Post by Jim H. on Feb 27, 2022 21:35:50 GMT -5
With all that’s going on in the world we’ve been thinking that that comedy with Tom Brady, Jane Fonda and Sally Field can’t come soon enough. But we’ll just have to wait. We didn’t have to wait for Week 23 which was upon us quicker than Paul Egan can say “white truffles” when ordering apps at his favorite restaurant. There was a record turnout—28 players in all—enough for eights subs per bench, just like old times. The old duffer Rich Devlin was back in harness for Blue, his thumb still a little tender, but he didn’t want to miss the return of Brian Urban who was also back, the loose cartilage in his knee no longer an issue thanks to four weeks of rest, painkillers and numbing creams. Kenny was back, too, and made the teams with his usual flair for the dramatic, dispatching Jim Heffern to Blue, much to Jim’s chagrin considering that he had just updated his FB profile to say that he was in a relationship with Red. Nick Gaudioso also went to Blue, much to the chagrin of Joe Bruno, who lost his coveted spot on defense and realized he was actually going to have to exert himself (horrors!) in some capacity as winger. Both house goalies were out so we had Mark the Goalie playing for Red and Dan Dougherty back in net for Blue.
Game time was 2 p.m.—so ideal considering the Old Bucks need to digest its lunch given its susceptibility to heartburn, dyspepsia, acidosis and flatulence. Blue had a 2-1 edge by the time we got to the bench and it was quickly extended to 4-1 by Brian Urban, who was already savoring a Blue win like it was as guaranteed as the pizza. We were impressed by the crowd size and thought the biggest marquee matchup was between Ben David on Red and the two defensemen Frankie and Rich Cerbone on Blue. This was going to be Canada’s Got Talent against American Idle. In the meantime the guy in the burgundy Toros jersey we mentioned in Week 22 bookended an Eddie O. rip from the point and the game was tied 4-4.
Did we mention Andrew Tona was back? If not, we will now. He was on garbage detail and gave Blue the 5-4 lead. Likewise Rich “play it where it lies” Devlin. Camped on Mark’s doorstep, he scored to make it 6-4 and exclaimed, “This is better than ‘Nova beating Georgetown in ’86!” Thus the game gathered pace. Andrew Tona had a wide open breakaway, tripped on the blue line and fell down and both benches nearly cracked their sides from laughing. Then Brian Urban had a breakaway and, while skating to shouts of “Don’t fall! Don’t fall!”, scored to make it 7-4 Blue whereupon Rich Devlin exclaimed, “This is better than being at Topgolf with the Ranger game on and unlimited wings!”
Tim White may be a runner in a passing league but he can still shed tacklers like a pro, and did so to narrow Blue’s lead 7-5. It would not be an authentic Red comeback without Bob Freiling scoring (he made it 7-6) and then Burgundy Toros got the hatter to tie the game at sevens. By the time Ben David gave Red the lead 8-7, the Blue bench was simmering with anti-Canadien sentiment, half of it directed at Paul Egan for gumming up the rush with his slow, plodding play.
Steady as a metronome, the tide of battle ebbed and flowed. Andrew Tona tipped in a shot from the point to make it 8-8 and then some ringer on Red with an “Iceland” jersey broke back to make it 9-8. Chris Dougherty tied the game at nines courtesy of the silver-haired Cerbone setting him up with a saucer pass after winning a board battle with Eddie O. The irrepressible Bob Freiling broke the fourth tie of the game with a goal so generic we can’t even recall what happened, only to have Paul a.k.a. “The Flamingo Kid” Egan hike that leg up high and burn Mark with a wrister from the slot. That was the game’s fifth tie, 10-10.
When Rich Cerbone snapped the tie and gave Blue the 11-10 lead there was a long lull in scoring during which both teams shot buckshot instead of bullets. Red was still determined to make a fight of it no matter what. What ensued was not atypical when it comes to Red eking out the win with some desperate high-stakes gambit. First Brian Urban got strip-sacked by Brian Pike just when he was about to go breakaway on Mark the Goalie. Of course the puck was dead while Brian Pike begged his pardon and helped him back to his feet, but somehow Red retained possession of the puck, notwithstanding the Brian-on-Brian violence, and one odd-man rush later Bob Freiling tied the game at elevens. Red made a cheap offsides call to stop the first Blue counterattack, and on the second Brian Urban drop-passed to Paul Egan who fanned on the shot, only to have a trailing Joe Bruno tee-up the loose puck and take a shot that wasn’t even in the same zip code as the goal much less near it. Blue was discombobulated and Red became like a pack of hounds chasing the fox with Aaron a.k.a. “Fred Bassett” Kibbey getting the game-winning goal at which point Rich Devlin exclaimed, “This is worse than than Joe Pisarcik fumbling the hand-off to Larry Csonka and having Herm Edwards scoop it up for the game-winning touchdown!”
