Post by alphalackey on Apr 6, 2024 13:28:32 GMT -7
Houston and Cremona met for the now-traditional season-ending game / Commissioner's Fireside Chat, and it was a game that did not disappoint. Perhaps motivated by their big 7-6 upset in the prior matchup, the Sundogs came out hot, with the top two Sundog scorers (Jarnkrok and Pettersson) staking the road team to a quick 2-0 lead. Cremona poured on the pressure and despite a heroic effort, Rantanen fired off two goals for the home team to leave it tied after one due almost entirely to Saros's heroics
The second period was a little more balanced in play, but despite a strong push by Cremona to get a natural hat trick for Rantanen, it was Houston vet Eberle with a late goal giving Houston a surprising 3-2 lead after two, and that's when things started going south.
When passing the officials at the end of the period, perhaps frustrated with a number of missed calls against his team, Houston coach Mousseau felt he could practice a few of the 'important' Spanish words that Duolingo doesn't teach. Unfortunately, head official Santiago Hernández also knew these words pretty well, and a bench minor was issued to the Sundogs. An exact explanation for the penalty was never fully given regarding the exchange, although the phrase 'pinche gringo' was definitely overheard a couple times.
This seemed to rattle the visiting team and, sure enough, Ovechkin tied the game on the power play in the third; not to be denied his hat trick, Rantanen put Cremona ahead yet again at the four minute mark.
The remaining sixteen minutes featured some of the most off-the-wall coaching tactics in a desperate attempt to tie it up, some so outrageous that even Roger Nielsen would be in hockey heaven going "... dude.". Pulling the goalie on no less than three different occasions, Laine on the point, Pettersson playing with three different lines, and Austin Watson as the 6th attacker. And in the end, a beautiful feed from Pettersson to Adam Ruzicka gave the Dogs a late flurry of shots, but no solutions.
Final score: Houston 3 @ Cremona 4
If the playoffs await, Sundog faithful can at least take confidence that Saros appears to be back in beast mode, having stopped 12 of 16 hard shots to make the game interesting.
The second period was a little more balanced in play, but despite a strong push by Cremona to get a natural hat trick for Rantanen, it was Houston vet Eberle with a late goal giving Houston a surprising 3-2 lead after two, and that's when things started going south.
When passing the officials at the end of the period, perhaps frustrated with a number of missed calls against his team, Houston coach Mousseau felt he could practice a few of the 'important' Spanish words that Duolingo doesn't teach. Unfortunately, head official Santiago Hernández also knew these words pretty well, and a bench minor was issued to the Sundogs. An exact explanation for the penalty was never fully given regarding the exchange, although the phrase 'pinche gringo' was definitely overheard a couple times.
This seemed to rattle the visiting team and, sure enough, Ovechkin tied the game on the power play in the third; not to be denied his hat trick, Rantanen put Cremona ahead yet again at the four minute mark.
The remaining sixteen minutes featured some of the most off-the-wall coaching tactics in a desperate attempt to tie it up, some so outrageous that even Roger Nielsen would be in hockey heaven going "... dude.". Pulling the goalie on no less than three different occasions, Laine on the point, Pettersson playing with three different lines, and Austin Watson as the 6th attacker. And in the end, a beautiful feed from Pettersson to Adam Ruzicka gave the Dogs a late flurry of shots, but no solutions.
Final score: Houston 3 @ Cremona 4
If the playoffs await, Sundog faithful can at least take confidence that Saros appears to be back in beast mode, having stopped 12 of 16 hard shots to make the game interesting.