Domestic Abuse in Mad Dad's Win over Mother Russia

The Red Army lost to the Mad Dad's this past Thursday, squandering two points that could prove to be all too significant this August. The Furious Fathers, backed by perennial all star goaltender Chris Celenski, staved off the last second attacks by Mother Russia and secured a 5-4 victory in front of a deafening Soviet cheering section.

Mark Hendricks opened the scoring after taking a nice pass from Steve Hand. Hendricks, in on a partial breakaway, out waited Celenski and potted one upstairs to give the Comrades an early lead. "Anytime we play (Celenski) it's important to pick your spots." Mark said after the game. "With some goalies if I shoot hard enough it will go in on them. With him you better have that speed on your shot and your corner picked. Like that first goal, I just had to wait and wait and wait, and then put it top shelf where the dust rag can't reach."

The lead was short lived, as the Pissed Off Patriarchs stormed back and evened the score at one. Kraus, who shined just as bright as Celenski, was unable to stop a screened shot. "Our defense has been good, boys." A malnourished Kraus told reporters. "Come on boys, I say, clear the zone eh. Pucks to the corners not the front, right eh? But sometimes, ya know, it's tough when your under pressure eh? Guess I can't fault em too much, I got to make some saves through screens. Come on boys."

The boys came on to the Dads... hold on stop right there. There has to be a better way to start that sentence. On the first shift of the second period, Steve collected a feed from Brian "Beege" Hendricks and fired one near side that eluded Celenski. "I was happy to get one right there." Steve said. "It was huge, but we have to figure out a way to ride that momentum wave through the whole period. We took our foot off the gas and they didn't. In fact, they were in the HOV lane in that second period."

Mother Russia's period was a messy one... hold on. Wow. Okay how about this... The second frame was the turning point of the game. The Mad Dad's out skated, out hustled, out worked, and ultimately outscored the Soviets. After allowing Steve's early tally, the Malevolent Males went out and scored three goals to give themselves a 4-2 lead as the second period ended.

"It was quiet on the bench between periods." Pat King said. "We weren't on the same page. Only a few people were focused on chipping away and fighting back into the game. Others wanted to start cheap shotting and taking penalties, which as we all know, shouldn't happen until the game is well out of reach. Not butter."

Mark, who had been skating a modest game up until the third, turned on the heat and tried to carry the team on his broader than normal shoulders. There were shifts were he took on multiple Papas in the corners and still came out with the puck. Where Captain Steve leads with his words and fires up players on the bench with his Confucius like wisdom, Alternate Captain Mark leads by example. The Red Army began to skate harder and began winning more puck battles. Much of the final period was played in the Steaming Spermgivers zone, but Celenski continued to direct shots to the corners. Beege and Mark had the best chances, with a backhand by Beege that was stopped by a sprawling Celenski and a one timer blast by Mark that only found glove. The next shift they would find pay dirt. Beege skated the puck into the offensive zone and found a streaking Mark. Mark took the pass, which was rolling on edge, and fired one far side on the goalie. With only six minutes remaining it was a 4-3 game.

In less than a minute, the feeling went from ecstasy to agony. The Angry Pops scored on the next shift, and maintained their two goal bulge. Chris Duhaime would bring the game to within one on a power play with two minutes to play. Mark would have several more scoring opportunities to even the score, but good defense and skate malfunctions proved to be his downfall. The horn sounded and the Mad Dad's skated off the rink victorious, as Mother Russia sobbed into the telephone complaining to her Sister, Sweden.

It was a good effort, and the Red Army's record is still .500 at 3-3. But this is a good team, and even though there have only been two close losses this season, the feeling is getting old. We know Mother Russia can win a game by a wide margin, but can they stay in a close game and find a way to win? Maybe we'll find out this Sunday when they take on Prestige Worldwide. Until then, keep it real Comrades.