Sunday at 6:15pm the Ventaura Mariners Bantam Killer Bees played the Pasadena Maple Leafs. Kudos to the genius that scheduled
our game during the Super Bowl. At least there was no traffic on the way to the Paramount rink because every other person
in the free world was watching the big game. Coming off two consecutive ties, Coach Sergey and I were worried that the boys
had become too complacent. We needed a win in a big way. Achieving that would be a more difficult task as AJ Zavitz was sidelined
with an undisclosed lower body injury.
Any concerns we had were quickly dismissed. The Mariners
jumped all over the Leafs. Brian Zacchia started off the scoring when he jammed the puck through the goalie on the first shift.
A quick line change and the boys got on the board again. Tyler Serianne and Killian Anderson set up a nice tic-tac-toe goal
for Niko Utash. A couple more shifts of pressure and it was Tyler's turn to score. #19 took the feed from Killian and ripped
it high blocker side for a 3-0 lead. It looked like the Mariners were going to run away with this one. Notice how I used the
qualifier "looked".
About mid-period Tom Dobrokhot and a Leafs player were fighting for the puck
behind the Mariners net. Somehow the puck squirted out and ended up at goalie Brian Felt's feet. The puck was between his
legs, just inches from the goal line and he had no idea. We were screaming for him to drop, or clear the puck, or cover it.
Anything. It was totally surreal. I kept thinking: how come nobody sees the puck laying right there in the crease? Eventually,
one of the Pasadena players noticed that biscuit laying there and managed to poke it in. It got the Maple Leafs on the scoreboard,
but it didn't change the fact that Ventura was in control.
Between periods Coach Sergey told the
boys to settle down and play team hockey. He wanted the offense to set up, make the extra pass, and play solid team hockey.
He didn't want anyone trying to be a hero. That being said, Killian's first shift of the second period saw him pick up the
puck at his own blue line. He bobbed and weaved his way through all three Pasadena forwards and gained the offensive zone.
Then, he deked his way through both defenseman and got to the goalie untouched. With a nice fake to the back hand, he pulled
it back and scored. It was an amazing goal, some might say ninja-like, but it was also one of those things that if he hadn't
finished, he would have been benched.
The Mariners offense was unstoppable. Every shift saw the the
Leafs pinned in their own end. Shawn Wentzel had a couple of good hard shots. EJ Frank was fore-checking, turnover creating
machine. Every line was flying and the goals kept coming. Niko and Conrado Gesauldi put together a nice bang-bang play
for Brian Z. to get his second goal of the game. In the waning moments of the middle frame, Zach Marshall got the puck to
Killian in the corner. The K-man faked his way to the net and looked like he was going to shoot. At the last moment, he zipped
a little pass to the other side where Niko was waiting to slam it home. Niko got his second goal and Killian capped off a
3 assist play-maker.
I'm always harping on the boys to finish their checks. Going in, we knew how
physical Pasadena plays so it was important that our boys matched their intensity. Unfortunately, the Maple Leafs didn't really
have the puck very often so it was kind of hard to play the body against them There were a few hits of note though. Tyler
had a nice bone-crusher and to my joy and amazement so did Patrick Gibson. Brad Kreigel was trying his best, but he kept bouncing
off the Pasadena behemoth. Blake Burlew absolutely wrecked a forward with his head down and Luke Tickle made a Maple Leaf
splat in the corner.
The Mariners had a five goal lead and there was no shut-out to preserve. I was
worried the boys were too comfortable and would let up in the third. Thankfully, they kept pouring it on. All three lines
continued to attack and the defense never gave any hope. In the early stages there was a massive surge. The Mariners threw
pucks at the net from every angle. There were mad scrambles in the crease and bodies flying everywhere. Somehow out of this
chaos Josh Donovan found order. He went to the net, stick on the ice. From the melee the puck emerged and Josh popped that
thing in with no hesitation.
Goalie Brian F. didn't see a ton of action but was up to the task when
called upon. He controlled the rebounds with confidence and gobbled up the shots when they came. There were no second chances
for the Maple Leafs. He finished the game with 18 saves.
The Mariners won this game 7-1 and it was
great to get off that tie streak. No more sister kissing; the Killer Bees are looking outside of the family for love now.
All three lines scored and hopefully the boys will carry some confidence into the President's Day tournament.
