"It feels great right now, just... ahhh, unbelievable," Captain Steve Hand said. "I felt like we really got stronger as the game went on, and in a sense, it was a microcosm of our season. We ditched the bad habits and developed good ones as the game progressed. I'm so proud of our guys right now."
The Captain played a solid game despite not registering a point, and the line of him and Pat King was paramount in limiting the Shockers' offensive chances.
"When we changed lines, things started working," King said. "[Hand] and I took care of our zone and the other line really chipped in offensively. It's exactly the kind of performance we needed. An all around gutsy effort."
When asked how he was feeling following a scary looking shot block that occurred in the first period, King responded, "The boys are still there, and based on tonight's crowd, I think they'll be getting some work tonight."
"Yeah they will!" Hand added, before pausing and continuing, "Wait, what are we talking about?"
As good as the night ended for Mother Russia, the beginning was far from the start the Soviets were hoping for. An early Jamie Simek turnover led to the Shockers' first tally. Later in the first, Andy Schram was beaten on an innocent looking snap shot to increase the lead to 2-0, and before the period was over, the lead was pushed to 3-0. The long dreaded letdown seemed imminent. Well, to everyone who wasn't seated on the Red Army bench that is.
"It definitely was not a family-friendly discussion," Ben Breiterman joked about the intermission conversations had between players. "We were definitely frustrated and upset with the effort, but we knew we could play better. We just needed to change something up, so we shuffled the lines."
The line changes that Breiterman was referring to involved swapping Hand and Neal Hendricks. With Neal and Mark Hendricks on one line, and King and Hand on the other, the results were immediate. The Soviets began gaining more possession and generating more shots. Celenski warded off several high quality chances, but eventually, at around the midway mark of the game, he was beaten. Mark Hendricks raced up the rink with a full head of steam. After stepping by the first defenseman, Hendricks fired a low snap shot on goal. Celenski kicked the rebound out into the crease, and Hendricks, out-muscling the last defender, arrived to the loose puck first and jammed it between Celenski's legs and into the net.
It lit an even bigger fire under the Comrades.
"It was a big goal," Simek said. "Definitely what the doctor ordered. Once that first goal went in, we all got some confidence. It was the proverbial spray of Old Spice, that extra boost we needed."
On the ensuing shift after making it 3-1, the Comrades were back on the offensive. Drew Kelley forced a turnover while forechecking, and set up Neal Hendricks for a chance in close, but the shot went wide. A few moments later, King intercepted an attempted breakout pass and fed Mark Hendricks, who was cutting on alone on goal. Hendricks' shot nearly slipped through Celenski's pads, but was stopped on the goal line.
Then, the Soviets got the break they were looking for. Mark Hendricks was checked while coming across the middle, and the Red Army went to the power play. With Breiterman and the elder Hendricks working the points, Neal Hendricks worked the half wall and Simek went to the front of the net. The foursome fired several shots on goal, but Celenski was able to fight them off through the traffic. The Shockers were never able to clear the puck however, and the Comrades had them pinned in. Simek took a loose rebound and fed it to Breiterman. Breiterman unleashed his patented slap shot, which struck Celenski's leg pad and floated out into the crease. Mark Hendricks activated from the point and fired a slap shot of his own back into the frenzy, and this time, the only thing the puck touched was the back of the net.
"I saw [Simek] turn and I thought he was going to shoot it," Mark Hendricks said. "He was on his backhand though, and I was coming in full speed for a slapper, so I just started yelling 'Leave it! Leave it!' and thankfully he heard and left it there for me. When I saw it go in I was pumped. The place erupted, I thought the roof was going to blow off the place. Wooo baby! Let me just say too, that I think that power play goal was my favorite goal I've ever scored. It's going to be a popular visit that I frequent while traveling down memory lane."
With the Red Army carrying all of the momentum, they did what so many other Red Army teams before them have done: they relinquished it. The Shockers were able to capitalize late in the middle frame on a lapse in defensive coverage, and it was them who entered the final period of the season with a lead, and a stranglehold on the game.
