5/18/2006
Though the Squirrels defeated the winless Bullhawks on Wednesday, 4-1, they were left to wonder why they made it so difficult for themselves. The referees called the penalties evenly, but Squirrels blew several odd-man advantages with penalties and took three ten-minute misconducts, leaving them to shuffle the forward lines for much of the game.
Juan Canchasto scored shorthanded to get the scoring started, but that was all for the first period. In the second period, Rob Myers, playing offense, scored a power-play goal with a slap shot from the left circle to put the Squirrels up 2-0. Later in the period, Don Marks – playing his first game of the season – floated a shot from the point, which deflected off of a defender and went past Bullhawks goaltender Guile Ghambir.
With 1:24 remaining in the period, the Bullhawks got a shorthanded goal to cut the Squirrels’ lead to 3-1. Then, with 23 seconds remaining, Myers took the puck hard to the net, crashed it, and scored.
Bob Sewell made 14 saves in net for the Squirrels, who played without Matt Borlik. The Squirrels skated with three full lines. Jeff Ford returned wearing a face mask after getting six stitches from a high stick last week. The Squirrels wore their new mesh roller jerseys, instantly feeling a difference in the weight and temperature. For the record, Ed Bager took a shot using his backhand for the first time ever.
The next game is Wednesday, May 24, at 8:30 p.m. against Mors ab Alto.
Quote of the game: “I took one in the ass for the team.” — Ed Bager