For the second game on Friday, the Ventura Mariners Bantam Killer Bees took on the team known simply as Anaheim Ice.
I don't know if this was an in-house team or an all-star squad. Whatever they were, they were big, fast, and physical. Whether
they knew it or not; the boys were in for a dogfight.
Corey Werden drew first blood off of a
sweet feed from TJ Samuel early in the game. After that, there was a lot of end-to-end action from both teams. Despite what
the score sheet says, goalie Gianluca Allen was awesome in net, making big saves and keeping his team alive. Anaheim Ice would
tie up the game, but the Mariners came right back. Jason Hart made a beautiful stretch pass. Conor Gleason took the puck,
turned on the jets, and reclaimed the lead. From that point on, it was all Mariners.
The third period
was one of dominance for the boys. Patrick Dalton and Brain Zacchia conspired to get the puck to Niko Utash, who popped it in
stick-side. Conor found Shane Heller streaking up the ice and hit him in full stride. He got through the defense with no resistance
and faked the goalie out of his pads. Late in the game, Niko was coming up the boards with two defenders draped all over him.
Somehow he managed to get a tape-to-tape pas on Killian Anderson's stick. The K-Man got the goalie to drop with a head-fake
and picked the top corner. Anaheim managed another goal, but it was of little consequence. The Mariners took this game 5-2.
This
was a great win against a tough opponent. The boys had played an early game, partied at Hooters, and still managed a superb
performance.
