Early Game – Scotland vs Portugal

The Early Game pitted powerful #2 Scotland against the last place, long-suffering Portuguese squad.  Scotland averaged over 5 goals a game during the regular season and led the league in goals against.  Portugal averaged 1 win per round and finished well in last place.  So this game was just a scrimmage really.  A tune-up for Scotland. Right?

Not so much.

Russo and Gunther scored for Portugal in the first period.  Scotland scored, ehm, zero.

In the second period, Leo Brideau scored twice.  Scotland scored, let’s see, add 5, carry the two, Scotland scored ZERO.

4-0 for Portugal after two periods.  The hot Scottish sticks ice cold.  Brideau running amuck, stealing pucks, bulging twine, and generally controlling the game as Leo will do in the playoffs.

Then he put his squad up 5-0 halfway through the third period.  Put a fork in this one, it’s done.  Rookie Peter McKay managed to break Rispoli the Goalie’s shutout in the waning minutes, but Russo permanently restored the 5 goal advantage with 2 minutes to go.

Final Score: Portugal 6 – Scotland 1.

“This league has a 20 game pre-season and then the playoffs.” Leo Brideau

Italy, Slovenia and Ireland would do best to remember that.

Portugal’s player of the game goes to the Great Wall of Sicily – Frank “Holy Moley what a Goalie” Rispoli.  Scotland’s player of the game goes to rookie Peter McKay for saving them from complete annihilation and giving them some hope for their match next week against Slovenia.

Late Game – Slovenia vs Italy

The late game also looked predictable to some.  After all, Italy won the last four match-ups with Slovenia by an average of 4+ goals, including a 9-6 drubbing just one week ago.  Slovenia would have a backup goalie on this night, Stuart Henderson, fresh off the ice from a textbook tenderizing courtesy of Brideau and Co., enough to give any tendie the jimmy legs.  Italy should cruise to a comfortable victory in their first game.  Right?

Not.  So.  Much.

Henderson and Nieminen both looked very sharp in the first, the only goal coming with a minute to go, Flumerfelt deflecting a Greg Platt wrister between Henderson’s wickets to make it 1-0 for Italy after one period.

Slovenia’s rookie sniper Stephen Davis tied it up on the power play with 7 minutes to go in the 2^nd period before Dave Wodar restored Italy’s lead at 3:49.  But Slovenia struck like lightning at the end of the period, rookie Ciro Napolitano scoring with a minute left and Steve Davis getting his second of the night in the dying seconds. Suddenly Slovenia was up 3-2 after two periods.

Slovenia had the hot power play in this one as Dodic cashed in seven minutes into the third putting Slovenia up 4-2. And that was pretty much it.  In the final minute against a flagging Roman squad, Steve Boyle snapped one Patrick Laine style top shelf and Napolitano completed his Gordie Howe hat-trick with a goal, assist, and penalty. And this one ended 6-2 for Slovenia.

Slovenia’s player of the game goes to stalwart D-man Brice Lewis while Neil Wilson takes Italian Honours for remaining stoic after getting cut for multiple stitches on a high-stick and spending all night in Emergency.  Let’s all take care of our sticks boys.  Eyes can’t be stitched.

So the underdogs take both of the first two games.  CLASSIC PCOHL PLAYOFF DRAMA.

Next week the playoff version of Team Portugal will take a run at first place Ireland.  That should be an absolutely fantastic game and one that the Irish best not take for granted.

The late game features a pumped-up Slovenian squad against shell-shocked Scotland.  Another tremendous battle in the making.

Italy gets the week off to lick its wounds (literally and figuratively).