Week of September 26 (Game 1) – With their playoff hopes fading fast, and needing a confidence boost, Jake-O-Lanterns got just what they were looking for, as they smothered Snow White with a relentless first period attack and shots, scoring two early goals and holding on for a crucial 3 – 2 win, moving them back into 4th place for that final playoff spot.
In the first period, Jake-O-Lantern simply dominated the play, outshooting Snow White by a 16 - 5 differential. The relentless attack paid off early as Jake-O-Lanterns scored two goals. Five minutes into the first period saw fill in player Dave Wilson (yes that Dave Wilson from years past) score out front set up by Angelo Deluca and Carlos Machado. Less than a minute later, Matty Iannello was the beneficiary of a defensive mistake and made them pay, scoring an unassisted goal out front. Missing both centers definitely hurt Snow White’s offense and they needed to shake things up.
After a scoreless second period, this game turned into a nail biter as Snow White moved Jason Carrien up front to compensate for the team missing both of their centers. Forty-eight second into the third period, the move paid dividends as Jason was set up by the hustle of Nick Romano and Ray Nickerson, making this a one goal game. Sitting back and playing more defensive with sporadic fore checking, Jake-O-Lanterns needed a momentum swing and got it two minutes later as Angelo aka “Kato” was set up on the left wing by the passing of Naz and Dave as his short side shot snuck under the arm of the goalie. Before Kato and the team could celebrate, only forty-five seconds later, Jason was set up in the right circle by the passing of Ray and Shawn Mulcahy and his quick shot was initially saved by the goalie but somehow rolled into the net. Four minutes left and suddenly we had a game! Snow White came in flurries pressing for the tying goal as the rink was tilted in Jake-O-Lanterns end. Steve Medeiros full body laided out block of a shot from the slot late in the game was a highlight play.
With the win, Jake-O-Lanterns moved into 4th place overall for that final playoff spot and will now play Drama Queens next week for a “winner-take-all” showdown to determine which team advances to the playoffs.
Week of September 26 (Game 2) – Coming into this game, Drama Queens already knew that Jake-O-Lanterns had won their game, and had incentive to come out strong in their game. Instead, they came out flat and it cost them as Olive Pits played a relentless 30 minute game and buried Drama Queens for a convincing 6 – 2 victory.
The first period was all Olive Pits as they erupted for three unanswered goals with a balanced scoring attack, controlling the period. Five and a half minutes into the period saw Jim Barber continue his hot scoring streak, scoring out front off the passing of Alex Leone. A minute and a half later, it was Mauro Colucciello scoring, set up by the hustle of Rick Cassano and Dave Parquette. Not finished scoring, Olive Pits piled it on with thirty seconds to play in the period as Mike Luise (making his restart debut) scored off the feed of Rick. Drama Queens looked stunned and shell shocked by the offensive scoring barrage. Not the start they wanted. The question is how would they regroup and push back.
In a back and forth second period that saw scoring chances by both teams, Drama Queens showed some life, and with three minutes left in the period, Jamie Kehoe was set up on the point by fill-in player Gary Goodwin. From that point on, Drama Queens started hustling more and carried the play.
The offensive fore check finally paid off as Shawn Miville scored from the slot, set up by Gary’s hustle and the passing of Ray Dow, forty-six seconds into the third period. A huge momentum swing took place as Drama Queens was coming hard at Olive Pits looking for the tying goal. However, remaining calm, Olive Pits took back the game and momentum two minutes later with back to back goals within a minute sticking a dagger into Drama Queens. First, Jim scored out front set up by Ron Aquino and Dave, followed by Mauro’s one-timer from the right circle off the pass of Mike Luise. With five minutes to play, Jim scored again capping off his second hat trick in consecutive games.
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