The Flying Aces evened their record on the season to 2-2, with a well-deserved shootout win over Powertime on Wednesday night. Playing without some of their top forwards, including Sweet Lou, the Captain, and Dr. Bill, Aces Assistant Captain Ryan Bleck had to take over coaching duties, and with the help of Mike "Slapnuts" Petersen, shuffled the lines in a strategic manner. The Aces hung a 66 jersey in the locker room in honor of their injured left winger and headed to the ice.
But the Aces hit some early turbulence, with Powertime opening up an early 2-0 lead with some lucky shots. Josh Lovering (nickname to come but many options) rang one off the post, but despite the Aces dominating play for most of the period, they found themselves down 2-0 at the end of the first period. With the Powertime goalie playing unbelievably well, the Aces were wondering if they would be able to get one in the back of the net.
Fortunately, the lines set by Captain Bleck generated a great deal of offense, and probably more shots on goal than the Aces have had in recent memory. Powertime's goalie was relentless, and the Aces could not get one in the back of the net. Finally, Lovering shoved one past the Powertime goalie to bring the Aces within 1.
The Aces continued their excellent play with all 3 offensive lines working well together. Although the puck spent more time in the offensive zone, Powertime did have a few chances, and thanks to some excellent play on D, especially by Dream Weaver and Ulffy, The Aces kept the Powertime lead to just 1. Later in the period, Slapnuts fired a heat seeking missile that went right between the goalie's legs, to tie the game at 2. The game remained tied, and things were looking good as the Aces were really controlling the puck. However, at about 4 minutes left in the game, Ulffy was the recipient of a terrible hooking call. The Aces killed off the power play and had some opportunities to end it with under a minute left, but at the end of regulation, the game was tied at 2 and headed to a shootout.
The Aces knew they were in decent shape with Nick ("Nicky" or "Nick The Goalie") in goal. But the opening trio of Slapnuts, Smitty and Lovering were denied. Fortunately, Nick The Goalie made some great saves as well. In the fourth round, Gianotti was stuffed on his attempt, and Nicky made a great kick save to send the shootout to the 5th round. It was at that time that Bleck had to make the toughest call of his coaching career. Stockwell was ready to take the puck and end the game, but Warn hadn't been used yet and Bleck was forced to choose between the two. Bleck made an unpopular and risky decision by going with Warn, but Warn made a ridiculous move that Oshie would envy, buried the puck over the goalie's left shoulder, and put the game in Nicky's hands. Nicky activated the landing gear and brought the Aces back to the hard deck with a 3-2 shootout win.
Postgame, Nick The Goalie was awarded the coveted Aces Patch, for his superior play in the shootout, and not allowing a goal in the last 35 or so minutes of play. There was some discussion as to where the Patch should be placed, and it was agreed that it should be placed below the left shoulder, just as Dream Weaver placed his. Bleck offered to provide a stapler so that Nicky could put the patch on, but Nicky revealed that he is the "domestic" one in his relationship and would be able to iron the patch on himself. Petersen was accused of licking one of Powertime's players female private parts during the game, but at least he did not beat up anyone and may still be able to win the Lady Byng trophy. Ulffy took care of the Aces cooler and the team celebrated their victory with some Labatt Blues.
MS - #2
