RINK DAWGS!!!……You Knooow!!!

August 08, 2010 – Game Recap

Storm BHC – 2    Rink Dawgs – 1

The Rink Dawgs summer season has come to an abrupt stop, thanks to the efforts of an old nemesis and some former teammates.  The Dawgs have always done fairly well in qualifying tournaments often making it to the semi-finals or finals but never winning it, last night was no exception.

The Dawgs came out strong in the first out shooting and out chancing the Storm 9-6, but solid goaltending by Matt Porter kepted them in the game.  The Dawgs would strike once in the half, with 6:20 to play off of a face-off in the Storm zone.  David Silva won the draw clean back to Andrew Lazaridis whose shot ricocheted to Bruce Tiam-Fook in the slot and riding his hot streak (5G in last 4GP), banged it home to give the Dawgs a 1-0 lead.

The second half saw the Dawgs continue to press the play to the Storm and once again out shooting them, this time 9-5.  Matt continued to stone the Dawgs stopping 17 of 18 shots in the game.  On the other end, though not too busy Gino Caputo played a steady game.  He would give up 2 goals in the frame, both on the powerplay and both with not much chance to stop.

Special teams would prove to kill the Dawgs as they gave up 2G on 2PP opportunities and failed to score on 2 chances of their own.  With less than a minute to play the Dawgs pulled the goalie, but were not able to get much going and succumbed to a 2-1 defeat, ending their chances of earning a trip to the provincials.

Despite the loss it proved to be a decent season for the Rink Dawgs, finishing the final 10 games 2-2-6.  Compared to last season in which they went 3-9-2 and missed the playoffs for the first time in team history (summer season). They can hold their heads up high, rest some injuries and get ready for the 2010 Winter season which start in late October or early November.

Game Stats:

Shots: Rink Dawgs  18 -  Storm BHC  11
Powerplay: 0 for 2
Penaltykill: 0 for 2

Players of the Game:

Bruce Tiam-Fook 1G
David Silva & Andrew Lazaridis each with an assist

Jamie Farrow who had 6 shots and some good chances

August 4th, 2010 – Game Recap

Falcons -3    Rink Dawgs – 0

In a do or die game, the Rink Dawgs could not find an answer for the Falcons energy.  The Falcons came out with an aggressive forecheck and relentless pressure in the Dawgs zone.  It would pay off for them with 2 goals in a 1:30 span, both off of Rink Dawg turnovers.  New daddy Carm DiLuciano struggled in his first game back after a 3 week hiatus, he was responsible for the turnovers that help lead to the Falcons early 2-0 lead.

It didn’t help that Dawgs were missing 2 of their top offensive players Captain Bruce Tiam-Fook and Andrew “Silk hands” Lazaridis.  It showed as the offense struggled to get anything going in the first, getting out shot 10-6 in the half and not generating much in the way of good scoring chances themselves.  Going into the intermission, the Falcons had all the momentum and confidence to keep control of the game.

The second half was not much different than the first, other than the Falcons making a conscience effort to keep 5 guys back to help defend the lead.  The Rink Dawgs continued to struggle with their offense, they could not find a way to beat the neutral zone trap.  Their passing was off, the fore check was not present and they could not generate anything on 2 powerplay chances.

The Falcons would go on to add another goal, one that I am sure Gino Caputo would want to have back.  But again it was poor defensive zone coverage that cost the Dawgs on that one.  The 3rd goal proved to be the final nail in the coffin as the Falcons continued to protect the lead well the rest of the way. The Falcons would out shot the Rink Dawgs in the second 11-8 and clinched a birth in the finals against the 4th place Baby Buds who upset the 1st place Tribe in a tiebreak shootout.

The Rink Dawgs will now switch their focus to the playdown for their final chance to make it to the provincials.  The first game is this Sunday August 8th @ 10:00pm – Miliken Mills Arena.

Game Stats:

Shots: Falcons 21  -  Rink Dawgs 14
Powerplay: 0 for 2
Penaltykill: 1 for 1

Player(s) of the Game:

All around poor effort by everyone, earning the first time this season that no honorable mentions were awarded.

