BRUTALITY FOR BLACK HAWK!!!

Travis Triplett

3/2/2006 - It was a week before the big football game, but the Black Hawk Ice Hawks decided to give the Bombers' hopes of winning a Super flush-down-the-toilet Bowl. In a game that featured intense physical play, a brouhaha at center ice, a plethora of fans and a shootout, the Ice Hawks prevailed 4-3. The game went down as one of the most brutal in team history as the two squads combined for seventy-four penalty minutes.

  "I had fun out there," said Jeremy Neal as he showed a laceration over his right eye. The zebras, though, didn't share the sentiments as they nearly rendered themselves hoarse from blowing their whistles. At one point the scorekeeper had to use the back side of a statistic sheet just to record the penalties! It's a good thing Christmas has already passed, or Santa would have left a nasty surprise for both teams.

  "[Black Hawk is] trying to add more finesse and passing to our team," said Jeff Moeller. "We're trying to cut down on penalties and games like this don't help our cause. We were lucky to walk away with a win."

  Black Hawk only scored one goal in the first period as Neal, from behind the Bombers' net, found a wide-open Matt Lindberg in the slot. The shot sailed by an out-of-position Aaron Guercio and the Ice Hawks had their first tally of the game. Although five penalties were committed between the two teams, the match looked like a typical Black Hawk vs. Bombers rivalry game with a lot of physical play.

  In the second period Jeff Moeller scored (for the second straight week) after Neal delivered a pass with two opposing players covering him. Just a short time later, Jason Fredericks recovered a loose puck in the crease and found the back of the net to give the Ice Hawks a huge three-goal lead; but the highlight of the second period would not be seen on the scoreboard. John Dickinson went for the puck and saw the lowered shoulder of the Bombers' Josh Rozinek slamming into his chest. He showed his gratitude by feeding Rozinek a knuckle sandwich - and that led to both players grooving to the four-knuckle-shuffle! Drew Brust and Daniel Grein tried to cut in but the referees quickly broke up the party. All four players earned an early trip to the showers with steep fines and two game suspensions to come for Dickinson and Rozinek.

  The Bombers made a comeback as Zeb Grein scored twice to cut the deficit to one, but the parade to the penalty boxes continued. At one point both teams fielded only three players and a goalie each as the sin bin on both sides reached maximum occupancy. However, the goaltending overshadowed the chippy contest as Guercio and Tracy Jonkoniec made some brilliant saves.

  Guercio stopped a Neal breakaway dead in its tracks and Jonkoniec extended her small frame to make a glove save that rivaled her counterpart. Little did they know that the game would rest on their shoulders in the end.

  The Bombers tied the game with 1:44 remaining as Mike Foster's shot beat Tracy Jonkoniec low. They would soon follow the goal with roughing and holding calls. Both teams looked exhausted physically as regulation ended with a 3-3 stalemate. The game would come down to the goaltending of
Guercio and Jonkoniec; a shootout would decide the winner.

  The Ice Hawks caught a break as Joe Prudente took his place as the first shooter. Guercio seemed to cover his initial shot, but the puck slipped through his pads and rolled past the line. The euphoria dissipated for the Ice Hawks as Zeb Grein tied the score.

  Black Hawk put the game away with its second shooter, Ryan Gan. He beat the goalie low on his left side to put the contest on ice (no pun intended). Jonkoniec held the remaining Bombers scoreless with the next four shooters, to end an insane game that lasted twenty minutes longer than normal.

  The Ice Hawks tallied thirty-one penalty minutes and the Bombers led the way with forty-three. The win gave Black Hawk a lifetime 5-1-1 record against one of the Ice Hawks' biggest rivals.