04.19.06 Semi-finals - Game Report
vs The Bruins
Gators, 5-4.
What a game! Playing the Bruins yet again, the Gators managed to leave the tough game winners, sending them to the Finals. The Bruins scored first, less than two minutes into the game, but Drake (18) came back and, on an assist from Pasono (17), made his shot on goal just over a minute later, evening the score. Assisting again, Pasono passed to Drake, who passed to Dave Salafia (15) who scored goal number two at 10:31 in the first period. The rest of the period consisted of hard skating and incredible shots both on goal, and on players. Just before the end of the period, however, the Bruins came back again and put one past Jerry Suplicki (35), and then again with only one minute in the period, leaving the Gators down 3-2 headed into the second.
Both sides a little over-wound, had players sent to the box. The referees made sure to call every penalty, high-stick, and off-sides, possibly adding to the tension of both teams. The second period proved even tougher to play. With players being sent to the penalty box left and right, and the arena owner/manager overseeing the majority of the game, the Bruins managed to get past the Gators' defense yet again, scoring another goal at 9:13 that period. Luckily, there were enough Gators on the ice and out of the box to allow Pasono and Drake to assist Salafia's next accomplished shot on net just seconds later at 8:52. With a small intervention by arena officials and referees, the Bruins were asked to give up three illegal players. Three (yellow) players were ejected from the game, and not surprisingly, their team couldn't manage another goal for the rest of the night.
Early in the third period, Pasono scored his first goal in weeks, tying the game, and allowing the Gators an opportunity to win the game. Just seconds later, Bryan Curtis (21) happened to do just that: he scored on Bruins' goalie Rob Russo, and the Gators held the score there for the rest of the game. A handful of players from both sides had penalties called on them, and were sent to the box, some repeatedly [Scott Magin (3), Jim Suplicki (19) with a nice throw-down right in front of the net, and John Davie (76)], and just one visit each for Pasono and Salafia. Surprisingly, Chris Ryan (27) wasn't in any trouble at all... it was Frank Warner (5), who was jumped from behind with just under one minute left in the game and ended up on the ice on top of a Bruin player, showing us some real hockey. With two teams, about the same skill level, it's obvious why the night was so tense. In the end, all that mattered were the points: shooting was close, the Bruins had 38 attempts and the Gators had 32, but they took the game anyway, winning 5-4.
Scoring
Dave Salafia - 2 goals, 1 assist, 1 penalty
Brian Pasono - 1 goal, 3 assists, 1 penalty
Brian Drake - 1 goal, 2 assists
Bryan Curtis - 1 goal
Frank Warner - 1 assist
Rob Strelick - 1 assist
Jim Suplicki - 1 assist
Penalties
Jim Suplicki - 3 penalties
John Davie - 2 penalties
Scott Magin - 2 penalties
Jerry Suplicki - 38 saves
Gators, 5-4.
What a game! Playing the Bruins yet again, the Gators managed to leave the tough game winners, sending them to the Finals. The Bruins scored first, less than two minutes into the game, but Drake (18) came back and, on an assist from Pasono (17), made his shot on goal just over a minute later, evening the score. Assisting again, Pasono passed to Drake, who passed to Dave Salafia (15) who scored goal number two at 10:31 in the first period. The rest of the period consisted of hard skating and incredible shots both on goal, and on players. Just before the end of the period, however, the Bruins came back again and put one past Jerry Suplicki (35), and then again with only one minute in the period, leaving the Gators down 3-2 headed into the second.
Both sides a little over-wound, had players sent to the box. The referees made sure to call every penalty, high-stick, and off-sides, possibly adding to the tension of both teams. The second period proved even tougher to play. With players being sent to the penalty box left and right, and the arena owner/manager overseeing the majority of the game, the Bruins managed to get past the Gators' defense yet again, scoring another goal at 9:13 that period. Luckily, there were enough Gators on the ice and out of the box to allow Pasono and Drake to assist Salafia's next accomplished shot on net just seconds later at 8:52. With a small intervention by arena officials and referees, the Bruins were asked to give up three illegal players. Three (yellow) players were ejected from the game, and not surprisingly, their team couldn't manage another goal for the rest of the night.
Early in the third period, Pasono scored his first goal in weeks, tying the game, and allowing the Gators an opportunity to win the game. Just seconds later, Bryan Curtis (21) happened to do just that: he scored on Bruins' goalie Rob Russo, and the Gators held the score there for the rest of the game. A handful of players from both sides had penalties called on them, and were sent to the box, some repeatedly [Scott Magin (3), Jim Suplicki (19) with a nice throw-down right in front of the net, and John Davie (76)], and just one visit each for Pasono and Salafia. Surprisingly, Chris Ryan (27) wasn't in any trouble at all... it was Frank Warner (5), who was jumped from behind with just under one minute left in the game and ended up on the ice on top of a Bruin player, showing us some real hockey. With two teams, about the same skill level, it's obvious why the night was so tense. In the end, all that mattered were the points: shooting was close, the Bruins had 38 attempts and the Gators had 32, but they took the game anyway, winning 5-4.
Scoring
Dave Salafia - 2 goals, 1 assist, 1 penalty
Brian Pasono - 1 goal, 3 assists, 1 penalty
Brian Drake - 1 goal, 2 assists
Bryan Curtis - 1 goal
Frank Warner - 1 assist
Rob Strelick - 1 assist
Jim Suplicki - 1 assist
Penalties
Jim Suplicki - 3 penalties
John Davie - 2 penalties
Scott Magin - 2 penalties
Jerry Suplicki - 38 saves
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3 STARS OF THE WEEK
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First star
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Second star
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Third star
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2 and 1
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1 and 3
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38 saves
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