July 29th, 2010 – Game Recap

Rink Dawgs -3  Falcons – 3

Finishing the regular season undefeated in their last 7 games, the Dawgs were revved up to begin the Play-offs, but they knew they would have their hands full with the Falcons.  Game 1 would be crucial, and the Dawgs were up for the challenge.

Picking up from the last regular season game against the Falcons, both teams came out flying.  Once again the Rink Dawgs got on the board quick at the 2:25 mark of the first period.  With the ball in the Falcons zone, the Dawgs had the Falcons on the run moving the ball well when Bruce Tiam-Fook would cycle the ball behind the Falcon net where Andrew Lazardis would be parked.  With time on his side, Andrew would wait for David Silva to get to the front of the net before he fed him a nice pass for David to hammer a shot past the Falcons goalie to put the Dawgs up 1-0.  This trio continues to play well as they have combined for 17 points in their last 3 games.

This woke the Falcons up quickly as they began to dominate the rest of the period having the Dawgs on their heels and pressed in their zone for most of the period.  Rock solid goaltending from Gino Caputo once again was the key factor for keeping the Falcons off the board in the 1^st period.  Heavily screened in front of the net, Gino would rob a Falcon blast with a huge glove save. The Falcons would out shoot the Dawgs 11-7 going into the 2^nd.

Starting the 2^nd period the Dawgs knew they would have to tighten up defensively if they were to stay in this game.  With the Dawgs already down 1 player, Donny Lagos would draw an interference penalty putting the Dawgs down 2 players.  With some impressive penalty killing the Dawgs would hold the Falcons off to kill both penalties which took a toll as the Falcons would strike for their 1^st goal to tie the game as both penalties expired.  It wouldn’t take the Falcons long to score again, as 30 seconds later the Falcons would take the lead beating Gino who had no chance.

The Falcons continued to apply pressure and would find themselves on a break away, but the outstanding speed of Tony Rowe to catch the Falcon player would distinguish their opportunity, but landed him a tripping penalty for his efforts.  Donny Lagos would pick off a pass in the Dawgs zone and with a quick flick to beat the Falcons defender, Donny was off to the races on a break away to be stopped by the Falcons goalie.  Picking up his rebound in the corner Donny found Bruce Tiam-Fook wide open who would snap a shot from the Falcons circle to put it where the peanut butter is kept, to tie the game giving the Dawgs a short handed goal.

With the Dawgs on a power play, the Falcons would get a short handed goal of their own at the 5:30 mark to take a 3-2 lead.  With frustration boiling over at the Dawgs bench and time winding down, and the ball in the Dawgs zone Bruce Tiam-Fook would find a streaking Jamie Farrow sending him on a break away who missed on his first attempt, but  would gather his rebound putting it off the post and cross bar to tie the game.  With time winding down, Gino would come to the rescue once again making some huge saves to preserve the tie.

Great game boyz!  Next weeks game is Wed, Aug 4^th at Clatworthy 10pm.

Game Stats:

Shots: Falcons 26  – Dawgs 18
Powerplay: 0 for 4
Penaltykill: 0 for 3

Player(s) of the Game:

Gino Caputo, continued solid goaltending with 23 saves
Bruce Tiam-Fook 1G 2A
David Silva 1G
Jamie Farrow 1G

Andrew Lazaridis, Donny Lagos, and Tony Rowe contributing with 1 assist each.

July 21, 2010 – Game Recap

Rink Dawgs – 4    Falcons – 2

With 1 point separating 2^nd place between the Falcons and the Rink Dawgs, we knew this would be a good game.  Going into the playoffs we knew our first opponent would be the Falcons, but we wanted to end the season on a winning note to capture 2^nd place, which we accomplished.  Both teams had short benches, which didn’t matter as we both fought to the end.