"It was another heated intermission break," Drew Kelley said. "I think it was a real kick to the gut when they scored that late goal, but we knew we had 15 minutes left."
The Comrades were helped out again when the Shockers took another penalty early in the period. Mark Hendricks was slashed while taking it to the net, and the Soviets once again looked to convert on the man advantage.
The Shockers were able to clear the puck early in the power play, but after Brian "Beege" Hendricks raced back to get the puck, the Comrades put on a passing display that would have dismantled any team's defense. Beege passed across to Kelley. Kelley wound up for the slap shot, freezing a defenseman, then sent a slap pass down low to Mark Hendricks. Hendricks curled out to give himself a better shooting angle, but instead of ripping a wrist shot, Hendricks fired a crisp pass through a defender's legs and onto the blade of Neal Hendricks. Neal Hendricks redirected the puck into the back of the net, and once again, the game was a one goal affair.
"I had a few opportunities to score, but they just weren't going in," Neal Hendricks said. "I was really happy Mark saw me on that one, and it was a sick pass, I just had to slip it past Celenski. When it went in that's what I didn't know what to do, so I just yelled really loudly."
The Comrades continued to push the envelope, racing to loose pucks and jumping in from the point to keep the pressure on. The high octane tempo that the game was being played at favored the Soviets, because as more time elapsed off of the clock, the fatigue became more and more apparent in the Shockers' legs. While the Shockers seemed to get slower, the Red Army seemed to get faster.
A few minutes after making the score 4-3, Mark Hendricks went back to work, this time starting in his own zone. Nearing the end of the shift, Hendricks skated into the corner to pick up a shot that had deflected to the boards. He picked up the puck and began skating into the Shockers' zone. The defenders were unable to pick him up in time, and Hendricks was able to get off a wrist shot from just outside the hash marks. The puck sailed past Celenski, nicking the knob of the goalie stick before hitting the mesh in the goal. It was 4-4, and a whole new game.
"I get an assist for telling him to skate hard," Hand said. "[Mark] was going to come off and I just yelled at him to go because he had space. I'm Steve Hand, and I do it all."
The game remained tied until the four minute mark of the game. The Comrades raced out of their zone with Kelley leading the rush. Kelley sent a pass across to Mark Hendricks, and the team-leading scorer cashed in again. Neal Hendricks drew a defender away from the goal, and Mark Hendricks waltzed in alone on Celenski and roofed a shot glove side to give the Soviets their first lead of the game.
"That was a great rush," Beege said. "I stayed back a bit and watched it develop, and it was textbook. The four of us (Kelley and the three Hendricks brothers) really became a dynamic line in the third. Normally I'm used to scoring goals, but with the other three guys I was with I played more defense. It was a change. Oh, and I am also the new team enforcer. Yeah, I guess you could pretty much say I'm the most important player out there, go Beege!"
The Shockers would try and muster offense late in the game, but the damage was done. The Soviets continued to dominate the possession game, and when Mark Hendricks tacked on his fifth of the game, the final minute became a formality. It was over. Three consecutive championships in a row. Dynasty.
"I feel great... it feels great," Schram said. "It really hit me when I was ordering my championship shirt and I said to the guy, 'No, I have a red one. Oh, I have a black one too. We don't have white do we?' We've really dominated for nearly a year now. Run it back baby! Run it back!"
One of the first orders of business following the game was a phone call to
For now, the Red Army players can enjoy the brief off season. Before this blog heads into its off season though, I thought I'd leave you with one last thought: Since November 1, 2009, no team has been able to eliminate the Red Army.
Dynasty, boys, Dynasty.
THREE STARS:
3: The Fanbase
2: Tony Horton, Ryan Odell, Brad Lotocki
1: Ben Breiterman, Steve Hand, Brian Hendricks, Mark Hendricks, Neal Hendricks, Scott Hoefer, Drew Kelley, Pat King, Andy Schram, Jamie Simek
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