“They
know how to push and hit” said Bill Nolan. “We aren’t
going to take that lying down. We can also push back,
and we hit harder. A lot harder!”
The
‘Dogs’ found themselves trailing 2-0, after one period.
Both goals could have easily been prevented. They were a
result of mental errors by the ‘Dogs’. It didn’t take
long for them to recover. Jason Darfler scored twenty
seconds into a power play near the start of the second
frame. The ‘Bulldogs’ tied it up later in the period.
Nolan scored on a one timer in front of the net on a
well placed pass by Joey V.
Just as
they had in their last three victories, the ‘Dogs’
rallied to position themselves for victory. However,
they were unable to utilize their momentum in this game
as they had before. The ‘Nationals’ scored four
unanswered goals, to win in convincing fashion.
“It
wasn’t a good game for us” said Darfler. “We can
normally get past most other teams if we keep can
compensate for our errors. You can’t do that with this
team. They’re way too fast and experienced. The margin
of error has to be minimal or else we dig ourselves into
a deep hole”
With
cheap shots and scuffles becoming increasingly a bigger
part of the match, it reached its peak with 5:00 left in
the game. A member of the ‘Nationals’ swatted Maher
Karim in the back of the head with his stick. Maher took
exception and retaliated with a shot of his own. In a
display of pure cowardice, three members of the
‘Nationals’ instantly attacked him but none could bring
him down. Nolan jumped in and put a good ass whipping on
#34 
Erik
Fenzel, before the officials intervened.
After
the players were separated, ‘Adolf’
Fenzel resorted to screaming racial epithets. His jaw
jacking continued as he hung out in front of his locker
room.
Today,
‘Bulldogs GM & goalie Alex Martinez prepared this
statement issued to the league commissioner:
We talked yesterday and for
the most part I truly think we as a team don't cause
much trouble. In fact we pretty much do what the league
requires us to do. Rules are rules and we tend to follow
them. I also have for the most part talked to my players
about rough play, retaliation and things like that. We
are all here just trying to have fun. But we have had,
as you are well aware, issues in the past with #34 Erik
Fenzel of the Nationals.
He has made racial comments
to my players and at this point I need direction on how
to handle this without my players going off
[retaliating] in our next game. Nothing was mentioned
last night, because the team rule is to not say anything
stupid after the games.
We [Bulldogs] regularly
talk to each other the day after the game, when clear
thinking prevails. This is why I am letting you know
about this now. Again I need direction, because if the
league does nothing then I cannot guarantee that the
next time anyone on the Bulldogs receiving the ethnic
slurs will not do something to retaliate.
Instead of focusing on
Fenzel, what I should be doing is really bitching about
how one [Nationals] player raised his stick to hit one
of my players in the back of the head in the midst of a
scuffle. That should not be tolerated as well.
Please advise me on this-
Your help is greatly
appreciated.
The
Good:
-
-Hustle: The ‘Dogs’ dug in and fought hard on every
shift.
-
-Power Plays: The ‘Bulldogs’ were 1 for 3 on power
plays. Although they didn’t score on two of those,
they did move the puck well and put themselves in
position to score.
The
Bad:
-
-Passing: A few ‘Bulldogs’ made several errant,
wide or blind passes that resulted in turnovers. At
times, the wingers held the puck for too long instead
of passing quickly on the breakaway
-
-Positioning: Poor positioning cost the ‘Bulldogs’
many opportunities.
The
Ugly:
