It has been one crazy week. Lesser teams would have imploded, but we are the Ventura Mariners Pee Wee Killer Bees. Nothing phases us. Our spirit cannot be broken. One need only look at the smiling faces on the kids as they prepared for the game or the impromptu tailgate party the parents had in the parking lot to realize this is more of a family than a team. The haters out there can throw what ever they want at us and we will adapt, overcome, conquer, and thrive.

            The good news is, our boys finally got to play a game at home on Sunday. The Valencia Express came to our barn with hopes of upsetting our homecoming. Judging by the smack talk some of their players delivered to a few of our boys, they actually thought they had a chance. If they were looking to engage us with a war of words they would be sadly disappointed. This was not a debate, it was a hockey game. The Mariners prepared their rebuttal in the form of a couple huge Corey Werden hits.

            In fairness to the Express, they played pretty good in the first period. The Mariners only had one goal on the board, courtesy of Liam Stirtzinger. The team captain took a billiards shot from behind the net, banking the puck off of the goalie’s back and into the net. The second period was a different story. Danny O’Donnell scored so quick, I missed it. I heard the roar of the crowd as I was running up the stairs. I’m sure it was a thing of beauty.

            Down only two goals, the Express was still in the game. Thanks to a fortunate bounce, one of their players had a wide open net to shoot on. He let the shot go and raised his hands in celebration. The only problem was, goalie Gianluca Allen lurched across the crease and snatched that puck clean. No Goal. It has to be one of the best glove saves I’ve ever seen. It demoralized the Express and fueled the Mariners. From that point on, there was no doubt as to the outcome of the game.

            The Mariners went on a scoring spree. Killian Anderson poked in a rebound. Liam got his second with a nuclear powered slapshot. Danny O. scored again with a mad scramble in front of the net. Jared Turcotte blazed one in from the top slot. It was a feeding frenzy with our boys smelling blood. Nick Gutekunst and Nick Cerezo attacked the net like a couple of rabid dogs. Chad Di Lauro threatened from all angles and Sam Taferner violated the crease. Even defenseman Matt Johnson cheated in from the point and rang one off the post.

            At the start of the third period, the Mariners were ahead 6-0. That’s when the weirdness started. The Express coach requested that the clock be run. Are you kidding me? In all of my years, I’ve never seen a regular season travel hockey game go to run-time. I’m assuming that the coach was trying to keep his kids from getting embarrassed, but I think he achieved the opposite. Writing off a game in which his team was down by six with nearly a full period to play sent a horrible message to his kids.

            In any case, Paddy and Sergey accepted the white flag of surrender and took steps to not run the score up. Several defenseman got a chance to play up front and the kids were instructed to make a few passes before shooting. Though they were on cruise-control, the Mariners were not yet done being brilliant. Cameron Torres wired a shot from the blue line that Danny Gold masterfully deflected into the net. It was hard not to cheer such a great play.

            As the running clock was winding down, the only thing left to prove was that thing that you’re not allowed to say because you don’t want to jinx it. As they did all game long, Nick Lilly and Tom Dobrokhot made sure no one got into our zone cleanly. If the puck did make it to our end, Koa Chu insured that it stayed to the outside and left quickly. When the final horn sounded, the boys erupted. Not just because they won their season opener 7-0, but because Gianluca got the shut-out.

            This was a dominating win for the boys. They all showed up to play and executed with precision. They played it clean and they played it hard. There was great puck movement and the kids held their positions nicely. The boys accepted the challenge to be better and the coaches have to be happy with the results. That being said, I have a feeling Sergey is still going to skate the heck out of them next practice, because that’s the Russian way.