Thursday night's Lokomotiva game vs. the Butter Cream Gang was seen as a test for Loko. This was the fifth game of the season and a win or a loss could determine a lot at this point in the 10 game schedule, including and especially playoff seeding. Coming off a recent 6-5 loss, Loko was eager to get back into the win column and cement a spot at the top half of the standings.
Lokomotiva kicked scoring off in the first period with a Matty Miller goal. Soon after, the BCG would tie the game on a fluke backhand snipe over Anthony Martucci's shoulder. However, the rest of the game would not go as smoothly for the BCG.
Loko clamped down on defense and goaltending and spent most of the second and third periods in the BCG zone, seemingly scoring at will. A flurry of seven goals were scored by Lokomotiva before the BCG would score their second.
Highlight reel goals were rattled off by Rob Danzuso, Pete Thompson, and Derek Kaiser, who brought the house down and impressed his family watching in the stands as he deked his way through the BCG defense and scored from midair only to end up hurtling into the boards, reminiscent of the famous Bobby Orr Cup-wining goal. It should be mentioned that Derek's birthday was the day after the game. Not to be outdone and not finished scoring yet, Matty would score three more goals on his way to a 4 goal, 5 point night and Rob Danzuso would add another tally.
Lokomotiva was in control for most of the third period, but let up a couple fluke (read: lucky) shorthanded goals to the BCG during a Loko power play and added one more late goal to draw the score up to 8-4. Chad Smith then answered with a deflected blast from the point to put the nail in the BCG coffin and sealed the win for Lokomotiva. Lokomotiva is now enjoying a second place position out of 8 teams with a record of 3-2. The next game will be at 11:00 PM on November 5th. Loko will take on the Knuckleheads, who are currently tied for 4th place with a 2-2 record.
Although not everyone showed up on the score sheet, Loko played a complete, team first game. Forwards changed quickly to keep their legs fresh, and defensemen did the same. The game plan was simple: get the puck up the boards and keep it in the offensive zone for as long as possible. Anthony made several key saves during the game, backstopping his way to his 3rd win in a Loko uniform. Lokomotiva likes where it stands now and looks for more success in the season's second half.
By: Chris Gmiter
No comments:
Post a Comment