3/7/10 - @ Valencia Express

It all came down to the final game of the regular season. It was a seemingly meaningless game, yet it was quite possibly the most important match of the year. The Ventura Mariners Bantam Killer Bees had already wrapped up the #1 seed but they did have an undefeated season on the line. Also, you never want to enter the play-offs on a down note. On the other side, their opponent the Valencia Express wanted nothing more than to be the ones to finally hand our boys a loss. It's no secret that these two teams don't like each other.

The Express came out of the gate with a purpose. They had the Mariners in the unfamiliar position of defending their own zone. The first few shifts had everyone in Mariner Blue worried, but then Brian Zacchia put their minds at ease. A nice play developed when AJ Zavitz passed to Conrado Gesauldi, who found Brian Z. in the slot. A great shot over the diminutive goalie had the Mariners up 1-0. A few minutes later saw a similar but even prettier play put the team up by 2. All three forwards were in tight, but somehow managed a tic-tac-toe play the ended with another Brian Z. goal. The boys had weathered the storm.

Unfortunately, another storm was brewing. The Express scored a goal while the Mariners stood around watching, then tied the game on a powerplay. Suddenly, the game that we had in hand was in question. As well as the Express was playing, it was their lack of discipline that would ultimately do them in. They took some stupid penalties away from the play that gave the Mariners all they needed. An interference call gave AJ a chance to take the lead. Then a punch to the back of Killian Anderson's head gave Blake Burlew the insurance goal. BTW, Blake's goal was awesome. I had the perfect view of it. He had a very small window to shoot the puck from the point. If it was off by an inch it would have been deflected. He ripped a perfect shot through at least 3 bodies and found a sweet spot in the back of the net. The goalie was massively screened and never saw it.

The Mariners were firing on all cylinders. Line #1 was obviously great. Line #3 also turned in a heck of game. EJ Frank was taking some major punishment, but kept getting up and making the plays. Shawn Wentzel clanked one off the post, and Josh Donovan scored a fantastic garbage goal after a mad scramble in the crease. The fractured line #2 struggled at times, but played well defensively and even managed some nice scoring chances. Tyler Serianne had a wide open net, but by some miracle his backhand went behind the goalie and out the other side. Killian and Tyler were pesky, drawing penalties and the ire of the Express. I'm just glad they both made it through the game without a suspension.

The defense, which started off a little tentative, finished strong. As soon as they figured out the Express puck carriers had no intention of passing, they were able to clamp it down. Both Tom Dobrokhot and Luke Tickle led the way with textbook perfect positioning. Zach Marshall was a monster with the body checking and Brad Kreigel made the safe plays with the puck. The aforementioned Blake had an incredible game. He scored. He hit. He drew penalties. He went completely bananas and got 14 penalty minutes. Late in the game, Patrick Gibson took a hard check against the boards. His stick went flying and we all thought he was hurt. He got up and went after the kid like a rabid dog. It was beautiful. It was easily the most passion and intensity I've ever seen out of that kid. I hope he brings more of that to his game.

At 13-0-3 the Killer Bees managed to run the table in bantam B. This is no fluke and no small feat. I couldn't be more proud of these kids. They worked hard, overcame adversity and deserve every bit of success they achieved. I know they are happy with this rare accomplishment, but they understand it is just one step on the journey to their ultimate goal of a championship. Great job boys. Let's keep it going.