Game #3 was against the Santa Clara Blackhawks A1 squad. Just watching these guys walking into the rink let me know the
Mariners were in for a long day. They were huge. They were men. I heard a rumor that this team had played and beaten the Jr.
Sharks AA team, but again I cannot confirm this. The reality is, they are definitely a double A caliber team.
This
Blackhawks team was so good they got 5 shots on Gianluca during warm-ups. Once the initial face-off was dropped, they set
up camp in the Mariners zone and wouldn't leave for most of the game. Our boys were out-matched completely. They couldn't
break the puck out and were basically playing for a whistle. This game looked like an epic butt-whoopin' in the making.
But
you know what? The Mariners were playing great defense. They weren't giving the Blackhawks any space to operate and very few
good looks at the net. Our boys played furiously to deny quality scoring chances. And they were hitting, boy. I asked the
team in the locker-room to finish their checks and they actually listened to me. Shawn Wentzel had a big hit and so did Tom
Dobrokhot. In fact, most of the kids responded with punishing play. None more so than Tyler Serianne. The roller hockey kid
played like an NHL enforcer, banging bodies in the corner and jacking guys into the glass.
At some
point in the second period the Mariners got their fist and only shot on goal. I'm inclined to think that it came off of Josh
Donovan's stick, but it might have been EJ Frank. Despite getting thoroughly dominated, our boys were only down 3-0 after
two periods. It was a testament to how hard they played and how much effort they put forth. However, like the previous two
games, the third period was disastrous. Fatigue from two periods of scrapping and clawing caught up and the Mariners surrendered
4 goals, losing the game 7-0.
It may sound a bit strange, but this game was a galvanizing moment
for the Mariners. It was their first big step towards becoming a competitive, cohesive team. They all played extremely hard
and tried to do the right things. They just happened to be playing an extremely good Blackhawks squad. Coach Sergey, Dave,
and myself were very proud of the kid's effort in this one.
