Saturday's single elimination game against the Jr. Gulls was as big as they come. It's win or go home. I don't think
I'm alone in saying I was nervous heading into this one. The Ventura Mariners Bantam Killer Bees were more than capable of
victory, but would they show up? Let's face it, there are a lot of characters on this team. They're funny and dorky and have
been guilty of not taking things too seriously. During the pre-game warm-ups, these goofballs took it upon themselves to get
mentally ready. They discussed what they needed to do to win. There was no name calling or trash talking, it was a mature
discussion. They broke up into lines and pairings and went over what was expected from each player. Not to sound overly dramatic,
but it was like these boys became men right before my eyes. They were focused and it really helped to ease my nerves.
The
game started with both teams feeling each other out. There was a lot of play in the neutral zone, dump ins and quick line
changes. It was exactly what you'd expect from a game of this magnitude. A few shifts in, the Mariners got comfortable and
started taking the play to the Gulls. About mid-period, Tom Dobrokhot put a shot in from the point. There was a mad scramble
in the crease. AJ "Whitey" Zavitz grabbed the puck and made an impossible pass through a sea of legs. Corado Gesauldi received
the pass and jammed it in. The boys had drawn first blood. 1-0 Mariners
The boys had the upper hand,
but ran into some minor penalty trouble. Patrick Gibson is the nicest kid you'll ever meet. That's great, but on the ice I
don't need nice guys. I spent much of the week working with Patrick to get him more aggressive and he responded wonderfully
in practice. Just prior to the game I asked him how much ass he was going to kick and he responded "all of it." Good answer.
Fast forward to his first shift. He jumps over the boards and skates hard after the puck. He leaps in the air and does a flying
two-armed tackle on the Gull player. It was very aggressive, but unfortunately also a penalty. I think this week I'll work
with him on channelling that rage.
Thankfully, the Mariners penalty kill was outstanding. Blake Burlew
and Luke Tickle did a stellar job of clearing the puck. Killian Anderson created havoc in the neutral zone, picking off passes
and denying entry into our zone. The best penalty killer was, however, Conrado. He forced the play, caused a loose puck and
was off to the races. In all alone on the Gulls goalie, Conrado gave a little fake and buried the biscuit. The short-handed
goal gave the Mariners a 2-0 lead and all the confidence in the world.
The second period was more
of the same. The Mariners continued to carry the play and it was the second line's time to step up. On an early-period power-play,
the boys got to work. Killian was out front, battling two players for position. Tyler Serianne had the puck below the goal
line. He faked out a defender at the same time Killian broke free. Tyler made the most perfect pass and Killian finished with
a perfect one-timer. 3-0 Mariners. The next shift, Tyler would set off a crease battle with a shot on goal. Niko Utash came
in from the side and started whacking at the loose puck. After about ten swipes, he simply willed the puck in. 4-0 Mariners.
The
offense was cranked up, but it was the defense that kept the doughnut on the scoreboard for the Gulls. They didn't give the
shooters much to look at and eliminated any second chances. Zach Marshal did it with brute force and Brad Kriegel did it with
poke checks. They rubbed out the play, got the puck and started the breakout. It was textbook defense. They also contributed
to the offensive campaign. Later in the game, the forwards figured out the points were open and started getting the puck out
there. It's sounds kind of funny, but it's actually pretty weird. Almost every shot from the blue-line found a Gull player's
crotch. Zach started things off with a groin-bomb that would have dropped a rhino. Then Brad had two shots in a row that both
served as a cup-check. It came out to him a third time and I guess he'd had enough so he passed over to his partner. Blake
took the pass and cranked a slap shot right into a Gull's "no-no" zone. I wish the boys would have established this earlier
in the game because I guarantee the Gull's were done challenging the point shots.
The third line
saw limited action, but definitely made use of their ice time. Josh Donovan lead the charge, getting the bulk of the chances.
His aggressive fore-check and shifty stick handling got the puck to the Gulls net several times. EJ Frank, coming off a knee
injury, played with reckless abandon. He charged in, hitting and taking hits, and caused turnovers. Shawn Wentzel, in addition
to making some big hits, showed off his legs. There was a Gulls dump in. Shaw came out of nowhere at top speed. He beat the
Gulls to the puck. Heck, he beat his own defenseman. Coach Sergey and I both game a "wow" at the effort. We hope to see more
of his newfound speed.
The third period saw the Mariners clamp down. The game was theirs, they just
needed a little icing on the cake. On a well-executed break-out, Brad sprung Brian Zacchia up the middle with a perfect tape-to-tape
pass. Brian Z. turned on the jets and split the defense. He got one-on-one with the goalie, gave a leg kick to drop the netminder,
then ripped a beauty into the top corner. 5-0 Mariners.
Okay, we've been down this road before. There
was only one thing left to prove. Goalie Brian Felt didn't see a ton of shots, but had to be sharp on the 16 pucks he faced.
He did have a couple of tough saves that could have changed the game had he not come up big. He can thank his defenseman for
giving him a light workload. To his credit he didn't leave the crease when we got penalties and he didn't jinx his own shutout.
I think I owe that kid a cookie. When the final horn sounded, the Mariners had a huge 5-0 win. They advance to the SCAHA as
well as the State championships.
I was on pins and needles the whole time, but looking back on this
game, the Mariners owned it. They took it upon themselves to focus and they went out and played a nearly perfect game. Words
cannot express how proud I am of this team. There was leadership from the captains on down. Everybody took responsibility
and they came together. Saturday was my birthday and these boys gave me the best gift ever: a dominating victory.
