Early Game – #4 Portugal vs #5 Scotland

A great early match between Scotland and Portugal to finish the regular season. Portugal came out strong, beating the Scots 3-0 in the first period on goals from Mike Russo, Murray Russell, and Jeff Boulton.

But these Scots never lie down, scoring 2 unanswered goals in the second period from rookie sensation Steve Boyle and sniper Brad Stoll to make it 3-2 after two periods.

It was a tight-checking third until halfway through when true Scotsman, Alan Robb, tied the game at 3 goals apiece! But again the Portuguese came back on a goal from big D-man Neil Wilson, his first of the campaign to put the Lisboetas up 4-3. Portugal’s MVP Greg Platt put the nail in the coffin with two minutes to go making it 5-3 for Portugal. Another Scotsman, Jim Maguire, bagged one with 15 seconds to go, but it wasn’t quite enough.

Final Score: Portugal 5, Scotland 4.

Portugal’s player of the game goes to Mike Rukavina on the IR list but coaching his team to this tough win.

Scotland’s player of the game goes to Steve Sparrow with a strong defensive effort.

Late Game – #1 Italy vs #2 Slovenia

The late show was the final game of the regular season and it was a battle for first place overall. Tickets were selling like hotcakes. This game also featured the two leading goalies, Tomi Niemenen and Tony Cioffi.

Slovenia was missing their top two scorers in this one but managed to get the lone goal in the first period from Tony Thomas, both goalies staring each other down from opposite ends of the ice.

The goaltender’s duel continued into period #2 with Italy’s Paul Harty the only one to bulge the twine, making it 1-1 after two periods.

But Italy showed why they are number 1 with Niemenen shutting the gate with a 3rd period shutout while teammates Eric Fletcher and Leo Brideau added 2 for a final score of Italy 3, Slovenia 1. Look for Slovenia to seek revenge with their full squad when these teams meet on April 26.

Slovenia’s player of the game goes to smooth skating Dwayne Tygeson while Paul Harty picks up the honours for Italy.

And that’s all she wrote for the regular season boys! Playoffs start on Friday March 15 with Slovenia playing Scotland at 9:15 and Ireland facing off against Portugal at 10:30. First place Italy is home watching film and taking ice baths.