"Instant Replay Jinx"

[GROWL99]

I can only be grateful that the playoffs will not be played anywhere near the Instant Replay rink in Morristown, N.J., which happens to be the home rink of my former team, The Minutemen. My team, the Growl, played the Minutemen tonight and we were fortunate to get out of there with a split. Please keep in mind, I am taking absolutely nothing away from the Minutemen, who played inspired hockey throughout the night, however, I can't help but feel this rink is not the type of rink that suits the majority of our players. The rink is small and the surface is slow, which is ideal for a team that is going to battle for every loose puck, and try to play a controlled simple game of putting pucks at the net,and making people pay physically for every piece of the rink. The Minutemen took advantage of the leagues best goalie (Joe D'lasio) being away for the weekend, and shot from anywhere when they realized that it was an adventure for the usually dependable Jason Kalish and the capable third string goalie Steven Colb. Anthony Flynn would've pulled out his hair, if he had any, with one particular referee, who won't be getting any Christmas cards from Ron Tracy, anytime soon. Even so, that's not the reason why we lost a game tonight. The referee's were out there doing the best they could for both teams. I take no pride in some of the complaining that went on after the game, by us, and I'm sure as tempers cool down, neither will anyone else in our organization. The Minutemen picked up a few new faces that seemed to fit in pretty well with style of play that they will throw at you, and that's good news for them, after parting with T.J. Plaugher. So our 21 game winning streak is over, and it was the Minutemen who did it to us again. I take my hat off to them for their efforts, and hope to have the opportunity of playing them in the playoffs, at any other rink but that one. That rink contains forces that OB 1 Kanobie would be proud of, and certainly seems Growl proof. By the way, I think the scores were 8-5 Growl in game 1 and 7-6 Minutemen in the finale.

[NJwerewolves12]

must have been some good games played last night.

Doing the Cobra

[wolves89]

they were interesting games TJ, i thought you were coming to watch?? the minutemen battles the entire night, but i think the real difference was thier goaltending... in the first game, even though he took the loss eric namowicz was very good in between the pipes robbing ronny on a breakaway and robbing two other growl players on back door chances, he was the reason they were up 5-2 at the half, they just fell apart on him in the second half. In the second game i don't know who this kid was, but man was he stopping us all over the place, aside from when we were shorthanded we controlled the puck for 90% of the game firing from everywhere, making back door plays, etc. My hats off to him for a great game played. All aside 22-2 is not bad, but now it puts even more pressure on us next weekend as the typhoon are coming to town! All this being said, and i think my guys will agree with me, i would much rather lose now then in the playoffs...

i'm not slow, i'm patient

[minutemen]

The goalie in the second game was our back up goalie from the Minor team of last season. He played unbelievable. He has come a long way from last season. Also, yes we wish the play offs were at our rink. I think we may be the only team to make that statement. It is small be we like the advantage. Great games last night. Good luck to the Growl and see you in a few weeks at your rink.

Morristown Minutemen Pro Minor Hockey Organization. <P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by minutemen on 04/23/06 11:46 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

[89jettawolfs]

i think the minutemen are one of the most underrated teams in the league. we had them for four straight friday night and it was a long night to say the least. they are very defensive and physical. i think they are everybit as good as any other team in the league.

[minutemen]

Thanks for the comments. My team is a hard working team. But we have to work harder to win. On paper we may not have a great team but we play as a team. I think we are a top team in the league but do not let my players know that. We are a team that has to win to stay alive. We have no choice but to win. And teams like that can be dangerous. It is going to be a great few weeks for the league. There are alot of games and teams are battling for those play off spots. I missed the 4 games the other night but I saw that they were all close. It was tough for our team to lose all 4 games by one goal, but I think we learned from it. We know just to play the game and not worry about the refs. Best of luck to your team.

Morristown Minutemen Pro Minor Hockey Organization. <P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by minutemen on 04/23/06 12:53 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

[yokes]

You guys play hard and constantly pressure which is hard for teams to handle. I know you exhausted me friday!!

"Only God saves more than Yokes"

[minutemen]

That is our game plan. Best of luck to the Tics, hope to see you in the play offs.

Morristown Minutemen Pro Minor Hockey Organization.

[Brooklynite10]

You mean you didn't like me in your face all night ? lol Great games friday ! Good luck down the stretch.

[yokes]

For the last game Justin all you had to do was kick my stick out, thats all that was holding me up!!

"Only God saves more than Yokes"

[Brooklynite10]

Well put Jimmy. Hockey (roller & ice) is a sport where many calls are border line and can go either way. We felt slighted on calls friday night but u got to suck it up and realize that it is just part of the game. I feel that we currently have good refs, not great. I'm sure that as this league becomes elite, so will the refs; maybe as early as next year. Instant Replay is a very small rink but not a huge advantage unless you game plan around it. I want to give our organization credit our preparation leading up to saturday nights games. Our game plan allowed us to be very competetive in the first game and squeak out a win in the second.

[CoachClipboard]

YO Yokes???? They got interenet where you are? Sup?

When you lose say little. When you win say less.

[minutemen27]

everyone of those games friday night were alot of fun and very well played by both teams we hope to see you in the playoffs