Franchise Hockey 6 Leigh 1
Led by two goals and three assists from Matt King and another hat trick for Nick Sako, Franchise Hockey thoroughly beat Leigh. To make matters sweeter, the Franchise moved into a tie with Leigh for first place in Divison 5. Leigh's two losses have come against division opponents, while Franchise Hockey's two losses have been to teams in higher divisions.
Sako opened the scoring in the first period, ringing a wristshot in off the post. He converted against, taking a feed from King on a two-on-one.
In the second, Sako completed his natural hat trick, banging home a saucer pass King. King then set up Cam Rowland in front of the net to give Franchise Hockey a 4-0 lead. Two more goals scored by King capped the Franchise scoring.
Stanzler, whose bold words fueled his teammates, was perfect until midway through the third period. A long shot was deflected by Stanzler and slowly trickled into the net. Stanzler narrowly missed his third shutout of the season.
Franchise Hockey will have a bye week. Its next game will be a doubleheader March 8.
Box Score:
1st Period:
Sako 38 (Ragoobeer, Cornelius)
Sako 39 (King, Ragoobeer)
2nd Period:
Sako 40 (King, Ragoobeer)
Rowland 6 (King, Cornelius)
King 17 (Ragoobeer, Cleverly)
3rd Period:
King 18 (Sako, Ragoobeer)
Goaltending:
Stanzler 5-2 (1 GA)
Captain's Thoughts:
Something about beating a team like Leigh feels very satisfying. The cheap shots they took on Sheraj aside, they were a good team, and we passed our first real test.
Sako's presence was huge, and you have to really appreciate his playing when he probably should have been resting for his golf tournament tomorrow. He had a hat trick (a relatively quiet game by his standards), and he continues to lead with his confidence and swagger.
Having Sheraj in the lineup really makes us a different team. Sheraj gives us options, and he'll have even more freedom because of the fantastic job Ray and Chris C are doing.
Of course, having Cam score is always a highlight. He gets so many goals by just putting his head down and getting open in front.
Finally, there was Mikey. He said he would play well, and he did.
March 15th- rematch against Leigh. They want us. We'll be ready-.
Your Captain
#37