Johnny and Brett Roll but Goalies Rocked

My adoring fans have called and so I will answer and provide some analysis of the final official weekend of street hockey for the season.

Johnny and Brett’s team rolled down victory lane in each game. Their team was solid with the likes of Griff, Dale, Chris, Brendon and others who all had a share in the action.

Opposite them was group of wannabes who played ok, but lacked in the forcheck and, to some extent, the backcheck game. The team was anchored by, the surprise guess who showed up, Ron… along with Billy, Reggie, Mike D, Brad, Jack Bellan, Mike P and the up and coming Chris Jr.

The night opened up with Brendan’s gizmo gun behind the net. Everybody seemed to enjoy the shooting gallery and spend about 15 minutes trying to best their highest speed. There was some controversy on what Jacks fasted shot was. Some said he joined the 90’s club, while other said no sir ree bob. Ron was the other who was able to break into the 90’s club.

When the games got started, it didn’t take long for Johnny and Brett (with either Griff or Brendon) to show that they are ready for prime time. They had good anticipation of the plays, and moved the ball with ease into the offensive zone. There was one play, however, that overshadowed outstanding performance. It was that 3 on none play… the only pass on that breakaway went behind a guy… and rolled to the side boards.

The dark team showed some flashes, but faded considerably as the night wore on. Ron and Billy made some moves and had some shots and goals, but were by and large kept in check by the white teams D, namely Dale and Chris. Jack Bellan made some mistakes and some good plays on the night. The notable good plays were the crisp passes to Billy up the seem, to send him off for a scoring bid. Jack also scored a nice goal from a feed from Ron behind the net.

However, the night belonged to the men between the pipes… there was outstanding goaltending play, on both sides. The white team had Tony between the pipes and he was spectacular on a bunch of scoring opportunities. Despite Ron not playing street hockey in months, he had a number of chances and Tony bested him on nearly every shot. There was at least 3 beautiful glove saves where Ron got all of it, but Tony’s reflexes were spot on. Even on a breakaway, Tony stopped Ron with a great diving move to block the goal.

On the other side, Darin was also not going to be out dueled. He was in great position all night long and saw the balls coming. He too made some great glove and blocker saves. What sticks out with Darin was the relentless pressure by the white team with 2nd, 3rd and 4th shot opportunities. Darin was awesome, knowing when to go down, and when to stay up. Hats off to Darin, he is also ready for prime time. There was one guy that Darin had trouble dealing with. Little brother Brett, seemed to score with ease, beating Darin on at least 2, maybe 3 shots coming in from the side.

Overall it was a good night, no major injuries, no major roughing calls and no major phantom off side calls.

So there you have it. I’ll be here all week :) and am looking forward to seeing you all in the fall