Five Points for Will "The Wild Card" Dimock in Vudoo Win

Thursday, April 19, 2018

Both goalies, Pete Peterson of the Vudoo and Tom Castenschiold of the Rink Rats began with some highlight reel saves, Peterson with the glove, and Castenschiold with the blocker. It carried on scoreless for most of the first period until a flurry of goals came, starting with Will "The Wild Card" Dimock's blast for a Vudoo lead. Dimock's goal came just after twelve minutes were played, but a little more than a minute later, the Rink Rats tied it when Jeremy Strausser one timed home from his team's leading scorer, Joe "Joey Jr." Maresca, Jr. Less than 30 seconds were on the clock when Joey Jr. put the Rink Rats up on a lead pass from Matt Giambrone, but the lead would evaporate six seconds later when The Wild Card roofed one to get it to 2-2.

The crazy first period was a precursor to more wacky PTAHL fun when the Vudoo thought they took a 3-2 lead. Castenschiold appeared to make a shoulder save then smother the puck in the crease, but the Vudoo were awarded a goal. Legendary Recap Writer and Zamboni Driver Brian Rappleyea happened to be standing behind the Rink Rats' cage, enjoying the action, where he had a bird's eye view of the events. Rappleyea watched the refs come together for a meeting, all while he gestured that the puck did not go in, as the players waited for the verdict. Maresca, Jr. agreed with The Legendary Recap Writer that the puck did not go in, and a few seconds later the zebras determined that it was not a goal. Lost in the confusion was the difficulty in Castenschiold's effort, where he made the shoulder save, then gathered the puck in the crease for a whistle, stopping the Vudoo from getting a rebound: Plaudits all around for the Rink Rats' goalie. Fair play to the Vudoo though, who, while not (rightfully) being awarded a goal, stayed focused and took the lead soon after, courtesy of Dan Scerra after Mark Schwanda's rocket was saved, leaving a rebound. The Rink Rats kept it going too, with Joey Jr. racking up goal number two on the night, getting it to 3-3, but Jeremy Strausser's hook would see the Vudoo go on a power play. Castenschiold kept up his play, preventing the Vudoo from going in front, but 70 seconds after Strausser exited the box, Wild Card Dimock completed his hat trick from Captain Gary Len and Mark Schwanda, one of the prettier plays of this young season, for a Vudoo lead. It looked like the Rink Rats would go into the break trailing 4-3, but a crushing goal was scored by Mark Schwanda from The Wild Card, for a two goal Vudoo advantage going into the third.

That late period goal carried the Vudoo to 6-3 when, 1:34 into the final frame, Grace "The Ace" Dimock slotted home from The Wild Card, as the Vudoo took this game by a stranglehold and began to suck the life out of it. It was mostly even from there, but Pete Peterson was able to make a kick save when he slid across his crease to make sure that the Rink Rats would not get any closer with enough time left to dream about a comeback, but the Rink Rats' hopes were curtailed anyway when John Joyce's interference came. While unable to score on their power play, the Vudoo did not care, and did what was most important: take two minutes off the clock while keeping it at 6-3. 1:58 remained when Gregg "G Cubed" Zakoor was assisted by Joey Jr., but the Rink Rats would not get closer, with the Vudoo winning the maximum three points, 6-4.

Will "The Wild Card" Dimock (3G, 2A) won the Hockey Haus Man of the Match Award. Joe "Joey Jr." Maresca, Jr. gets Honorable Mention for a 2G, 2A performance in a loss.

Click header to sort. Ledgend: GP: Games Played; G: Goals; A: Assists; PTS: Points; PIM: Penalties in Minutes; GWG: Game Winning Goals; GTG: Game Tying Goals; PPG: Power Play Goals; SHG: Short Handed Goals; SOA: Shoot Out Attempts; SOG: Shoot Out Goals; MIN: Minutes Played; GA: Goals Against; AVG: Goals Against Average; W: Wins; L: Losses; SOW: Shoot Out Wins; SOL: Shoot Out Losses; SO: Shut Outs; Saves: Saves; %: Save Percentage.