Game time was 2 p.m.—so ideal considering the Old Bucks need to digest its lunch given its susceptibility to heartburn, dyspepsia, acidosis and flatulence. Blue had a 2-1 edge by the time we got to the bench and it was quickly extended to 4-1 by Brian Urban, who was already savoring a Blue win like it was as guaranteed as the pizza. We were impressed by the crowd size and thought the biggest marquee matchup was between Ben David on Red and the two defensemen Frankie and Rich Cerbone on Blue. This was going to be Canada’s Got Talent against American Idle. In the meantime the guy in the burgundy Toros jersey we mentioned in Week 22 bookended an Eddie O. rip from the point and the game was tied 4-4.
Did we mention Andrew Tona was back? If not, we will now. He was on garbage detail and gave Blue the 5-4 lead. Likewise Rich “play it where it lies” Devlin. Camped on Mark’s doorstep, he scored to make it 6-4 and exclaimed, “This is better than ‘Nova beating Georgetown in ’86!” Thus the game gathered pace. Andrew Tona had a wide open breakaway, tripped on the blue line and fell down and both benches nearly cracked their sides from laughing. Then Brian Urban had a breakaway and, while skating to shouts of “Don’t fall! Don’t fall!”, scored to make it 7-4 Blue whereupon Rich Devlin exclaimed, “This is better than being at Topgolf with the Ranger game on and unlimited wings!”
Tim White may be a runner in a passing league but he can still shed tacklers like a pro, and did so to narrow Blue’s lead 7-5. It would not be an authentic Red comeback without Bob Freiling scoring (he made it 7-6) and then Burgundy Toros got the hatter to tie the game at sevens. By the time Ben David gave Red the lead 8-7, the Blue bench was simmering with anti-Canadien sentiment, half of it directed at Paul Egan for gumming up the rush with his slow, plodding play.
Steady as a metronome, the tide of battle ebbed and flowed. Andrew Tona tipped in a shot from the point to make it 8-8 and then some ringer on Red with an “Iceland” jersey broke back to make it 9-8. Chris Dougherty tied the game at nines courtesy of the silver-haired Cerbone setting him up with a saucer pass after winning a board battle with Eddie O. The irrepressible Bob Freiling broke the fourth tie of the game with a goal so generic we can’t even recall what happened, only to have Paul a.k.a. “The Flamingo Kid” Egan hike that leg up high and burn Mark with a wrister from the slot. That was the game’s fifth tie, 10-10.
When Rich Cerbone snapped the tie and gave Blue the 11-10 lead there was a long lull in scoring during which both teams shot buckshot instead of bullets. Red was still determined to make a fight of it no matter what. What ensued was not atypical when it comes to Red eking out the win with some desperate high-stakes gambit. First Brian Urban got strip-sacked by Brian Pike just when he was about to go breakaway on Mark the Goalie. Of course the puck was dead while Brian Pike begged his pardon and helped him back to his feet, but somehow Red retained possession of the puck, notwithstanding the Brian-on-Brian violence, and one odd-man rush later Bob Freiling tied the game at elevens. Red made a cheap offsides call to stop the first Blue counterattack, and on the second Brian Urban drop-passed to Paul Egan who fanned on the shot, only to have a trailing Joe Bruno tee-up the loose puck and take a shot that wasn’t even in the same zip code as the goal much less near it. Blue was discombobulated and Red became like a pack of hounds chasing the fox with Aaron a.k.a. “Fred Bassett” Kibbey getting the game-winning goal at which point Rich Devlin exclaimed, “This is worse than than Joe Pisarcik fumbling the hand-off to Larry Csonka and having Herm Edwards scoop it up for the game-winning touchdown!”