Rink Dawgs got on the board quick as on the first shift David Silva dumped the ball deep into the Falcon zone.  From “Gretsky’s office” behind the net, Bruce Tiam-Fook would find a wide open Andrew Lazaridis who made no mistake netting his first of 2 on the night.   With momentum in hand, the Dawgs would strike 1:21 later.  With a face off in the Falcons zone, Dave Silva won a clean draw back to Andrew Lazaridis who riffled his 2^nd of the game.  The Dawgs having the Falcons on their heels continued to press with numerous chances, but could not finish as the Falcons goalie made some impressive saves.

Both teams continued to exchange chances, but with some solid goaltending from Gino Caputo and strong defense, the Dawgs were able to keep the Falcons off the board in the 1^st period.  With time winding down in the 1^st period, Donny Lagos would make some impressive moves deep in the Dawgs zone making a crisp tape to tape pass to David Silva, who found a streaking Bruce Tiam-Fook sending him on a break away.  Going to his patented back hand, Bruce would make no mistake netting his 3^rd goal in his last 2 games putting the Dawgs up 3-0 going into the 2^nd.

The 2^nd period started with the same intensity of the 1^st as both teams continued to exchange chances but was stopped by some hot goaltending at both ends.  With the Falcons pressing in the Dawgs zone, the Dawgs broke down defensively and at the 8:33 mark the Falcons converted a turn over beating Gino.  The Dawgs would continue to press and with some aggressive fore checking from the “Ninja” line, Jamie Farrow would hammer a shot that would hit both post to stay out of the Falcons net.

With 3:38 left in the game, David Silva would get called on an unfortunate high stick landing him a 4 minute penalty.  It wouldn’t take the Falcons long to capitalize on the penalty with a controversial goal.  With 2:33 to go in the game, Falcons Pedro Sergio blasted a shot from top of the circle in the Dawgs zone for his 2^nd goal of the game.  We all thought it hit the post and bounced out, but the referee was at the side of the net and said it hit the post and crossed the line before it bounced out.  An appeal to the refs from the Dawgs would not prevail as they ruled it a goal.  With the momentum now shifted to the Falcons, and their goalie pulled they came on strong with shot after shot but could not beat the outstanding goaltending from Gino.  The saves he made were unbelievable, to hold on to the 3-2 win for the Dawgs.

Great finish to the season boyz, lets carry this momentum into the Playoffs!

Game Stats:

Shots: Rink Dawgs 29  -  Falcons 16
Powerplay: 0 for 1
Penaltykill: 2 for 3

Player(s) of the Game:

David Silva  3A
Andrew Lazaridis  2G
Bruce Tiam-Fook  1G 1A
Gino Caputo  18 Excellent Saves

July 13, 2010 – Game Recap

Rink Dawgs – 3   Baby Buds – 3

For the fourth consecutive game in a row, the Dawgs eek out a tie and extended their unbeaten streak to 6 (5-0-1).  With the season winding down, the Rink Dawgs continue to show that they will be a difficult match up in the playoffs.  Their opponent will be the Falcons, the only thing left to decide is who will finish 2nd or 3rd as both teams meet in the final regular season game of the year on Wednesday, July 21 @ 8:00pm (Cummer Park).

Last nights game was a penalty filled affair and maybe the worst refereed game in Rink Dawgs history.  Not because both teams combined for 28 penalties totaling 64 minutes, but because of a poorly managed game by one particular referee, Efti Bassias.  Who I am sure will hear from the Supervisor of officials, as the Rink Dawgs vowed to put in a complaint.

The Dawgs would get on the board first, 3:45 into the first on a bit of a controversial play.  With what looked liked too many men on the floor, Andrew Lazaridis would take a feed from Donny Lagos and break in all alone displaying those velvet hands beating the keeper with a beautiful deke.  The Buds would respond just 22 seconds later to tie the game.

The turning point of the game came early with 7:55 to play, Tommy Kolkas was called for a minor penalty.  That wasn’t too bad, but what ensued may have started the march to the penalty boxes.  While in the box, the timekeeper was playing around with his phone and forgot to put the penalty time on the board.  With Tommy already irritated with the call, he yelled at the time keeper to pay attention and put the time up.   In response the time keeper barked back at Tommy “what are you gonna do about it”, an infuriated Tommy smashed his stick against the glass.  The ref would call Tommy for a game ejecting for his action and insist he left the area outside the glass.

