Battle of the Basement
The winless Dead River Rats and Whalers face off in an epic battle this week. Both teams need a win...only one will leave with it. The Whalers had a heartbreaking shootout loss in week 1 to the Brewers, followed by an even tougher 10-4 blowout at the hands of the high-powered Gamblers.
Dead River lost a 6-4 battle to Tuck in week 1, only to be overpowered 4-1 by the undefeated Brewers...a rough start to the season for the defending Whalen Cup champions. Let's call it a slight case of the "Cup Hangover".
Dead River is still trying to find out who they are. With a large core of their team retired due to a deadly case of "Sissyitis", they have pulled in any available players to fill their roster.
The Whalers take this one...6-3.
Whalers Down Dead River 5-3
The Whalers are officially out of the basement after a 5-3 win over the Dead River Rowers. Both teams were winless after the first two weeks of the season, and unfortunately for Dead River Nation, they remain winless.
The Whaler's welcomed rookie sensation Joe Gaudet to their lineup with a bang as he recorded a natural hattrick in his first career game, including the game winner.
Dillon Pierce opened up the scoring 6:30 into the game with his fifth of the season from the Zdeno Chara of the UVHL, Chucky "Hightower" Gaede. Gaede had a nice night with two assists and some solid defense in front of his netminder Kenny "LaLa" Lallier.
Dead River owned the second period as they took control, scoring 3 unanswered goals. The first came from Stu Grande at 8:54 followed by Jason Loomis at 7:20, both goals unassisted. Greg "Salt & Pepper" Hadley scored a powerplay goal at 4:26 after Tommy Crapser was thrown in the box for slashing.
As Dead River became comfortable with their lead, they allowed the power to shift to the Whalers as they scored 4 unanswered goals in the third for the lead. This is where Guadet opened things up with his trio of goals. Chris Gogan got things started assisted by Crapser and Gaede.
The Whalers fell apart in the middle frame, but were excellent in the third. With the addition of Gaudet and Pierce, they will be able to score some goals. The legendary Kenny Lallier made some key saves in this one as he turned away 20 of 23. At the other end of the ice, Greg "First Period" Fieden was a bit busier but couldn't hold down the fort as his defense collapsed around him.
Don't forget to vote for the Long Trail Player of the Week! A case of beer is on the line, eh!