The Gators finally got a long awaited matchup with perennial Tuesday night cellar dwellers the Stooges last night and with the help of players who returned from vacation, illness, and pro shop skate SNAFU's; they smacked Moe, Larry, and Curly 7-3.

Mike Deer was possessed by the ghost of Wayne Gretzky early on in this one. He got the Gators off to a great start with two highlight reel goals. Steve Rowe got lucky when an attempted pass found the back of the net instead of it's target. Shortly after that Tom Savage busted in to the Stooge's zone and roofed a backhander and the rout was on.

The Stooge's got a few goals towards the end but this one was never in question. Brian Drake, John Davie and Brian Pasono each added insurance goals as the clock winded down.

Of course, a game with the Stooges couldn't just end without incident...the notorious Dave Mancuso got into it once again, this time with Mike Deer. Then he sat in the box chirping at the entire Gator team while members of his own team told him to shut up. Why they let this guy back on the ice at ESL is beyond me. For those that don't know he was banned from playing at ESL for a long time but was recently reinstated. Since then he's done the same things he's always done. Every single game he's either kicked out or barking at someone at the end of the game. Last week we watched him crosscheck "Shooter" from Team Log in the back of the neck while he was down on the ice. Yeah I know I know Dave...not your fault. Try hitting him when he isn't down on the ice with his back to you...see what happens then. This guy obviously isn't interested in playing the game and it's only a matter of time before someone gets hurt. What a Stooge.

Tonight's 3 Stars

1. John Scully - looked like he never missed a game after 4 weeks off battling with Mission and Locker Room to get his skates back.

2. Mike Deer - would have got the 1st star if he completed the hat trick!! Nice 2 goals though.

3. Jerry Suplicki - no team can win without him apparently...welcome back!!!!