Post by Old Bucks Admin on Feb 13, 2009 7:31:55 GMT -5
Kenny was back for Week 21, but not to play—only to make teams. He didn’t want to chance aggravating his injury, or Red losing three straight. He still suited up and took two turns around the ice, but an unsettling muscle twinge forced him to bow out. Instead he stood along the boards and passed out pinnies, asserting that if Blue was going to be competitive, it would be on his terms. When he divided the Egner brothers, he gave the older one to Blue. When he divided the Thomas brothers, he gave the faster one to Red. As for Angie and Bill MacDowell, Angie was on Blue and Bill was on an island in the Caribbean. With the teams set Red’s roster looked like a roll call for Old Bucks elites: Mark Egner, Bill Hamill, Dave Major, Greg Wright, Nick Swift, and Steve Thomas, just to name a few. If this was a happy medium, Kip Thomas thought, Blue was more like a disgruntled small.
At first the game was close. Huck Fairman put Red up 1-0 when he carried the puck into the Blue zone, flubbed a shot, recovered the puck, circled around the net, and scored from point-blank range while the entire Blue squad seemingly posed for a portrait called, “Still Life with Hockey Sticks”. Then Jim Heffern tied it up when he converted a hit & hope from just outside the face off circle. Steve Hendershott, normally more of an ammo carrier than a gunner, gave Red a 3-1 lead with two quickies that caught everyone off guard; but Rich Devlin soon responded, shouldering his way in front of the Red net and knocking home a rebound that narrowed Red’s lead to one.
From this point on Red dominated, their spirits emboldened by the sight of Kenny, now showered and impeccably dressed, standing on their bench. For entire shifts they kept Blue pinned down in their own zone, thwarting their attempts to either break out or ice the puck, and plastering the goal with shots. While Vinnie was put through his paces, Marty was at the other end of the rink, looking alternately restive and bored, and occasionally removing his mask just to rub the sleep from his eyes. With Red up 6-2 Kenny decided Blue was licked and sent them Steve Thomas in a lame attempt to preempt any post-game criticism. Red griped that he was taking away the punch bowl just as the party was getting lively.
Mike Dougherty joined Blue about this time, having been delayed by a breakdown of the pretzel store’s automated salter. This allowed Blue to move Brian Urban up to offense where he combined with Steve Thomas to put the “umph” back in Blue’s game. From then on they outscored Red 3-2 and took away from the game a satisfying moral victory. Back in the locker room they clinked beer cans, toasting the might of Blue and had three words for the long-gone Kenny, “Physician, heal thyself.”
At first the game was close. Huck Fairman put Red up 1-0 when he carried the puck into the Blue zone, flubbed a shot, recovered the puck, circled around the net, and scored from point-blank range while the entire Blue squad seemingly posed for a portrait called, “Still Life with Hockey Sticks”. Then Jim Heffern tied it up when he converted a hit & hope from just outside the face off circle. Steve Hendershott, normally more of an ammo carrier than a gunner, gave Red a 3-1 lead with two quickies that caught everyone off guard; but Rich Devlin soon responded, shouldering his way in front of the Red net and knocking home a rebound that narrowed Red’s lead to one.
From this point on Red dominated, their spirits emboldened by the sight of Kenny, now showered and impeccably dressed, standing on their bench. For entire shifts they kept Blue pinned down in their own zone, thwarting their attempts to either break out or ice the puck, and plastering the goal with shots. While Vinnie was put through his paces, Marty was at the other end of the rink, looking alternately restive and bored, and occasionally removing his mask just to rub the sleep from his eyes. With Red up 6-2 Kenny decided Blue was licked and sent them Steve Thomas in a lame attempt to preempt any post-game criticism. Red griped that he was taking away the punch bowl just as the party was getting lively.
Mike Dougherty joined Blue about this time, having been delayed by a breakdown of the pretzel store’s automated salter. This allowed Blue to move Brian Urban up to offense where he combined with Steve Thomas to put the “umph” back in Blue’s game. From then on they outscored Red 3-2 and took away from the game a satisfying moral victory. Back in the locker room they clinked beer cans, toasting the might of Blue and had three words for the long-gone Kenny, “Physician, heal thyself.”
