Green Gays and Ham v. The Greyt White Sharks
(Watch the full game here)
Drama was the name of the game at Hartmeyer Arena on Sunday night, as the undefeated Green Gays and Ham squared off against a Greyt White Sharks team that had shutout its last two opponents.
The Greyt White Sharks won the opening draw, but after a failed zone entry it would be the Green Gays and Ham that earned the first bit of offensive pressure. The Grey defense did a good job of getting in the way of shots to keep Green from scoring early.
Grey would get a chance of their own off a center ice faceoff win. After a prolonged period of zone time, Green attempted to clear the puck down the center, but it was picked off by k8 who read the play beautifully. They skated into the high slot and attempted a quick shot before being taken out, but Greg picked up the puck and fired a hard shot at Mary. Not only was it a great save by Mary to keep the game scoreless, it was her 1000th save in the MGHA!
Mary's 1000th save with @MadGayHockey! #MGHA pic.twitter.com/RDM9LrbBDm
— Kevin Colelli (@kcolelli) January 25, 2017
Kit would make some stellar saves of her own later in the period. Less than 20 seconds after Mary’s save, Kit managed to keep her skate on the post while Courtney and other Green Gays jammed at the puck in the crease. Somehow Kit was able to hold her ground, and the Grey defense cleared the puck behind the net.
Courtney would find the back of the net soon enough though. With just under six minutes left in the period, she broke away from the Grey defense and got Kit to commit the butterfly before tucking the puck in behind Kit’s right leg. Kit’s bad luck would continue less than a minute later, when Claire took a shot from the high circle that just squeaked past Kit’s left pad and in to double Green’s lead.
Grey would attempt to get on the board themselves, with some great chances from Amanda Forbes and k8, but neither we be able to solve Mary’s goaltending quite yet. The first period would end 2-0 Green, but the game was more evenly matched than the score let on.
Grey would come out in the second period looking to get back in the game. Amanda would continue her strong assault on the net, even collecting her own rebound for another shot, but Mary continued to hold strong. Despite their lack of luck on offense, Grey got a bit lucky on defense. Justin broke away and was poised for a quality scoring chance, but lost the puck off his stick before he could take a shot on Kit.
Grey finally got on the board with just under seven minutes to go in the period. Amanda passed down low, and the puck trickled behind Mary but not over the goal line. Greg was there to poke it home for the first Grey goal. The rest of the period would be all Grey. A pair of goals, one shorthanded, would put then in the lead for the first time in the game. It was a lead they would not relinquish.
A beauty of a goal from Amanda would extend the lead to 4-2 four minutes into the third period. Mary was down on the ice after making the initial save, and Amanda picked up the puck behind the net and lifted it to go bar down.
The goalies would really step up at this point. With Grey catching Green on a bad line change, Mary made an excellent pad save then leaped out of the crease to cover the puck and allow her team to reset. Kit made a few pad saves to preserve Grey’s lead, but Green would get one back after Claire capitalized on Amanda catching an edge.
The final two minutes were nail-biters. With Amanda catching another edge, this time it was Courtney who got a chance, but she shot high and wide. Mary would skate to the bench for the extra attacker, and Green almost tied it up, but an amazing block from k8 in the waning seconds clinched the win for the Greyt White Sharks. The win gave them a share of the league league, and the defeat of Green Gays and Ham leaves no more undefeated teams in the league. Stars of the game in my opinion are Claire for her two goals and k8 for their amazing defense.
Looking Ahead: The New Black v. The Greyt White Sharks
The last time these two teams met, the Greyt White Sharks skated away with a narrow 1-0 victory. Both teams have shown they are capable of high scoring games, so it seems that strong defense will prevail. This game could really go either way, but I’m giving the edge to the Greyt White Sharks after the incredible defensive showing from k8 and Amanda. The New Black may want to watch last week’s game and take notes. Join us on Sunday at Hartmeyer Arena at 7pm to catch the action. We will be joined by Community Sponsor GSAFE, and will celebrate the day at Shamrock, our Social Sponsor for the weekend.
