Halifax Floor Hockey League
The week started off on Monday with a spirited contest between the Lynx and the Fire. Jason Royal and Phil Pellerin each scored twice to give the Lynx a 5-3 lead after two periods, only to see the Fire come roaring back with 5 unanswered 3rd period goals to pull out the 8-5 win. Five different Fire snipers scored in the third, though the most memorable moment may have been a missed empty net by the game’s third star, Chad Griffin. After missing this easy chance to score his 150th career regular season goal, Griffin was unable to speak to the media after the game. “He hasn’t stopped crying yet”, Fire captain Harvey Snelgrove explained.
The early game Thursday pitted the Slayers against the Lite-Sabres, who were without their vacationing captain and goalie Chris McMaster. Last year’s backup ballstopper Adam Pettigrew was called up to replace McMaster, and he struggled early as the Slayers jumped out to a 4-0 first-period lead. The Sabres fought back to within a goal at 6-5 entering the 2nd period, and the game was close from then on. Spiro Bokolas’ fourth goal of the night less than a minute into the 3rd gave his team a 10-8 lead, and he had a chance to add to the advantage when he was awarded a penalty shot by referee Barrie Harvey after Harvey could not determine whether a Bokolas shot had gone in. Bokolas was foiled, however by Slayer goalie Graham Dodge, and this save spurred his teammates on to a comeback, as David Watson and Ian Scott tallied to tie the game at 10-10. Dave MacKenzie and Gian Scalet traded goals late in the game, then captain Scott made one last rush to try to win the game for the Slayers. After stickhandling through what seemed to be the entire Lite-Sabre roster, Scott was stopped by Pettigrew, or at least his shot was, as the captain himself went barreling into the net, knocking it over as time expired. Scott came away unscathed; the net is expected to be out 4-6 weeks.
In Thursday’s late game the LAN Hackers spotted the Chill a 7-0 lead (which included a natural hat trick by rookie Andrew Mercer) before rallying for a 10-9 win. For the Chill, the turning point came early in the 2nd period, when with the score 8-2 Hacker forward Odin Ortiz unleashed a shot that appeared to ring off the goal post, but was ruled a goal by referee Harvey. The Hackers proceeded to score the game’s next 7 goals, with other close calls going against the frustrated Chill, several of whom voiced their displeasure. Harvey, who retired in December after an 8-season Hall of Fame career as a defenseman with 4 teams, appeared unaffected by the criticism of his work. Chill forward Tony Joyce was reportedly seen waiting outside to confront Harvey hours after the game, only to be told the referee had left the building by a back exit. The Commissioner’s office is investigating.