Thanks to his father's poor planning, Drew was late joining his
Riverview Ice Sharks game against the River Ridge Mustangs today at
the Clearwater Ice Arena. When the schedule was initially released,
this game had a 6:30pm start time, so that what was entered into the
family calendar. With that time in mind, we made plans during the
early afternoon to visit a smash house and have a late lunch at Anna
Maria Oyster Bar in Bradenton. We had just finished dinner when Drew
got a call from one of his coaches asking where he was. It was at
that time that it sunk in that good 'ole dad had messed up and we
were going to be late in arriving to the game. Thank goodness the
game started even later than scheduled, and we were able to get Drew
onto the ice just after the second period started. With all that
said, I don't have anything to add about the opening fifteen
minutes, aside from the fact that the score was 2-1 in favor of the
River Ridge side. They would widen their lead just over a minute
into the second period, on a shot that was flipped up and over the
Ice Sharks goaltender, making it a 3-1 game. Despite being late to
the game, Drew would get the Sharks back on the board a minute later
on a wrap-around goal, closing the gap to 3-2 in his first shift on
the ice. With nine and a half to play River Ridge would reclaim a
two-goal advantage on a wrist shot that slid in just under the
crossbar. With a little over six minutes left in the period, the
Riverview team would close the gap thanks to a beautiful pass
through the crease that would be tapped in for a goal and a 4-3
score. Two and a half minutes later the Ice Sharks would tie the
game once again, this time by gathering in a rebound and shooting it
up and over the River Ridge goaltender. With a little less than two
minutes to play in the middle period, Drew would score his second
goal of the game when he knocked in a rebound, giving Riverview
their second lead of the game. The 5-4 score would stand until the
end of the period.
With a little less than two minutes elapsed in the third period,
Riverview took a tripping penalty that would cost them. Just eight
seconds into the man advantage a River Ridge forward fired home a
wrister from just outside the right circle, knotting the score at
5-5. River Ridge would take a too-many men on the ice penalty with
5:27 left on the clock, then a minute later they were called for
hooking, give the Riverview players a 5 on 3 advantage for a full
minute. They used most of that time before finally retaking the lead
on a wrist shot that made it through the five-hole. Forty-five
seconds after taking the lead once again, the Ice Sharks gave
themselves a two-goal advantage for the first time today, flipping
the puck up and over the River Ridge goaltender after corralling a
rebound in front of the net. River Ridge closed the gap to a single
goal with just over 90 seconds to play as they themselves pounced on
a rebound and tapped it home, making it a 7-6 game. River Ridge
would get called for roughing with just under a minute to play, and
that essentially ended their chance at a comeback. The Ice Sharks
would survive to take the come from behind victory! Maybe Drew
should skip every first period from now on! |