When the Ventura Mariners Bantam Killer Bees took the ice against the Pasadena Maple Leafs on Sunday, they were a bit
short-handed. While I don't want to go into it too much, I'd be willing to bet that the next time we have a Saturday 5:45am
practice attendance will be 100%. So, with only two lines and three defensemen, the boys knew they had their work cut out
for them.
To say the kids responded to the challenge would be an understatement. The first line
of Brian Zacchia, AJ Zavaitiz, and Conrado Gesualdi were nothing short of awesome. They made 5 on 5 play look like a two-man
advantage. AJ opened the scoring with the first two of his eventual hat-trick. Then Brian Z. powered in the next two, including
a sweet top-shelf goal. Not only did Conrado set everything up with a four assist effort, but he elevated his physical play,
laying the body on anyone foolish enough to get near him.
The Frankenstein mish-mash second line
of Killian Anderson, Shawn Wentzel and EJ Frank also turned in a nice performance. With EJ's supreme effort and Killian and
Shawn's hitting, it was inspiring to see these kids, who normally don't play together, generate so many great chances. They
finally broke through near the end of the first period with a goal that had me and Sergey thinking these boys might have been
paying attention in practice. EJ hit Shawn on the wing, who in turn found Killian streaking up the middle. The K-Man finished
it off with some ninja-like dekes that let him walk the puck in the net.
The defense started off
a little shaky, but quickly got into a groove. Blake Burlew was rocking dudes all over the ice. He looked disappointed that
Pasadena didn't bring enough guys for him to hit. Tom Dobrokhot locked down the middle and made sure nothing threatening made
it to the net. Patrick Gibson rose to the occasion and upped his aggression level and physical play. All three also contributed
on offense, notching an assist each. In net, Brian Felt was a perfect 5-5 and finished the game with 16 saves. After one dominant
period, the Mariners wee up 5-0.
With the wave of his magic wand, Coach Sergey increased the size
of the bench to 3 full lines and 4 D. The results were mixed. The play was sloppy at times and the boys looked out of sync.
The Maple Leafs would take advantage of this scoring twice over the final two periods. Eventually, the reconstituted second
line got it going on. Niko Utash scored out front on a nice feed from Killian, and Tyler Serianne was awarded a penalty shot
which he failed to convert. Just to shut up his critics, Brian Z. made sweet pass to AJ to help him seal in the hat-trick.
The Mariners won the game 7-2.
Okay, maybe Pasadena isn't the strongest opponent, but this game gave
two very important lessons. #1: The Leafs played a very physical game and it forced our boys to match their intensity. This
is how they're going to have to play if they want to succeed. #2: Practice is important. It's where the kids learn the game,
develop chemistry with their line-mates and defensive partners, and get in condition. The top Hollywood writer couldn't have
scripted this any better. I'm sure many parents weren't happy about seeing their kids sitting on the bench for the first period,
but the facts are undeniable: In the first, with the short bench, the team went up 5-0 and were dominating. Over the next
two periods with a full line-up it was 2-2 and pretty even.
Some of the parents felt the officiating
was less than stellar and wanted to know if I planned on addressing this in the game report. What these parents failed to
remember is the golden rule of all sports: The officiating is only bad when you lose. Nuff said.
Zack
Attack
In case you hadn't heard, Zack Marshall got into a fight with the parking lot and lost.
He will be out for a while with a broken foot. He will certainly be missed. He is, however a great team guy. I know his teammates
appreciated him being on the bench and rooting them on to victory.
Shout Out
Legendary
enabler Julie Samuel and her son, former Killer Bee, TJ came out to cheer on the team. Though it was great to see them, I
was a little disappointed that the "Magic Cooler" got left at home.
Correction
Last
week I commented that none of the parents were reading the game reports, but I was wrong. Don Felt and Melissa Gibson are
apparently big fans and their kids will receive special consideration from now on. Also, wasn't Don Felt in the Eagles?
