The two top teams met in a clash of the titans on Sunday. Blackout, the number one seed going into the game, had asserted itself from the season's start and boasted a 7-2-1 record. The Red Army, at 6-3-1, was riding a season high six game winning streak. A Blackout victory would have all but clinched the division, whereas a win for Mother Russia would have meant a tie atop the standings.
Red Army scored first on an absolute buzz-bomb from Mark. He one-timed a slapper five-hole on a feed from Brad. The feeling on the bench was pure jubilation, but it lasted only minutes as pretty soon Mr. 18 found himself in the penalty box after an undisciplined tripping penalty. Blackout's powerplay struck, and the game was tied. Minutes later, after two more tallies, there was worry. Trailing by two with just over a minute to play in the first, Neal continued his tear and potted one on a nifty backhander. After one, it was 3-2 Blackout.
The second period featured fantastic goaltending. Blackout's goaltender steered shot after shot away as the soviets threw everything at the net. After being stifled for half of the period, the lines were jumbled. Peter and Beege switched places. The results were seen immediately. On their first shift together, Peter found Brad, who found Mark in the slot, who found the back of the net. On the very next shift, Ryan gave Red Army the lead on a perfectly placed wrister. The period ended with the Reds up by one.
It remained a back and forth, one-goal game with both teams receiving great goaltending in the 3rd period. Beege, still skating with Neal, extended the lead to two with just over six minutes left. Beege was the recipient of a horrible defensive miscue by Blackout, and tucked one underneath the unexpecting goaltender. Moments later the dagger was supplied by Mark, who netted his third of the game on a breakaway. Blackout scored late to bring it within two, but that's as close as they would get. Despite Blackouts attempt, after the final horn sounded, the streets of Moscow were electric.
The aftermath of the game? A dead heat for first place. The crazy thing is this: because of the league's tie-breaking rules (the first being goals against) the Red Army actually controls their own destiny. That is right folks, unlikely candidates to finish in the top four are now two wins away from sealing up the division. With the winning streak at seven, this journalist sees no reason why it can't be extended to nine... and thirteen.
REDDER ARMY NOTES:
Redder Army is experiencing a winning streak of their own with four straight victories. In fact, if they win their game (in progress right now) they would leap frog Blackout and Red Army for first place, although to retain the seed they would need both Blackout and Red Army to go winless in their final two games. The slightly more socialists have been receiving secondary scoring from Steve, Jerrod, Chris, and Andy lately, but everyone knows their bread and butter is Mike and Wilson, respectively. They could be the toughest team to predict in Silver. On one hand, it could be argued that any team capable of shutting down Mike and Wilson by taking away their time and space could easily defeat them. But the problem is that such a task is no mean feat. Redder Army by far already has the most potent offense, and now their defense is improved. The only team that this journalist sees them losing to (assuming that both team's rosters are full) is... you guessed it: Red Army. But I'll save that post for when the time is right. For now, I'm off to cover the Red Army game. Also, we'll be starting a new feature at R.A.D. where we will highlight player profiles on off days. This week we will cover Steve Hand and Beege. Later kids. By the way, did you notice the witty line at the end of the game recap? Moscow's streets being ELECTRIC. See it? Red Army vs BLACKOUT. See? Do you, do you see?
No comments:
Post a Comment