On paper, this Gators team should maul Woody's pretty much every time out. Games aren't played on paper though, they're played inside TV sets and last night the gang from Woody's pulled off an improbable 6-5 upset at ESL.

It happens all the time in every sport. One team has such a reputation for futility that the opponent has a tough time getting up for the game. The desire to win on the ill-reputed team is so great that they give 100% effort for 100% of the game while the favored team thinks they need only show up to put one in the win column.

Again the Gators dug themselves an early hole last night as they showed up a little bit disorganized. Woody's built a quick 2-0 lead before Brian Pasono ripped a slapshot through the 5-hole to cut it to 2-1. Not long after that, the Gators tied it when Steve Rowe found Jeremy Christiansen cutting to the net. Christiansen added another goal on a home run pass from Tom Savage. Pasono had 2 more to complete the hat trick as the Gators tied it at 5 but Woody's, as they did all game long, found an answer and were able to gain a 6-5 advantage and hold off the Gator attack for the remaining 2 minutes.

There's not much to say about this game as there weren't many highlites. If we had a coach he'd tell us to put this one in the vault and forget about it but to remember that bad penalties and bad line changes can cost you a game against any opponent. We all need to keep the shifts shorter and work on changing on the fly when the puck is heading OUT of our zone, not into it.

Tonight's 3 Stars

1. Brian Pasono - had a hat trick

2. Jeremy Christiansen - had 2 goals AND filled the only water bottle

3. Jerry Suplicki - made several key saves to keep this one from looking a lot worse