12.14.05 Gators Game Report vs The Bruins
by John Scully

With a depleted bench the Gators once again took on what seemed to be a different Bruins Team. The first period was a whirlwind, which showcased the Bruins' offense and the Gators defense. Jerry Suplicki must have had 20 shots on net that he miraculously made saves on. The defense again and again came to the offenses aid by clearing the puck and shutting down the Bruins offense. However when the period came to an end we were down by 2.

The Gators started the second period with new life and soon put in their first goal which was followed by 4 more. Steve Rowe and Chris Ryan took apart the goalie with wrist and slap shots. Jeff Curtis also attempted to get in on the scoring but while he sat and waited for the puck, Steve Rowe stepped up and buried it. Kudos to Steve and Chris for giving us some needed offense. I would be remiss if I did not mention the massive wrist shot by John Scully that was called off due to the goalie kicking the net off.

We also saw some real teamwork happen during the second period. The Gators tirelessly made pass after pass to keep the Bruins on their heels. This seemed to work, as the Bruins seemed lifeless and tired throughout the second period. I was proud to watch the team play and saw what kind of team the Gators could become.

With three seconds left in the second period, right after an iffy goal by the Bruins, numerous bad / no calls by the ref led to an altercation. After Jim and one of The Bruins were tussling over a puck, the ref was about to call Jim for boarding or checking or some bad call. During this bad call there were quite a few others on both teams that started to get into the fray. John was hit from behind as he attempted to clear the puck. Jeff skated in to show more Gator presence and was hit from behind for his trouble. Frank attempted to come to Jeff's aid and was summarily dismissed by the same person. Whilst all this ensued, Jerry came out of his crease to express his displeasure in the ref's call. At this point, while everything else was going on, the ref skated away from the melee and told Jerry that he was to go back to his crease. Jerry told him that he thought the whole thing sucked and started back towards his crease after being asked again to go. At this time, a player from the Bruins bench, one of the last ones on it, as they had 8 guys on the ice during this whole exchange, made a comment to Jerry and replied with some obsenities. The ref took this as Jerry saying it to him and issued Jerry a game misconduct.

This all but ended our chance to win the game. With 1 period left and no goalie we were destined to lose. As a team, we collectively decided to forfeit the game. This resulted in the Bruins winning 1 - 0.

There are no stars for this game, we all played up to our game and we were all caught up in the moment at the end. No one person can be put at fault or praised for there contribution. There was a lot to learn from this experience and we were all able to come away knowing a little bit more about our team and ourselves. While some might say this is a step back for our organization, I feel it was a step in the right direction. We proved as a team we can get the job done and when we act as individuals it can really hurt the team.

Those of us wanting to showcase what we have learned only have one week to wait until the start of playoffs. Good Luck guys and let's show some Gator Pride!