I had never seen such a drastic measure by a ref for an action that was justified, the timekeeper was lucky Tommy didn’t climb in their and beat the snot out of him.  To make matters worse the Buds would score a PP goal to take the lead 2-1. The rest of the first half would go on to see, 28 minutes more in penalties by the two teams, making what was already a long game even longer.

The Rink Dawgs would take 8 more PIMS in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the second and the Buds would convert on the PP to take a 3-1 lead.  Unfased, the Dawgs would find a way to fight back amongst all those penalties, when at the 11:43 mark, captain Bruce Tiam-Fook would convert a beautiful tic-tac-toe passing play, that started when Donny made a smooth play at the line to beat the D-man to create a 3 on 1 down low and with a pass to David Silva on the right side, and passing all the way found a wide open Bruce who made no mistake tying the game back up.

Taking back some of the momentum, the Dawgs would strike on the very next shift.  In fact it only took 6 seconds for Bruce to score the back to back goals, when David would break down the right side again and feeding Bruce, this time with a little help, it took a weird deflection straight up over the goalie and into the net. With still a lot of hockey to play, over 11 minutes, the game would continue to be a terribly refereed one.

With 8:51 to go, Tony Rowe turned on the jets and beat his man to go in on  a breakaway of his one, to only get knocked down from behind and speared while he was on the floor.  This caused a pile up at the side of the goal, which even saw the Buds goalie jump into the ruckus and try to urge Gino Caputo to come from out his goal to join in the festivities.  The play would produce 16 more PIMS and earn the Rink Dawgs a penalty shot.  Cpatain Bruce and Assistant Carm DiLuciano had thoughts of letting Donny take his first career attempt, but not feeling it Donny passed and Carm looked to Bruce to go for the hat-trick. After some more discussion it was their all-time leading goal scorer (37) David Silva who would get the call.  Going in down slightly on the left side, David who over the last few years has been relying on his pinpoint shot as opposed to the deke, let one go but could not find an opening to beat the keeper and take back the lead.

Amazingly there were no more penalties called, I guess the ref’s were getting tired themselves.  The Buds would have a few more great chances to score, especially when one of there players broke right the down the middle unmarked. It was 40 year old Bruce out of nowhere tracking him down and diving to break up the play. What was most impressive was that he did it without taking a penalty, it surely was a game saver.  The game would go on to end uneventful with a another tie for the Rink Dawgs 3-3.

Game Stats:

Shots: Rink Dawgs  23  – Baby Buds  18
Powerplay: 0 for 2
Penaltykill: 3 for 5

Player(s) of the Game:

Bruce Tiam-Fook  2G
Donny Lagos  2A
Andrew Lazaridis  1G
David Silva 2A
Gino Caputo 15 Saves & 1A (first career point as a Rink Dawg)

July 07, 2010 – Game Recap

Rink Dawgs – 3   The Tribe – 3

In the 2nd game of back to back nights, the Rink Dawgs found themselves in a similar situation, hot humid conditions and a must win hockey game.  This night they were up against the league leaders in the Tribe, who with a victory could have clinched first place in the division and earn themselves a chance to play for a ticket to the provincials in August.

Heading in to the game, the Tribe were leading the season series 2-1 with every game being close and highly contested affairs.  Last night was no exception as both teams traded chances back and forth all night long.  The Tribe would pounce on the Dawgs early, 1:14 into game as an unmarked player streaking towards the goal received a perfect cross crease pass to beat Gino Caputo low glove side.

The Dawgs would even the score with exactly 2:00 minutes to play in the first when Tommy Kolkas banged in his 2nd goal in 2 nights, with the assists going to Donny Lagos and Andrew Lazaridis.  The half would end 1-1 and the shots were 7-5 in favor of the Tribe.

