By Michael Garbacz
Game 1: Thornton Services Renegades 1, K&E Marine Capitals 6
The cold winds a-blowin’ this day signaled some blowout tilts, as evinced by this one. Suffering a short bench, the ‘Gaders still fought and outshot the Caps 23-22 but couldn’t solve goalie Cabe Morgan. The Pat Trick rang up two goals and an assist; Brett Morgan upped the ante with a hattie and a helper; Sharkey Parks registered a goal and two assists; Jenny Hagler, Jack Smith, and Dalton McDaniel each picked up an apple. The Onancock Kid staved off a shutout for the Renegades with a little helper from Dustin Aigner and La Boca.
Game 2: EZ Loan Bruins 8, Neubeam Harambe 3
The Killer B’s continued the trend set by the Caps, unsealing a tin of how-do-you-do on the gorilla squad. The Smooth Criminal alone registered enough for the W, with four goals and an assist; Bradley Colona contributed a hat trick plus an assist; Gabe Nock picked up the other goal; Pat Cornwell chipped in a trio of helpers; Garrett Baylis registered an assist. For Harambe, Zach Webb led the offense in the loss with two goals and an assist; Preston Shover threw in a goal and an apple; Luke Webb put up a pair of assists.
Game 3: Blues 0, 3 Knots Taphouse Whalers 5
Another game, another win by a 5-goal margin. This time it was the Whalers who whaled on the Blues and handed them a goose egg to boot. Brandon Morgan took the bull by the horns and rode ‘im to the tune of a hat trick and an assist; Scott Millikin added a goal and an assist; New York Metzger scored. Michael Fanning did the goalie dance of joy upon earning the shutout. Blues netminder Ol’ Plugalong, meanwhile, was seen repeatedly winding his watch, to no avail.
Game 4: Delmarva Soil and Concrete Red Wings 3, K&E Marine Capitals 5
It took four games to break the trend of the day, as the Caps edged the Wings. Leaping out to a 4-0 lead, it did look like this one was well on its way to another laugher, but the Red Wings struck back late to make it interesting. Unfortunately for them, the hourglass ran out of sand before the comeback could be completed. The Pat Trick went helpers-only this time, accumulating 4; Sharkey Parks scored twice and threw in an assist; Brett Morgan tickled the twine two times; Keith Hagler scored; Jenny Hagler picked up an assist. For the Wings, the Huntsman figured in on every one of their goals, scoring twice and adding an apple; George Smith found the back of the net; Matt Sullivan and Wes Stapleton each added an assist.
Game 5: Thornton Services Renegades 0, EZ Loan Bruins 2
The Smooth Criminal had reality on a string in this one, slowing down and speeding up the game as he saw fit, confounding the ‘Gaders to no end. Producing both goals, 12 of his team’s 18 total shots, and almost as many as the Renegades had in total (13), there was no denying who the lord of the manor was this time around. Bradley Colona added an apple in the win for the Bruins; goalie Alex McCullough did the shutout dance.
Game 6: Blues 1, NeuBeam Harambe 7
Everything was going according to plan for the Blues in this one, until it wasn’t. Up 1-0 heading into the third, the Blues were looking to register an extremely important win for themselves. The gorilla squad had other ideas, though, uncorking a wild 22-shot, 7-goal final frame and bursting the dam on poor Ol’ Plugalong. Zach Webb and Preston Shover each traded natural hat tricks, with Shover also adding an assist; Robbie Washington scored the other goal; Caleb Clark chipped in a pair of apples; Luke Webb, Johnny Irvin, and power forward Jennie Rice each added an assist. James Haley was the goal scorer for the Blues, assisted by TR Hoyt.
Game 7: 3 Knots Taphouse Whalers 3, Delmarva Soil and Concrete Red Wings 4
The best game of the day came last, as the Wings managed to narrowly edge out the Whalers in a fun, back-and-forth affair. Though they outshot the Wings 16-12, the fellas in green fell just short of overcoming goalie Brad Ford. Ethan Ayer led the way for the Red Wings in this one, picking up two goals and an assist; the Huntsman and Wes Stapleton rang up a goal and an assist apiece; Justin Wheeler chimed in with a pair of apples; George Smith and Michael Garbacz each added an assist. For the Whalers, Brandon Morgan, Scott Millikin, and Ryan Parks all scored on remarkable individual efforts—all unassisted.
ESSHL Senior League action resumes Sunday, December 1 at 1:30 p.m. at Stapleton Rink in Parksley. Don’t forget to check out the website at www.esshl.org for standings, stats, news, and more, and find ESSHL on Facebook. Happy Thanksgiving from the ESSHL family!
