Old Time Hockey!

Randal, Vinnie, and I during tonight's game.

Anyone want to walk on my back?

I don't remember being this tired after any other game this season, but tonight was a bear - although you couldn't tell it by the score. We beat Blue Dog for the third time this season by a score of 6-1, but for some reason, my back is killing me. Oh well, here's how the game went down.

Most of us were ready for this rematch, because Blue Dog is composed of hired goons. Union thugs have nothing on these guys. They hit hard, but they're also dirty when they do it. High sticks, raised elbows, and punches are the norm. They figure, "Well, we suck, so we might as well beat someone up." Our last two games ended in brawls, but since the playoffs are just around the corner - and no one wanted to take a suspension - we learned our lesson, and took it to them from the start.

Our former goaltender, Louie the Lock, filled in for us tonight, since The Badger was in Florida. I need to make a public apology to Louis, because I thought he'd stand us up. Sometimes, Lou is not the most reliable person, but he proved me wrong - in more ways than one - when it counted. After two years away from the rink, Lou immediately came back to form. He played out of his mind, and shut Blue Dog out for 44 minutes and 13 seconds . . .

Unfortunately, we cost The Lock his shutout when Blue Dog scored with 47.3 seconds left in the game. Sorry, Lou!

As for the offense, we didn't disappoint. Ron scored a hat trick after five, yes five, goalless seasons. We scored three goals in the first, two in the second, and one in the third. It was a terrific overall effort; so much so that Lou was disappointed that he couldn't hear one of Randal's patented "Curse Speeches."

Speaking of Randal, tonight was his last game of the season. Seems my brother will be going under the knife on Friday. He suffered an ankle sprain/hairline fracture earlier in the season, and as he skated, it became progressively worse. The docs need to go in and clean things up a bit. He'll be in rehab until the end of the summer. Losing his offensive production - and his speeches - will hurt come playoff time, but he needs the surgery. Say a little prayer that everything goes smoothly.

In other news:

• Vinnie and I each had an assist. I think that's a sign of the Apocalypse.
• Despite the previous fisticuffs, there were none this game. A little shoving, a little grappling, but no fights. Dang.
  
• As solid as Lou was, having Badger back on Thursday will be nice. Lou never left the net, and I missed Badger skating out to the blue line to get a puck.
  
• Someone needs to tell Fish he's not actually Swedish, and he can shoot the puck when he gets it. After about a dozen opportunities to score, he passed ten of them away.
• Ron brought his young son to the game - and immediately scored a hat trick. Naturally, we said he has to bring him to every game, which will be fun to see the kid at Thursday's 10:25pm start time.