Despite the heat & humidity, both teams revved it up in the second half.  The shot totals increased to 12-10 for the Dawgs and 2 goals were scored by each team.  First one would come 3 1/2 minutes in, when once again it was Tommy Kolkas netting his second of game from Jamie Farrow & Martin Vieira.  There would be no more scoring until the 3:22 mark of the half, when the Tribe would tie the game back up.

The turning point of the game, came on the next face-off just 16 seconds after the tying goal.  When a Tribe Defenceman would wind up from well outside the blueline and beat Gino blocker side.  It was the first bad goal Gino has allowed in over 5 games and gave the Tribe the 1 goal lead and all the momentum back.

The never say die Rink Dawgs, did not let the bad goal get to them as they pushed right back.  Next shift out, the Dawgs pressed and hemmed the Tribe deep in their own zone.  Andrew Lazaridis would find Carm DiLuciano on the right point, who let a shot go and standing on the door step Mark Krupa roof one home to tie it back up at 3-3.  There would be no more scoring in the game, the point did however secure the Tribe from allowing the Rink Dawgs to overtake them in the standings.

With only 2 regular season games left to play, the Rink Dawgs hope to carry there solid play into the playoffs. Not looking to far ahead, they have a date against the Baby Buds next Tuesday July 13 @ 9:00pm in Clatworthy Arena.

Game Stats:

Shots: Rink Dawgs  17  -  Tribe 17
Powerplay: 0 for 3
Penaltykill: 2 for 2

Player(s) of the Game:

Tommy Kolkas 2G
Andrew Lazaridis 2A
Mark Krupa 1G (GTG)

The Defencemen got involved lots in the play, Donny Lagos, Martin Vieira & Carm DiLuciano each contributing assists in the game, all made possible by the steady stay at home play of Navin Persaud.

July 06, 2010 – Game Recap

Rink Dawgs – 1    Falcons – 1

The GTA has been experiencing some terribly hot & humid weather all around and Clatworthy Arena in Thornhill was no exception.  The majority of ball hockey arenas do not have air conditioning or any other form of cooling system, so in the summer time it can call for some awful playing conditions. The temperature around game time was 30 degrees, but with the humidity felt like 40 and on the arena floor more like 45!!

Despite the uncomfortable conditions, both teams fought threw it and played a very entertaining game.  It was a back and forth affair, with the teams trading chances at both ends.  The shots were even through the first half at 8-8 and behind great goaltending from Gino Caputo once again, the Dawgs were poised to come away with a victory.

It was the Falcons who opened the scoring with a very late goal in the first half.  With only :03 seconds to play in the period there was a mad scramble in Gino’s crease and he couldn’t quite locate the ball to cover it up, the Falcon’s Nick “No flash all Dash” Paras was able to bang it home, giving them the 1-0 lead heading into the break.

The Rink Dawgs would not let that late first half goal phase them, as they came out with a lot of energy and began to bring the play to the Falcons.  They would be rewarded 3:00 minutes into the second when after some aggressive forechecking by the Dawgs, Tommy Kolkas found a lose ball in front of the goal and  backhanded one passed the keeper.

The shot totals increased in the second with the Dawgs edging the Falcons 14-12, but once again the Falcons were able to take the lead with 6:25 to play.  The Dawgs turned the ball over in the neutral zone, leading to a 2 on 1 for the Falcons and making no mistake the player took a perfect shot beating Gino the only place he could, top corner blocker side.

The Dawgs found themselves having to battle back once again in order to salvage any points in the game.  That task became a whole lot harder when Bruce Tiam-Fook was called for an unfortunate 4-minute highsticking penalty with only 5:09 to go in the game.  Having to play a man down pretty much the rest of the way, the Dawgs would have to go for it on the penalykill.

An opportunity came, when Sted Stergiou won a ball behind his own goal and fired a pass up the middle to Carm DiLuciano standing at his own blue line.  Flashes of 10 years ago, an energized Carm banked a ball passed the left point man and streaked through the neutral zone with another player to beat.  Carm pulled off an unsuccessful dangle, but the ball ricocheted forward giving him a clear path to the goal.  Using his patented forward fake to backhand was able to beat the goalie for the short handed goal.  The entire play took about 15 seconds to develop, but gave the Dawgs the much needed game tying goal.

