HWB Takes Top Seed

In the not to distant caliber of the NHL, roller hockey team HockeyWorldBlog.com has taken the top seed of their league in last game’s win over the Ducks.

HockeyWorldBlog.com have had a rough couple of last few seasons. Last year in particular, the team started with a 2-0 record only to fall to a 5-5-1 overall. The mediocre season was followed by an early exit in the playoffs in a tough 3-2 loss.

“It was tough, there’s no doubt about it” General Manager Hank McCoy said. “We knew we had to change it up in the off-season.”

They had a complete overhaul, team name and all. Previously Non Rostered Skaters, the team donned the official name of their sponsor Hockey World Blog.

“It was either that or relocate to Winnipeg” defensman Chris said. “I don’t know about you, but Winnipeg sure is cold in the winter; and that doesn’t do wonders for my tan.”

Team name change was not the only thing altered as the team saw some moves to the roster.

“We needed to change it up. We opted to convert Eddie from forward to goalie and add a few free agents in Turtle and Mitch.” GM Hank commented. “This did come at a loss of a few good guys, but ultimately we had to do something different.”

HWB also made a trade for forward Koenig. The details of the trade were never publicized, but rumors have it that the trade required a bag of pucks and a gift card to Taco Bell.

The roster changes seemed to be working as the team has taken over first place after last night’s win. HWB came into the contest holding down third place with a 4-2-0 record. The competition, the Ducks, were holding onto the top seed at 5-1-0.

“We knew coming into the game that we were the underdogs. The Ducks have some solid players” forward EB said. “But we believe in ourselves, something we lacked last season.”

The puck drop was at 7:40 PM and the game got underway. Jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the first, EB faked right and ended up putting a backhand pass the goalie.

“Evan made a great dish from behind the back of the net to the slot. From there I read what the goalie was doing and went with instinct.” EB said about the play. “Lately I’ve been mixing it up and going for more backhands. I haven’t really done many in the past, but the Blue Ice Nano Pro seems to be working in my favor.”

The second period saw HWB jumping out to a 2-0 lead as Evan put one off the goalie from the goal line in the corner. One fan said it looked like a Thomas Vanek bank shot.

The lead was cut in half as the Ducks put their first on the board only three minutes later. HWB was upset however as they felt the goalie was interfered with as the shooter ran into Eddie causing the puck to go in. The referee on the play saw a different angle and assessed a 2 minute roughing call to Koenig for levling the shooter.

Third period turned out to be the period to watch as 2:45 in Mitch put one by the Duck’s goalie. In a bad case of Déjà vu, Mitch barreled into the goalie only miliseconds after the puck crossed the goal line.

Two minutes after HWB went up 3-1, the Ducks once again inched their way within one with a low blister.

The next play was followed by some rough stuff as after Eddie made a big save, the Duck’s forward got a late slash in at the puck. Evan did not take to kindly to the matter and lifted and threw the forward to the ground. After the player got up, a high stick seemed to catch Evan which set him into a furry. After pleading his case in a not so nice tone from the penalty box, Evan was assessed a double minor for roughing and a 10 minute misconduct. The play also saw the Ducks taking a 2 minute high stick and a 2 minute power play after the coincidental penalties were over. The Ducks capitalized after a shot from the slot was kicked out to the stick of a Duck’s forward who buried it.

“There was not much we could do on that one” GM Hank said. “Chris was clearing out the front of the net and swapped off at the right moment to put pressure on the shooter. The rebound seemed to go straight to their stick and no goalie could have stopped that.”

With the game tied at three a piece, and time winding down, HockeyWorldBlog.com defensman Brendan ripped one from the high circle low glove side pass the goalie and into the back of the net. With three minutes left on the clock, the fans were standing on their feet for the end of this one.

“That was a big goal for us. I knew if we got the lead I would do my best to keep the puck out of the net,” Eddie said. “They started running a diamond offense scheme in the second period that allowed them to get wide open scoring opportunities late in the game but I managed to keep the puck out of the net.”

HWB were able to hold off the Duck’s as the time was nearing 90 seconds left. A faceoff in HWB’s zone gave the Ducks an opportunity to call timeout and set up a game plan as well as get the extra attacker on the rink.

“Once the puck was dropped it seemed like time slowed as they seemed to get off four or five quality scoring opportunities. To be honest, I do not know how the puck didn’t go in.” EB said as he viewed the game from the bench.

“There was a point there where they got a good shot off but it was blocked right in front. Guys were everywhere; on the ground, falling, going for the puck that was at the top of the goal crease.” Chris said. “The only one who was standing was Matt who looked like Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots out there. Every time a Duck would go for the puck which was at Matt’s feet, Matt just knocked them down, punching with one glove and then the other.”

Fans seemed to be laughing at the spectacle that took place in the last 15 seconds of the game. The media asked Matt about the play after the game only to Matt saying nothing but showing an ear-to-ear grin.

HockeyWorldBlog.com ended up holding the Duck’s off, pinning the puck in a corner scrum as the final few ticks finished.

The team plays again next week and looks to hold onto their number 1 seed against a 3-2-2 CT. HWB will be missing defenseman Curlew as well as forward EB. A call to their minor league team will hopefully result in a few call-ups.