(Photo credits to Joseph Hu and Puckeye)
In the battle of the basement dwellers to kick off Week 13, we saw the Vikings take on the Bulldogs. It was a back and forth affair that took the teams all the way to 3 on 3 then in to a shootout. It was the newcomers, Big Baerg and Boston Dan who buried the first two shootout goals to give their new team the two points and have been an instant fit. Shin took the double cheese honours with his best Mansinator impression, standing on his head throughout the game and stonewalling the last two Vikings in the shootout. 5-4 yellow. With full squads, the buoys on both sides looked all right and should compete in the second half of the season.
The Hairy Crabs won their second game in a row Friday night with a gutsy 5-4 over time victory against the Puck Hounds.
Despite a couple late scratches–most notably captain Leon–the Crabs were able to come from behind throughout the game.
Through the first two periods the teams were deadlocked at 3. Taggart tallied two goals in the first two frames and Whately scored a short handed goal after pick pocketing the puck from the goalie behind the net and burying the puck in the empty goal.
Taggart scored the equalizer with less than a minute to go in the game and the Crabs down 4-3. With the goalie pulled the boys in green threw everything they could on net before Taggart finally tipped a point shot from Back-up Bob. It didn’t take long in the three on three for Matt Whately to bang home the game winner for his second on the night.
The Paper Tigers and Dirty Blues early contest on Saturday night started out fast paced, with both teams vying for a ‘W’ in David “Jungo” Smith’s last game in the Shanghai Hockey Club. The PT youngsters Smith and Johnny A. combined for 5 goals on the night with Antti “Jagr” Liukko providing solid defense and one assist contributing to the 6-0 victory. Beyond the points and whatever he does on the ice, Antti contributes to the young Tigers players in countless other ways. He pointed out the combined age of Jungo (22) and Johnny A (17), is lower than his, which is what makes his work ethic and ability to prepare off the ice that much more impactful on the young Tiger stars. “You hear that from a guy like [defensemen] J.P Grimard or (forwards) Harri Pitkanen and Yofa. I mean, they take care of themselves, but they’re doing that extra little bit more because they have the aspiration to be like [Antti]. There’s also the added benefit for the older Tigers that makes them feel younger than they are. “It feels like I’m still wearing diapers when I’m next to him,” said Tigers goaltender Barry Roe. Both teams will look forward to the next tilt which should be much more evenly matched with Cole Paterson, Michael McClocklin and Danny returning to the Blues lineup. The Tigers lead the season series 2-1.
In a surprise move by Ken’s pinch hitter captain Tommy, small hands Bergie got called up to play forward. After a couple shifts of getting acquainted to his new position, Hawk-eyes Large threaded a needle pass to give Bergie a breakaway which he buried to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead. After some bad line change from the 8 man APL, Large and Bergie ended up with a 2 on 1 where a rifle pass to Bergie and some stick handling magic gave the Ducks a 2 to nil lead. To convert the natural hat-trick later in the second, “short stick no more” Simon fed Bergie in the slot and tipped in his 3rd tally. APL later scored early in the third. Solid goal-tending, solid defense and good fore-checking from the forwards helped beat down the first place APL squad.
Fog Devils put together a strong team effort this Saturday in their 5-3 victory over the Killer Pandas. Ice Cocks franchise-mates Barry, Markus, and Kaz all came up to help. Assistant Captain and first star of the game, Kitamura Sensei delivered an emotional game prep speech, moving fans, teammates, and the Zamboni driver to tears. In a heart-warming tale of friendship and dedication, and with double-cheeseburger in hand, Kita moved the team into a frenzy with his passionate and touching Haikus. Center Kevin Hill said, “Our minds melded, our mission became one. I love the Fog Devils.”
In a season where they have struggled to score the Ice Cocks finally potted more than 2 goals in a decisive 4-1 win over the Magnon-less Fu Dogs. Captain Campbell soon forgot about the sweet passing little Frenchman though, as the Ice Cocks managed to set him up beautifully in their own end for the first goal – a high wrister over Krazy Karl’s shoulder. Not to mention any names but after the giveaway the guilty Cock was shaken, not stirred. That wake up call caused the Cocks to come back hard as they pressured call up goalie Toshi continually. The big goalie played great position in net and seemed impossible to beat. Finally Vancouver road hockey sensation Trevor ‘Boomi’ Lai illustrated how to beat Toshi, burying 3 in a row for his first SHC Hattie. Along with Spahr and Mushy their line applied pressure start to finish.
