What Would Gary Roberts Blog: Christmas Comes Early for WWGRD Fans, Team Wraps Up 2nd Win of Season

With only one game left before time off for exams and the Christmas Break, the boys in blue wanted to put an end to their losing streak and set the tone for a strong second half of the season. They were in tough against the 3rd place (5-0) Scoregasms squad. WWGRD knew they had a chance however, as the Scoregasms had a much easier Strength of Schedule to this point (6-22) than they have had on their way to their 1-6 start (30-8). WWGRD knew they were gunna be in tough for this one, as they were without key impact players Sheldon Tracey, Mark Micelli and Ryan Boutette as well as muckers Matt McNaughton and Stefan Branov. However, the most noticeable missing player was The Woodslee Wall, as Johnny Tracey was struck with an illness and unable to play. This meant that Hunter Bushnell had to come out of retirement and toss on the pads for the first time in four years.

As per usual, WWGRD gave up the first goal of the game on a shot that went bar down and Bushnell had no chance on. WWGRD responded as two of their call-ups for the game connected to tie it up. Riley Pekar sent Dylan Schentag streaking down the wing. Dylan "Tough Mudder" Schentag pumped a hard low shot passed the Scoregasms' tendy to knot the game up and pull the boys right back in it. This wasn't the end of Tough Mudder's performance for the first half though, as him and Pekar would connect again to give the boys in blue their first lead of the game. Eric Bauer tossed a pass through the legs of a Scoregasms forechecker and hit Pekar in the neutral zone. Carrying the puck and with some big gorilla of a defenceman taking a run at him, Peakz chipped the puck in and sent TM in on a breakaway. He faked a shot before deking forehand and tingling some twine, giving WWGRD a 2-1 lead at half.

Hunter Bushnell came out of
retirement and got the W for WWGRD

The team was laying it all on the line in front of the recently un-retired Bushnell, blocking shot after shot. The shots the team weren't able to block didn't faze Bushnell, as he was able to turn away everything that was coming his way. One defensive breakdown proved costly however, as Marc Berthiaume got caught chasing and left his man wide open out front as he was able to tap a pass by a sprawling Bushnell to tie up the score at deuces.

The game began to get chippy as bodies were flying around and the teams were starting to carve out grooves in a path to the penalty box. Seaner Micelli took a tripping penalty that the boys were able to kill off, and with just over three minutes left they would get their own chance with the man advantage. Skating back to a loose puck and shitting himself as he was being pressured by a forechecking Scoregasm, Cappy Marc Berthiaume had the forechecker's stick get caught in his skate and trip him up. Despite a scrap during the PP that saw team bad boy Mike Nantau take a run at an opposing player, the team was able to maintain the man advantage as the refs called coincidental minors and allowed the extra man to stay alive. After a shot bounced into the corner, A-cap Michelli slid it back to the point to Douggy Lambier, who went D-to-D to his partner Eric Bauer. Bauer took a quick look, debating pumping a shot at the net, but he discovered a lane just wide enough for a pass to get through. He sauced the disk backdoor to Micelli, who calmly took the pass off his skate before sliding a perfect pass across to Peakz who pumped the puck into the net to give the boys the lead with less than a minute to go. The bench erupted as the team could now taste their second victory of the season.

Playing cautiously after seeing how quickly leads can disappear late in a game earlier in the season, WWGRD hemmed the Scoregasms in their own zone, not allowing any chance for a breakout the other way. This pressure ended up resulting in All-Swedish Djordjevski and Philly Kessel mucking away out front and Kessel putting one in the net just as the buzzer went to make it a 4-2 final. The team rushed to celebrate with their back up tendy who came to the rescue and tied the Woodsle Wall for the team lead in goalie wins with one.

Eric Bauer was asked about the performance of his team on the ice, and he told media members "We gave 110% out there, all lines were firing, and it was just our day. Nice to get the W." He was then asked about the goal that caused the crowd to erupt and give their team the lead and eventually the win in the game. "I was honestly thinking shot, I had a peak and saw Sean going, and I had a lane, just tried to put it on his tape. He made a great play to get it across to Peakz who made no mistake. Felt good to finally get on the scoresheet." Sean Micelli was reflecting on the first half of the season and his team's chances when they return from their break, "We've played some tough teams through the first 8 games of the season but we can't fall back on that. In my mind, a few of those teams we lost to we could have pulled out the W but we just didn't execute. I'm hoping we can ride the momentum of that huge win through the Christmas break and come out firing on all cylinders the next time we step on the ice in the new year."

WWGRD will enjoy their Christmas break and return to action in the new year, sometime in early-mid January. The team will be having a toy drive over the break, with all donations being split up and given to the players as gifts for how well they've played so far this season. Donations can be dropped off at Marc Berthiaume's house. For more information, you can call the team hotline, 1-800-LUV-GARY (1-800-588-4279).