On Monday, March 4 at the Evinrude Centre, the gold and bronze medal intramural hockey games took place. The gold medal championship game started at 10:15 p.m. with the Steel Shockers taking on the Philly Fakeouts. The two teams were at the top of their game, and both wanted to take home the gold, but only one could win. In the end it was the Philly Fakeouts that were able to call themselves champions, winning the game 3-1.
The first period started out with some friendly competition to see which team would be the first to place a goal up on the scoreboard. The forwards tried their hardest to skate through the opposing defense. The defense were pushing back to make sure the puck did not go anywhere near the goaltender. The goaltenders were making incredible saves.
The first period continued in this manner, with not even a single penalty, until there were only four minutes left in the period, when #89 Ryan Minicola assisted by #91 Seamus McDougall, scored the first goal of the game for the Philly Fakeouts. The period ended with the Philly Fakeouts having a one-goal lead over the Steel Shockers.
The second period was where things began to heat up. The Steel Shockers were determined to even the score, as they attempted to bypass their opponents. However, the Philly Fakeouts had other plans as they went on the defensive position to help out their goalie.
Neither team was able to score a goal, and the tension began to rise, as players from both teams were sent to the penalty box for checking. By the end of the second period, the Philly Fakeouts were still ahead 1-0.
During the final period of the game, the Steel Shockers kicked it into high gear as they wanted to win back their title of last year’s intramural hockey champions, but the Philly Fakeouts were not going to make it easy for them. Within the first three minutes, #10 Nick Lidstone assisted by #8 George Ripoll, scored the second goal of the game for the Philly Fakeouts, and not even a minute later #89 Ryan Minicola, once again assisted by #91 Seamus McDougall, scored the Philly Fakeouts third goal.
After this goal, the Steel Shockers were no longer holding anything back as they went full force at the Philly Fakeouts.
As tempers were rising so were the penalty minutes, and teams spent time in the penalty boxes for roughing, fighting and hooking. Once the players had time to cool down, it was time for them to get back into the game with a clear head. The Steel Shockers did not want to end the game with no points on the board, so with two minutes left, #88 Greg Trutter scored the Steel Shockers’ first goal, after he received an extraordinary pass from #27 Doug Moore. Unfortunately for the Steel Shockers, the Philly Fakeouts would not allow them to score any more goals.
With the final buzzer sounding, the Philly Fakeouts won the game 3-1, making them this year’s goal medal champions.
The bronze medal game took place at 11:15 p.m. with the Honey Nut Chelios taking on S.A. The two teams fought hard as they wanted to win a medal, and place in the top three teams.
During the first period the players fought hard to gain possession of the puck. The goalies were making tremendous saves, and the forwards were taking shot after shot. The defensemen were doing their best to deflect the opponents. The first goal of the game was scored by #22 Eli Adair, assisted by #89 Graham Abbott, for S.A with less than a minute left in the first period, making the score 1-0.
With the one-goal lead, it gave S.A the confidence they needed to take control of the game. Less than two minutes into the second period, #44 Brian Easterby scored S.A’s second goal on the game, giving them a 2-0 lead. The Honey Nut Chelios tried their best to get the puck back on the offensive, but S.A would not allow it. The puck when back and forth between the two teams, as S.A was trying to keep their two goal lead, and the Honey Nut Chelios trying to score a goal.
It wasn’t until there was only 15 seconds left in the period that #89 Graham Abbott scored another goal for S.A, ending the period 3-0.
The Honey Nut Chelios were not about to give up without a fight, as they entered the third and final period of the game. They were able to score their first goal halfway through the period. The goal was scored by #39 Ian Cummings. With the luck finally coming their way, they were able to fight hard and gain advantage of the puck again, and not even two minutes after the previous goal, scored another, closing the gap 3-2. The Honey Nut Chelios’ second goal was scored by #19 Matt Harris, after he received a brilliant pass from #2 Nolan Hodge.
The period was not over yet, and there was still time for either team to shift the balance. Before the final buzzer sounded, #2 Kurtis Vestby, assisted by #5 Drew Hampel and #44 Brian Easterby, was able to score one final goal for S.A., making them the bronze medal winners, winning the game 4-2. Great job to everyone and congratulations on your winnings!