The Lokomotiva Hockey club found itself looking to rebound from a gut-wrenching loss in their inaugural game. Loko would get their much anticipated first victory in thrilling fashion on a brisk Tuesday evening in September. The game would see back and forth scoring, as well as a parade to the penalty box.
The club would be without two defensive stalwarts in Chris Gmiter (Concussion-like Symptoms) and Chad Smith (Suspension) for the game, forcing Demetrio Vega and Derek Kaiser into spot duty on the back-end. The pair performed admirably using a blend of speed and deft poke-checking to successfully turn aside wave after wave of Puckhead attacks. With the changes on defense, netminder Anthony would be asked to rise to the occasion.
The Puckheads opened the scoring early in the first period but Rob Dansuzo opened the scoring for the orange and white side with a backhander from the slot to tie it up. Dansuzo would strike again shortly thereafter with his second of the evening pulling Loko ahead by one. Matty Miller would show a great display of stick handling on a breakaway going backhand-forehand to pull the home side further ahead. The younger Miller was also a spark-plug for Loko using his speed to create multiple chances and draw penalty after penalty against the slower Puckhead side.
However, lack of chemistry, defensive breakdowns, and penalty trouble would see Loko allow the Puckheads to claw their way back into the game. With under ten minutes to play in the third and Loko on the penalty kill an untimely breakdown would result in the Puckheads evening the score. It seemed that Lokomotiva would be heading for a similar fate as their first game.
However, a flurry of events would make sure this was not the case. With less than five minutes remaining in regulation Demetrio Vega would become tangled up with a Puckhead forward on his way to the net. The opposing forward took issue with Vega which resulted in pushing and shoving all the way up the ice to the front of the Loko bench. A few well chosen words by Vega resulted in a heavy crosscheck from the Puckhead forward resulting in his ejection from the game and a forthcoming one-game suspension. Despite Vega earning a game-ending penalty of his own, Lokomotiva found themselves with a five on four advantage that would last the remainder of the game...
Smelling blood in the water, the team captain and founder would put his best troops on the ice in an attempt to pull Loko ahead for the win. Sammy Spina, Pete Thompson, and Danzuso found themselves on the ice with the game on the line; they did not disappoint. Spina was able to corral a puck off the boards below the goal line in the offensive zone. The young center, with head up, surveyed the offensive zone for options. A defensive miscue by the Puckheads left Thompson alone and uncovered in front of the net. Spina picked out his winger and delivered a pass to his tape. Thompson, making no mistake, one-timed the pass between the legs of the Puckhead netminder putting the orange and white up by one. Spina would later find himself coming down the right wing boards, puck on his stick, and empty net ahead. He coolly flipped the puck into the unattended cage, essentially icing the game away for his Lokomotiva mates.
While happy to break the seal on the first win in franchise history, the talk and focus of the locker room focused almost exclusively on missed opportunities and need for improvement. There will be growing pains and lessons to be learned, but the Loko Train has at long last left the station, and notice has been served to the rest of the league that it will take a Herculean effort to slow it down.
By: Joey Jurinko
By: Joey Jurinko
