Zombies bag Cats! Beat rival Tigers.

Cadavers (11) vs Tigers
Monday July 28
Canton 9:30pm

4-3 win

Another classic matchup between the Cads and El Tigre in Canton last night. Another tough scheduling situation, in a summer that has been full of them it seems, as both teams saw action, the Dead in Red in Canton, and the ‘Cans in the Q. That left both squads somewhat short of players. The Dead had 10 on the roster but skated with 9 for the night (apparently Blake was busy practicing looking down on people that don’t live in Dover, now that he is a new resident), and the ‘Cans were going to war with the Mad Russian Sitniks with just 9 on the roster to start with. The blogger even entertained the idea of leaving the first game (if we had 10) and zipping over to the Q for the nightcap against Roman’s Red Raiders. Pearlman termed this the Phil Collins doubleheader… the only time my Escort has ever been compared to the Concord. Funny. That wasn’t an option due to the shortage… of players and my breath… I was lucky just to survive the Cads game.
So anyway lets get down to what happened against the Kittys in the first game. The roster broke down like this.
The D corps in front of Badass Brian Carey was abley manned by the power trio of Campbell, Capt.George, and Marc “flying V” Valenti.
That left a pair of forward lines. “The 2 up 1 back” Line of Larry, Nelson and Billy (who spent a lot of time drifing back deep in our own end due to his comfort zone … usually D). The second group was “The little engine that almost could” Line of Jeff F, Matt, and Dr. Pounds, who played a decent (but wheezing) “checking” role.
El Tigre was well accounted for with most of their regulars and I think 11 or 12 skaters. We have played these guys a bunch of times and the games usually end up in a tie or a one goal affair one way or the other. Last night didn’t dissapoint as the teams played a very tight game.
The Red started fast, which was good for them as the legs wouldn’t last the whole game. Less than a minute into the first shift Cagey Vet (and he of the gaudy PPG sats) Nelson Sharfman buried a shot from SW Larry that seemed to catch the Kitty D and keeper by surprise. Good news for sure for the Cads.
The Red was able to capitalize on the Tiger’s slow start and got several good chances in the early going from there. Then with 12 minutes on the clock Big Billy Pearlman launched a nice slapper (unassisted) that blew by the keep up high and gave the Red a nice 2 goal lead.
The Zebras were a pair that I haven’t seen before, at least not recently and they let lots go as the two teams played a pretty tight, well contested style. Regardless Campbell would push the boundaries (as he does so well) and was whistled off at 10:32 for a slash.
The Tigers were starting to get their feet under them, and the chances were coming now for them much more frequently. The Red killed it but the Tigers would break through at the 6 minute mark as number 8 wristed one by Brian to bring them within a goal. Number 8 was slippery all night… and would prove to need watching… closely. End of the first 2-1 good guys.
The second again saw the momentum continue in the big Cat’s favor. Brian would hang tough, as he usually does, and turned aside everything they would throw at him. Several times making nice stops on solid chances as the Dead in Red perceptably slowed and lost most of the early momentum. But Billy Pearlman would bring them back to life with his second goal on the night, this on a pass from Nelson that restored the 2 goal advantage. Valenti would be called for a matching rough as he and number 18 got into a tussle on the offfensive blue line. Thankfully that would be the end of the penalties. End of the second 3-1 Cads.
The discussion (through gasps) before the third was an impassioned plea to keep up the hard work and not give these guys an inch. El Tigre has a long history of 3rd period comebacks, and everyone on the Zombie bench was well aware of it.
With that fresh in their minds the Red started the third looking to close the deal. Instead the Tigers won the draw and advanced into the zone then old friend Number 8 buried a shot through traffic before a full minute had come off the clock and it was a one goal game again. Sigh.
But let me tell you now, reader of the blog, there was no lack of determination on the red bench, and despite everyone’s fatigue, there were clear examples of Zombie Pride on display as the two teams went down the streach. It was clear that the Red was desperate to clear at every opportunity, and were hanging onto the lead by the most tenuous of grips. The Cats knew it, and really turned it on, gaining buckloads of chances in bursts.
Big props again to Brian, and the D trio for hanging tough through the middle part of this period, as the forwards chased the cats as best they could.

Then it happened. Mike Campbell, making a nice play to keep it in the Cat’s zone launched a nice slapper that made it to the promised land and restored the 2 goal lead at 12:45 remaining. The Cats weren’t done by far, and (wait for it….) Number 8 scored again to complete the natural hat trick on a niffty end to end rush with a deadly wrister finish. I’ll tell you now the Blogger was very concerned that a one goal buffer just might not be enough for the remaining 9 minutes of play… especially with 8 on the ice.
Zombie pride would prevail as the Red hung tough, shift after shift until the final minutes. With 1_30 left Larry and George combined to keep it in the cat’s zone and forced a hand pass that held up the Cats. They couldn’t pull their keeper until 40 seconds, or less remaining. Billy Pearlman made a brilliant sliding stop on a slapper from the point in our own end and the Red ground out the remaining seconds and preserved a very hard fought, exhausting 4-3 win.
Major props to everyone on the Red roster last night… but lets get to

Game Stars
3rd Star: The D trio (George, Mike, & Marc) and Goalie Brian tight play despite the time the Cats spent in our end. Nice work by all.
2nd Star: Nelson Sharfman. He just gets it done. It ain't always pretty but the result it nice.
1st Star: Billy Pearlman. Two goals from the big defenseman playing left wing. Great work Bill, carefull, you keep scoring like that and we'll make you play forward more often.