We live to fight another day!

Last night was the Big Bear D4 playoffs.  It was a single elimination, and since were still only four teams we played Here For Beer again.  We had nearly a full bench again, with four forward lines, and five defensemen that cycled throughout the game.  If we’d lost, we be done for the season.  We play again next week.

I said last week that I really wanted to beat Here For Beer, and we did it with élan!  We won 4-1.  I played on a line with Bry at center and Mark on the left.  I was on the right wing.  Bry is by far our best player, so I got to be on the ice for one of his two goals.  The other two goals were scored by Justin.  I played really well.  I was skating well, and I was in good position nearly every play.  My horrible stick skills prevented me making a couple of breakouts, but I was able to win a few battles in the corner and had one run up the ice.  I had one shot on goal, and a pass hit my stick and nearly went in when I crashed the net.  I also took Here For Beer’s best player, #6, totally out of a play.  He was heading up the slot, and was dekeing our defenseman.  If he’d gotten past, he would have a free ice to the goal.  I was backchecking him and when he went for the deke, he backed right into me.  He went down hard, and we got the puck.  I was able to stay on my skates.  Fun stuff!

We also didn’t have all the problems with the refs we’ve had in the past.  We only had two penalties, one of which was a matching call, that left it 5 on 5.  Things got really fun in the 3^rd period when #6, got tossed out of the game with about 8 minutes left.  It was so stupid too.  There was a play behind our net that got blown dead.  I can’t remember why, but refs moved the faceoff into the neutral zone.  #6 thought the faceoff should have been in our zone so he got chirpy.  He wouldn’t let up and he got thrown out of the faceoff.  As he moved out of the circle, he told the ref to fuck off.  Yeah… you can say pretty much anything to a ref, but not fuck off.  The ref immediately sent him off for 2 minutes.  He must have kept up the haranguing, because the next thing I knew, the ref called him for a game misconduct and he was skating off the ice.  Not five minutes later, there other ringer was booted as well, after his 3^rd or 4^th penalty in the game.  We spent the last of the game on the power play, with all their best players gone.  They got a little hackey at their net, and the refs called the game with about 16 second left.   

We play Realty Source for the championship.  We've played them four times, and we've split the series- two wins each.  We were the only team that beat them all season.  Hopefully, we get refs who can keep things even keeled this time.  

I sat around the dressing room for a while afterwards, having a couple of beers.  We decided that we just needed to play like that again next week.  The season of firsts just keep on coming!