Whaler Weekend

We went into the weekend with a huge but fun mountain to climb… three games in three days. Friday night it was our first meeting with MIB. Sure, we heard all of the talk about ringers and them sweeping the league, but the Bandits proved that they could be beat. Our goalie was late so we appreciate the extra time that was given to get him on the ice. “Flipper” from MIB seemed to be a cool guy before the game as he asked us if this game would impact our playoff position. The game was full-on shortly after that. Both teams gave 100% and it was a great match up. Somewhere in the first period, Flipper stopped before the blue line on the other side of the ice from our bench, pivoted toward us and fired a hot slap shot directly into our bench. It hit the glass above our heads and was about two feet from going over the glass where our friends, family and kids were sitting. We got into a shouting match with him, but nothing physical came of it. No penalty was called. If anyone wants to defend him on this, I’d be glad to read your comments. Otherwise… I just don’t get it. Hats off to MIB for robbing us of OT and scoring the game-winner with two seconds left. It was a great game apart from Flipper flipping out.

Saturday night was the first round of the playoffs with the Jets in our path. They are a solid team, but it was our night. We had a long bench and were able to change lines frequently. We knew we had to stay fresh if our older players like me were going to make it through the weekend. The typical shouting matches broke out from time to time, but I think we have all come to expect that. The Jets stayed within reach of us until we extended the lead in the third. The Whalers advance with a 6-3 victory.

Finally, we took the ice with the big bad Bandits on Sunday night. Just before the game we stood in the lobby and watched the Senators’ throw out everything they learned in anger management class. Because of all that mess and OT, our game was pushed back. I’m sure all teams playing Sunday felt that on Monday morning… it happens. Anyway, we had beaten the Bandits in OT early in the season. We also knocked them out of the playoffs last season. I guess they had something to prove. As one of the Whalers mentioned before the game, no odds maker would take us. We had a weak record and were about to play our third game in three days. Regardless, we were confident we could win. The Bandits are a very skilled team and I think they may have wanted it more on Sunday night. Besides, they just saw the top-seeded PJ’s get knocked out early and maybe that provided some motivation. Throughout the game it was pretty clear that the Bandits were the better team. They moved the puck well, they seemed to have more momentum and Greg Perry stopped a lot of shots. Paul Thurston of the Whalers scored with a few minutes left to make the score respectable, but the Bandits proved to be the better team 4-2.

Regardless of our very average 6-6 record for the season, I think we still knew that we had the potential to beat any team on any given night. Unfortunately, we dropped games to teams that we were “supposed” to beat (thanks Joes), and struggled to keep a consistent roster going through the vacation season. So, that’s our story for the summer. Hopefully, it will have a happier ending next season.