Sunday marked a truly unfamiliar occasion: A Ventura Mariners Bantam Killer Bees home game. Everyone was confused, but
it was nice to finally get some use out of those white jerseys. It was the first time we've been at home since the Bush administration.
The boys played host to the Ontario Eagles. The last time they played, the Mariners won in an 11-3 beat-down, but the Eagles
have improved greatly since then. It looked to be an exciting game.
Things started out a bit
like a chess match, with both teams strategizing and sizing up the opposition. Brian Zacchia's very dull skates drew several
early penalties, but the Mariners failed to capitalize. They were, however exerting great pressure in the offensive zone.
After trading chances with the Eagles, our boys drew first blood. Patrick Dalton got the puck behind the net and made a perfect centering pass.
Killian Anderson received the puck and found a seam in the goalie to give his team a 1-0 lead.
Play
went back and forth with both teams getting great scorring chances. The Mariners dominated territorially, while the Eagles
had the edge in break-aways. Goalie Gianluca Allen had to be sharp as the defense broke down in front of him. He had one save
that was unbelievably awesome, yet very hard to describe. He made the initial save and the puck squirted over to the side.
As the Eagle player released what looked to be a sure goal, Gianluca shot over, arms and legs flailing in all directions,
and somehow made the stop. He also got a little help when Blake Burlew cleared a puck just before it trickled over the goal
line.
The Mariners picked things up in the second, getting even more attack from the offense. Niko
Utash almost had the play of the year when he batted a puck out of mid air and made a beautiful pass out in front of the net.
Unfortunately, its intended target didn't have a stick on the ice. Conor Gleason and Jason Hart hooked up for a dozen point-blank
chances, but couldn't solve the Eagles goalie. Jason finally remedied the situation when he took a Conor pass and jacked the
puck top shelf. The Mariners were up 2-0 and seemed to be in complete control.
About midway through
the period, everything went South. The Eagles scored off of a turnover. A minute later, they scored on another unforced error.
Then, they closed out the second with a third goal to take the lead. In the opening seconds of the third period, they got
a forth. The Mariners allowed four unanswered goals. It was inconcievable.
Coach Sergey settled his
boys down and tried to refocus them. They had been dominating the game and could do so again. Gianluca put up a wall in front
of the net. The defense clamped down. Tom Dobrokhot made a courageous diving poke check. Cameron Torres made sure the play
stayed harmlesly at the boards. The back-end boys even contributed to the offensive effort. JB Lovelace got several shots
through from the blue-line. Josh Kuchinski unleashed his slap-shot of terror, just missing.
The front
end cranked things up too. Luke Tickle and Brian had a bunch of mad scrambles in front of the Eagles net. TJ Samuel streaked
deep into the zone for a number of great chances. Jason and Conor peppered the goalie with shots. Killian Pavel Datsyuked
his way through the defense, beat the goalie, but put it off the post. The Mariners had opportunities-aplenty, including about
a thousand minutes of powerplay time. Patrick even got a penalty shot, but like Killian only found the post. The Mariners
lost this one 4-2.
I know what your are all thinking. I have scary powers like that. Just how in
the heck did the boys manage to lose this thing? They dominated virtually every aspect of the game and still came up short.
Here's why: #1. The Ontario goalie was red hot. If he was having an average day we would have won in a blow out. #2. Too many
turnovers. All game long the boys, without any pressure, were whipping blind passes to the other team. #3. Too soft. I can't
even think of a decent hit that any Mariner laid. You can't win hockey games if you play passive. #4. No chemistry. Kids on
this team miss too many practices and games. The coaches can't put any lines together or practice them because they never
have the same group two times in a row.
Injury
Report
For those of you that don't know, Niko's season is over. He broke his collar bone in
Sunday's game it it would be foolish to think he can come back. This is a major blow to the Killer Bees because Niko is both
well-liked as a teammate and respected for his hustle and grit. I know I speak for all of the parents and kids when I say
we wish him a speedy recovery. Word on the street is, he will still be coming to the games to cheer on his boys, because he
has Mariner Blue pumping through his veins.
Put
On A Show
I always like to mention the back up goalie in these reports. It's easy with Gianluca,
because he always doing something funny on the bench. But Mark Becica, Sunday's back-up, just sits there. I don't know what
to write. Yo Mark, in the future, do something hilarious or I may have to stop the back-up goalie shout-out.
Day Off
For some reason Killian doesn't
have any school today. I wanted to spend some time with him but I blew that off. Also, I have a lot of work to do, but I'm
ignoring it. I had to use my time to write this report and make it long and detailed. Why, you ask. Because I don't want to disappoint Toni.
Actually, it's because I'm afraid of her. Anyways, I hope this is a satisfactory game report, Toni. Please don't hurt me.
