reserve in an earlier game). The Shufflers had three reserves playing for them, Donna, Mal and Nat the Goalie staying on from earlier Div II game to join the three Shufflers present.
The late hour, the earlier injury, the plethora of reserves and the fact that they (together with Jordyn, Krystal, and Nikolette of the Shufflers) had all played in an earlier game meant that it would be an interesting gig. We had three 'fresh' and two 'tired' skaters. They had two 'fresh' and three 'tired' skaters. Both teams had a 'tired' goalie.
In the first half we had fifteen shots on goal, they had fourteen. We led 3-2 at half time. In the second half, we had only two shots to their ten. Luckily, both of ours went in, because the final score was a 5-5 tie. I scored my first ever hat trick, matched with one by a Shuffler, from my five shots at goal. This despite the fact that played the huge majority of the game in defensive mode where I stick checked, body blocked or kicked away at least six shots at goal. My most arsey move was an almost casual backwards foot rise to kick aside a puck as it flew behind after being slapped at goal by the opposition point. It was a pretty neat trick!
I came out hard in the first half, played a seven minute shift to open (!) with no goals being scored. I spent much of my time physically checking the two gun Shuffler forwards, keeping them on the outside or out of the slot until my legs started to fade. When I got off the rink, it was 0-0. My aim was to prevent them getting into a dominant position early, psychologically perhaps moreso than with regard to the scoreboard, as they had in their game the previous week. While I recovered, both teams got a goal. For my next shift, I rushed the net in the first couple of plays, resulting in a one on one between me and the goalie with the puck beneath her body between her legs, me looking at it and pushing it through and over the line before the whistle went. Very similar to last week's goal. 2-1.
My second goal came near the start of the following shift, a fast skate up the board to gather a loose puck from Brenton, gather, steady, shoot with a low strong wristshot through the goalie's legs. 3-1. Scattered applause. This shot from the centreline is my longest distance score to date. Goes to show, accuracy is at least as important as power. They pulled it back a couple minutes later and the score at half time was 3-2.
The second half wasn't two minutes old before the Shufflers tied the score with a snapshot from point. 3-3. Then came twelve minutes of unrelenting hockey, mainly in our zone with us scrambling to cover both shot and pass. It was somewhere in this passage of play that I deflected a number of shots on goal with my feet (including the aforementioned backwards kick) and also shut off the goal mouth in some pretty brutal stick checking on the swooping forwards. Desperate stuff. But it paid off at the 6 minute mark when I intercepted a wayward pass and swooped diagonally forwards before cutting back across the goal and firing another strong wrister from about 30'. Goal! 4-3. I was off the rink when they got the equaliser about a minute later.
Five minutes to go, the game was tied at 4-4. Then came a goal to them that I am still a bit cheesed off about. I took a faceoff in our zone. I got it to the boards and pushed it forward while battling one of their forwards. Got the puck free and up the boards and 'slam' it stopped at the feet of a referee. Chase it. Win it. Referee's foot still in the way. Maneuver it past, referee moves and succeeds in blocking the puck again. I tell him to watch what he's doing (he had been busy chatting to someone off the rink!) as the battle continues. Me and opponent keep scrabbling around the puck, both eventually falling down. Their other gun pounces, I delay him with my stick blocking the puck as I get to my feet. Opponent takes off finally and I began pursuit, only to have to lose a pace or two as the referee moves across my path. Opponent swoops and scores goal. 4-5.
With about a minute to go I see Paul neatly slot his second goal to tie it up again at 5-5. I'm on the rink for the last half a minute. There's two faceoffs in that time. We end up clearing it and the siren goes. The game is a tie. It had been tough. It had been close. Archetypical moment - in the play that led to their final goal seeing Brenton throw himself onto the floor for a shot block in front of our goal. Desperate good stuff.
My knee held up for the whole game. Thus, it continues to improve. My shots were accurate, the practice is paying off. Perhaps most importantly, I had more practice at playing defence against skilled physical players. Four face offs, two wins. This was perhaps my best game. And that's not just because of my scoring, or blocked shots, or minutes on rink, or defensive play. But because it all happened together in the one game for a change.
In the last three games of the evening at Gawler tonight a total of 35 goals were scored. Two games were ties, both decided in the final minute of play. The other game was a one goal victory. The league not only feels like the competition is closer, it actually looks like it is. Well done to the organisers!
Finally, I finally picked up my gold medal and MVP trophy/plaque from last season. I haven't won a trophy since my primary school soccer days. Yipee!
GP 2 G 5 A 1 Pts 6 +4 1/0/1
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