The game would finish 2-2, giving the Dawgs points in each of their last 4 games going (1-0-3) during that span.  They won’t have much time for rest as they play the second game of back to back nights, against the first place Tribe.

Game Stats:

Shots: Rink Dawgs  22 -  Falcons 18
Powerplay: 0 for 1
Penaltykill: 1 for 1 (1 SHG)

Player(s) of the Game:

Carm DiLuciano 1 G (GTG)
Tommy Kolkas 1 G
Gino Caputo 16 saves

Jamie Farrow, Ted Kolkas and Sted Stergiou chipping in assists.

June 29, 2010 – Game Recap

Rink Dawgs -1   Baby Buds – 1

The Dawgs were engaged in their 3rd consecutive close game, in which they have only scored 3 goals in total but have only given up 2.  Behind the stellar goaltending of Gino Caputo, the Dawgs were able to extend their unbeaten streak to 3 games.

The game was a back and forth affair, with both teams having trouble in their own zones.  They traded great scoring chances and played a fairly even game.  The Baby Buds opened the scoring late in the first, which proved to be the only goal the first.  They outshot the Rink Dawgs 11-9, with the goalies being the stars of the half.

The second half played out similar to the first, with the teams continuing to trade chances.  The Rink Dawgs would get on the board 1 minute into the period.  As the offense which has been struggling all year, averaging only 1.9 goals for a game, put them on the board. On a strong face-off win by Tommy Kolkas, captain Bruce Tiam-Fook would find Martin Vieira on the point who threw one on goal which found the back of the net to tie the game 1-1.

The Rink Dawgs were not able to earn any powerplay opportunities in the game, but were faced with having to kill 3 penalties themselves.  Behind the continued steady goaltending of Gino, they were able to kill all three penalties.  In fact Gino would do his part in stopping all 10 shots he faced that period, it was up to the offense to try and get it done.

Neither team would put another goal past either goalie the rest of the game, though each of them thought they had the go ahead goal.  The buds who played a lot of the game in the Dawgs defensive zone, had a chance when Gino was caught slightly out of position and Carm DiLuciano had to deflect one off the goal line to preserve the tie game.

On the other end, the Rink Dawgs found themselves turning the ball over often in the neutral zone creating odd man rushes the other way.  They thought they had the go ahead goal late with under a minute to play.  When on a breakout, Tommy Kolkas found Antonio Geraci at the side of the goal all alone, who knocked it in but it was waived off as Jamie Farrow was called for holding at the same time.  The Dawgs would go on to kill the penalty and earn themselves a point in the standings.

With only 4 games left to play, the Dawgs find themselves 6 points behind the Tribe.  If they are going to make a run first place they will need to win the rest of the way and get some help from other teams.  Either way they have to feel good about the way they have been playing the last 3 games, heading into the playoffs.

Game Stats:

Shots: Baby Buds  21  -  Rink Dawgs 19
Powerplay: none
Penaltykill: 3 for 3

Player(s) of the Game

Gino Caputo 18 Saves
Martin Vieira 1G
Bruce Tiam-Fook and Tommy Kolkas each with an assist.

Rink Dawg call up,  Ken Wu played a solid game on defense

June 22, 2010 – Game Recap

Rink Dawgs – 1   The Tribe – 0

Coming off of last week’s solid performance (1-1 tie against the Outlaws), the Rink Dawgs wanted to carry that momentum into last night’s game against the first place Tribe (6-1-1).  Right from the first face-off of the game, the Rink Dawgs came out flying.  On their first shift, David Silva, Bruce Tiam-Fook and Antonio Geraci had a glorious opportunity to get the Dawgs on the board first.  When on a shot from Bruce that found Antonio all alone at the side of the goal staring at an open net and doing his best Roberto Baggio impression, Antonio fired it high above the goal.

