Hanley Shines in Soviet Debut; Shuts Out Daggermouth 2.0

The biggest talk surrounding the Red Army this offseason was their acquisition of once-rival goaltender Sean Hanley. The Soviets, having moved Jamie Simek back to defense to make up for the losses of Ben Breiterman and Scott Hoefer, were left with a question mark in net. If Sunday's season opener was any indication, Hanley may very well be the answer. Backed by a stellar performance in net, the Red Army skated to a 3-0 victory over Daggermouth 2.0.

"Not sure what you can say about having a guy like Sean back there," Mark Hendricks said. "He gives the guys confidence. He was making saves that I just couldn't believe. I got the feeling early in the third period when they hit the crossbar that it was just his day. They could have taken 100 shots, I don't think one would have gone in."

Hendricks opened the scoring around the midway mark of the first when he intercepted a pass in the Daggermouth zone and skated in alone on Chris Celenski. The forward faked to the forehand and then tucked home a nifty backhander that beat Celenski five-hole. The score would remain that way for the end of the period, thanks mostly in part to both teams focusing on defense.

"We didn't have a lot of guys," Tony Horton said, alluding to the six skaters that laced them up for Mother Russia. "Only three of our skaters were actual Red Army roster players, two others were guys from my team (the Cosby Sweaters of DSPBL), and we called up Will Sutherland from the Trailside Tigers to give us three offense and three defense. It worked out well, and I think the other three guys really helped us out."

The Red Army was able to take a 2-0 lead early in the second period when Hendricks and Pat King connected on an early goal-of-the-year candidate. Hendricks, skating into the corner to retrieve a puck in the offensive zone, fashioned a quick turnaround slap pass between two defenders and onto the tape of King's stick. King caught the pass and snapped home a high shot top shelf where the entire cast of "Little People, Big World" cannot reach.

"We had practiced that play a lot in recent weeks," King said of his goal. "I wasn't sure if [Hendricks] saw me, but I was calling for it. He just spun and threw it towards me and it was a perfect pass. I don't think Celenski expected it because by the time I got my shot off there was no chance for him."

With a two goal lead, the Red Army buckled down defensively and kept the majority of their opponent's shots to the perimeter. When shots came from in tight or on odd man rushes, Hanley was there.

"It was my first game with a new team, so I wanted to make an impression," Hanley said. "Obviously it's going to be a tough season playing for two teams, but on the bright side, I will always be in possession of the Soviet Tuxedo."

The Soviets tacked on the final nail in the coffin late in the third period when a King centering pass deflected off a Daggermouth defender and into the net. Hanley would steer away the final few shots that were directed his way and the Red Army kicked off the new season in winning style.

"It's just one game, but it was important," Sutherland said. "Wait, do I really get an interview? Are you going to print that?"

THREE STARS:
#3: Mark Hendricks (1 goal, 1 assist, 1 blocked shot)
#2: Pat King (2 goals)
#1: Sean Hanley (27 saves)