Lavergne and Shirley Beat Up on Lenny and Squiggy, 8-2

“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
Sclemeel, schlemazel, hasenfeffer incorporated.
We’re gonna do it!

Give us any chance, we’ll take it.
Give us any rule, we’ll break it.
We’re gonna make our dreams come true.
Doin’ it our way.

Nothin’s gonna turn us back now,
Straight ahead and on the track now.
We’re gonna make our dreams come true,
Doin’ it our way.

There is nothing we won’t try,
Never heard the word impossible.
This time there’s no stopping us.
We’re gonna do it.

On your mark, get set, and go now,
Got a dream and we just know now,
We’re gonna make our dream come true.
And we’ll do it our way, yes our way.
Make all our dreams come true,
And do it our way, yes our way,
Make all our dreams come true
For me and you.”

I know this 1970’s sit-com reference will be lost on some of our younger readers (I think Charlotte may have been born 10 years after the show was cancelled!!), but it was too fitting to let it slide. Plus, most of you may not know that Skatch was the original choice for Carmine “The Big Ragu” Ragusa on the show but was eventually passed on by the studios because he was too old, had too much of a Jersey accent and insisted on carrying his hockey bag to the set every day. But enough of the levity and on to the unfortunate game summary.

At times throughout history, there have been defining moments. Last night would not be one of them. There’s just something about a Ringer/Weevil game that brings out either the worst or best in everyone. Unfortunately on this night, it brought out our worst and their best. Both teams activated their respective emergency phone tree’s to stack their benches with a complete roster cavalcade. So numbers, or lack thereof, would not be a factor this game. What would be a factor is the desire, or lack thereof, to completely destroy one’s opponent. The Ringer’s organization is as storied a franchise as our own, and they have endured the same roller coaster ride over the years as we have with league (dis)parity, team performance, and just overall finding their place in the rec hockey universe. The ebb and flow that comes with each new season has seen our two groups at the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. It is the rare occurrence that the planets align and we are both at about the same point in the hockey spectrum. Unfortunately for us, the Ringers are currently nearing the top of the Super Duper Looper Coaster while we are spiraling deep into the depths of Space Mountain’s lower labyrinth.

The game itself was a typical Ringer/Weevil battle….hard skating, some good natured ribbing, a few cheap shots, and some late-game fisticuffs. But this meeting would be all Ringers with just a dash of Weevils, as our nemesis came to play. The Ringers were solid. Period. Do they have some talented skaters? Yes. But Weiss and Tooke didn’t win that game alone. We did take our fair share of penalties, but we (I) got away with a few no-calls as well. So where was the break-down? Where did we lose that game? I think we lost it before we even hit the ice last night. They are a talented squad, but they are not unbeatable. They played a very good game last night, but they didn’t beat us…..we didn’t put up much of a fight. Zarby and Vlad put in the only goals we were able to muster the entire game. The rest of our offense consisted of a few flares and some unlucky bounces, but for the most part we were either a little flat or a little confused or a little of both. Defensively, we were no match for their front lines. Running 5 defensemen help keep legs fresher, but locking down their offensive rushes proved to be more difficult than expected and too much pinching left too many Ringers hovering for the kill on our end of the neutral zone. Even our stalwart netminder was finding difficulty in keeping the biscuit out of our oven…so much so that he felt it incumbent upon himself to make a coast-to-coast run in the waning minutes of the game….impressive, but also unsuccessful. Overall, not our best performance. In fact, our only highlight of the game had to be Weber giving piggy-back rides at the end of third period to Marc Lavergne….it was like watching a monkey hump a Buick!! Weber, you should at least have the decency to get off the ice and face the guy when someone is trying to punch you in your gargantuan helmet with their gloved lady-like hands!! But there’s always next time.

So to sum it all up, we gave one away last night to a talented team. The Ringer’s appear to have our number once again. But the season is far from over with four games remaining…Bulldogs, Ziggy’s, Vincents, Chiefs. I think the magic number for the playoffs is 5th place to put us in the best spot for a run at the title…think sleeper team!! But we’ll certainly need to step up our play to have any chance at redemption. Rest up this week, fellow Weevils….for the season is nearing a close and our time to act is now!!