Much of the first half went back and forth, with both teams trading chances.  The Dawgs would get into a little penalty trouble in the first, having to kill an early penalty and then a late 4-minute high sticking that carried over into the second.  They did a great job of penalty killing from the forwards right on back to the goalie, Gino Caputo playing great goal as of late for the Dawgs stopped everything he saw and ended the period with 10 saves.

With no score heading into the second, Rink Dawg Ted “13lbs+ baby” Kolkas would get called for a tripping penalty 26 seconds in.  This would give the Tribe a 5 on 3 powerplay for just over a minute but Gino and the rest of the penalty killers would do a great job giving the Tribe nothing, helping to still preserve the 0-0 score.  Taking the momentum from the great PK, the Dawgs would continue to play a sound defensive game and do their best to press the play to the Tribe the rest of the game.

The shots were even in the period at 6-6, when the Dawgs would finally convert on their 7th and final shot of the game.  With just under 30 seconds to play and the ball deep in the Dawgs zone, Carm DiLuciano would dig the ball out of the corner and find Silva in front of his own goal. Looking up, David would feed a streaking Jamie Farrow, who as soon as he crossed the blueline would fire a shot pass the goalie with only 22 seconds left giving the Dawgs a much needed 1-0 victory.

Game Stats:

Shots: Tribe 16  -  Rink Dawgs 14
Powerplay: 0 for 2
Penaltykill: 3 for 3

Player(s) of the Game:

Gino Caputo 16 saves for the SO
Jamie Farrow 1G (GWG)

Another solid effort, both offensively & defensively by all players.

June 15, 2010 – Game Recap

Rink Dawgs – 1   Outlaws – 1

In celebrating their 100th career YCBHL game with the Rink Dawgs, Ted Kolkas, Mark Krupa & David Silva each would have to dig deep in order for the Rink Dawgs to pull out a victory against the Outlaws.  Dressing only 9 guys against the Outlaws’ 15 men, would prove to be an uphill battle.

To the Rink Dawgs credit though, they matched and surpassed the effort of the Outlaws.  For the better part of the game and especially in the first half, the Rink Dawgs controlled the tempo.  They played a team defensive game and forced a ton of turnovers, leading to great opportunities in the offensive end.

They would open the scoring 4 1/2 minutes into the game, when the Dawgs trapped the Outlaws in their zone.  With great ball movement and control, the ball would end up at the point to Martin Vieira who found Carm DiLuciano in the high slot, he would turn and fire a shot low and on the rebound David Silva would roof his team leading (37th) career goal.

The Dawgs would continue to mount the pressure on the Outlaws, with glorious chance after glorious chance.  Tony Rowe would one-time a blast an inch from the top left corner, Mark Krupa had 3 or 4 secs to make up his mind all alone 2 feet from the goal and shot it wide.  Ted Kolkas would break in on a partial breakaway and pound it straight into the keepers chest.  They were not able to add to their lead the rest of the half.

On the other end Gino Caputo was playing a solid game in goal for the Rink Dawgs, keeping them in the game and preserving the lead.  But the Outlaws would finally break the armor of Gino to tie the game heading into the break.  The shots after the first were 10-7 in favor of the Outlaws, but the Dawgs out chanced them by a 3 to 1 margin.

The second half continued to be much of the same, with the Dawgs controlling most of the play.  Though the Outlaws outshot them again, Gino was able to close the door stopping all 12 shots in the half.  There would be no more scoring in the game and even though they only came away with a tie, the Rink Dawgs have to feel as though they won the game.

They will need to come out with the same effort the rest of the way and accumulate points to move up in the standings.  Next game for them will be on Tuesday, June 22nd @ 8:00 at Milliken Mills arena.

Game Stats:

Shots: Outlaws  22  -  Rink Dawgs 16
Powerplay: 0 for 1
Penaltykill: 2 for 2

Player(s) of the Game:

Gino Caputo  21 saves
David Silva  1G
Carm DiLuciano & Martin Vieira each with an assist.

Great game by all considering the circumstances, shout outs to:  Mark Krupa, Tommy & Ted Kolkas, Donny Lagos and Tony Rowe.